Ever since the formation of my wonderful Monthly Freezer Meal Club, I've been intrigued by the world of freezing. Perusing the freezer meal recipes on Pinterest made me realize there are so many things I could be buying or baking in bulk and FREEZING. It's like the ultimate way to prep and get ahead. So often I agonize over the prep of certain meals (like chopping onions, for instance) when I could take a little bit of time and get it all done in one fell swoop!
Devo would be all:
Noted, Devo.
Recently, bags of onions went on sale 2 for $4.00. That's not a bad price (although I like it better when they are BOGO, amiright?). I couldn't walk away with one bag o' onions at that price. So I brought home both bags, figuring I'd give one to my mom or mother-in-law.
OR WOULD I?
It was right then that a small voice in my head shouted:
"STEPH. Don't give that bag away! Chop it up and freeze those bad boys for later use! FREEZE ALL THE THINGS"
Touché, small voice. Touché.
So I did. I spent one afternoon while Bug was napping and peeled and chopped one of these bags of onions (the other is in my fridge's crisper for current use. I use a lot of onions).
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| Onion PAR-TAAAAAY |
I now have 10 onions chopped, each in their own individual freezer bag, ready to be used in a recipe at a moment's notice (See notes on freezing onions at end of post)
Upon acting on this inspiration, I was motivated to tackle this basket of peaches a few days later.
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| Millions of peaches. Peaches for me. |
We picked these peaches not long ago. There were 19 pounds of white and yellow peaches before we ate a few.
To say it was a hefty haul is an understatement.
I preped the fruit, placing them into freezer bags in 5-6 cup increments so they were perfectly portioned for pies! After a naptime's worth of peeling and chopping, I now have 6 pies-worth of peaches in the freezer (and 1 small bag for a peach crisp).
I can't wait to have "fresh" peach pie at Thanksgiving! (See notes on freezing peaches at the end of post)
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| Glorious, glorious pie. |
If you have the space, there are so many items (apart from freezer meals, of course) that can be frozen! Here are a few more to spur you on:
Fresh Herbs (chopped and frozen in ice cube trays with olive oil)
Are you inspired?
What foods have I overlooked?
What foods are you excited to start FREEZING?
Join the conversation and leave a comment!
Notes on Freezing Onions:
- Frozen onions lose texture, so they are best used in cooking and baking (not raw).
- Frozen chopped onions do not need to be thawed. Just take them out and throw them in your casserole mix, stew, soup, etc. They'll cook up quickly and nicely!
- Onions, even in a freezer bag, can flavor other items in your freezer (hello, Onion Vanilla Ice Cream?!). So I bagged mine in quart-sized bags and then put all the quart-sized bags in a gallon-sized zip-top bag to contain their smell/flavor.
Notes on Freezing Peaches:
- Peaches can become discolored after they are peeled. Once they are chopped, toss them in a water/lemon juice mixture (I add a couple squirts of lemon juice to a large bowl of water). This will keep them from browning.
- Peaches will release some juices once they are thawed. So if you are using thawed peaches in a pie or baked good, toss them with a thickener (ie: flour) to counteract the juiciness.
- Peaches lose their firmness upon freezing. Once frozen, they are best used in baked goods.
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