Recipes That Freeze Well

[KayJay]

I am about to have a baby and I have been told not to eat any hospital food. So I want to make some dishes and freeze them so that my husband can just bring me my food and not worry about it. Plus I wanted to make extra meals for the first week or so we are home.

I need some recipes that are easy to make and that will freeze well. Of course I would like them to be somewhat healty also. Any ideas?

[jenvan]

I love to make extras and freeze for a busy night. Things I freeze a lot of--

johnny marzetti (noodles with some beef and tomato/spices), lots of soups--chicken vegetable, vegetable, beef, bean and ham, potato chowder, jamabalya, flat bread, banana nut muffins. I can give you the recipes of any of these if you like...

Exciting time for you--hope your labor is quick and easy !

[Carriefaith]

I used to freeze almost everything back in my first few months! Bananna bread and muffins freeze and thaw good, I have recipes if you don't have any. Casseroles should freeze nicely. This one can be frozen:

Rice and Vegetable Casserole

3/4 cup rice uncooked

1/2 teasponn salt

1 cup mushrooms (quartered)

1 cup carrots (cut in half slices)

one 15 1/2 ounce can of kidney beans

1/2 cup cashews

3 tablespoons parsley (I use less)

1/4 chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

one 14 1/2 ounce can vegetable broth or 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I use Imagine chicken or vegetable broth) a little more wouldn't hurt

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (I omit this)

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour rice in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole and sprinkle with salt. Add the mushrooms, carrots, beans, cashews, parsley, onion, and garlic salt. Tumble together and add broth. Cover and bake for about 1 hour, stirring once at 30 minutes. Remove, sprinkle on the cheese, and let stand 5 minutes for the cheese to melt. If freezing don't add the cheese until the casserole is thawed.

Enchiladas

Bean Flour Tortillas

These are great and can be frozen, I would suggest doubling it

1/3 cup light bean flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs or 3 egg whites

1 1/2 cups water

oil for brushing the pan or skillet

Mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Heat a skillet or pan at medium-high heat and cook them like pancakes, just keep turing them to avoid buring. Store in wax paper in a plastic bag in the freezer or fridge.

Sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 cup chicken broth or water

1 teaspoon garlic salt or to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 can tomatoe sauce

Just heat this all up in the microwave or the stove

Mix the sauce with your favorite filling. I buy mexican frozen veggies and thaw them in the microwave and mix it with the sauce. This could also be frozen. Very yummy!

Hope you have a safe labor.

jenvan... I would love that flat bread recipe

[jenvan]

Yikes-

I forgot to ck back! I'll post the flat bread tonight or tommorrow. Hope all is well with you!! (And that's I'm not too late !!

[Carriefaith]

Oh no problem at all I just assumed that you never checked again since it wasn't your topic No rush

[KayJay]

Thanks those all sound so great!

[jenvan]

KayJay-

I ended up posting the flat bread recipe in another location, so I'm putting it here as well in case you want it. Good luck with the delivery. How close are you?

1 cup sweet rice flour

1 cup white rice flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup bean flour or sorghum (or I split 1/8 bean and 1/8 sorghum)---since I don't like a strong bean taste in my breads

1 tsp salt

pinch of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp oil

enough water to create a thin, pourable batter

Mix all ingredients together except the water. Add the water gradually until a thin batter is made. I don't don't give a specific water measurement, b/c I think it depends on how thick you want the flatbread. The thinner the batter, the thinner you can pour them out to cook. After batter is at desired consistency, pour pancake-size amounts into the pan (using a spiral motion I've found helps). I spray some Pam down on a nonstick skillet for these. When bubbles rise to top and bread seems somewhat firm, and slightly browned on bottom side, flip over and brown on other side till cooked through. I like to make quite a few of these and freeze them for later, separated with wax paper. I haven't tried it yet, as I just got a tortilla press a few days ago...but I am going to try making this mix thicker, adding some xanthan gum and pressing it out in the tortilla maker, then cooking in a pan to make tortillas. Think I'll try it today for lunch!

[Japsnoet]

KayJay

We usually make both these meals over the weekend and defrost them as we need them.

Frittata

I thought I would share a family favourite. It is great served hot or cold. It freezes well and it is great for lunches to work.

6 Large Eggplants cut vertically into slices salted and brushed with garlic paste*

4 red bell pepper cut into strips 4-5cm in width

100g-150g pesto*

1-2 bunches of arugula leaves

180g sheep’s feta cheese

2 eggs beaten

Preheat your oven 200C. Grill the slices of the eggplant that have been salted and brushed with the garlic paste on both sides. After grilling place on paper towel to cool off and absorb any extra moisture .Due to the oil in the garlic past there is no need to brush the slices with oil. Grill the capsicum strips till the skin turns black, remove capsicum, allow the capsicum to cool off and remove black skin. Spray a corning ware dish with ‘cook and spray’. First layer eggplant, rocket leaves, capsicum strips, spoon some pesto sauce over the capsicum, crumble some sheep’s feta over the pesto. Repeat the entire process till the corning ware dish is filled to the top. It is important to end with a layer of eggplant. Pour the beaten egg over the layers. Use a spoon to make little gaps in the layers so that the egg mixture can seep through the entire dish. Bake 30 minutes. You can serve it hot or cold. A friend of mine serves hers with a bottle of tomato pasta sauce. This recipe has been a real success and is regularly passed on to friends and family.

Garlic Paste

1 whole head of garlic peeled. Place in the blender and blend. Place blended garlic in a glass bottle. Add olive oil till all the garlic is covered. Close with an airtight lid. Keep in the fridge. Lasts about 6 months.

Pesto Sauce

2 cups fresh basil leaves

30g pine nuts

1 clove of garlic

Black pepper to taste

10ml olive oil

Blend all of the above together to form a paste. Add the oil gradually.

Mild lamb curry

We made this over the weekend and it was a great success. It services 6.

750g x 2 cubed lamb ( you can use half beef and half lamb, but it is nicer if you use only lamb)

4-5 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in large chunks

1 ½ ( half) teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ ( half) teaspoons ground coriander seed

1 teaspoon chillie jam

2 teaspoons garam masala

1cm ginger peeled and grated

6 garlic cloves crushed

2 bay leaves

1/ 4 ground turmeric

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions chopped

800g tin peeled tomatoes

Liquidize the tin peeled tomatoes in the food processor. Fry the onions in the oil remove the onions. Use the same pot to dry fry the herbs and spices for a moment. Add the onions and the liquidized tomatoes. Add the meat bring to boil. Cook for 1 hour on the stove top with the lid on the pot. If to dry you can add half a cup of water. Add sweet potatoes cook for another hour or till sweet potatoes are tender. The sweet potato thickens the sauce. Eat and enjoy. The mild curry freezes well.

All the best with the birth.