ISO Recipes that freeze well

[ALB]

Hi All, We are looking at a busy fall so I am looking to cook ahead. We were also gifted a freezer. I have some green chili/chicken chili and corn soup in there already (and shakshuka base) but I would love some new ideas, especially since the produce is so good right now. No pork or shellfish and I will make dishes that have dairy and meat in them one or the other- but I can usually do that (unfortunately for me, we are kosher style at home.) Other than that, we are pretty open. Thank you all for any help- I am definitely in a rut!

 

[susan]

I've been making a lot of ratatouille lately using all the wonderful produce I'm finding like eggplant, zucchini, red peppers, and tomatoes at the farmer's market here in Bethesda on Sundays. It's a bit labor intensive but if you have a few hours and make a large batch, it freezes beautifully. As a matter of fact I had some for lunch today with toasted whole wheat lavash.  The way I do it is I slice and roast each vegetable on cookie sheets in the oven until browned. Then I put it all together in a dutch oven with fresh thyme, bay leaf, fresh basil, salt and pepper and a little bit of crushed red pepper.  This last time I added a can of garbanzo beans to it and it was a great addition.  After everything is cooked down, I separate it into serving sizes in freezer containers. It's also delicious room temperature on baguette slices, or over brown rice. I hope you give it a try and let me know! 

[ALB]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:24 PM, KeithA said:

Apparently the carrrot fritters are Havuc Koftesi and here is a blog with old pictures of the dish from Zaytinya and a recipe inspired by it:

 

 

19 hours ago, susan said:

I've been making a lot of ratatouille lately using all the wonderful produce I'm finding like eggplant, zucchini, red peppers, and tomatoes at the farmer's market here in Bethesda on Sundays. It's a bit labor intensive but if you have a few hours and make a large batch, it freezes beautifully. As a matter of fact I had some for lunch today with toasted whole wheat lavash.  The way I do it is I slice and roast each vegetable on cookie sheets in the oven until browned. Then I put it all together in a dutch oven with fresh thyme, bay leaf, fresh basil, salt and pepper and a little bit of crushed red pepper.  This last time I added a can of garbanzo beans to it and it was a great addition.  After everything is cooked down, I separate it into serving sizes in freezer containers. It's also delicious room temperature on baguette slices, or over brown rice. I hope you give it a try and let me know! 

great idea, thank you!!

[Tweaked]

Since you already have chili, make up a batch of corn bread, cut into individual serving pieces, wrap tight in saran wrap and freeze.  Add farmers market corn to the corn bread batter.

Turn late season tomatoes into sauce.  Freeze in batches and then all you have to do is boil up pasta for an easy dinner.  We like to keep packages of Vace ravioli in the freezer.  

Buy seconds stone fruit at the farmers market, chop up the fruit and cook with a little sugar until kinda saucy/chunky.  Now you have a dessert topping for ice cream.  

 

[Bart]

Here's a recipe for tomato soup using fresh tomatoes.   I once found a five year old frozen container in the back of my freezer.  It tasted as good as the day it was moade!

The ingredients are few and the quantities are approximate, but that’s the nature of the recipe… not a lot of measuring, and no chopping, just grab the items and throw them in the pan.  Quick and easy!

 

1.       Cut the stem end off of tomatoes (about a half inch or so).

2.      Place the tomatoes cut side down in a lightly olive oiled casserole pan (update: you don’t need to oil the pan first)

3.      Fill the pan with as many tomatoes as you can (one layer deep)

4.      Stuff a handful of fresh (or dried) oregano into the “corners” between the tomatoes (put a little pinch in 10 or so of the “corners”).  No need to chop them up.

5.      Stuff a handful of fresh basil in the “corners” (same as oregano).  No need to chop them up.

6.      Insert 15-18 or garlic cloves into the “corners”

7.      Sprinkle with salt and pepper

8.      Pour ¾ cup olive oil over the top

9.      Bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees (or a hour and 15 minutes if the skins aren’t black)

10.   Let cool and remove the skins by hand (they will have risen up above and off the tomato bodies.  You should be able to just pull off the skins and leave the pulp behind.  Some may take a little squeezing out.

11.   Dump the entire pan into a big bowl and mix with a wand mixer until it’s smooth.

12.   Serve, refrigerate, or freeze.  For a little texture, leave as is – the tomato seeds will provide some crunch!  If you want a completely smooth and creamy version, strain it through a mesh sieve.  (update: I always put the soup through a strainer before freezing)

13.   For reheating frozen soups, use the wand mixer again to completely mix everything back together and make it creamy.  (update: I never re-wand the soup after it defrosts.  Doing so would probably improve the texture, but it’s not worth it for the dirty dishes)

 

You can make it with all red tomatoes, all yellow, all green or a mixture of colors.

[KeithA]

Pesto - use up any end of summer fresh basil. It freezes great and then you have homemade pesto anytime you want during the year. Also any stocks like chicken stock freeze great too. While it may be obvious, but end of summer fruit makes great ice cream too 🙂

[ALB]

Thank you all! 

[ALB]

On 9/8/2023 at 2:23 PM, KeithA said:

Pesto - use up any end of summer fresh basil. It freezes great and then you have homemade pesto anytime you want during the year. Also any stocks like chicken stock freeze great too. While it may be obvious, but end of summer fruit makes great ice cream too 🙂

 

On 9/3/2023 at 4:06 PM, Tweaked said:

Since you already have chili, make up a batch of corn bread, cut into individual serving pieces, wrap tight in saran wrap and freeze.  Add farmers market corn to the corn bread batter.

Turn late season tomatoes into sauce.  Freeze in batches and then all you have to do is boil up pasta for an easy dinner.  We like to keep packages of Vace ravioli in the freezer.  

Buy seconds stone fruit at the farmers market, chop up the fruit and cook with a little sugar until kinda saucy/chunky.  Now you have a dessert topping for ice cream.  

 

Thank you! Also thank you for the reminder of vace ravioli..I used to buy those when I lived in bethesda.. maybe it is worth a drive down again