Dabbling in Freezer Cooking

After a visit to my favourite butcher who sells bulk meat, I dreaded the prospect of breaking the meat up into batches and vacuum sealing  it to be frozen.  I did however, feel slightly more enthusiastic about cooking.  So I set out to make some freezer meals.

I have at various times dabbled in freezer cooking.  I certainly loved the convenience of having ready-made meals when I was busy at work or when I was a new mum.  I didn’t hate the cooking days, in fact I quite liked them. So I wondered why I never really stuck to it and made an art of it.

I think in my case it came down to not having enough of a freezer meal catalogue.  In the old days I made the same things ….spaghetti sauce, lasagne, cottage pie, a curry or two and soups. Boring. If only I had looked to the internet for inspiration!

There are hundred of sites and bloggers out there praising freezer cooking.  Many have it down to a fine art – menu plans, recipes, shopping lists, cooking days, even providing sticker templates to print and  attach to your made meal.  There are thousands of amazing recipes out there to suit every taste and even cooking preference.  It really is an eye opener.

As it is coming into winter here in the Southern hemisphere, I am keen to get the slow cooker working.  I found whole sites devoted to creating frozen baggies of ingredients, that you defrost and pop into the crock pot to cook.  Really, who thought you could make crock pot cooking even easier than it already was?

The more I traversed the sites, the more I was beginning to be sold on the idea of freezer cooking.  I don’t know that I would have the majority of meals out of the freezer as I like to eat a fresh, clean and raw as possible, but it definitely has benefits.  It undoubtably saves money as you can shop the sale items and use seasonal produce.  You are less likely to resort to expensive take out on the days when you don’t feel like cooking.  I can see there would be less washing up and probably less food waste.

So if you are keen to dabble in freezer cooking like me, here are some sites that are worth a visit.

Money Saving Mom - Huge recipe selection and some great printables for those organising freaks, like me.

One a Month Mom – Everything you need to be a freezer cooking genius.  Menu plans for all sorts of dietary needs including paleo, vegetarian and baby. Heaps available for free on the site or become a member to receive ongoing menus and recipes.

Who Needs a Cape? – Make 40 meals in 4 hours! Lots of crock pot freezer recipes here.

Life as Mom – Lots of tips on how to freezer cook and every month a new cooking plan to follow.

I have also started to pin some of my favourite freezer meals.  You are welcome to follow along here.

So what did I cook and freeze the other day, you ask?

Healthy Butter Chicken – I used a fantastic spice mix from this company

lasagne

Chicken enchiladas

Slow cooker braised lamb

Pear and raspberry coconut bread.  Yummo! I will share this recipe with you soon.

If you are interested in freezer cooking, be sure to follow along.  I intend to do a lot more freezer cooking and I will share what I make on here.

Have a great day.

 

Weekend Cooking

It is not often that we are about the house on the weekend so I don’t do a lot of cooking.  However, this weekend I made a bit of an effort and ended up making some lovely things.  When I say ‘effort’, it wasn’t that great as most of the recipes were done in the Thermomix. I really can’t explain just how much of a marvel the Thermomix is.  If you don’t have one, don’t let that put you off clicking on the links to the recipes as most could be done without it, or perhaps completed with another appliance that you have.

Have a look at my creations, I am more than a little proud of some of them…..

Apple Porridge made in the Thermomix while I got ready for the morning.  It can’t get much easier than that!  The boys LOVED it.  Recipe is here.

Banana and Coconut Bread.  We all loved this.  The recipe is one for the Thermomix but easy and well worth adapting if you don’t have one.  I also had my first attempt at scrolls.  These were spinach and feta.  Yummo. A fantastic brunch or lunchbox food.  You can find the recipe here.

Healthy Banana Ice Cream.  This is made with just a little sugar (or in our case dextrose), frozen skim milk and frozen banana.  It is just like soft serve ice cream without the guilt. I will post more about easy ice creams made in the Thermomix soon.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Mocha.  This recipe calls for cocoa, but I have been right into using raw cacao and I am convinced of  the health benefits.  Hubby and I love this rich drink.

Mango, Banana and Apple Green Smoothie.  This was my own concoction but you can read about my green smoothies here. This one was demolished by my boys in seconds, despite them watching two big handfuls of spinach going into the mix.

Chinese Combination Short Long Soup.  I did freestyle with this recipe and added things I knew we would like.  It was a hit all round.  Master C loved the dumplings.

Another dish that I stupidly didn’t photograph, despite the fact it was the stand out dish of the weekend, was Singapore Noodles.  Oh. So. Yummy. Instead of making it with vermicelli noodles, I used angel hair slim noodles which have less than 7 calories per serve.  The meal had next to no calories and was so filling.  I can see this appearing regularly on my meal plans.

I’d love to hear whether you get up to cooking or baking on the weekends or is that your ‘time off’?  Have a great week.

Thermomixing: Naturally Sweetened Jam

Like most kiddies, my children love jam.  I mean, why wouldn’t they?  It is sticky and beautifully sweet and there in lies the problem.  Jam is a no-no when you are trying to cut down on sugar and eliminate refined sugar.

Since the addition of the Thermomix into the household, I have wanted to have a go a making my own healthy jam.  So when I picked up two huge punnets of strawberries, the mission to find the right recipe was underway.

One of my favourite blogs for healthy Thermomix recipes is Quirky Cooking.  Not surprisingly, Jo had the perfect recipe for a naturally sweetened jam recipe.  To my great joy, it was super easy (isn’t everything with a Thermomix anyway?) and within seconds I was in the kitchen making jam.

Naturally Sweetened Jam

Ingredients

• 500 g of your chosen fruit (I used strawberries)
• 150 g rapadura sugar (or use another sweetener like honey,  stevia etc)
• 1 level teaspoon agar-agar

Method

1. Place a saucer, for testing the jam, in the freezer to cool.
2. Place fruit in the Thermomix and chop for 3-5 seconds on speed 4, depending on how chunky you like your jam
3. Add sugar and agar-agar and cook for 8 minutes/100 degrees/ reverse/ Speed 2.  If you prefer a smooth jam like we do, don’t put the machine in reverse and give the whole mix a blitz at speed 8 for a few seconds once the cooking is done.
4.  To test the jam, take 1/2 teaspoon of jam and place it on the chilled saucer.  Once the jam has cooled, push it with your finger.  If the mixture ‘wrinkles’ it is ready.  If your jam requires a little more setting, add a pinch more agar-agar, cook for a further 2 minutes and test again.
5. Pour the jam into sterilised jars and keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Everyone loved this jam. Unlike the store-bought jams, it was not sickly sweet and tasted like strawberries.

It is possible to omit all sweeteners from this recipe and I am keen to try that when strawberries are at their sweetest.

I definitely recommend giving this recipe a go.

Easter Gifts

A few weeks back I found these great Easter cupcake boxes and wrappers at Big W. I thought that they were so cute that I had to buy a stash to use for neighbour’s and friend’s Easter gifts.

I made a batch of  vanilla cupcakes ( I thought it might be a nice change from chocolate at Easter) and decorated the tops with the cutest mini candy-shelled eggs.

Very simple but I think they look gorgeous.  I just love how they look snuggled in their special carry box.

I hope everyone enjoys them.  I am off to deliver them now so they can be gobbled up for morning tea.

 

Super Easy and Healthier Pancakes

Happy Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day!

A few weeks ago I wrote about some of the ways I organise myself for a streamlined breakfast time.  It was then that I promised that I would share with you a great pancake recipe.  Today seems like the perfect day to live up to that promise.

I love this recipe as it is super easy to remember, always produces fluffy pancakes, has only 3 ingredients and no sugar.

Basic Pancakes – Serves 2+ (from here)

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup milk (full cream, skim, soy)

1 egg

Method

1. Whisk egg into milk

2. Place flour into a bowl and incorporate the milk and egg mixture

3. Lightly grease a fry pan with butter or spray oil

4. Cook large spoonfuls of mixture until bubble appear on the surface and the edges firm

5. Turn pancakes and cook until the other side is golden brown

There is no need to add sugar to this recipe if you are serving with sweet toppings.  You could choose to add a few tablespoons of sugar if you prefer a sweeter cake.  Sometimes I add vanilla to this recipe for a change.

One tip I swear by is letting the batter rest for a little while before cooking.  If you are ravenous and must jump right in, you are still going to end up with fantastic pancakes, but if you can wait 10-20 minutes, the pancakes will be fluffier.

When I make extras to freeze for breakfasts or morning teas, I layer grease proof paper between the cakes before freezing in ziplock bags.  30 seconds in the microwave, they are warm and ready for topping.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Thermomix Passionfruit Curd

Last year I wrote about my parents bumper crop of passionfruit and shared with you a great microwave recipe for making passionfruit curd.  You can find this recipe here.

Well the crop looks to be just as bountiful this year and we are already overloaded with the purple gems.  This time round I thought I would try making the passionfruit curd in the Thermomix.

Thermomix Passionfruit Curd (from here)

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/3 cup castor sugar (more of less depending on your taste)
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup passionfruit pulp, (about 3 passionfruit )
60g butter, chopped coarsely

Method

1. Insert the butterfly and add the ingredients

2. Cook for 8 mins/80C/speed 3.  Use the steamer basket on top of lid instead of the measuring cup.

3. If the curd coats the back of a spoon it is ready, if not, continue cooking for a few more minutes.

4. Transfer into a sterilised container and store in the fridge.

This recipe worked quite well.  I did have to cook it for a couple more minutes to make it our preferred consistency.

This afternoon I enjoyed a generous dollop of this on some low-fat Greek yoghurt with a sprinkling of pistachios. YUM!

 

Organising Breakfast

Earlier this month I wrote about my New Year’s Resolution to make my days run more smoothly.  One aspect of my day that could be chaotic was breakfast.  Unlike everyone else in the house, I am not into the whole cereal and toast caper, a pain because they are about as easy and as quick to prepare as breakfasts come.  As I am a little fussier,  it was not unusual for me to miss breakfast, eat late or to end up scoffing my breakfast while completing some overdue task.

I decided that this year I really needed to sort the whole breakfast situation out for myself.  I needed to come up with quick, easy and healthy breakfasts.  After some consideration, here are some of my favourites:

Smoothies

A little while ago I thought it might be beneficial to try a smoothie for breakfast.  I like that it is something that can be taken with me if I am running late.  It is easy to carry around the house while I complete ‘must do’ tasks and is relatively quick to make.

To make the smoothie creation process faster, I went to the farmer’s market and stocked up on lovely fresh fruit.  I got this great box of mangoes for a steal…yum!

After cutting it all up, I popped 1/2 cup portions into little zip lock bags to pop in the freezer.  This way I always have fruit on hand, even out of season, and the frozen fruit makes my smoothies deliciously thick and cold.

I often add some LSA or 1/2 a Weetbix into the blender to help bulk it up and keep me full for longer.

Fruit Salad & Greek Yoghurt

It is not uncommon for us to put together a large fruit salad on the weekend and to pick at it over the course of the next two days . It is a great weekend breakfast, especially if you plan to eat out later in the day, as  it doesn’t keep you feeling as full as other breakfast choices.

Boiled eggs

On a Sunday evening I boil a bunch of eggs to keep in the fridge. If the shells aren’t cracked, they are safe to be stored 2-3 weeks. If I find I am really hungry in the morning, cutting one or two of these up and eating it on toast is a sure hunger-buster.

Keeping boiled eggs on hand is great idea.  They are a terrific snack on their own and a fantastic sandwich filler at lunchtime.  If your evening salad is looking a little ho-hum, pop some egg on top.

Pancakes

These aren’t the healthiest breakfast choice but sometimes they are just what you feel like.  There is no weekday morning when whipping up a batch of pancakes is possible for me.  So, when I make pancakes as an after dinner treat or weekend morning tea, I increase the mix and cook a few extra to freeze.  More often than not, they get consumed by the kids as a quick morning tea option, but they have proved once or twice to be a great ‘grab and go’ breakfast option for me.

To freeze your own pancakes, I suggest letting them cool completely before layering baking paper between each pancake.  I freeze these in individual potions in ziplock bags.

A little while back I found a fool-proof, easy to remember pancake recipe with just 3 ingredients.  It doesn’t add sugar and always yields amazingly fluffy pancakes.  I will share it with you soon.

So there are some quick and easy breakfast ideas that are really helping streamline my morning routine.  I’d love to hear your favourite breakfast ideas, tips, ticks and recipes.

 

 

 

 

Easy (and Tasty) Muesli Slice

With the school year about to start Downunder, I had to share this easy and delicious muesli slice recipe a friend passed on to me last week.  It is ‘no bake’ and can be easily altered to nut-free.

Muesli Slice

• 1 cup  desiccated coconut
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts 
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup sesame seeds

Toast these either on a tray in a 200 degree celsius oven, or in a pan over a medium heat.  Stir frequently.

• 125 g butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey

Melt these ingredients in a saucepan or in the microwave.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.  Press into a slice tin. Refrigerate, then slice.  Store in fridge.

To make this slice suitable for my son to take to his nut-free childcare centre, I replaced the peanuts with sultanas.  You could replace the nuts with any mixture of dried fruit you wish, or up the quantities of seeds.  I have used rice malt syrup instead of honey to good effect too.

I hope you give this ago. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Shared with The Organised Housewife

Creating a Smoother Day – Evening Routine

Last week I wrote about my desire for my days to run a little more smoothly in 2013.

In the past, I found my days rushed or thrown into disarray because of a lack of preparation for the coming day in the previous evening’s routine.  Obviously, I needed to listen to the advice I often give my husband – Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

I decided there was a few things that I needed to have ticked off the ‘to do’ list before my head hit the pillow each night.  I don’t have a set time that these things get done, as some can be started or completed if I get a spare minute or two during the day.  Most of them get completed after dinner or just before I head to bed. Take a look…

• Wipe down & sanitise the dining room table, children’s table & children’s high chairs.  Nothing is more annoying than finding you forgot to clean up last night’s spaghetti from the high chair as your 1-year-old is desperate for breakfast.
• Tidy kitchen – pack dishwasher, pack away appliances and wipe benches. Who wants to be greeted with a messy kitchen in the morning?
• Fill the family’s water bottles and refrigerate.  Place lunch boxes on the bench ready to pack in the morning. Too often I would find myself running late after spending precious time trying to locate the family’s lunch boxes and drink bottles
• Put the kids’  breakfast cereal in their bowls ready for the morning.  I found these great lidded bowls, with matching cutlery, that are perfect for breakfast cereals. I appreciate not having to wrestle with the cereal boxes early in the morning while a 4-year-old exclaims, “I’m soooo hungry!” 
• Pack away any stray children’s toys.  I enjoy how uncluttered the house feels when the living areas are toy-free.
• Choose an outfit for myself  to wear tomorrow.  Iron it if needed.  Generally the kids’ clothes are ready to go for the week.  You can read about my kids’ clothes hangers here.
• Consult my organiser and meal planner as a ‘heads up’  for the next day’s happenings and meals 
• Defrost any items needed for tomorrow’s meals
• Load the washing machine and program the cycle to start in the early morning.
• Put the dishwasher on just before bed

I choose to run the dishwasher late at night and the washing machine early in the morning as these are energy off-peak times.  It makes them so much more economical to run.

I have made a concerted effort to incorporate these tasks into my evening routine and I am seeing a real benefit.  I am going to bed feeling less cluttered.  The house and my mind are just not as messy.  As my AM is now freed from some of these tasks, the mornings are less hurried and chaos doesn’t descend. YES!

Happy 2013 – New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year! I am back on the blogging scene after a holiday break.  I hope you all rang in the new year in style.  Me, I did it in my pjs, fast asleep. A bit pathetic really.

I love this time of the year.  I love the fresh start and hope that each new year brings.  I don’t normally jump on the New Year’s resolutions bandwagon, however  this year I have decided to set in place a few goals which I thought I would share with you.

Use my Organiser  

Over the last few years my use of an organiser has been pathetic.  Somehow I muddled through, but I am keen for a clearer mind this year.

In the past I have created my own organiser, however,  I didn’t love my format. I wasn’t really prepared to spend the time to perfect,  print and compile an organiser for this year.  Instead, after reading some great reviews on the Inner B Mum Organiser, I purchased one.

I love the colour.  That in itself should inspire me to use it.

Prepare for the day ahead

Do you ever go to start your day only to realise the outfit you wanted to wear is unwashed and the kids have no ironed clothes to wear?  There is no fresh bread to make school lunches, or clean lunch boxes to put them in for that matter?  The kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it and there is no way you will have time to rectify it before you must step out for the day?  I have.  A little too often for my liking in 2012.  This year I am going to implement a concrete morning and before bed routine to ensure a smooth running day.  I’ve been mulling over what and when for a few days now and have tried out a few ideas.  I am ready to launch a ‘full attack’ so I will share this with you soon.

Exercise – ‘Me Time’

Just about everyone has a lose weight or exercise resolution and I am no different.  I like the way I feel when I have started off the day with an early morning walk.  I love that the streets are quiet and I can think, reflect and dream for 30 minutes or so.  The alarm is set for 5.30 am each morning and I am making myself go, even if I have had next to no sleep.

Eat Cleanly

Last year I really made an effort to strip as many preservatives and colours out of the family’s diet as I could.  With the amazing Thermomix on my side, the task has been quite easy.  This year I want to also cut back on some other nasties, caffeine, alcohol and SUGAR.

I have been stripping as much sugar as possible from our diets after reading these books,

Before the holiday season and the sugar-laiden sweets tempting us back to the dark side, I think we were all feeling better for kicking our sugar habits.  I really want to give this a real go in 2013.

So there you have it – my resolutions.  I’d love to hear yours.