Month: April 2020

What Food Can You Freeze? What about Canning?

Freezing is a great way to preserve food if you have an excess and you don’t want it to go bad. Freezing some food will change their texture and consistency, but many things you freeze will act completely normal in your choice of meal. I mention in passing in many of my recipes that I freeze certain things, but I think it would be helpful to have this list made for those who are curious what you can preserve in a freezer. The only thing about a freezer that you need to be aware of before you stock it is how often you lose power, and how long it us usually out for. A freezer can last 2 days unopened without power. If you lose power often or for longer periods, you may want to consider getting a generator.

What can you store in the freezer?

  • Bread – store bought in original package, or homemade wrapped or vacuum sealed to eliminate air and freezer burn
  • Meats – wrapped or vacuum sealed to eliminate air and freezer burn
  • Cheese – shredded lasts fine, blocks can have texture changes and hard cheeses preserve best
  • Prepackaged meats – this means hotdogs, sausages, hams, chicken, or turkey in vacuum. You can also freeze lunch meat as you get it from the store
  • Anything already frozen – prepared foods, frozen meals, frozen fruits or veggies
  • Grains – You can freeze flour, oats, cornmeal, rice, etc, however they tend to have a long shelf life as is. You’ll want to re-bag, label, and freeze to eliminate water exposure
  • Leftover cooked meats – extra turkey, ham, lamb, or pork from a holiday or event can be frozen and easily reheated. Meat prepared with sauces can also be frozen, however keep in mind dairy doesn’t freeze well
  • Stock – in a container that allows for slight expansion
  • Soup – you can freeze soups that are broth or stock based. Somethings in soup don’t freeze well like potatoes, and grains like noodles and rice will become mushy if you overcook them before freezing. Also don’t freeze a dairy based soup, dairy separates and becomes grainy
  • Diced fruits/veggies – Fruits and veggies can be frozen, however they will lose their crispness. This means things like lettuce wilt and become floppy, and whole carrots become gummy. However onions and peppers can be diced or sliced for stirfry or other sauteed recipes. Fruits can also be frozen and taste great in smoothies

Canning is a great way to preserve what you have and prepare for the future, limiting some of the items you need to buy over the next year or more. At this point I’ve only canned a few items myself, however this summer Josh and I are planting a garden, so I hope to get even more veggies canned this coming summer/fall.

Canning has been tested by the USDA and they have recommended times and methods for all things canning. You can find out more on their website or here. Below are some of the things I have canned. Follow the instructions listed under the USDA’s website for safest food practices.

What can you water-bath can?

  • Tomatoes
  • Pickles
  • Fruits
  • Syrup
  • Jams
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Peanut Butter And Honey Sandwich

Honey is a great alternative to jelly in this classic sandwich if like me you’ve run out of jelly. I hope to make my own jelly this summer to prevent this from happening again, however I’ve found honey to be a great substitution for jelly. Honey and jelly and very similar in flavor, so honey provides the sweet that compliments the peanut butter. Honey is heavier than jelly, so it makes the sandwich denser and stickier. You should only used about 1-2 Tbsp honey per sandwich. The bread absorbs a lot of the honey, but this prevents runoff.

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Overnight Oats: Peaches and Cream

Overnight oats is a great way to make a large breakfast that will last the rest of the week. I used a rather large Rubbermaid bowl, and this will easily be Josh’s breakfast for the rest of the week (4-5 meals). This was my first time making these, but I know many people love them as quick and easy meal prep for the next morning. This was a recipe I made, a version of peaches and cream. If you want to make your own flavor, you should, just start with the milk and oats base, and reduce the fractions if you are just trying it.

  1. In a large seal-able bowl, mix 2 cups oats, 2 cups milk, 1 can of peaches with juice, 2 tsp vanilla, and 3 Tbsp honey to taste. Stir until everything is mixed. Cover and refrigerate until morning.
  2. In the morning, just serve your desired amount, then seal and return remaining oats to the fridge.
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Homemade Mild Chili And Seasoning

Chili is a great meal for a slow cooker, so that can be eaten when you are hungry. I’ve always used Seasoning packets for my chili, however I have all the ingredients to make it myself, so I decided, why not? I used a big quart of canned diced tomatoes for this recipe. I canned tomatoes last September, so I like to used them for these big recipes. I also used normal diced tomatoes as my other smaller can, but you can also add an additional can or two, or even stewed tomatoes instead if you want some other flavors. Since I used fresh canned tomatoes, my cook time will be longer than needed for store bought cans of tomatoes. That’s because I had to cook out the freshness from my tomatoes. If you are using cans of tomatoes, you can go straight from high to keep warm temp on your slow cooker. If you are doing stove top, once it’s hot, it’s done. Finally, the longer you cook chili, the less spicy it becomes. So, either season heavily at the beginning, or season cautiously at the beginning and plan to add more before serving.

  1. Brown 1 pound of ground beef. Dice 1 medium onion, and add to fully cooked beef. Cook until onions are tender.
  2. Pull out your slow cooker or a dutch oven. In it, add 1 large container of diced tomatoes, 1 small can of diced tomatoes, and 1 can of strained kidney beans. Add onion, beef, and the fats to the large container. Stir.
  3. For mild chili, add 5 Tbsp chili powder, 3 Tbsp cumin powder, 2 tsp cayenne powder, and 2 tsp red pepper flakes. For hotter chili, add extra chili powder and cumin to your taste.
  4. In a slow cooker, cook on high for 1/2 hour, then turn to low for 1 1/2 hour. Then leave on keep warm until ready to eat.
  5. In a dutch oven, place over medium-low heat, cook covered for 1/2 hour, until hot, or until your tomatoes taste cooked.
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Banana Bread

I had a few ripe bananas from the supermarket the last time I went. I know many people freeze their bananas in this for smoothies or bread to make later, but it was a long time since I had had banana bread. This recipe was delicious. I didn’t completely mash all of the bananas, I left a few medium sized chunks, and that made the bread have small pockets of bananas that was a fun surprise. My bread to 55 minutes to fully cook. I also prepared my pan with some non-stick spray, and once the bread sat for 15 minutes, it fell right out of the pan without sticking.

  1. Heat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, smash and mix 3 ripe bananas, 1 egg, 5 Tbsp melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
  3. Add 3/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of baking soda, and 1 1/2 cup flour. Mix until there are no dry spots.
  4. Grease a bread pan, and transfer in the dough. Flatten out the dough and bake for 50 minutes or until done. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
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