Since I was recently inspired to make stock, I bought a whole turkey(!) and had the butcher cut it in half so half could go into the oven and half into the freezer. :-) For stock, I keep the bones from each meal and trimmings from most vegetables in a big bag in the freezer.
When I have enough, I make stock. [Onion skins give it a beautiful color and the tips have a lot of flavor, but are not easy to eat...prefect for stock!]
I'll make turkey and sausage gumbo with the stock and leftover meat. It's a post-Thanksgiving family tradition that I skipped this past year (and apparently regret). I'll need the Cajun "trinity" of onions, bell pepper, and celery for the gumbo AND they will provide stock scraps. With the new freezer calling my name, I decided to "go big or go home" with the necessary chopping. I chopped up lots of onion, celery, and bell pepper and froze them. The extras will make weeknight recipes easier/faster.
The candles around the onion chopping are my efforts to burn the syn-propanethial-S-oxide released into the air by the cut onions before it gets in my eyes and turns to sulfuric acid and burns like fire. The candles worked *ok* tonight and even made my quiet, late-night alone time in the kitchen kinda "special." awwwww [However, I just read about cold onions releasing less gas so I'll be doing that next time, too.]
My best friend in CA cooks once a month for her family!! I'm not that organized, but I am inspired to get some meals in there!
What tips do you have for prepping ahead with your freezer? What about onion chopping?
6 comments:
I chop my onions near the sink and make sure I have cold water running. It works for me, *supposedly* the chemical that makes you cry is attracted to wetness (mucous membranes) so it's supposed to help. Works for me. I like the candle idea though!
Having a freezer is SO nice and you will really enjoy it. I have to admit, I have two and wonder how people survive without one, haha!
And the Turkey Gumbo sounds really good, yummy!
Running water is ingenious! I will definitely try that.
Unfortunately, we had a freezer, but it died. It was actually frozen shut for months and all the meat was trapped inside. Then it died while we were on vacation (after we'd bought the new one, but before delivery). Anyway, we lost a lot of food and I think that's part of why I'm so keen on filling up the new one. I don't have the canned garden bounty you have, but I was always glad to have a stock pile of meat (esp. since Brent started his own business).
It works for me (running water). You will have to let me know if it works for you.
And a frozen freezer, that did kind of make me giggle. I can't imagine losing a lot of meat though. That would be devestating!!
Hi Whitney!
Thanks for your comments on my blog this morning, I am glad that you dropped by!
I make stock all the time, from our turkey at Thanksgiving and from roast chicken, and it is the best! It is super easy and just makes everything better, not to mention you are getting "extra" out of the scraps that you would normally just be throwing out! I even use the stock sometimes just when making a batch of brown rice (if we haven't had soup in a while) - it makes it so flavorful and nourishing!
And, by the way, I'm so envious about your freezer! We don't have room for one here, but I miss having one! Enjoy it!
Best,
Sarah
PS - I've used the "throw the onions in the freezer for 20 minutes" ploy to try to make them tear free, but it only marginally works. The problem, though, is if you accidentally leave them there. They freeze and, when unfrozen, all the cell walls are mush. It might work better if you just kept a few in the fridge. I know whenever I use a half an onion and store the other half in the fridge to use later, when I do end up using it I rarely if ever cry.
I also use my mini food processor (much like your chopper) to do most of my dirty work because onions ALWAYS move me to tears!
Or, I just coerce my husband into chopping them for me. With his contacts in, somehow it doesn't bother him. Of course, he doesn't get quite the fine chop that the processor does . . . :)
HI Whitney! I am so glad that you have an extra freezer. I love my frig/freezer combo in the garage. It is so handy! Is yours in the shed?
My prep tips are similar to yours. I love freezing bell peppers especially at the end of summer when I can get organic bell peppers fairly cheap. Since we belong to a CSA, anytime I have extra veggies, I steam and freeze. Also at Costco, they sell a huge container of peeled garlic. I mince it in the food processor and freeze it in the same container. Then I have instant garlic for recipes. We also keep the freezer stocked with meat on sale, and dough for pizza. I am trying very hard not to buy pre-packaged prepared food. Oh, and I also buy lots of frozen veggies when I get to Whole Foods since the closest one to me in 1/2 hour away.
By the way, can you post some of the recipes for your dishes? The granola with coconut sounds wonderful!
Amita!!!
Yes it's in the shed. I'm not sure about this summer, but it's easily maintaining -10 degrees right now.
How do you freeze your bell pepper? Also chopped?
How do you get small servings of garlic from a block of frozen?
I really need to join a CSA. I think that'll be a near future step for us...thanks for the reminder.
I updated the post to show the granola hyperlink and I also wrote an update post talking about changes that I made...you know, since I can't leave a recipe alone. hahaha
Miss you!
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