{Thriving this Winter} Day 16: Batch

Just joining in? Read the whole series {here}. 

Ok, so last week was a bit crazy with 5 days of work, which included a weekend. And I never get ANYTHING done on working weekends, so I am a little impressed that I actually got a post up each day. Even though they were a little late. And now! We are over the hump! It is day 16!

Are you feeling ready for winter? I am slowly getting there, and one of the things that really reduces my stress and worry is.... freezer cooking. 

Freezer cooking is something I have played around with for a long time, and I finally feel like last month I did something that made sense and wasn't such an ordeal that it wrecked up the whole rest of my week. 

Here are my commandments of freezer cooking: 

1) Thou shalt not make any new recipes. 
2) Thou shalt not make any more than 5 recipes, but everything must be at least tripled. 
3) Thou shalt do it thyself at one's own house, at one's own pace. 

Seriously. I have tried the day-long freezer cooking at someone else's house, or even at my own house. I have made upwards of 15 different recipes. I have made many new recipes that simply didn't work or taste right. None of these things are helpful in my life. 


Now don't get me wrong, I did once have a good experience with my sister doing a freezer cooking at my house, but she basically just made whatever I told her. And then took some food home. She is one of the easiest people to cook for and with because she has so few food likes and dislikes. So if you happen to have a great freezer cooking partner who essentially doesn't have their own agenda as well... then you can go for it! Just remember that whoever plans the menu should also shop for the food and cook it in their own house. This will eliminate many many headaches. 

Also the full day of making 15 different dishes? It is usually a complete waste of time. It is utterly exhausting, and often you end up making bad decisions because you are so tired and just want to get things done. Things end up burned, underseasoned, overcooked or simply made wrong. And then you throw it all in your freezer, and avoid it since you know it won't taste good. And 6 months later you find it and throw it away finally. C.O.M.P.L.E.T.E. W.A.S.T.E

So the plan for effective freezer cooking is too..... do it yourself, make only a few things, but really really large batches of them. Of course, since you are making such a large batch you will use only your most favourite recipes and love to grab these items out of the freezer. Win!

And there is another way to do effective freezer cooking, especially if you have a small family. Which is to simply make the whole recipe, and freezer at least half. This does not take any extra time, however it does take extra thought as you will portion half of the food into a freezable container before serving, or perhaps even before the final bake. This works really well with soups, sauces and casseroles and large cuts of meat (like turkey!). There is no point to filling your freezer and then being so exhausted you hit the drive-thru that night. (Been there, done that!)

I am not the kind of person who likes to just put prepped stuff into my freezer. I get my meat in freezer packs from a great butcher, so they come in vacuum packed portions, which are sealed much better than I could ever get them with a ziploc and a straw. I don't open my packages to add onions or flavourings to them. Plus I don't like the idea of taking pre-cooked meat out of the freezer and cooking it again. It takes me no time to scramble-fry beef and add some onions and taco seasoning. The one exception to this is red pepper, which I love but it gets so expensive in the winter. So usually right before the end of summer, when the peppers are on good sales I will grab a larger package of them and chop them up. This can then be added to eggs and soups and sauces throughout winter. I also will throw chopped up veggies, leftover from dinner prep into the freezer if I think they will be used for soup or stir-fry in the future. 

So I focus on batch cooking for breakfast items (which I am going to do a whole post on soon), soups, sauces and casseroles, and baking. I also am falling in love with slow-cooker "dump" recipes, which is where you prep all the ingredients to go into a slow-cooker meal and freezer them. Then all you have to do on the day is to dump your bag into the slow-cooker and turn it on. Dinner is made! Look for these recipes on my pinterest board! I also love to make big batches of this spaghetti sauce. 

For baking it is more about focussing on the method rather than the recipe. Just take any of your favourite recipes for cookies and make a big batch of them (double or triple). But instead of baking them off simply roll them into whatever size you want and place them on a cookie sheet. Put them in the freezer until hardened and then into a large ziploc bag. Keep doing this until all the dough is done. When you are ready for cookies take a few balls out of the freezer and put them on a cookie sheet. Bake as normal!

For muffins also pick your favourite recipe and stir it up. Except instead of baking them off put the dough into sandwich-sized ziploc bags and seal up. Each bag will hold about 6-8 muffins or a tray of mini-muffins. When you are ready to bake them put the bag on the counter to thaw for up to an hour. Then snip the corner off the ziploc bag and pipe the muffin mix into your prepared muffin tin. Bake as normal!

Here are a couple of my favourite recipes for freezer cooking. 

Meatballs Two-Ways

(adapted from Company's Coming: Make Ahead Meals)

2 eggs, fork beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup minced onion

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tsp. worchestershire sauce

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lbs. ground beef

Cranberry Chili Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup chili sauce

1 cup cranberry jelly

1 tsp. white vinegar.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2/3 cup water

1 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

For meatballs: Combine eggs, milk, onion, bread crumbs, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in large bowl. Stir until well blended. Mix in ground beef. Shape into 1.5 inch balls. Arrange on greased baking sheets. Bake in 425ºF oven for 15-16 minutes until no pink remains. Drain. Makes about 4 dozen meatballs. For both sauces: Stir all ingredients in medium saucepan. Simmer until heated through. Makes 2 cups sauce. Allow to cool. Stir 1/2 the meatballs into each cooled sauce mixture. Separate meatballs into packages of 8 and pack into freezer bags. Divide sauce evenly between bags. To serve: Thaw bags in the refrigerator and heat meatballs and sauce on the stove until heated through. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. 


Nana's Meatloaf 
(my great - grandmother's recipe)

1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cups milk 
2.25 lb ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup onion, grated
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp. sagePiquant Sauce
4 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4+ 1/8 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Line loaf pans in foil. Soak bread crumbs in milk. Add meat, onion, eggs & seasonings. Mix well. Spread Piquant Sauce on top. Place into 3 foil-lined loaf pans. Freeze until beginning to harden, then remove with foil intact, wrap tightly and freeze. To serve: Thaw meatloaf 8 hours or overnight. Bake at 350ºF for 30 min - 1 hr until cooked through. 

Chicken Pot Pies 
(adapted from Company's Coming: The Potato Book)


2 lbs chicken breast
2 cups onions, chopped
water, just to cover
4 cups carrots, sliced 1/4'" thick
6 cups potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups reserved liquid
1-2 cups frozen peas
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pkg.  frozen puff pasty

Cook chicken and onion in water in large saucepan until chicken is tender. Remove chicken with slotted spoon to plate. Cook carrots in remaining liquid in same saucepan for 4 minutes. Add potato. Cook until carrot and potato are tender. Drain and reserve liquid. Cube or chop chicken. Add to potato mixture. Stir next 8 ingredients in large bowl until mixed. Stir next 7 ingredients in large bowl until mixed. Add chicken mixture. Stir. Turn unto ungreased freezable container(s). Roll pastry a bit larger than casserole diameter. Lay over top. Press pastry up sides all around. Make several slits in top. Cover with plastic wrap, foil & freeze. To serve: Thaw casserole 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Bake in 400ºF oven for 50 - 60 minutes until hot and golden brown. 


Butternut Squash Soup 
(adapted from Company's Coming: Christmas Celebrations)

1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 1/2 cups leek, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. ground ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 cups chopped, peeled butternut squash
4 1/2 cups chopped, peeled potato
8 cups chicken broth
pepper

Heat cooking oil in lg. pot on medium. Add next 3 ingredients. Stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until leek is softened. Add remaining 4 ingredients. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low. Simmer, covered, for about 20 min, stirring occasionally, until squash and potato are softened. Remove from heat. Let stand for about 10 min until slightly cooled. Process squash mixture with hand blender, until smooth. To freeze: Allow soup to cool. Ladle into gallon size freezer bags. To serve: Defrost soup until able to break apart. Place in large pot. Heat until re-blended & hot.

I hope this has given you a few ideas on how to make freezer cooking work for you and in your life! This is so not something to stress about, and can be helpful in certain situations, but can also be a huge time-suck. So make sure it is working for you, or just don't do it! 

Do you like doing freezer cooking?