Baby, It’s Cold Out (um, IN) There: Freeze Now, Feast Later

In our home, there aren’t many people anymore. I really miss cooking for minions (those giant pans of fluffy scrambled eggs with the works, in particular), but I have had to get creative with some recipes.

For example, potstickers. The most effective and budget-friendly way to put these together is by making 50 at a time. Now, I love these things, but 50 is challenging unless you’re a professional eater.

So, once I’ve prepared the dimsum, I lay them out individually on a freezer tray (not touching) and then freeze them completely. Once done, they go into a freezer storage bag, and I can take out however many I want at a time.

This method works well for:

* Strawberries, Peas, Corn: Sort them around the tray so they are not touching. Once frozen, transfer to the freezer storage bag.

* Lasagne: Personal-sized cubes, wrapped, laid out, and stored

* Bacon: Cut to desired size, wrap, and lay out for freezing

* Waffles: Let them cool

* Compound butter: wrap it in plastic before freezing

* Quesadillas & Burritos (wrap them in plastic before transferring to a large storage bag)

* Pesto and Pico (use ice cube trays)

There are more, but this gives you the idea. Remember to label your goods, including the date.

Here’s a recipe for Pineapple Pico de Gallo

1 ripe pineapple

1 cup diced pineapple

¼ cup each yellow, green, orange, and red peppers

1 cup of diced tomatoes

¼ cup chopped cilantro

⅓ cup red onion, minced

Juice from two limes

1 tbsp jalapeno pepper

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. Remove ⅓ of the top of the pineapple, leaving the stem attached.

2. Make a cut all around the pineapple inside, close to the skin

3. Now, make cuts across the middle.

4. Take out chunks of pineapple and set aside

5. Retain juices

6. Dice up the pineapple **

Put the pineapple and all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl

Store in the fridge overnight before serving. If you wish, use the empty pineapple for a bowl (this makes an awesome presentation)

Freeze Now. Feast Later. Features: Pineapple Pico

** Tip: You will have pineapple leftover. For future use, freeze the individual chunks on a cookie tray as with the other items in this blog

Future Me is always grateful when Past Me has stocked the freezer. It's like leaving yourself a delicious little surprise