Baking Day

Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Sweet Barbecue Chicken, Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookies, Whole Wheat Pancakes (and why you were SO right!)

by Crystal on June 10, 2013

I finally had another Freezer Cooking in an Hour session, after taking a few weeks off from doing much freezer cooking. I made the Sweet Barbecue Chicken and would recommend being careful when sprinkling the cayenne pepper on it. :) I ended up having to wash the pieces of chicken off — and it was still spicy!

We served half the recipe for dinner and I froze the rest for another meal. I think next time I’ll leave the cayenne pepper out entirely since it was on the spicy side for some of us.

I was anxious to try the Perfect Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookies since the pictures of these looked SO good online.

Unfortunately, my end result looked quite pathetic compared to the original pictures. But it was still yummy.

However, I thought it was a lot of work for just a few cookies (the recipe said it only made two, but it made 5 for me — maybe I made them a lot smaller?). I think it’s a better use of your time to just make a big batch of your favorite cookie dough or cookies and freeze it.

Did you notice something out of the ordinary in this photo?!?

Yes. I finally got a griddle — thanks to my husband surprising me with one even though I was sure I could survive just fine without one. (I’m the kind of person who will basically never buy anything or replace anything when it comes to kitchen stuff. I’ll just make do with whatever I have for as long as I possibly can!)

But oh wow! Every one of you who have been encouraging me to get a griddle for months and months and months were so very right. I cannot believe I waited this long to get one. It only took one time of making pancakes to have me completely and utterly sold on the practicality of this appliance.

We had to move around some of the kitchen drawers and cupboards to make space for it, but it has been every bit worth it. I can now cook 4-6 pancakes at one time!!! I’ve been doing them one at a time for so long that I just complete forgot it was possible to do them so much faster.

And not only that, but the pancakes turn out so much more beautifully than my other pancakes ever did. Plus, they aren’t constantly burning!

So yes, I should have listened to you all years ago! I would have saved myself to much time and effort!

Recipes Made:

Perfect Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweet Barbecue Chicken
Whole Wheat Pancakes

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Crockpot Freezer Cooking

by Crystal on May 30, 2013

Want to cut down on dinner prep for the summer and not use your oven as much? Check out this Crockpot Freezer Cooking session from Loving My Nest.

You can also read about her Crockpot Freezer Cooking Session #1 and Session #2.

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Gluten-Free, Honey-Sweetened Chocolate & Banana Muffins

by Crystal on May 29, 2013

I made two new gluten-free recipes yesterday. This Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins recipe and this Dark Chocolate Muffins recipe.

For being gluten-free and sugar free, they were pretty good. I thought they were a little on the dry side — but that might be because I baked them for a few minutes longer than I should have since I wasn’t sure whether they were done or not. :) I think I might put a little extra banana and applesauce in them if I make them again.

They also aren’t terribly sweet, but if you added chocolate chips I think that would help tremendously. :) I also thought it’d be fun to experiment with adding nuts, raisins, or dates to the banana muffins and peanut butter or nuts to the chocolate muffins. We also thought that the chocolate muffins would be delicious topped with freshly-whipped cream and strawberries!

I stuck these in the freezer to use for quick breakfasts or snacks. I love having healthy foods at the ready in my freezer!

Do you have a fantastic gluten-free, honey or fruit sweetened muffin recipe? I’d LOVE to have the link.

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: One flop, one success, and two other favorite recipes

by Crystal on May 11, 2013

I changed up my freezer cooking plan for this week a little because I wanted to get some Gluten-Free Waffles in the freezer and I also was really curious to try these Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes.

Unfortunately, the Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes weren’t the success I was hoping for. They cooked really, really fast and I found it was basically impossible to not burn them. Of course, it didn’t help that I was multi-tasking in the kitchen. :) I also just didn’t really care for the egg-y banana taste. But it might just be me!

I also made a big batch of Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. None of it made it to the freezer though, sadly. We had one batch for dinner and then ended up serving the rest of it for dinner the following night. Yes, it’s a hit recipe around here!

I love these Gluten-Free Waffles. They are so, so good warmed and dolloped with a little butter and honey!

And I already told you about the Grain-Free Muffins. Because I couldn’t wait. I finished off the last muffin tonight, so I think I’m probably going to be making the recipe again soon… but I want to try a few different variations this time. Because you know how hard it is for me to stick with the recipe as it is! :)

Recipes I Made

Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Grain-Free Muffins
Gluten-Free Waffles

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Pizza Dough & Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Crystal on April 19, 2013

Silas helped me do a little freezer cooking last night.

We made Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough.

I had planned to freeze half the dough, but the whole family ended up wanting to make their own pizzas. So we just went with it. :)

I was really unsure of how the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies were going to turn out.

But I ended up being very impressed with them. We added chocolate chips and a few dried cranberries. They are addictive! :)

Recipe Links:

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes, Crusty Baguettes, and Quinoa Cookies

by Crystal on March 29, 2013

I had another successful Freezer Cooking in an Hour session yesterday.  The Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes were fun to make (and that photo above? I shot it in manual mode… yes, I’m getting brave! ;) )

I love how the Vitamix makes the pancake batter so smooth.

While the pancakes were baking, I mixed up the yeast mixture for the Crusty Baguettes and let that sit for 10 minutes. Then, I whipped up the Quinoa Cookies.

I love how yellow the batter is when I use farm-fresh eggs!

The Quinoa Cookies were a definite success. They are a soft cookie — more along the lines of a breakfast cookie — and they pack a nutritional punch.

The Crusty Baguettes were so easy to make.

The dough was stickier than I expected so I ended up adding a little more flour than it called for.

I didn’t get a picture of the final Crusty Baguettes, but they were beautiful and I was very impressed with the recipe.

And the Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes turned out well, too. They weren’t sweet — since they didn’t have any sweetener in them — but they were wholesome and yummy.

All in all, it was another very successful Freezer Cooking in an Hour session — yay!

Recipe Links:

Did you do any freezer cooking this week?

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52 Different Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Become Best Friends With Your Freezer {Week 12}

by Crystal on March 27, 2013

At the beginning of every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.

I have saved a tremendous amount of money over the years by using just about every nook and cranny of my freezer space. I use my freezer to store extras of great marked-down deals I find at the grocery store. I use my freezer to freeze almost-expiring groceries (such as milk) so that I’m able to save it to use later. And, as you all well know, I use my freezer to bake and cook food to have on hand for busy days.

There’s no telling how much money I save thanks to my freezer, but it is well, well over $100 each year. For those of you who want to maximize the mileage of your freezer, here are some suggestions to get you started:

1. When In Doubt, Don’t Throw It Out

If you have almost-expiring milk or bread, instead of dumping or tossing it, freeze it. You can use the milk in pancakes or waffles and you can save the bread and when you have a bag of it, make homemade croutons.

Save the bits of meat and veggies and stick them in the freezer to make soup or homemade vegetable broth in the crockpot.

2. Check Your Freezer When Planning Your Menu

It’s important that you don’t just freeze stuff, but that you also regularly use the stuff in your freezer. Otherwise, it’s kind of pointless to mess with freezing things!

I consult my freezer when planning my menu as there are often things in there that I’ve forgotten I had. You can use the ingredient search feature on AllRecipes.com to help you find menu inspiration for what you already have on hand.

Brown Bag Burritos

3. Take An Hour Each Week to Prep Food For Your Freezer

Having food at-the-ready in my freezer has been such a huge help — and it’s saved us countless trips through the drive-thru lane, too. It’s not hard to make eating at home a priority when you already have food prepped in the freezer

If this idea sounds appealing but you can’t imagine finding a few hours in your schedule to actually pull off freezer cooking, consider just devoting 30 minutes to an hour on the weekends to baking and cooking ahead. Every little bit helps. (See some of my one-hour freezer cooking sessions here.)

You can also double meals you’re already making and serve one for dinner and stick the other in the freezer. It doesn’t take much more time now and will save you a lot of time later — plus, you won’t have to do dishes!

Do I Need to Get a Deep Freeze In Order to Save Money?

A deep freeze is wonderful, but I don’t recommend investing in one until you are absolutely sure you will use it. Use every single inch of your over-the-fridge first before looking to invest in a deep freeze.

And by the way, you can fit a lot into your over-the-fridge freezer. Here’s picture proof. Also, if you freeze things flat in freezer bags, you can turn them sideways and store them like file folders to save space

Does the Cost of Running a Freezer Outweigh the Savings?

Trent from The Simple Dollar did extensive analysis and he concluded that it costs about $11 per month to run a deep freeze. So in order to actually save money with a deep freeze and make it worth it, be sure you’re saving at least $25 per month by running your deep freeze. If it’s primarily empty, move what’s in it to your over-the-fridge freezer and unplug it!

Simple Things You Can Prep Ahead and Stick in the Freezer

Bananas

We peel, chop, and freeze bananas that are too ripe to use in smoothies. You can also peel them and freeze them whole to use in banana bread or muffins.

Frozen Carrots

Shredded Carrots

If you make carrot muffins on a regular basis, it’s much more efficient to shred a big batch of shredded carrots all at once. Just divide into one-cup baggies and store in a freezer bag to use as needed.

Chicken

Cooking up chicken and then chopping and freezing it can save you a lot of time in meal preparation later. I like to bake my chicken breasts, as they seem to be a lot more moist that way. You can see how I do it here.

You can use the chopped chicken in homemade pizza, chicken casseroles, to sprinkle on salads, to throw into soups, or to just eat plain–as my children love to do!

Ground Beef

Having pre-browned ground beef in the freezer to stick in soups, on pizza, or put in casseroles is a big time-saver. Or, you can do what I often do and go ahead and just add onions, beans, and taco seasoning to the meat to make taco meat. You can always use the taco meat in soups or chili, if need be.

Baking Mixes

Do you make pancakes, waffles, or muffins on a regular basis? Save yourself some of the prep time by mixing up a quadruple batch of the dry ingredients and then portioning them into freezer bags.

Freezer-Friendly Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookie Dough

Most cookie doughs can be made ahead and then frozen for later use. You can rolls the dough into balls to freeze, freeze it in logs, or freeze the dough in a tub and scoop it out to use. The only issue is that you might want to hide it at the bottom of the freezer–especially if you actually want to be able to make any Chocolate Chip Cookies with the dough! :)

Recommended Freezer Cooking Links:

Crockpot Freezer Cooking Recipes

9 Tips to Simplify Freezer Cooking

A Beginner’s Guide to Freezer Cooking

Freezer Cooking in an Hour Recipes & Pictures

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer

Some of My Favorite Freezer Cooking Recipes

Do you have a deep freeze? How do you save money by using your freezer?

photo credit

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Pull Apart Oat Rolls, IHOP Pancakes, & Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes

by Crystal on March 21, 2013

I mixed up the roll dough for the Pull Apart Rolls in the middle of our morning homeschooling while the girls were working on an independent project.

An hour later, the dough was done and ready to bake. Oh how I love my bread machine! :)

The rolls turned out beautifully (I forgot to brush them with butter, though!) and were very delicious. Plus, they froze well. By the way, these are so, so good with Crockpot Apple Butter.

Yay for another fantastic bread recipe to add to my line-up of favorite bread recipes!

I wasn’t sure how the Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes would turn out. It seemed like an awful lot of different ingredients to throw into one recipe.

I used buttermilk and bananas that I’d purchased marked down and had frozen. I love it when I can incorporate ingredients that I’ve gotten on a great sale into my freezer cooking.

Jesse and I both agreed we really liked the end result. They are hearty and delicious. Best of all, they pack a nutritious punch.

We like them best served cold without any sort of topping. And don’t get too hung up on the “pancake” part of their name. They are pancakes, but they reminded me a little more of breakfast cookies than pancakes in how they taste.

And finally, we LOVED the IHOP Pancakes. They were so fluffy and yummy. This is definitely a recipe I’ll be making again!

Did you cook or bake anything for your freezer this week? Share the recipe link in the comments; I’d love to check it out!

Recipe links:

Pull Apart Oat Rolls
Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes
IHOP-Knock-Off Pancakes

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Kale Chips, Bean Burritos, and Pizza Pockets

by Crystal on March 14, 2013

Last night, I switched up my planned Freezer Cooking in an Hour session and used up some of the items I’d purchased at great prices at Dillon’s yesterday instead.

First, I made Kale Chips. (More pictures and details on this recipe coming tomorrow.) These were super simple to make since I had bought a marked-down bag of pre-rinsed and torn Kale chips.

Then, while the Kale Chips were baking, I whipped up two bags of Bean Burritos. As you probably guessed I would, I tweaked the recipe some. I’ll share my tweaked version with you soon — probably early next week.

Finally, I make two pans of Beef & Cheese Pockets. You can read more about that recipe creation here.

I was highly motivated to get finished quickly since it was almost dinner time — and sure enough, all of this was accomplished in right at an hour. Yay!

Did you do any freezer cooking this week?

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Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Crockpot Refried Beans, Chocolate Cranberry Energy Bites, and Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

by Crystal on March 07, 2013

I’m so excited because all of my Freezer Cooking in an Hour recipes tonight were a success. And best of all, they took me right around 45 minutes total to make, complete with interruptions.

I was anxious to try the Chocolate Cranberry Energy Bites — and was really happy with how they turned out.

I substituted sunflower seeds for the coconut and left out the nuts and they turned out deliciously.

The Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes were also very successful. I was rather cynical that they’d actually work — but they turned out beautifully.

They were a bit banana-y, but yummy and hearty.

The Crockpot Refried Beans were so, so easy to make. If they turn out well, this is definitely a winner recipe. I’ll let you know tomorrow morning how they end up turning out.

So all in all, tonight’s quick Freezer Cooking session was a huge success. I love it when that happens!

Freezer Cooking Recipes:

Crockpot Refried Beans
Chocolate Cranberry Energy Bites
Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Did you bake or cook anything for the freezer this week?

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