Monday, April 30, 2012

Freezer Cooking Session


This was how I spent most of my Saturday morning. My husband was leaving for the day for a bowling tournament, I didn't have any other cake orders for the weekend and I'd been itching to get in the kitchen to do some freezer cooking. I still had the two little ones to tend to but they were actually really well behaved and played so well together while I got things done.

I spent about 3 hours all together making what's pictured above. I know it wouldn't have taken me quite that long but the kiddos needed some snacks in between and well, hey, you know how it goes. I try to stock our freezer with meals and snacks whenever possible, especially with summer coming and the kids starting softball/t-ball now, our days are getting incredibly busy and this is just one way for me to ease the stress of mealtimes.


We like to have fresh baked cinnamon rolls occasionally but let's face it, they are a little time consuming. So this is how I solve that problem. I made up a double batch, let the dough rise and then prepared them like I normally would with the brown sugar/cinnamon filling. Instead of letting them rise a second time I placed them in baking dishes, covered and froze for about 2 hours until frozen solid. Then I transferred the rolls into large freezer bags to store. Now I can pull out as many as I need, let them thaw, rise and bake. Simple as that!



Here's another simple tip: cook up a few chicken breasts, let cool and then shred with a fork. Store the shredded chicken in freezer bags to use for salads, wraps, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, casseroles, whatever you want! Again, it's something that doesn't take much time at all but will cut down the time I'm spending in the kitchen.

I don't always have time for a bigger cooking session like this, many times I'm just doubling pancakes or waffles when I'm already preparing them for the family. I'm hoping to try to do more of these and I'll make sure to post some pics and recipes when I do. In a couple weeks I'm getting together with some friends and we're doing a large cooking session. We've each chosen 2 recipes to prepare, we'll make enough of our meals to swap with everyone so that we all leave with a variety for our freezer. I can't wait and I'll be sure to share all the details with you!

Here's a quick recap of what I made on Saturday:

Cinnamon Rolls (a little over 2 dz.)
Shredded Chicken (enough for 2 meals)
Zesty Grilled Chicken (2 meals worth)
Ground beef Burritos
Chicken Salsa Roll-ups (recipe coming soon)


Do you like to do any freezer/batch cooking? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes or things to make? I'd love to hear your responses!







2 comments:

  1. Great idea Steph - I need to do this. Love the plain shredded chicken, as then you can do anything with it later on. I bought a 15 lb. of potatoes at Hy-Vee this weekend as they were only 2.88, so I'm thinking I need to shred a bunch or dice into chunks, put in a Ziploc, then freeze for later to use as hashbrowns, in soups, etc. What do you think?

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    Replies
    1. That's a good idea! We don't eat potatoes too often and it seems like I'm always throwing some away, that's a good way to use them up.

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