After playing hooky last week, I was so excited to actually start and finish my entire Freezer Cooking in an Hour plan yesterday! Here’s how it went down:
4:30 — I get a later start than planned because I was supposed to have a video interview in the afternoon and they ended up having technical difficulties and it took a lot longer than they initially had planned.
I set out some craft supplies for the girls to work on at the kitchen table and I start some flour grinding in the garage (the mill gets flour dust everywhere so I grind flour in the garage!). While it’s grinding, I put together the Crockpot Barbecue Chicken. Since I’ve already made it before, it’s a piece of cake to pull off.
4:40 — The flour is done being ground, the chicken is finished, and I stop to take a break and go through the mail. My clearance swimsuit arrived from Lands End, so of course I also have to go try it on and see if it’s going to fit.
4:55 — Oh wait, I was supposed to be freezer cooking, wasn’t I?! I head back to the kitchen and hope Silas continues sleeping for just a little bit longer. I mix up a double batch of the Homemade Pancake Mix. And then I remember that we’re out of baking powder. Oh well, I’ll add it in tomorrow after I can pick some up at the grocery store.
5:05 — Jesse calls and I get distracted (again!) telling him about our eventful day and hearing how his jury trial went.
5:15 — Yikes! I gotta get back to work! I melt the peanut butter and chocolate for the Frozen Banana Bites and start dipping them. Everything goes well until the chocolate starts hardening. Maybe I shouldn’t have doubled the recipe? I finally give up on trying to make the last few tablespoons of stiff chocolate cover the last few bananas and just stick them in the freezer.
5:30 — I decide to try using the KitchenAid I inherited from my grandma to make Honey Pizza Dough. It’s in the basement in our storage closet, so I go pull it out, clean it off, and mix up the pizza dough in it. While it’s mixing by itself, I clean up the kitchen and kick myself for waiting five whole years to use the KitchenAid. I’ve already fallen in love with it after just one use! What was I thinking?!?!
At the end of an hour and 15 minutes, I have a nice little pile to show for my efforts:
Homemade Pancake Mix
Honey Pizza Dough
Frozen Banana Bites — these are fantastic, by the way!
Crockpot Barbecue Chicken
You can shred chicken in the KitchenAid too! Just use the flat paddle and it’s shredded in less than a minute!
Oh, and I used natural PB. It worked just fine.
We had a MSM dinner tonight and everyone declared both recipes “keepers.” They ate every bite of the crockpot bbq chicken (and asked for seconds!) Plan to serve it with noodles or rice because it makes a lot of yummy sauce. The frozen banana bites were a hit too. My chocolate/PB mixture got thick toward the end as well. I just microwaved it for 15 seconds to thin it out again and it worked just fine. I didn’t have any coconut so I tossed some leftover birthday sprinkles on there instead, which really made it a treat for the kids.
Nerak, Crystal, whoever else… I LOVE my Vitamix and can’t receommend it enough for grinding flour, making baby food, smoothies, soups, ice cream, everything. You do need to purchase the dry attachment, but it’s been worth it. You can make a whole-wheat loaf of bread in it in less than 5 minutes. But… I cannot give up the Kitchen-Aid. I can’t wait to mix the eggs next time for breakfast–awesome idea! And thank you so much for this pizza crust recipe. It will be the third time that I make it in as many days (we had friends over last night, made 4 crusts/pizzas, it was a huge hit.). I’m currently thawing out the dough for more pizza (yikes) tonight. Finally found a way to use it with the pizza stones without needing a pizza peeler. Your posts are great–many thanks for such a great site, and for all the fabulous comments from your readers 🙂
I have a question, maybe this will sound naive. Why do you (and others) ground their own wheat to make flour? Is it an organic thing? Does it cost a lot for flour? I don’t use flour that much so not sure of the cost. It seems like and extra step, another thing to do when you can go buy flour. Sorry just curious.
Fresh-ground whole-wheat flour is much better for you, but it’s also just much better than anything you can buy at the store. Baked goods are much lighter and fluffier, so it’s very worth the extra step for our family.
I love your site! And I love the hour freezer cooking sessions! I tried my own version today for the first time and it worked great! Even if I had to hold the 6 month old during the last 30 minutes of it 🙂 I made pizza sauce, pizza dough, breadsticks, peanut butter cookies and cinnamon sugar. And I was able to get mostly cleaned up during the hour also! Thanks for all the great ideas!
I LOVE my kitchenaid mixer, I can’t imagine life without it! How exciting that you have your grandmother’s, such a essential kitchen tool that can remind you of her each time you use it.
I made the Banana bites last nite. YUMO. I thought they would be pretty good but we were both pleasantly surprised how good they were. I just happened to have the natural peanut butter too but to answer the questions above I’m guessing any peanut butter would probably work. Thanks Crystal for the recipes it’s so nice as I get very bored but afraid to try recipes from some past nightmare experiences. 🙂 lol
Do you have to use natural peanutbutter for the banana bites? What about crunchy vs creamy?
I love my Kitchen-Aid. And I love that my shopping hating husband went out on Black Friday with our then toddler to buy it for me 🙂
I just used whatever peanut butter and chocolate chips I had in my cupboard (probably some store brand!), and I didn’t do the coconut because we don’t care for it. I think I may try topping them with nuts next time though!
I think you could do it with any peanut butter, but creamy would probably work better.
I couldn’t imagine life without my stand mixer. Makes multitasking in the kitchen so much easier. Can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I have had for 34 years – my Dad gave it to me when I graduated from college. Even though it is 1970’s avocado green, it sits on my kitchen counter with pride. I have very limited counter space, but there is always room for my Kitchen Aid!! Once you have it within reach, you will never pack it up again.
On the flour for the pizza dough it calls for bread flour but I know you ground your own. Can I use regular wheat flour or a mixture of white and wheat? I don’t have a grain mill but would love one. Thanks!
Ok, so I read last night how to make the banana bites, and just HAD to make them right then! So even though it was around 10 at night, I went out to my kitchen, took the last 2 bananas on my counter, and made them.
I ate one right away before I put them in the freezer. I ate one after an hour when they were about half frozen. I ate one after 2 hours right before I went to bed. I ate one in the morning after breakfast. I ate one before lunch. I CAN’T STOP EATING THEM! Is there a 5-step therapy program for banana bites addiction?
I was curious I see you make a lot of stuff for the freezer.. have you ever tried freezing zucchini bread? This the best time at all the farmer markets around here and my girls think it’s the best desert in the world so curious about freezing some up for later in the year.
Yes, I’ve frozen zucchini bread before and it freezes well.
I don’t know what I would do without our KitchenAid. We use it for everything. The attachments are a blessing as well. My husband bought me the ice cream attachment for Christmas and we love making up our own recipes. The pasta roller will be next!
Thank you for the freezer cooking sessions, they help make life easier and mix our menu up!
I put beef stew in the freezer this week and one batch of pizza dough. I used our new bread maker for the pizza dough and it turned out great! I am going to make a calzone for my husband for dinner with the second batch.
We were blessed with a kitchen aid mixer when we married 3 years ago. It is the thing I use most in our kitchen. I love it!
We were very blessed to receive a KitchenAid as a wedding gift from my in-laws. It has a place of honor 🙂 on our kitchen counter. I use it for everything, including the fluffiest mashed potatoes!
That all looks so great!
BTW Baking powder is on clearance at my target which is kind of crazy but if you need it is a slightly discounted price off of the MP kind.
I loved the banana bites we made them today. They are delicious
How do the pancakes go over without milk using the recipe you posted? We tried a different recipe the other day and they turned out very….bland. No flavor what-so-ever.
I can’t help but wonder if I did something wrong?
I also freeze my pizza dough with great results (it still rises fine), but I no longer use my kitchenaid mixer to make it. The gears in it stripped when mixing only a double batch (2 crusts worth). It was a $350 mixer and was 1 mth past the 1 year warranty and now it no longer runs on multiple speeds, only high speed, making it basically useless. I did some research and found this issue was common when kneading dough as the gears are all plastic and cannot handle the pressure, even though this is an advertised feature of this mixer. Just wanted to forewarn you!
Was it a Kitchen Aid mixer?
I did some googling on this, because it concerned me! I found a blog with a lot of posts saying the same thing.
This one had the most information.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/1676/kitchenaid-mixer-let-down
I can honestly say I’m a bit saddened by this!
Yes, a Kitchenaid Pro 500.
Bobbie, I just made the pizza dough in my Kitchen Aid. I was nervous, so I didn’t leave it’s side.
Mine never hiccuped. I wonder if maybe a heavier dough would bog it down, but it went through this like a dream come true.
Also, my mixer is only 4 years old.
Laura I had used my mixer many times before to make pizza and bread dough with no problems and then when making pizza dough one time it started making a funny noise and kneading on the highest speed (I had it set on low) and now that is the only speed it has. Obviously not everyone has this problem, but I did and others have and I just wanted to mention it because If I had known this could happen I would have made dough by hand and saved my mixer for the 50-11 other things it did great. Like I mentioned before, mine was only 1 yr old and the warranty had just expired and Kitchenaid wouldn’t cover it. Live and learn!
Crystal, I am new working with bread. I read the recipe for the pizza dough and I need clarification please. While thawing in the fridge will the bread rise or do I take it out after thawing and let it rise on the counter?
Thanks 🙂
I’d thaw it at room temperature.
My clearance suit from Lands End didn’t fit … how did yours work out? They seem to run big in most things –
How do you “start” freezer cooking? I’d like to start doing it but I have a gotta clue where to begin and what I need and what I can and can’t do
I laughed when you said you have had your Kitchen-Aid in storage for 5 years. I wonder what you have been using?? I saved for years to buy a Kitchen-Aid to no avail. (Something else always was more pressing!) Finally, my step-mom decided to get the high-end Kitchen Aid and my dad asked if I wanted the “cast-off”. Silly Question! I look for excuses to bake now! (: I have the pasta, slicer and meat grinder attachments and have yet to truly make good use of any of them. I’m so glad you joined the ranks of the Kitchen-Aid users! (: They make them in a town only 20 minutes from me and their sales store is a kitchen lovers Dream. They even teach cooking classes!!! I have always wanted to attend some of those but with three kids and a shift-working husband it has not happened yet….someday! (:
I saw the picture of the grain mill and said to my husband, “Hey, she has the same mill as me–I wonder if she has to grind her wheat on the porch too.” I had to laugh when I read that you grind it in the garage!:)
I get my grains/beans from Walton. It is much less expensive if you can get a group together to buy volume and have truck delivered because shipping can be expensive. The Vitamix does grind grains but not as fine as the Blendtec Mill, wondermill etc.. For making breads the Vitamix grinder is great but for cookie/cake/pizza dough type flour I personally like the very fine flour you get from a mill.
Love your commentary – sounds like me when I start a project . . . also I agree with your Kitchen Aide comment – I got mine from my great aunt and LOVE it. It’s so heavy but still has a place in my kitchen as I use it weekly! Just wait until you make cookies with it (or whipped cream), you can let it go and do something else while it’s mixing!
Have you tried “30 Day Gourmet?”–They have great freezer cooking books, newsletter, planning forms etc. I’ve used their forms for years and years as well as a lot of their recipes (I have to add more seasoning to most).
Adding a little bit of shortening to the chocolate and peanut butter before you melt may help with the chocolate freezing up on you. This is what I do when I dip Christmas candy. Maybe a couple of teaspoons for a small batch.
My KitchenAid Mixer and coffee pot are the only two appliances that get a permanent spot on the counter! I received one for my wedding last year and love it.
You lost me at “I start some flour grinding in the garage.” :o) I think I need a 31 week tutorial on how I would do this. First problem being lack of garage. Sadly, I didn’t even realize this was something people did, but I’m pretty hopeless! (confession- I don’t own a Kitchen Aid, Vitamix, bread maker, waffle maker, rice cooker, or that scary thing in your picture.)
😉
It’s okay- I don’t own a Vitamix, Kitchen Aid, grain mill, or rice cooker, either! You can live without these things and still feed your family well. These tools make some things easier, but you don’t have to grind your own grain to be a good homemaker. Just use what you’ve got to do what you can. And, maybe, if you have family that can afford expensive Christmas presents, you can drop a hint for the Kitchen Aid.
I so agree, Sherri! Use what you have and just make the most of that. I’ve been blessed to have been given almost all of my kitchen gadgets as Christmas presents. While they are great to use, I could certainly live without them.
My line stops at my Kitchen Aid.
I had hinted for one for YEARS as a Christmas gift, but finally one day my mother blurted out “You’ll get it when you get married!” and so it was. I got mine on my Wedding Day!
If you watch around Christmas, Kohls will sometimes do a door buster on Black Friday. I’ve also seen major sales at Lowes and Younkers.
Haha! I laughed out loud at the swimsuit comment. I’m waiting on my own clearance swimsuit from Land’s End to arrive today and I can’t wait!! *doing a jig* Land’s End- such a splurge for me!
🙂
You’re so FUNNY. Admitting to all those DISTRACTIONS! But a girl’s just gotta try on a new SUIT 😀
I’m so bad about staying focused! It’s something I’ve really been working on… but obviously I’m still working on it! 🙂
Okay, so I have to ask. I’m on the fence about buying a Vitamix. The Vitamix will grind grain. Why do you have a separate appliance (the BlendTec Kitchen Mill) to grind grain?
I’ve not tried the Vita-Mix attachment before (I don’t have one and my dad gave me the grain mill one Christmas and the Vita-Mix the next Christmas!), but I’ve heard that it doesn’t seem to work quite as well.
My clearance swimsuit arrived from Lands End, so of course I also have to go try it on and see if it’s going to fit. -So did it fit??
Yes — at least as good as I was hoping for! 🙂
Oh Tammy… I am so glad you asked..I was wondering the same thing!
Crystal, I love how REAL you are, especially to your readers. Most of us would have tried on something that came in the mail, but probably left that detail out. I love how you include these little details which just remind us that you are human and you are like the rest of us in some ways, if that makes sense. Also, does Silas normally nap until almost 5pm and still go to sleep ok at night?
I have to agree-I laughed when you mentioned stopping what you were doing to try on your new swimsuit. That is exactly what I do:). Thanks for keeping it real.
We’ve had a crazy week because my sister and her husband are in town, so there have been multiple late nights and family get-togethers. So Silas ended up taking a long nap that day. He typically naps from 1:30 to 2:30 or 3 and then goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. But this week, it’s been really inconsistent and I’m just having to “go with the flow” and be okay with that. But I’m really looking forward to getting them back on their routine again. Life goes so much better when there is consistency!
I have gotten some of the best recipe suggestions from you.
my kitchen aid is broken! It’s driving me nuts!
Do you put the frozen chicken in the crock pot when your ready to cook it?
Yes. Or, you can bake it in the oven if you need it more quickly.
Can I use regular chocolate chips for the banana bites?
Yes, that’s what I used.
I make all my bread using the Kitchen Aid and find it invaluable. It makes bread making so much easier as I don’t need to do any kneading. It is one of the most used items in my kitchen. I keep it on the kitchen bench so it is easy to access, being red it looks good to. Sadly they are very expensive in Australia as they are imported from the USA. Since buying the KitchenAid, I make all our bread.
I freeze my pizza dough in balls, defrost overnight, never had any trouble, tastes great.
The KitchenAid mixer I’ve had for over 20 years has probably saved me more money than any other purchase I have ever made. I can’t even begin to estimate how many loaves of bread, buns, bagels and homemade pizzas it’s mixed. Not to mention cookies, cakes, cheesecakes & whipped cream. I simply wouldn’t live without one now.
My mom had a Kitchen Aid mixer, and I used to use it all the time as a kid when I made chocolate chip cookies. My Mom still has the mixer, and my Dad uses it all the time to make homemade pizza dough. When I got married, I put the Kitchen Aid mixer on my registry and my brothers got it for me. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of room in our kitchen and store it in the basement. Because we store it in the basement, after 7 years of marriage, I have still yet to use it!
My husband thought it was a waste to get one because he knew we wouldn’t have room to keep it in the kitchen. But I don’t want to get rid of it. I know I have to start using it now. Maybe I will try to find room in my kitchen.
I think that is why you haven’t used it in 5 years – you had to retrieve it from your basement.
This is just plain tragic!
My last house i had to keep it in the basement and I was always up and down for it. Once you fall in love with it you won’t mind the extra to get it. When we moved I told the realtor that the new house had to have room for the KitchenAid in the kitchen. And we found one. Now it sits right on the counter. I use it about once to twice a week right now, too hot to bake too much right now.
I don’t have room in my kitchen so sadly, I store it on the floor in a corner. Yea, I should be put in front of a firing squad.
We cut the bananas in half and put them on a stick before dipping them in chocolate and nut. Great treat for kids (and mom!)
I was chomping at the bit to invest in a KitchenAid before I read this post. Now that I’m reading all of the good stuff people are posting, I think I may want to get one soon. As in last week! 🙂
I just posted on a comment above, but if you have a Costco near you, both the regular and the professional mixers have an instant rebate. I got a 575 watt 5.5 qt. bowl for $270+tax (the professional model). The other was quite a bit less- I’m thinking around $100 cheaper. Definitely worth the membership alone!
I want to make those frozen banana bites…..they look so good!!!! I have quite a few bananas that are really ripe that I want to use. Would bananas that are really ripe work for this?
Love my Kitchen Aid mixer….. it makes life so easy!!
My wife and I are looking in to the pictures with watery mouth.
I just bought a Kitchen Aid mixer in June and I don’t know how I lived without it! I am currently saving to buy the grain mill attachment.
Me too! I actually sold my old 325 watt last winter and have been doing research on what I wanted. For the price difference between the professional KA at Costco and a Bosch Universal, I chose the KA. The grain mill attachment will be my first additional accessory as well.
I have the grain mill attachment and I don’t like it. I LOVE my kitchen aid but I can’t seem to get the grain ground fine enough to make a nice flour-even if I run it through the mill several times. Maybe I just got a bad grain mill attachment but I’d do some research into it before you buy it.
OMG… There is a Grain Mill Attachment?! Wow!! My little Kitchen Aid Mixer has impressed me yet again!!1
Details please on grinding your own grains. Storing unground grains. Buying grain in bulk. The process. Everything! Pretty please 🙂
I’m curious–has anyone tried the frozen banana bites for a toddler? It seems like it would be tough for me, more less my toddlers, to fit a frozen chunk of banana in my mouth at one time. Maybe I’m just paranoid about the choking thing. ;0
I have 2 toddlers and have the same concern… They are only 1 year old and I think a chunk oh frozen banana round might be an issue…
Maybe we could try cutting them smaller size half moons? If you try it before I do could you leave a note telling how it went? And I’ll do the same if I get around to it sooner than you?
Have you ever tried separating a banana into thirds lengthwise? They sort of do it naturally if you get it started. I usually break a small part off the top the gently squeeze the end and that will usually show you where the sections are. They seem to be a lot easier for my toddler to handle that way, and SLIGHTLY less slimy. 🙂 hope that made sense.
Agree – Just did this for breakfast this morning. It makes the parts much easier for my 15 month olds.
I love using the Kitchen Aid mixer to knead super-sticky dough without having to add more flour to it. I can’t believe either that you had one sitting in your basement for five years without using it :). Did you ever end up getting a food processor? That gets even more use for me, especially the attachments to grate cheese/potatoes/carrots/broccoli (for slaw) or to slice potatoes for scalloped potatoes.
I agree. My Kitchen Aid mixer and food processor just stay out on the counter at all times. (I did a lot of research and KA is the best rated food processor too.)
My brothers use their Kitchen Aid mixers even more than I do. They have all of the attachments.
We had a Kitchen Aid mixer custom painted with flames for my daughter’s 18th birthday. An extravagant gift, yes. But she got a full tuition scholarship to college. She’s 23 now and has used her mixer like crazy, too.
We are a Kitchen Aid family. I’m waiting for the other 4 kids to ask for mixers.
I also agree that the KitchenAid mixer is one of the handiest items in the kitchen! I use mine for all the things you listed as well. Anything hard to stir gets put in the KA! Especially chocolate chip cookies! Over the years we have bought some of the attachments. My favorite right now is the slicer/shredder. I buy cheese by the 10 lb. block at Sams and then slice it into smaller blocks to put in the freezer. When we want shredded cheese for pizza, salad, tacos, etc. I pull out a block and run in through the shredder. It takes all of about 2 minutes! And we think it takes better than already shredded cheese.
I also have quickly sliced potatoes with it to make homemade potato chips.
I have the Kitchen Aid slicer attachment and I was very disappointed when I first used it. The feeder was so small it was like I had to cut my potatoes in 1/3 length wise in order to get them to fit through the feeder! Am I doing something wrong? I would think a whole potatoe would need to fit in order to make potato chips. Please help. I haven’t used it since!
Katie,
I’m not sure if there have been changes to this product or if there are different versions or something b/c someone else told me they never used their’s either due to not being helpful. When I described mine, they didn’t think they had the same thing. Anyway, what I have is the Rotor Slicer/Shredder; I just went to measure mine and when I open both flap things where you put the food in, it measures roughly 3″x3″ which is enough room for smaller potatoes, I just have to hold both flaps open with one hand, while pushing the potato with the other. You’ll want to have a good sized plate or bowl sitting out in front of the mixer to catch the slices flying out! It’s also good for shredding carrots for a salad.
Hope this helps!
I cannot BELIEVE you haven’t used the KitchenAid before. I am so lazy I will not even mix up a cake mix without it. And it fascinates the kids so that keeps them in line too.
I’m with you… I use my Kitchen Aid for EVERYthing. Making a meatloaf, bust out the Kitchen Aid. Making a cake? bust out the kitchen Aid. Cupcakes, mashed potatoes, dips, spreads, honey butter, pizza dough… the list is endless.
I think I use mine probably 5 out of 7 days a week.
Yup. My Kitchen Aid has a permanent spot on the counter because I somehow manage to work it into daily meal prep. Kids come running in when they hear it because they’re hoping to lick the beaters. I have to convince them at times that raw dough is NOT the same as cake batter, though they look similar 🙂
Don’t forget scrambled eggs! (Yes I’m that lazy. But we do a doz at a time around here.)
No way!!! Scrambled eggs in the Kitchen Aid?!? Hilarious!! (I think I might try, just ’cause I can!)
Yup, its on our counter too. I got it as a gift from the hubby…it’s even a funky color for my funky taste in gadgets. Any who, yes, I beat eggs in it too. The better they are beaten the fluffier they are. It’s even fantastic for mashed potatoes.
as a self admitted stalker of your page now, I have to try this out! Did you do the coconut on it?
Where do buy your grains to grind? I am having trouble finding them.
Do you live in an area where azurestandard.com delivers?
Honeyville Farms will deliver straight to your door for $5 shipping. Just google honeyville farms or there is a link on the sidebar of my blog.
For the crockpot BBQ chicken, what if my chicken is already frozen? Can you refreeze after cooking in the crockpot?
From what I’ve read, if you thaw raw meat, IF you cook it then you can freeze it after that. The big no no is thawing raw meat then refreeing it or thawing a cooked entree and then refreezing it.
You can refreeze meat if it is totally thawed in the refrigerator. What about taking the frozen chicken and putting it on a ziploc bag and adding the additional ingredients and putting it right back into the freezer. That should work just fine since the idea is to have it already prepped.
That sounds like a good idea. If I bake the chicken instead of using the crockpot, what temp do you bake at and for how long?
I would bake it at 350 for an hour and check to be sure it is done. It may be a good idea to cover it for the first 45 minutes to keep it from drying out.
how long have you had your grain mill and would you recommend this brand??
We’ve had ours for almost two years and love it!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who gets distracted when cooking . . . it was so wonderful to hear that you even had to go try on a bathing suit in the middle! (My hubby laughs at me all the time because I hardly ever focus through a complete recipe . . . amazing that anything we try out ever works around here. . . )
Thanks for sharing, and oh my goodness, there’s no greater gadget in our kitchen then the Kitchenaid!
Me too! I’m always getting distracted when I’m in the kitchen, ESPECIALLY if I’m trying to get something done “really quick” while the baby is asleep.
I did the bananas tonight and some marshmallows cuz my husband said ooh look what we could do lol but they were amazing!!!! Thanks for that post!!!!
I can’t wait to try the frozen banana bites. They look super yummy, and since I’m the only one in my house that likes bananas, I won’t have to share!
does the pizza dough freeze well? and then works well after it is thawed to use.
so you could make up a big batch, split it in 4 and then freeze it so you only have to pull 1 out at a time to use. Even with working, I think I could manage to have homemade pizza dough in that case! 🙂
Would love to know if you or anyone else has frozen it and it worked well and then can’t wait to try it myself!
Well, the jury’s still out on it because I’ve yet to use it yet. But supposedly, that’s how it’s supposed to work. We’ll see!
“the jury’s still out.” hahaha, pun intended? Lol.
You can groan if you want to. 🙂
haha I really did laugh out loud at the “you can groan if you want to” 😀
I would love to know the answer to this question also! Thanks!
I freeze my pizza dough all the time. I make a batch of dough, enough for 3 pizzas, and freeze two. The morning of the day I want to make pizza, I just pull it out to thaw. I also make a big batch of homemade pizza sauce, freeze it in ice cube trays, and take out about 5 cubes per pizza and heat the sauce up in the microwave when I’m ready to make the pizza.
Love your idea of putting the sauce in ice cube trays!
Yes, I have successfully used homemade frozen pizza dough. The recipe I use is a bit more basic. It makes enough dough for two pizzas. I let the frozen dough thaw overnight in the fridge. It tastes as if it were freshly made and never frozen.
I also keep homemade pizza dough in my freezer!! If your nervous about the thawing out (sometimes mine comes to life and “grows” through my cling wrap during the great thaw) you could try par baking it then freezing the partially cooked pizza crusts? That would cut out the stretching and shaping step, which can sometimes be hard when dough is cold…
maybe I’ll try cooking then freezing…
I make, freeze, and use pizza dough all the time. It turns out perfectly. Right now I freeze the dough in balls however I am going to start making my own frozen pizzas so we will see how those turn out.
But at least from my experience pizza dough can certainly be frozen for future pizzas..or calzones…or stromboli 🙂
Here is a post that I did on it late July. It goes over making using a bread machine and I also include the freezer, defrosting, and cooking instructions (which I actually do with all my recipes). Hope it helps.
http://www.skinnymomskitchen.com/2011/07/24/how-to-make-pizza-dough-using-a-bread-machine-basic-recipe/
Wow… that’s completely amazing to me. I’m lucky if I can make a 15 minute meal in 60 minutes!
Bahaha! 🙂 That’s funny. 🙂
Kitchenaide mixers are a gift from above!!!! Couldn’t live without mine, and I’ve only had it since May.