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Cooking 101 and Freezer meals


RoseMeg451

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So, I am a super novice in the kitchen- any good recources for learning the basics? The new Whole30 book is definitely helpful- especially the perfect - section- but there are still some holes- emulsify???

 

Also, I want to make some meals ahead of time and freeze them- like chicken chowder, sweet potato soup, or Melissa's sweet potato hash- so if I need an in-between meal (breastfeeding mommy :-) ) I can grab something out of the freezer and heat it up if I don't have any leftovers. What is the best way to reheat things- especially non-soup meals- other than nuking it in the microwave?

 

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You can use google to learn how to cook... and to learn what words mean in a recipe.

 

There is nothing wrong with using a microwave to reheat or cook food. The scary stuff said on the internet is pretty much nonsense. That said, I did not own a microwave years ago and learned that I could make a plate with food from the refrigerator and heat it up in my oven. I set the oven to about 300 degrees and put the plate with food on a rack and checked every few minutes to see if the food was hot yet.

 

Another way to work with refrigerated food is to heat it in a large skillet or wok. I often prepare a roast with tomatoes and carrots in a slow cooker. A roast might provide 8-10 servings of meat. When I am ready to eat, I often cook some chopped onion and wilt some fresh greens and then add roast, tomatoes, and carrots from the refrigerator. 

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I like making Shepard's Pie in individual Pyrex dishes. You can bake in them, freeze them and then defrost either in the microwave or the oven. It's an easy dish to make and is delicious even after being frozen. I use mashed cauliflower for the topping but some paleo recipes use mashed sweet potatoes. Whatever you prefer. In the veggie layer I include spinach to get more veggies in. You can pretty much put whatever veggies you want but the standard ones are carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms. 

 

Any type of chili or stew freezes well too of course. People who see my house are like "you have so much pyrex!" Yep. Because it's so easy to cook and freeze individual meals. :) OH! You can do the same with fritatas. 

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I particularly love the Well Fed cookbook. I'm not a novice cook but I feel like she did a good job explaining things really well and keeping things super simple for many of the recipes, then teaching you how to incorporate what you're doing into more advanced meals.

 

And, the spice combos were amazing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thought I'd throw it out there that a FoodSaver can be really helpful to freeze portions and avoid freezer burn if you don't eat them right away. Things tend to last much, much longer in the freezer when vacuum-sealed. They are cheapest at Costco but you can get them on Amazon too.

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Thought I'd throw it out there that a FoodSaver can be really helpful to freeze portions and avoid freezer burn if you don't eat them right away. Things tend to last much, much longer in the freezer when vacuum-sealed. They are cheapest at Costco but you can get them on Amazon too.

 

FoodSaver is also awesome for camping. When we went camping a few months ago, one of our friends had packed their meat with marinade in a bag. She also had individual bags of peppers, herbs, etc. which were portioned out for each dish she made on the trip. When it came time to prep a meal, she dumped stuff into a bowl, mixed it, and tossed it on the fire. Made me seriously consider buying a FoodSaver!

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