I’ve already posted the Freezer Cooking Days results for Saturday and Monday. But I thought I’d make one more post this evening to show how the combination of having a well stocked pantry and cooking and freezing ahead helps to get supper on the table in a hurry and also how you can incorporate freezer cooking into your every day meal preps.
The pizza we had for supper tonight is a perfect example. I already had all the ingredients in the house from pantry staples and things I had ready in freezer.
Here’s the list:
For the dough: flour, yeast, salt, oil and water (All basic pantry items except of course for the water)
For the toppings:
Sauce: One can of tomato sauce from the pantry, basil (I dehydrated a bunch last summer), chili, oregano and garlic powder (from my spice cupboard)
Meat:
Taco meat from the freezer (I make extra and freeze in packages for use in pizza, tacos and burritos)
Sliced garlic sausage (I buy the jumbo package at Costco, slice and freeze in small bags)
Pepperoni (I buy the pre-sliced packages when they’re on sale)
Red and green peppers from the freezer. Last summer we got lots of peppers from our CSA share and the extras I chopped and froze in one cup portions.
Onions from the freezer. Again chopped and frozen in one cup portions.
Mushrooms – the last time portabello mushrooms were on sale I bought 4 packages and sliced and dehydrated them.
Cheese:
Mozarrella leftover from making the lasagnas on Saturday
Five cheese (I buy this in bulk at Costco and then divide into 1 quart ziplock bags and freeze)
Parmesan (I keep a large container in the fridge and a spare one in the pantry)
Here are the pizzas ready to go into the oven.
And here they are sliced and ready to eat. I should mention that once again, I’ve cooked ahead. There were only two of us at home for supper this evening so the leftovers from the first pizza will be used for breakfast and lunch tomorrow and the second pizza will be sliced and divided into containers for quick lunches and suppers on nights when only one of us is home for supper.
That’s the great thing about freezer cooking. You can do it all in one day, divide it up over a couple of days or you can cook extra a few meals per week. Whichever way works best for you, it’s sure to make getting meals on the table faster, easier and cheaper.
