Freezer prep for crock pot

Middle mentioned this concept to me and then something similar popped up in my Facebook Feed.

Here is a Facebook photo of one gallon zip lock freezer bags that go in the freezer and then are put in the crock pot -

Here is the link - 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/gggyj7eMisLEsWan/?mibextid=K35XfP

I think the instructions are to put them in the refrigerator to thaw the night before, but I would still freeze them in a crock pot like shape (not flat).

I can see that this would work well for bulk buying/prepping.

Part 3 - Leftovers can create major clutter

For the year I cooked Green Chef, we had no leftovers.  I liked not having the refrigerator crowded with leftovers. I liked not having to keep track of leftovers. 

But I had the Green Chef paper bags crowding the refrigerator. I did not like the crowding. I did not like feeling pressured to cook, feeling pressured to use up the bags quickly.

Ceasing Green Chef, earlier this year, I changed my philosophy several times. 

First I tried to replicate the concept of cooking two servings for dinner with no leftovers. 

Frankly, I was OVER cooking every night. I really like to cook a larger quantity, every few days. 

So, even with just two of us, I now cook larger batches of things several times a week. But the refrigerator does not over flow. 

I put my grocery order in so I have my specific ingredients and cook. 

Then we bundle all the leftovers into individual sizes and put them in the freezer, not the refrigerator. It is like I am making my own frozen meals. 

My husband utilizes these leftovers for lunches. If I do not happen to cook dinner, he utilizes these leftovers in the evening too. 

So I can make batches of what I am hungry to eat, but I do not have to consume the same thing all week. I can eat it once for dinner, and be done. 

We use our glass anchor hocking/pyrex bowls for freezing. 

But we do not use the standard lids for freezing, the standard lids crack in the freezer. (We still use the standard lids for the refrigerator.)

Instead, we use a thicker, more pliable silicone lid (below) for the freezer. They work extremely well.

We hand wash all lids. 

It was a sad day, but the solution was simple

One Saturday I was cooking a Green Chef bag as an early lunch. 

I grabbed my salt and pepper grinders and my hands could no longer do them. I have arthritis, my hands are the most impacted. 

It was this type of store bought grinder -

I was pretty sad. My list of things I can no longer do, grows a little each year. 

I called my youngest and she happened to be near her large mall, she stopped by William Sonoma and ordered a battery set for me as an early birthday present.

They come prefilled, including batteries. 

They are automatic, turning them upside down, starts the grinding. There is no button or twisting. 

The clerk told youngest that they have carried this style for years, it is very popular, and they sell a lot to special needs people (like people with arthritis).

Risotto

I make a very good risotto. I have several different recipe I use. I add lots of roasted/cooked veggies and shredded chicken.

Every time, I think of the Top Chef judges who (I think) did not like any risotto any chef contestant ever made. 

My secret? I start in my rice cooker. I “cook” the rice and the spices. I start with boiling hot water/broth. 

When the cooker switches to “warm”, I add the rest of the smaller ingredients, the move to a bigger bowl to add the chicken and vegetables.

My forced tulips bloomed in February and were gorgeous.

My island cook station is working very well for me. 

Green Chef

Our youngest is a vegetarian who belongs to Green Chef meal service. She subscribes to the two serving, vegetarian, option. It gives her dinner and then leftovers for lunch out of each bag. (I think she goes out with work friends for her fifth lunch each week.)

She brought her Green Chef bags home over Christmas and cooked for herself. So I saw the process and liked it. 

I subscribed for one week to try it. I did not like the idea of raw meat being shipped, so I used the vegetarian option also. (I always have cooked meat of different types in my freezer, so it is easy to thaw/add some to each meal.)

We are three days into our first four Green Chef bags. 

We like the meals, and the cooking process is very simple. The meals are nudging us to eat more diversely. So, we are pleased. 

The bag procedure I use is to order two serving size vegetarian meals. I add more vegetables and some type of meat to it. This works extremely well. 

The first night (bag 1) I added more rice/mushrooms/and chicken from the freezer, there was enough for dinner and lunch the next day for my husband and I. The second night (bag 2) I added sliced turkey and mushrooms to the sandwiches, no leftovers. Last night’s pasta dish (bag 3) I added cooked lean ground beef/black beans/onion that was ready in the freezer and a few mushrooms, enough for both our dinners and today’s  lunch for my husband. 

I only ordered one week’s worth to start/try it. So next week we are on our own (regular meals/cooking) and I will be able to see how I feel about that process vs the bags. I have already placed orders for the following week to meet the deadline.

Containers

I thought I mentioned this, but maybe not.

Luckily I still had all my Tupperware.

Two rectangular Tupperware containers hold all my raw eggs and another holds my hard boiled eggs in the refrigerators.

Four Tupperware containers hold my husband’s oatmeal.

Etc.

The outside containers from the store go in recycling immediately. We have been moving things from one to the other.

So the Tupperware has been very valuable.




In this new mindset and practice, our glass mason jars suddenly were prime real estate in the kitchen.

Particularly the big ones were in high demand.

The thing about mason jars is ONE is expensive. A case of them is not expensive.

I looked for you -

ONE 1/2 gallon wide mouth from Target -

SIX 1/2 gallon wide mouthed from Tractor store -

Now you might look at that and think it is because we are comparing Target prices to Tractor store prices, but no. A case of jars at Target is same price comparison. Half gallon wide mouthed mason jars are just not readily available.

My local tractor stores offer curbside. I have been back twice to buy these jars.

Yes, I realize tractor stores might not be close to you, but the point is the same. Look for cases if you need jars. And jars are very very handy in kitchen now.

Tupperware

I go thru cycles of using and storing Tupperware.

We mostly eat and store food in glass containers these days.

But I have kept the Tupperware.

Mostly, recent years, the Tupperware has been used for transport. Middle baking and taking food somewhere, for example.

However, in these days of potentially contaminated packaging from the store, we are moving food to other containers. My husband and I do it together. He has the dirty pair of hands and I have the clean. He opens the store package, I hold the clean container, he pours and then takes it right out to the recycling dumpster. I put the lid on the clean container and put it away.

Five big and three small packages of oatmeal fit in these (below) four containers; yes, my husband eats a lot of oatmeal.

Recipes

This was dinner on Friday night. We are all eating two meals a day most days.

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-veggie-supreme-egg-bake-242506

I use kale instead of spinach.
I put the kale thru the food processor.
I use skim milk instead of half and half.
I do not use the cheese.
I use red potatoes instead of frozen.
I put in larger volume of veggies.
I use a huge glass pan.


Middle also made drop biscuits.
http://www.shutterbean.com/2020/simple-drop-biscuits/
I like this recipe because there is no yeast, simple ingredients, and it makes a small amount. We had 1 and 1/2 each.

Middle had never made anything like this and had never used a pastry cutter. She was pretty impressed with herself.

Everyone thought it was a really great dinner.

If a chef came to my kitchen, of course there would be things he/she would find missing. But for the average person, I have a well fitted kitchen. And everything is organized and pleasant.

28 days

Both daughters (with me) put together lists of meals.

One list (14 dinners) is vegetarian (my youngest, my niece, niece’s boyfriend). The other list (28 dinners/4 weeks) is regular.

The (4) regular week list mostly contain dinners with chicken and turkey. Fish is included once a week. Beef appears once every other week. One pork dinner alternates weeks with the beef. There are a few vegetarian dinners included in the 28 day list, but not many. We mostly saved the vegetarian meals for when they are visiting, then we just all eat (mostly) vegetarian.

There is also a short list of breakfasts that people (here) like to eat when we have company.

I started the regular 28 dinners list this week.

I shopped with the first seven days in mind. And then each day, I simply cook whatever is on the list for dinner. I make enough so there are leftovers for lunches, my husband and *daughter pack their lunches every day. I package leftovers in individual containers that can be added to lunch boxes. That reduces dish volume and makes things easy.

I should have done this a long time ago.

I do not mind cooking as long as I am cooking what people want to eat.

We sold our garage freezer and so my freezer spaced is reduced to the big freezer drawer under the refrigerator. This list helps me only keep what I need in the freezer. The process is worth it just to have food rotating in and out of the freezer and pantry regularly.

I still keep the kitchen stocked. But not over stocked. And I can just look at the week’s dinner list and then verify what is in the kitchen, and then shop. It is easier.

I can make and eat a lot of traditional dinners by limiting my carbs the rest of the day and reducing the carbs in the dinner and adding a lot of vegetables. And I usually eat two meals a day (not three) so that helps the numbers hugely.

28 days/4 weeks is a good list. We think by the time it starts again, with so much variety, we will not get bored. I suspect people repeat dinners more often than once a month on average. the only repeat on our list is tacos, they appear once a week.

I also built the list so I cook meat and then use it 2-3 times that same week. That makes things very easy.

When the vegetarians are here, I simply switch lists. They are not usually here for more than a week or two.

Even though I am just a couple days into this process, I really see how much it helps. My mother who lives alone, cooks actual/full meals for herself. She does not just snack. I have a hard time cooking for just myself. I can see that if I were to live alone at some point in the future, this 28 day process would insure I ate real food/meals.


* I have one daughter living at home and this helps her too. She works full time. She helps me a lot. This process means her dinners and lunches are cooked and she only has to cook her breakfast. She does better if she eats from home too.

This is a list of kid skills. It is a good list. Great summer project. Great family time.

Blue Apron

Jennette wrote a piece on Blue Apron.

I thought it sounded very interesting.

I forwarded her link to my oldest, with a note that said it sounded like something he would like.

He read Jennette's piece, and said he had heard of it, maybe when it first started in 2012. And he said it did sound like something he would like.

So he signed up for delivery.

And he does like it. He said it was fun and interesting. He said the directions are very easy to follow. He said he had never done most of the skills it required, but he learned. And he said (as Jennette said) he used nearly every dish in his kitchen. That is not a lot of dishes in either kitchen, I suspect. Everything is included in his box except salt, pepper and oil. Everything is premeasured.

He also mentioned it would be a great couple's thing. No one has to plan or shop. The work, split between two, would go very quickly. Or at least quicker. He said it would be a good dating thing too.

He likes food. He likes to cook. He is interested in more (than I am) gourmet type meals. He likes to build his food and cooking skill knowledge base.

He said his grocery shopping will now be down to string cheese, yogurt, fruit. He will keep some frozen veggies on hand incase he needs to expand one of the meals.

He is on the three meals plan which is designed to feed two people (so six servings total) each week. He said when he finishes cooking, he divides each meal in two, and puts one away, so he does not just sit down and eat the whole thing. (We had discussed this in advance, hence the veggies in case he needs to add to any meal. So far he said the servings are just about right.)

He is really excited about this.

He said although it looks pricey at first glance, he thinks it will be less expensive for him. Because he was mostly eating out recently. His meals out will be greatly reduced.

His deliveries come late afternoon on Friday. He then plans to cook Friday-Sunday. And then start the week with ready leftovers in the refrigerator. It might be 3-6 leftovers depending on his social plans over the weekend. But he said cooking is too hard for him, right now, after work, because he is still very slow. And he is cooking by himself. He can suspend any week's delivery if he is going to be out of town, but has to do it well in advance.

So far, really good idea for him. And it is organic food.

Kitchen Pictures / Household Hints

Organic (fresh) strawberries were on sale at the food coop. I walked by them the first time. But they were on my mind and I thought of an experiment to try.  Two days later, I bought the remaining two packages. I brought them home, washed and cored them, cut them in quarters and then spread them out on this cookie sheet (it might actually be a jelly roll pan, because there is a edge/side) and put them in the freezer. 

I put the frozen strawberries in a freezer bag. The tray above fit in a one quart freezer bag. This is not the whole two packages of fresh, because youngest and husband ate a few while I was prepping. This worked well, the strawberries ARE individually frozen, none are stuck together. This is flash freezing and worked well with CUT strawberries (CUT was my experiment). The youngest, middle, husband have been taking a few out to add to yogurt or a plate of other food. They do not eat them frozen (can eat raspberries right from the freezer). But in the 1/4 sliced form, they thaw quickly.

The bag on the left says "asparagus/chicken soup" and the bag on the right has a V for vegetarian (I have two at my house) and is Lentil soup. That is one serving each, of soup cold from the refrigerator in one quart (each) bags. I put them, flat, in the freezer to keep an easy to thaw (not a big block, but a flat plain) shape. Yes, the trick to this is to be sure those zip lock seals are really zip locked!

This is Buffalo Vegetable soup, clearly not vegetarian, that has been frozen. My husband eats soup a lot. These one serving sizes work well for him. He gets one out of the freezer, and wedges it upright in the refrigerator to thaw. Then he eats it within a day or two. This soup was all sold, one serving size, at our food coop. Each one was dated and marked down. I pick up soup there, and freeze for my husband on a very regular basis. It gives him a much wider variety. It is no different than I would make at home, because I cook from many of their same recipes.  I still make soup at home. But honestly, no, I am not going to cook a big batch of Buffalo (for example, girls will not eat it because of meat, I cannot eat it because of many of the vegetables). Buffalo is very good. Tastes like beef. Better numbers.