welcome fall

it felt like fall 2 weeks ago. I got quite excited...and decided it was time to pass on the love of fall to my lads with these fantastic and easy ginger cookies. Silliness ensued...my table was coated in sugar...and my freezer is now filled with tiny dough balls of ginger cookies just waiting to fill our home with a favorite smell and taste of fall! We welcome you...favorite season of ours {mine}.

and yes...my boys love silly bands!
however, I need to explain my boys definition of silly bands...maybe in a future post:)

"after you roll them in sugar, put them on the cookie sheet with a little space in between them..." good thing they were headed for the freezer and not the oven.

note: I think its time for a new cookie sheet...don't you?:)

Tip #5

As many of you may have noticed...I have been researching and implementing some Freezer cooking techniques over the last 3-4 months. Hence, the recent freezer tips I have been posting. I must admit that I thought it was going to be an awful topic to study and undertake...but it has turned out to be a wonderful blessing in the realm of my time management as well as our budget!
This tip made so much sense to me and has been a space and money saver.

Problem:
Packaging is key when you do freezer cooking. However, it can get pretty expensive buying freezer storage containers. I bought some aluminum disposable pans that worked great...but they are awkward to store and can get quite pricey when buying several at a time.

Solution:
line your baking/casserole/serving dish with 2 layers of aluminum foil with enough excess to completely wrap around the prepared dish.
Prepare dish as desired and then pop in the freezer for several hours. Once the dish is completely frozen, remove the aluminum from the serving dish and wrap up tightly with excess aluminum foil. Label your frozen entree and then store in the freezer up to 3 months.

Bonus Solution:
Since your entree was frozen in the shape of the dish you will serve it in...it is guaranteed to fit in that same dish when you want to pull it out, remove foil, and bake! Quick and easy...and allows you to use the same serving dish over and over! It also saves so much space not having awkward dishes in the freezer!

NOTE: for those of you refraining from using Aluminum in your cooking...substitute wax paper for the aluminum foil. I use wax instead of foil and the only additional step I add is to lightly grease the baking dish before layering the wax paper. This ensures easier removal once the entree is frozen. I store the entrees in Ziploc freezer bags once they are frozen to ensure less air contamination.

Tip #2

Another Freezer tip:
Buy your veggies in bulk and freeze them in ice cube trays!
I do this with veggies that will be used in any recipe. Obviously, don't do this with veggies you want to eat raw!
I do all the washing, peeling, chopping, dicing, slicing at one time and then freeze the veggies in 1 Tbsp cubes. That way I know that 2 cubes equals 2 Tbsp or 6 cubes equals 6 Tbsp. Once the cubes are frozen...pop othem into a ziploc bag and store them in the freezer.
I use my handy dandy food chopper from the pampered chef which make this chore a breeze. But trust me...this little tip saves SO MUCH TIME!

a few quick tips

I wil apologize now for the lack of pictures for this week's posts. I am away from my wonderful MAC and am using a PC which makes everything more difficult. Please note that this is just my opinion....no one take offense.
Therefore, in order to maintain my degree of sanctification, I have chosen to forgoe the headache of adding pictures from another computer and will simple post a few quick tips for the next several days. When I arrive back to my sweet Big Mac (my 20" MAC desktop) I will promptly begin making up for lost pics! (note:...Mark has his baby MAC in tote...but he always has it open and working on some silly seminary project:):)
So Here is Freezer tip #1
Quick Freeze method
Maybe you know of this...but it has truly transformed my cooking world! This is the method used to freeze individual items that you want to place in the same container... ie. chicken nuggets, fruit, veggies, meats, burgers...etc.
Simply place the items you want individually frozen on a cookie sheet and freeze for an hour or two. Once the items are frozen individually, quickly place them in the container you want to store them in and return it to the freezer.
I used to just freeze everything in separate packages so that when I needed something I could just thaw out the package. I always hated the way my stuff stuck together...and wondered why Tyson Chicken Nuggets never stuck together...and why frozen peas could be thawed out 1/2 cup at a time!
Here is the simple solution!