Freezer Binge Cooking - Day 2 (and 3 and 4)

The cooking day hath been completed, and several tasty meals have been born! Specifically, 45 individual servings of easy weeknight goodness.

For those of you who missed my first post (and its nerd-tastic planning), you can check it out here. This post is going to more 'memoir' than didactic, and I recommend checking out the recipes themselves for more of a detailed breakdown. It also may have morphed into three extra days of cooking, not because of difficulty but primarily because I am easily distracted.

One detail I was arguably way TOO excited about was the fact that I was able to procure some restaurant-style takeout containers in which to store two portions each. These babies are courtesy of Amazon, which was very handy for stacking (read: stuffing) our new food in our already-packed freezer. Hey man, four half-used bags of frozen peas take up space!

Ooooh, sexy containers. You headin' my way?

But what went in those containers, you ask? Oh I will tell you.

The very first step on the cooking day was actually remembering to take out the spinach for the lasagna I was going to make that afternoon, which has to be fully thawed. Thank you, planning notebook!

When it came time to begin the real cooking, the chili was first up. This is Pioneer Woman's "Simple Hearty White Chili," which cooks on the stove for several hours. I prepped the necessary produce for the recipe, and let it cook on the stove so I could move on to prepping the rest of the produce needed for the day.

On to Martha Stewart's Primavera Lasagna. Oh this lasagna is good. I started by making the creamy sauce (made with whole milk instead of cream so, you know, zero calories), then added the vegetables and let it all cook together while prepping the other lasagna components. Mainly cheese. If making at home, be sure to prep an extra cup of grated cheese or so for snacking, otherwise the lasagna won't turn out right.

Once prepped, the lasagna is layered and put in the oven. Here is the final product, pre-freezer:

Lasagna Primavera and White Chili. So so good...

Lasgana money shot.

Having pre-shredded all of the produce for Smitten Kitchen's Stuffed Cabbage, I cooked up the parsnip, carrot and celery and set aside to cool.

...then I realized I was running super late for my friend's amazing Crawfish Boil and decided to make the rest of the stuffed cabbage the next morning. Which, thankfully, worked out very well! This is a great place to stop if you have to dash out.

The next morning, full of crawfish, I picked back up and finished the filling, prepped the cabbage leaves, and assembled the rolls, letting them stew in tomato sauce.

Tomato-y goodness.

Turns out, doubling the recipe makes a LOT of stuffed cabbage, which I conveniently forgot from the last time I made this recipe. I'm talking 16 servings.

Ready to freeze.

As the cabbage cooled, it took no time to throw together the Black Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry. I immediately spooned small servings into freezer bags and stacked them so they could be frozen as sleek, thin rectangles.

Yes. I made a bit of a mess  by the time it was all done.

Cleaning service, anyone?

The one straggler that made its way to Monday was the Curry Chickpeas with Dill, out of sheer laziness. However, making a double batch on Monday yielded two dinner servings and three hearty lunch servings, so it was all worth it. It really does make an excellent lunch. No photos. Too hungry.

So.... there it is! A fantastic binge freezer cooking weekend (+Monday). All things considered, it really didn't take me long at all for the amount of meals that we have. It is also much cheaper to buy everything at once and prep in bulk. Highly recommended! We are reaping the bounty tonight and having a much more leisurely evening, no cooking required.

What are your favorite freezable recipes?

Freezer Binge Cooking - Day 1

Last night, Ryan and I had an amazing night of Game of Thrones, cleaning, and going to bed early (our favorite kind of crazy night). The trick? Having. Dinner. READY.

Some time back, Ryan was out of town and I spent a full day making a bunch of big batch meals to freeze - it was a glorious day of watching all of Season 2 of Luther on my iPad, hanging with the dog and feeling monstrously productive.

As the days are getting longer and I would much rather spend my evenings relaxing and not prepping meals, I have decided to do a Freezer Binge Cooking Day this weekend. Because I was hungry when I picked the recipes am feeling ambitious, I am going to try my hand at no less than FIVE freezable meals. They are as follows, with links:

Courtesy marthastewart.com

Primavera Lasagna

from Martha Stewart

This one is the most complex of the bunch, but is great when you have a full day to commit to cooking. As lasagnas go, this one is one of the healthier recipes you can find.

Curry Chickpeas with Dill 

from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices by Ruta Kahate

Handy Online Version

This dish is an absolutely delicious, simple dinner. It is very easy-to-follow for Indian novices as well, which was important to me as I am only now teaching myself Indian cuisine at home.

Black Eyed Peas in a Goan Curry

Also from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices by Ruta Kahate
Handy Online Version

This was one of the other early dishes I made from this cookbook. In the description, this is called out as a common breakfast dish. If you like spicy food, as I do, it is nice to mix up the same 'ol breakfasts with something with more character.

Courtesy smittenkitchen.com

Beef-Stuffed Cabbage

from Smitten Kitchen

The ultimate comfort food? Definitely in the running. I will cook these as the recipe recommends, then heat up the thawed versions in some marinara sauce on low temperature, covered.

White Chicken Chili

from Pioneer Woman

Another phenomenal use for a Costco chicken, and this recipe serves about 6 (amply) or 8 (modestly). Super hearty.

The Preparation 

The written prep day is my absolute favorite, compulsive day where I go through and make a huge shopping list and cooking strategy. Writing all these lists out by hand is my preferred method as it gives me an opportunity to wrap my head around the recipes' ingredients, preparation steps and time so I will have digested it (no pun intended) by the time I reach my cook day. Here is my personal method:

Nerd, anyone?

1. Create a shopping list divided by store, and organized into total quantities of an item for ALL recipes. I use an online tool, ziplist.com, for this as it will allow you to create a shopping list which is automatically organized into store categories, and can be categorized further by store.
2. Organize to-be-prepped ingredients in format of (specific recipe quantity) (ingredient) -> (preparation method), with the recipe it corresponds to noted on the right. 
3. Using the above list, I can take everything that has the same method of prep and move into one task (e.g. if I am grating carrots, ginger and mozzarella, I will do all of the grating at one time while I have the grater out and then portion out per recipe later)
4. Review printed copy of recipes, and make notes on how long I realistically think each step will take, whether it cooks on the stove or in the oven and what dish it needs (e.g. if I am making chili in my big Dutch Oven and it takes 2 1/2 hours, I will start that first so it will be done by the time I need it to cook my stuffed cabbage).
5. Do one last read-through of recipes to ensure there isn't some major step I'm missing (e.g. let beans soak 6-8 hours or let frozen spinach thaw).
6. If I am feeling VERY Type-A, I re-write the recipes with my own shorthand. I retain information better by writing it out by hand, so this by this stage I can usually just reference the recipes quickly for quantities.

This is the type of amazing control and strategizing that makes me feel like I am a superwoman, dominating the kitchen and planning the eff out of my friggin' weeknight dinners. I am Martha! I am Ina Garten! I am... well, organized for a change. Let's see how this goes...

Queso. Taco. Heaven.

Recently, my friend Matt introduced Ryan and I to a FAB taco joint in San Diego - Lucha Libre Taco Shop. And it is spectacular. You may have seen them on Man vs. Food.

One of my absolute favorite things is kitchy theme decor, and this place has it in spades. From the entrance to the back wall, the dining room is slathered in bright colors and lucha libre artwork. It is an homage while still being appropriately tongue-in-cheek. Even the bathroom (one of the key signs of a good restaurant, in my opinion) is decorated in old photographs and is brightly colored.

The food is no different. They add distinguishing character to a majorly prevalent series of dishes by introducing their own unique flare.

I was feeling particularly ravinous, and ordered both the lauded Surfin' California burrito (as touted on Man vs. Food) AND, at Matt's recommendation, a queso taco.

The former I highly recommend watching the video for - it is a drool-worthy, shrimp-and-steak-laden burrito with a magical sauce and FRIGGIN' FRENCH FRIES. Be still my heart. (No, really, I'm sure the cholesterol is stopping things up inside of me).

But what I really want to talk about today is the amazing queso taco, the hidden star behind the image above. What this is, is a crispy, grilled cheese patty that is put on a taco with your favorite fixings. It is everything good in this world as far as texture and taste. It was SO good, that the next morning we had to make breakfast tacos and try it ourselves. And then a week later on dinner tacos. And then write about it now. It is that pervasive.

Look at that crispy goodness. Here are what these beauties are comprised of:

• Flour tortillas 
• Grilled queso
• Pork chorizo
• Avocados tossed with fresh cilantro
• Shreded Iceberg lettuce mixed with diced tomatoes (a "gringo taco" favorite in Los Angeles)
• Quick pickled red onions

Here are some quick breakdowns of how to make the queso and the quick pickled red onion. Enjoy!

Grilled Queso

Jack cheese (or a jack/cheddar blend), grated

To prepare, heat up a nonstick skillet. You won't need any oil or fat, as it will come right from the cheese. Start by heating up a few grated pieces of cheese so test the temperature. You want it hot, but not smoking.

Once to temperature, drop approximately 1/4 cup cheese into the center of the pan and shape it into a desk with a spatula. It will be gooey at first, so test the firmness by lifting up the edge slightly with your spatula. It should not crush into itself, but lift up like a pancake. This time varies dramatically based on cheese and heat of pan, so keep your eye on it.

As soon as you can lift the edges, slip your spatula under the cheese in as close to one fell swoop as possible and flip. Grill it a few more minutes on that side and remove to cool on a plate. The final texture should be a light yellow (or white, if using white cheese) color, not brown, and crispy but not super hard and cracker-y. You'll know when you taste it. Heaven.

Note: I tried this with just cheddar, and it was far too melty to form. I highly recommend including, if not using all, jack cheese.

Quick Pickled Red Onions

1 red onion

1 cup red wine vinegar (white will work in a pinch), thinly sliced

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Grab a jar with a lid or otherwise close-able container and add vinegar, sugar and salt. Close the lid and shake them up so the sugar dissolves a bit. Then, add the onions, close the lid again, and shake once more. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, or as long as you have available. I turn it over every once in a while to help the undissolved salt and sugar distribute more evenly.

Open up and BAM! Pickled onions! Use on absolutely everything.