One of my if-I-don't-give-birth-this-week projects is cleaning out the freezer and restocking it with things that LG and I will actually eat. But, truth be told, I suck at determining what foods will freeze (and defrost) well enough for us to want to eat. Suggestions, wise readers?
Just to make this game harder: I can't eat soy or its many derivatives, operate best at about 90% wheat-free, and will in all likelihood be off dairy again once I start breastfeeding (and if I only need to eliminate those three things, well, it will be a hell of a lot better than it was for LG's first 9 months!). LG's a good eater who prefers meat products that don't appear to be meat products (chicken=bad, bacon=most excellent); at present kale is her favorite vegetable, and she eats a whole sweet pepper at lunch every day. (Weird kid, yes, but I'm not complaining.)
And if one of you would invent a valium-type product that is safe to take during pregnancy I would really appreciate it. This waking up at 2 or 3 or 4 really sucks. Thank you.
Hmmm...soups and stews freeze very well - and easy to serve with side of rice or rice bread or salad. Chili, split pea with bacon, lentil, coconut sweet potato are yummy ones. Sorry I can't help on the valium front - but I find if I go for a very long walk during the day or evening it helps me sleep better.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you lots.
Love,
Maddy
Mmmm....you know, I have plans to cook vegetable soup, lentil soup, and chili this week anyway. Perhaps I should make double and freeze. Not sure why I didn't think of that...thanks!!!!
ReplyDeleteMight need to buy more storage containers for this project...
This is easy to put together in the crockpot and freezes well. Santa Fe Soup
ReplyDelete2 lbs Ground Beef (or ground chicken or combo)
1 Onion, chopped
2 pkgs Ranch style dressing
2 pkgs Taco seasoning
1 can Black Beans, undrained
1 can Light Kidney Beans, undrained
1 can Diced tomatoes w/ chilies, undrained
1 can Tomato wedges, undrained
2 cups Water
Brown meat with onions. Combine remaining ingredients & simmer for 2 hours OR put in crockpot to cook.
Serve with corn chips & cheddar cheese or sour cream
BB, I make something similar we call "southwest stew"...yeah, I'll add that to the cook-and-freeze list! Thanks! Been thinking about you and wondering what you've decided. Feel free to e- me to chat if you want.
ReplyDeleteYou asked for gyoza recipe--mine is simple. I make it both with & without meat, but my veggie-version is soy heavy.
ReplyDelete2# meat (or 1# extra firm tofu + 1# tempeh)
2 pkgs wonton wrappers
1 or 2 onions (I use a blender to really pulverize it, it helps bind the meat/soy together.)
A bunch of garlic--toss it into the blender, too.
Mix all the meat & onions/garlic together. If you're using the soy version, you'll need to add some salt/seasonings.
You can form the gyoza any way you like--YouTube seems to have a gazillion examples, but I couldn't find the way I make mine. I use square wrappers, put an oval TB of meat filling in the middle, bring the bottom edge up to within maybe a 1/4" of the top, fold over the top, then fold the whole thing over again. Then just mash the ends together. Easier mashing if you cover the stack of wonton wrappers with a damp cloth, since they tend to get a little stale & hard to work with. If the wrapper cracks, you're putting in too much filling.
Cooking them is easy. You want to brown the bottoms in an oiled frying pan, but you're actually cooking the meat with steam, so once each batch is nice and brown on the bottom, toss some water in there, cover, and wait til everything stops steaming. I don't tend to cook these to death, which is why I don't use ground pork. I also buy the best meat available & NOT the leanest. 90/10 works well.
The dipping sauce is one part soy sauce to one part+ rice vinegar. Add a bunch of powdered wasabi, and a bit of crushed red pepper to taste.
This is really good with a fruit salad to cut the greasiness. It's a heavy, heavy meal. These freeze well, and make excellent lunch leftovers, but they're pretty labor-intensive just from all the folding. I'll keep looking for an instructional video on folding them, but really, any way you want to do ti would work.
S, thanks! I'd definitely do the meat version...and sounds like a good project for some lazy afternoon with LG. Perhaps if her brother doesn't show up soon we can have a gyoza fest... How many does that recipe make?
ReplyDeleteFrom my blog, I recommend the chickpeas and kale, pot pie, bulghur and bean chili, all manner of soup and stew. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, I can drag up my african sweet potato stew recipe (if you can do peanuts). Most yummy, freezes well. And how about freezing a bunch of marinara? And will LG eat meatballs made with turkey, carrots, and zucchini? Those freeze well and are yummy.
ReplyDeleteProfgrrrl, yes, and yes! Thanks for the good wishes...nice to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteTurkey Veggie Meatballs:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-veggie-meatballs-10000000318990/
Marinara (freezes really well):
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/basic-marinara-10000001662822/
African Sweet Potato Stew:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/african-sweet-potato-stew-with-red-beans-10000000701094/
Oh, and I found this old fave along the way, Turkey Kefta:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-kefta-with-sweet-onion-raisin-sauce-10000001185360/