Cooking Ideas

I like to cook large batches even though there are only three in my household now, since it doesn't take much more time to cook  large, depending on what you are prepping.  Today I am making chili. I mix beef and turkey for fewer calories and I make my own bean mix because we like a bean/barley/lentil mix.  It takes a little time to make my own beans but I make a double batch and freeze what I am not using this time. Frozen beans work great in soups later. I am learning to DATE my containers using white board markers.  I use packaged seasoning mix, adding sweet onions and sweet peppers if I have them. If I am going to freeze half of the chili I will wait and add the peppers just before serving, they get a little weird frozen. I do not like HOT seasoning so I provide serious heat on the side for individual tastes. I do add sour cream and sliced olives to my chili at the end of the cooking time. Don't have sour cream? puree cottage cheese and lemon juice in the blender. It's not as creamy but it's fine for chili. 

Since we are taking this to the potluck I will use it all. Normally I would freeze at least one container for a future dinner. It is wonderful as a casserole, add frozen corn and then spread corn bread mix over the top before baking. 

I also put at least one dinner's worth in a disposable container and freeze for giving away. They are great for baby shower gifts, dinner for a neighbor, or someone coming home from the hospital. Save those take-out containers. I like to have foil for the oven and plastic for the microwave. You never know what someone's need is. 

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Today I baked a turkey that was in the freezer. I happen to have a turkey roaster that I set up on the back porch and I can bake it there and hope not to forget it. I took the meat off the bones and got nine meals in baggies. I put about 2 1/2 cups of meat in each bag and figure to feed 5-6 people per bag.  By cooking the meat ahead I have cooked for nine meals at once.  I am now making gravy. Some bags I will freeze with the gravy so it doesn't dry out, some I'll freeze just the meat. I will use these for soup, turkey gravy on toast or rice, or cobb salad, and I'll search allrecipes.com for more ideas. I usually combine turkey with rice for a meal and go from there. Other pairings are stuffing and potatoes, of course.

One thing I like doing is having two containers in the freezer for left-over food that won't go for lunches. One if for turkey/chicken and I will add rice/pasta to it, one is for beef and I'll add potatoes/barley to it. When a container if full or when I need an easy meal I'll pull one out. For beef I like to season with onion soup mix or steak seasoning, for poultry I use a chicken seasoning mix or ramen noodle seasoning packets.  I like having soup base paste on hand because it makes a pot of soup go farther when needed;  I also add more veggies. We don't eat large amounts of carbohydrates so I generally add veggies to add color and bulk. I want lots of color for looks and nutrients.