4 MAKE-AHEAD FREEZER MEALS

Cheryl & Pam came to visit me yesterday afternoon – and Cheryl brought some of the ‘down south’ Pinto Beans, her husband Mike, had brought back with him from his New Mexico trip. I am told they are milder and smoother tasting that the pinto beans we have here … we’ll see: I am making a batch of ‘Baked Pinto Beans’ with them this morning ;-)

I stored the Pinto beans Cheryl brought me in a separate baggie, so I can tell them apart; to test the taste differences; if there are any.

The Pinto's Cheryl gave me do look lighter ...

I googled a chuck steak recipe – basically because I wanted a change of pace in that regard; and I was just too lazy to thumb through my cookbooks – and I found a recipe that sounded good. It did smell good while cooking, so I think I will be happy with this change of pace ;-)

Gravied Chuck Steak - portioned for Freezer meals. 

The ‘Curried Carrot Soup’ recipe came from my August 1985 Bob Appetit cooking magazine.

Curry Carrot Soup; frozen in 1-serving portions alongside 1-portion packages of Baked Pinto Beans - for future meals.

And the ‘Orange-Curry Grilled Chicken w-Tarragon’ recipe came from my August 1986 Food & Wine cooking magazine. The house smelled wonderful!

Orange-Curry Grilled Chicken w-Tarragon; portioned for freezer meals.

For Supper tonight, I had a mug of Curried carrot Soup & a side of Cajun Shrimp – I got the recipe for the spicy shrimp from my ‘2003 Taste of Home/Light & Tasty’ cookbook. Delish!

==BAKED PINTO BEANS ~Serves 6 (1 cup servings)

This recipe comes from my ‘Betty Crocker/New American Cooking’ cookbook my sister gave me decades ago; Bob really liked it. It is a good source of thiamine (vitamin B1) – which is essential for our bodies.

(https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219545.php).

I cook this dish in my crockpot** – works better for me; but I am posting it as written in the cookbook for the cooking purists :

4 cups Water * 1 pound (about 2-1/2 cups) dried Pinto Beans * ½ cup Brown Sugar * 1 teaspoon Sea Salt * ¼ teaspoon ground Cloves * ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper * ¼ teaspoon Celery Seed * ¼ cup Water * 1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar * ½ cup strong Black Coffee * 2 Tablespoons Brandy * 1 medium Onion. Sliced * 4 slices Bacon

Heat 4 cups water and the beans to boiling in a 3-quart saucepan. Boil 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover, and let stand 1 hour. Add enough hot water, if necessary, to cover beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover, and simmer until beans are tender – about 1-1/2 hours (do not boil, or beans will burst). Drain beans, reserving liquid. Heat brown sugar, salt, cloves, pepper, celery seed, ¼ cup water & the vinegar to boiling; stirring occasionally. Stir in coffee and brandy.

Place half the beans in an ungreased 2-quart casserole; arrange onion on top. Pour half of the coffee mixture over onion; top with remaining beans. Pour remaining coffee mixture and the reserved bean liquid over beans. Cover & cook in 350-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Stir beans; arrange bacon on top. Cook uncovered 30 minutes longer.

**I like this recipe more as a soupy dish … so I just dump everything into my crockpot (slicing the bacon into smaller bits) – and cook on LOW for about 6 hours. The house smells great! And the dish is delish ;-)**

I didn't have any brandy, so I improvised ;-) It works fine.

And that 2nd little empty bottle joined the 1st - waiting in the cupboard until I make a batch of Garlic Syrup this Winter.

I  added eggs to the crockpot meal, to hard-cook; the cooking liquid adds a nice flavor to the cooked eggs.

==GRAVIED CHUCK STEAK (https://cullyskitchen.com/a-1-steak-sauce-chuck-steak-recipe/)

Prepping the skillet to go into the oven - I wrapped the handle with foil.

 

Browing the steak, and setting it aside.

.I used regular mustard in the sauce ...

I used onion diced large - because i like them like that ;-)

And finished cooking the dish in the oven.

==CURRIED CARROT SOUP ~8 servings (or 4 generous servings)

1 Tablespoon Butter * 1 large Red Bell Pepper, chopped * 12 medium Carrots, thinly sliced * ½ cup Water * 1 Tablespoon Sugar * 3 Tablespoons Butter * 2 Tablespoons all-purpose Flour * 2 cups hot Chicken Stock (I freeze my homemade stock in freezer baggies) * 2 cups Milk * Sea Sat & Black Pepper *1/4 teaspoon Curry powder * ½ cup Whipping Cream * Slivered Pimento

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add bell pepper and cook until it begins to soften, stirring occasionally – about 4 minutes. Add carrots, water, and sugar. Cover & cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally – about 20 minutes.

I just dumped everything in the pot - including 2 eggs - and cooked it that way - this is what works for me: I am not a fancy cook; I cook TO EAT - not show off.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in 2 cups stock, then the milk. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes to blend flavors. Add curry. Cool to room temperature.

Puree soup in blender until smooth. Strain into bowl. Mix in cream and enough additional stock to thin to desired consistency. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead & refrigerated). Serve hot or cold; garnish with pimento.

Puree the COOLED soup in batches.

I portioned the soup out into 1-cup servings: I am determined to stick to my calorie counting and shed another 20 pounds. So help me God! I portioned the servings out and froze them in baggies.

==ORANGE-CURRY GRILLED CHICKEN w-TARRAGON ~8 servings

I used half a chicken in this recipe – and I did not grill my chicken: I baked it in the oven; a personal preference. But I am posting the recipe as originally written …

Not needing a sauce, this dish will benefit from the sweet pungency of a Mango Chutney. It will also go well with a wild rice & mushrooms dish, and fresh snap peas or a green salad. A summer melon will round the meal out nicely.

8 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast halves * 4 teaspoons Dijon Mustard * 1 cup Orange Juice * 4 teaspoons Curry powder * 4 teaspoons Tarragon

Trim off any fat or cartilage from the chicken, and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, thin the mustard with ¼ cup of the orange juice. Blend in the curry powder, tarragon, and remaining orange juice. Marinate the chicken for at least 15 minutes at room temperature – or refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Preparing the marinade. Tarragon is VERY PUNGENT. It literally "takes my breath away" - so I use it sparingly and it lasts a good loooooong while with me.

Since the chicken cooks quickly, have the rest of the meal well underway before putting the chicken on the grill. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes on each side over a very hot grill. If not done, baste with the marinade, turn and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer on each side. The chicken should be slightly springy to the touch and juicy and moist – but not pink on the inside.

I opted to bake my chicken - it got drier, but I like it best this way; I am not fond of grilled meats ... though I do like the recipes for grilled meats

==CAJUN SHRIMP ~4 servings

2 teaspoons Paprika * 1 teaspoon dried Thyme * ½ teaspoon Salt * ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg * ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder * ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper * 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil * 1 pound uncooked, medium Shrimp, peeled & deveined

In a large nonstick skillet, sauté the paprika, thyme, salt, nutmeg, garlic powder, and cayenne in oil for 30 seconds – stirring constantly. Add shrimp; sauté for 2-3 minutes; or until shrimp turns pink, stirring occasionally.

SOUP(S) DAY ;-)

Today I got busy making soups for Fall meals; these I cooked in my various crockpots this afternoon - and will slip into the refrigerator tonight before I turn in & will puree and freeze tomorrow. Recipes for the asterisked soups follow at the bottom of this post:

F to BK ... Shitake mushrooms, Crimini mushrooms & Button Mushrooms for Wild Mushroom Soup.

Sliced mushrooms for the soup ...

Wild Mushroom & Leek Soup* ready to cook in the crockpot.

Prep for the 4 Onion Soup*, Soup, to be cooked in the crockpot.

Spicy Winter Squash Soup* ready to plug  in ...

This is all I used to prepare 3 meals that will stretch to 6 for the 2 of us.

After the crockpots were plugged in and the dishes washed, I turned my attention to breaking down and wrapping the Edelweiss meats – we were visiting loved ones in Oregon Tuesday morning and stopped by Edelweiss Meat Market & Deli (http://www.edelweissdeli.com/), before heading home, to visit our granddaughter and her fiancé that work there; and of course we ate a german fare lunch there (OH! SO GOOD!) and walked out with a hefty meat order that has to be wrapped today if we aren’t to lose it. I like German food in the Fall and Winter months, and am happy that there is a german market/deli somewhere closer than Leavenworth to go to when I get the urge for an authentic german meal. I bought some crumb cheeses too, bagged dry Spätzle noodles, and Mulled Cider also; fresh spätzle is time consuming to make, the cheeses sounded good (and they are!), and though I’m the only one in the family that likes mulled cider, it sure tastes good in October ;-)

Prep for freezing the meats we bought at Edelweiss Meat Market & Deli where Alyna & Liam work. Bottom working leftward – Garlic-Rosemary Bologna, Olive Bologna, Pistachio Bologna, a wonderful tasting dry sausage that tastes remarkably like Goteborg sausage, GIGANTIC 2 Ham Hocks, Beef Soup Bones, and Curry Brats. We can’t wait to eat this stuff! We don't know what the long sausages are in front of the ham hocks, but they looked good, so we bought them; LOL

As soon as the meats were taken care of, we hung the suet basket for the birds that we watch dart about and fly by our windows – and decided that instead of selling Bob’s original Bird Feeder and Bird House at one of the Bazaars, we’d keep them for ourselves and hang them where we can watch the birds from our easy chairs. While setting that up, I noticed that the Ranunculus bulbs I planted last week are beginning to push up through the soil in the container I planted them in; & a squawking flock of geese flew overhead so low that I could see their feet tucked up under them as they passed by …

Bird Suet hung in the tree.

Hub's original design Bird Feeder and Bird House ready for our feathers visitors ...

Ranunculus bulbs sprouting: hard to see in this pic, but there IS greenery showing ;-)

While the soups continue to cook and infuse our home with their delicious odors, I am going to spread my Bazaar totes out on the table and take inventory to see exactly what I have left-over from last year, and what I need to flesh out before the season begins. I know I am low on Coffee Cuffs, so I designed these 2, and whipped them up last night – though people think Frankenstein is strictly a halloween scare tactic, Mary Shelley was actually ahead of her times and onto a freaky truth that started in ancient Egypt and has been picked up in modern medical practices … some people today, desperate to hang onto their lives, are actually walking around with the body parts of cadavers in their bodies (hearts, lungs, eyes, faces, ect.) and give an up close and personal meaning to ’living dead’; some people with brittle bones have even had pig bone grafted to their bones. Doctors today are attaching fingers, hands, feet, ears, ect.; to people who have been injured in these areas. Frankenstein, to me, has always amplified reality more than superstitious scary innuendoes:

MOD Frankenstein Coffee Cuffs.

==WILD MUSHROOM SOUP & LEEK SOUP – Makes about 8 cups

1 stick unsalted butter – 1 small Onion, finely chopped – 1 small Leek, white parts only, finely diced – 1 small Celery stalk, finely diced – 1 small baking Potato, peeled & finely diced – 2 pounds = 10 cups Mushroom mix (I used button, crimini & shitake), minced – 4 cups Chicken Stock – ½ cup whipping cream – Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper to taste – freshly grated Parmesan Cheese – minced fresh Parsley,

Put the butter in the crockpot. Prepare the leek, celery, potato, & mushrooms as directed and place them in the crockpot. Add stock, salt, pepper & parsley – put lid on crockpot and plug in. Cook on HIGH to a boil, then reduce heat to LOW for about 6 hours. Unplug crockpot and remove crock to be placed into the refrigerator until cool enough to blend. Blend in batches to puree.

Add pureed soup to a saucepan and reheat on stovetop at medium-low heat; adding the cream slowly and stirring gently. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese.

==4 ONION SOUP – 6 Servings

3 TBLS unsalted Butter – 2 cups sliced Onions – 2 cups sliced Leeks (white & tender green parts) – 2/3 cups = 4 bunches sliced Green Onions (white parts only) – 1/3 cups sliced Shallots – 2 tsp. minced fresh Ginger – 1-1/2 tsp. minced Garlic – generous pinch of Cayenne pepper – 1-1/2 tsp. all-purpose Flour – 7 cups Chicken Stock – 1 cup dry White Wine – 1-1/2 TBSP Cognac – 2 or 3 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice – 1 tsp. Salt – ¼ tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper – snipped fresh Chives

Put the butter in the crockpot. Prepare the onions, leek, green onions, shallots, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, flour, stock, wine, cognac, lemon juice, and salt & pepper in the crockpot – put lid on crockpot and plug in. Cook on HIGH to a boil, then reduce heat to LOW for about 6 hours.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated: reheat.)

==SPICY WINTER SQUASH SOUP – 4 to 6 Servings

Use acorn, butternut or banana squash. (I used pumpkin because I like pumpkin ;-)) Basically any winter squash will due.

¼ stick of unsalted Butter – ½ cup Onion, chopped – 1-1/4 tsp. minced Garlic – ½ tsp. ground Coriander – ¼ tsp (scant) ground Cumin – pinch of Cayenne pepper – 4 cups Winter Squash, coarsely chopped – 3-1/2 cups water – ½ tsp. Sugar – Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper – ½ cup whipping cream OR Yogurt (optional) – 1-1/2 TBSP fresh Parsley, minced

Put the butter in the crockpot. Add everything EXCEPT the cream – put lid on crockpot and plug in. Cook on HIGH to a boil, then reduce heat to LOW for about 6 to 8 hours until squash is very tender. Unplug crockpot and remove crock to be placed in the refrigerator until cool enough to blend. Blend in batches to puree. Place pureed soup into a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in cream; thin with additional water if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead and refrigerated: reheat.)