Four things I always have in my freezer

I live in an apartment with a small freezer that is part of my fridge. So without the luxury or expense of a big deep freeze, I still use my in-fridge freezer all the time to make my cooking life easier. Here are four things that I always have:

1. When I’m making Chicken Tandoori which calls for 1.5 teaspoons of lemon juice, I take my lemon, remove the zest with a microplaner or box grater, and then wrap the zest in plastic and stick it in the freezer. This comes in handy for Apple Pie for One, which calls for just a bit of lemon zest. OK, so then I cut the lemon in half, and juice both halves, and this produces about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I use what I need for Chicken Tandoori, then I put the rest in a small jar in the freezer. I save tiny jars for lemon juice, like the kind that capers come in.

2. I make a Roast Chicken dinner about every two weeks or so. In my house, a small chicken makes enough for the two of us for dinner (we eat the white meat), and then when the chicken has cooled off, I remove the leftover chicken and freeze it in a plastic container. Now I’m fully equipped for my favourite Friday night one-bowl dinner (Thai Curried Chicken). I just pull out the frozen chicken and add it to the pot of bubbling coconut milk and vegetables while the meat is still frozen.

3. I buy lean ground beef from the grocery store in a jumbo family pack, and then I freeze it in half-pound packages. When I want to make hamburgers, I pull out one half-pound package and a couple of sausages and I’m ready to cook. If we’re feeling more like Meatloaf with Spicy Ketchup, then I defrost three half-pound packages.

 

4. I make chicken broth from the leftover bones every time I roast a chicken. And once the broth is made, I freeze it in one-cup jars that might otherwise be used for jam, or I reuse pickle jars (or others) which hold about 4 cups. We go through a lot of chicken broth on a weekly basis so it’s definitely cheaper and easier to have homemade on hand. I use chicken broth instead of water to cook rice. I use it to make Instant Beef Soup (which uses a combination of beef and chicken broths to get the best flavour). And my favourite Thai Curried Chicken recipe needs 1/3 cup of broth in the sauce, and then more broth to cook the rice.

To make these recipes and more…

Check out OneRoastChicken’s new cookbook, “Successful Home Cooking” which is now available for order. This is not another cookbook. This is a cooking school in full-colour delivered right to your kitchen. All recipes include pages of colour photography and step-by-step instructions. And to keep you on budget, every recipe includes the price per serving. How about Meatloaf with Spicy Ketchup for $1.32 per serving? Or Chicken Tandoori for $1.81? Order your copy of “Successful Home Cooking” now…

Thanks and bon appetit!

Shelley MacDonald Beaulieu,
Owner & Head Chef
www.oneroastchicken.com

Questions (and answers) from One Roast Chicken subscribers

Here are a few of the questions (and answers) that have recently been sent to me at OneRoastChicken.com (they’re both from people named Mike, what kind of a coincidence is that?).

If you’d like to submit a question, just send me an email and get busy typing.

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Question (from Mike in Halifax, Nova Scotia):

On the subject of herbs and spices … (I don’t know which are which), I have five in my spaghetti sauce recipe: oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. I would normally buy them (dried) in little plastic bags at the grocery store but I think they are also available in a fresh state. Is this preferable?

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Answer: Thanks for the great question. On the subject of herbs and spices, according to science.enotes.com, “spices are aromatic (odorous) seasonings obtained from the bark, buds, fruit, roots, seeds, or stems of various plants and trees. Examples of spices are cloves, cumin, and black pepper. Herbs, on the other hand, usually come from the leafy part of a plant. Examples of herbs are oregano, basil, cilantro, and bay leaves” (source).

Fresh herbs are great when a recipe calls for rosemary or basil, both of which are completely different fresh-to-dried. Fresh basil would be great for your spaghetti sauce recipe, but not entirely necessary. I use dried basil for spaghetti sauce with great results. I save fresh basil for pasta that has only a few ingredients and when I need the basil flavour to really shine. Welcome to One Roast Chicken and thanks for writing.

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Question (from Mike in Orlando, Florida):

I think I make an OK spaghetti sauce, but I need a better one. When I make mine, I use three cans of plain sauce for every small can of tomato paste. So I might use 9 cans of sauce with 3 cans of paste. I sauté onions, and garlic. I broil country ribs, and sausages, and sometimes I buy frozen meatballs. I add basil. What I can’t figure out is when I should put the basil in… while it’s cooking for 3 hours, or 20 minutes before it’s done? My sauce is missing that certain taste that I can’t explain. Maybe you could help?

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Answer: Thanks for this request, I’d be happy to create a really great, simple, and tasty spaghetti sauce for the One Roast Chicken website, what a great idea! I’ll let you know when it’s ready … and I think you’re on the right track. Maybe canned sauce has too much salt and sugar, so we might be better off starting with whole canned tomatoes, and build up the spices from there… yummy, I can’t wait! I’ll keep you posted on the recipe research and thanks for the fabulous request

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OK, I can take a hint! I’ve added spaghetti sauce to the list of requested recipes. I will work on creating a foolproof, easy, step-by-step recipe, using only grocery store ingredients with lots of full-colour photography. And I’ll let you know how to freeze it AND reheat single servings. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

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As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. Drop me a line

You can always reach me at shelley@oneroastchicken.com.

Thanks and bon appetit!

Shelley MacDonald Beaulieu, Owner & Head Chef
http://www.oneroastchicken.com

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To view recipes for download, visit this link. Have you downloaded your meatloaf recipe yet? This complete recipe includes a complete meal for 4-6, as well as a separate mini-recipe for creating individual, single-serving, baby, mini meat loaves. Do you need to impress a boyfriend? Girlfriend? You need to download this Meatloaf with Spicy Ketchup recipe right now and get cooking!

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