Here is my list of good things to have in your freezer. When summer comes to an end, I like to start refilling my freezer with lots of comfort food to enjoy when the fall rains come. Lots of goodies ready for company. Just fill up a plate from the freezer and put on the kettle. While tea is being made, the goodies thaw and you are ready to sit back and enjoy time with friends and family.
The longer your food stays in the freezer the more flavor it looses. Make sure to check guidelines for your freezer and what to do in a power outage. Once something starts to thaw – it needs to be eaten immediately. Remember the best advice – when in doubt – throw it out!! Food poisoning can kill you!!
Here is my favorite book on freezing. It is still available used through various sellers.
General rule for freezing is – the more processed an item is – the shorter time it will still taste good after being frozen. For example, iced carrot cake is wonderful for only about 2 months, while a whole uncooked turkey can be good for a year. Whole fish placed in a water filled container and frozen last the longest.
My plan is to have all these recipes available. This may take me a few years to complete. Most of these are my personal recipes, tested many times through years of growing children and grandchildren. If there is a recipe you really MUST have NOW – let me know and I will try to post it sooner!! Happy eating!!
* indicates recipes already posted
** photos have been added
Soups
lima bean with bacon
red lentil
green olive
pumpkin
split pea with ham
cheese
Muffins
cornmeal
bacon and cheese
apple cheese
**pumpkin
lime poppy-seed
cheery cherry
pina colada banana
Soup and muffins made an awesome winter lunch, or even dinner.
Waffles
buttermilk
bacon and cheese
chocolate
Breads
*multigrain
egg
Pulla (sweet Finnish Cardamon bread)
sour cream cornmeal
Pasta
lasagna
macaroni and cheese
spaghetti
bami goreng
Side Dishes
potato casserole
garlic mashed
stuffing
baked beans
Dinners
*devilled chicken or pork
irish stew
chili
hamburger casserole
beef stew
chicken paprika
nasi goreng
meat loaf/meat balls
burgers
SWEET STUFF
wonder why there are so many of these?? lol
Cookies
*chocolate chip
oatmeal raisin
*cinnamon spice
*snickerdoodles
*monster
Bars
Nanaimo Bars – plain, cherry and mint
Angel Slices
Pecan slices or tarts
brownies
lemon curd
Other
*apple carrot cake with cream cheese icing
*chocolate indulgence
cheesecake – plain and chocolate
butter cupcakes (for berry shortcakes)
cinnamon buns
butter tarts
If you had your freezer stocked with all this – you should be set for the winter even with lots of company dropping in for tea!!
A great idea is to cook once or twice a week, making a large enough batch to feed your family 5 or 6 times. Do this a few times to get things going – and then you should be able to just cook on weekends. If you can make this a family project, the work will go much faster and you will have lots of meals ready for family members on different schedules, or different diets.
Cooking with your loved ones can be a wonderful time. Food is a basic need we all have. Making something good shows someone how much we love them. The first meal I ever made for my husband was for his birthday – a stuffed chicken with gravy and a pumpkin pie. “That was it! I never looked at another woman!” (Just shared this story with my husband and this is the quote he wanted me to post. Of course, it was a special moment to remember together – with a good hug!!)
Our family tradition is – you choose what you want for the family dinner. My husband’s choice has not changed much, although this year he wanted a lemon cream pie – same as my Dad and my youngest son. One year my daughter had cheese fondue with chocolate fondue for dessert. I like steak and mushrooms with all the trimmings – caesar salad and fully loaded baked potato. These days my husband and I usually go out for my birthday. We pick up a black forest cake or ice cream cake (chocolate) for dessert.
Cooking should be a family time – at least some days. I remember my children were busy with a project one day so I said I would make dinner by myself. My oldest son looked at me and asked, “Are you sure you know how?”
One of my younger grandsons spent one day a week with us when he lived nearby. Making dinner together gave us all wonderful memories to treasure. We laughed and joked while everyone worked together. And even washing the dishes was fun!! I miss him so much.
