One of the ways that I save both time and money is to flash freeze certain foods in order to be able to pull them out of the freezer in the quantities that I want, when I want without having to pry things apart.
To flash freeze anything, simply lay out individually whichever food you are freezing on a cookie sheet and then pop into the freezer until the food is frozen through. Then remove and store in freezer bags or containers. When you’re ready to use it, take out the number of portions that you need for the particular meal you are making.
For instance, yesterday we found green peppers on sale. We bought what we thought we’d be able to use over the next few months. When we got home we flash froze them.
First we chopped them to the right size for using in chilies and soups. The chopped peppers were spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet
Once they’d frozen overnight, I packaged them ¾ c per snack size bag.
Hubby sucked out as much air as possible before sealing them. And then I placed them inside another plastic container in order to keep the pepper smell from permeating into other foods. This step is only necessary with pungent smelling veggies.
Many foods can be flash frozen; peppers, onions, all varieties of berries, as well as, individual cuts of meat, hamburger patties and poultry.
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5 Comments
mom2fur
January 11, 2009 6:39 pmI do this often! My best time is when I prepare appetizers for my Christmas eve dinner. It makes life so much easier to start after Halloween and just pull out the pre-made, frozen goodies when I need them.
I also try to freeze at least one batch of dough balls when I make cookies–then you can just throw them in the oven when you want them. Meatballs freeze beautifully, too. In fact, so does French Toast and un-iced cupcakes.
I never thought to divide my peppers and onions into little snack bags! Great idea!
Andrea
January 6, 2009 5:52 pmI hadn’t thought about green peppers. Do you ever freeze spinach or bok choy? Does it work well?
supermom
January 6, 2009 6:50 pmHello Andrea,
Yes, I’ve frozen spinach and swiss chard. I’ve never tried to freeze fresh bok choy but I’ve frozen stir fries that I’ve used bok choy in.
However, spinach and other greens shouldn’t be flash frozen. You’ll need to blanch it first. Wash the spinach/swiss chard. Trim off the long woody stem. Place in boiling water for 2 minutes and then transfer to ice water for two minutes. Remove from the water and drain on towels to soak up excess moisture. Then package into freezer bags or containers in the portion sizes that your family uses.
When using in recipes… if you don’t want to add more liquid, as say in a quiche, thaw the spinach completely and then squeeze out as much liquid as you can before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
supermom
January 6, 2009 9:28 amHi Momstheword,
I don’t bother thawing the peppers or onions. I just drop them into whatever recipe that I’m making.
For fruits, it would depend on what I’m using them for. If it’s a topping for a dessert then I try to remember to get them out and let them thaw in the fridge. If I forget I’ll put them in the sink with a bit of water. I try not to use the microwave because if I happen to pick the wrong setting or for too long, they start to cook. Of course, if I’m using them in a recipe that might not be too much of a problem.
But meats and poultry I do defrost to speed up the cooking time.
momstheword
January 6, 2009 3:19 amThat’s a great idea. I was thinking of doing that with onions but didn’t think about green peppers. Sure would save time too. Do you thaw them in the microwave or in hot water before using them?
I use a straw to suck the air out. I just leave a small enough opening for the straw and that seems to work pretty well.
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