Freeze Ahead Peach Smoothie & Food Storage Friday

My family loves smoothies, but during the before school rush I need the process to be streamlined.  I started making Freeze Ahead Smoothies and it has worked out great.  

 What is Freeze Ahead Smoothie?  It is all the ingredients to a smoothie frozen together in a ziplock bag.  I love this because I can buy fruit on sale and in season and then freeze it for smoothies later.  It only takes a few minutes to make up a ton of bags and then we are set for a couple of weeks.  

Tips for success: 

1.  When making the smoothie, if you have a dorky blender like I do, you may need to break apart the Freeze Ahead Smoothie before adding it to your blender.  I leave it in the bag and break it into pieces with my hands.  Since the smoothie mix was frozen flat it is easy enough to break.
2. You can use whatever fruit you have on hand.  I use whatever is in season, peaches, strawberries, raspberries etc. 
3.  I use Greek yogurt but you can use whatever you have.  
4. You can also add protein powder, flax seed, or oatmeal to make a heartier smoothie. 
5. When freezing you can stack several layers of smoothies on the cookie sheet.  Just make sure the outside of the bags are clean and that everything is laying flat. 

Freeze Ahead Peach Smoothies

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 banana, peeled
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup peaches, peeled and sliced (or whatever fruit you like)

1.   In each zip lock bag place ½ a banana, ½ cup Greek yogurt, honey, and peaches.  Squeeze the bag to remove any air and seal.  Place the bag flat on a cookie sheet and spread it out so it lays flat.  Repeat to make as many freeze a head smoothies as desired. 

2.   Place Freeze Ahead Smoothies in the freezer. Freeze solid, usually takes a couple of hours.

To Make a Smoothie:  

1. In a blender, blend the frozen contents of your peach smoothie bag with ½ cup milk or water.  Blend until smooth.   

Food Storage Friday Link Party

Freezer Spinach Pesto and Food Storage Friday Link Party

One of the saddest things that happens every fall is the first freeze that kills my basil. I have very little growing in my garden this year but I do have basil.  I have been making this spinach pesto every time I have enough basil to pick.  If you have never made pesto before it is easy. 

Things to Know About Freezing Pesto

• If you are going to buy basil to make pesto , the best place I have found is at the Gardner’s Markets.  At my Gardner’s market a large bag of basil is about $2.00 a bag.  Sometimes it is as cheap as $1.00 a bag.  The grocery store sells basil for $2.00 a sprig.    I have also heard from friends that live in the city that you can get basil at a great price from Asian grocery stores, but since I live in the country and there is definitely not an Asian Grocery within 50 miles of me I just go to the Gardner’s market.
• If you are not up to making your own pesto this year, see if you can get a good deal on some.  Any pesto will freeze well.  I sometimes buy pesto from Sam’s club and freeze it in smaller portions.  
• If you just want to freeze your excess basil.  Chop it and place it in the ice cube tray or muffin tin.  Cover with water and freeze.  When frozen  remove from ice cube tray or muffin tin and store in a heavy duty freezer bag.  This work well for many kinds of herbs.  Try it with parsley, cilantro, or what ever you have.  These iced herbs can be added to soup, casseroles, sauces.  
• Pesto can be frozen in a bunch of different ways.

In Muffin Tins

photo source: thebittenword.com

After the pesto is firm, pop it out and freeze in heavy duty Ziploc bag.  You can also use ice cube trays but I find that using the muffin tin freezes the pesto in the correct portion size.  

In Small Mason Jars

photo source: by lejoe

This is a lovely way to freeze pesto.  If you have a ton of basil make these and freeze for Christmas gifts. When glass is frozen, I find that it is brittle, so be careful with it.   

Ziploc Bags

I usually freeze pesto in Ziploc bags because it takes up less space in my freezer (remember freeze it flat and then stack it) and if I just want a little pesto I can easily break it off with out defrosting the entire bag.

Freezer Spinach Pesto

5 cups Packed Spinach, washed and dried

½ bunch Parsley, washed and dried

1-4 cloves Garlic

2-4 cup Fresh Basil, washed and dried (flowers and stems removed)

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 cup pine nuts or unsalted shelled sunflower seeds

1 ¼ c grated Parmesan cheese (use nice cheese)

Put all ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor. 

 image source: by thebittenword.com

Turn the food processor on and slowly drizzle the olive oil in. Process to a coarse paste, this will take a few minutes, be patient.  

Image Source by thebittenword.com

Pack into freezer bags, small jars, or freezer containers and freeze. 

To use:  Defrost on counter or fridge.  DO NOT HEAT. 

Serve over pasta, a dip for bread, or for the filling for a quesadilla (with chicken and mozzarella cheese).

To serve with pasta cook pasta according to package directions, drain leaving a small amount of water with the pasta.  Toss pesto with pasta until coated. 

This post is the second in a series about adding frozen food to your short term food storage, If you missed it check it out.  Part 1: Easy Frozen Corn

Food Storage Friday Link Party:

Stock Your Freezer--Easy Frozen Corn

 Photo Source: Greencolander

Storing food in your freezer is a great way to add nutritious foods to your food storage.  Now is the perfect time of year to freeze fresh fruits and veggies to eat later in the year.  Even if you only have the freezer that is attached to your fridge you have plenty of room to add to your food storage. 

Freezing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

• If space is at a premium.  Store everything in heavy duty Ziploc FREEZER bags.  Don’t skimp on the bags. Buy the heavy duty freezer bags.   Freeze flat, and then the frozen bags can be stacked.  It will look like a pile of record albums.
•  Frozen foods need to be rotated frequently.   Fruits will last 6 to 12 months, fruit pies unbaked will last eight months (more about freezing pies later).
• If you are planning on adding a lot of food to your freezer, then make sure to clean it out first and then adjust the temperature down.  You want the food to freeze quickly so it is best to add several smaller batches to your freezer than to add one huge batch. 

There are lots of great things you can freeze now and enjoy later.  Over the next few days I’ll share some of my personal favorites.  First up is…

Corn Off The Cob--Easy Frozen Corn

Corn is one of the foods that I have been hesitant to can or freeze myself.  Mostly because I think what I buy in the grocery store is pretty good.  Then I tried a friend’s home frozen corn.  Wow it was amazing, and in the middle of February it was a delicious reminder of the warm summer months.  One of the things I particularly like about this frozen corn recipe is that you do NOT need to blanch the corn.  Wahoo!  Easy and delicious. Since our garden is nonexistent this year I purchased the corn I used from the local corn stand I bought 36 ears and spent $6.00.  Not a bad price to have amazing corn all winter long.

Things To Know:

• The recipe makes about 16 cups of corn. 
• I freeze the corn in quart bags and put 2 cups in each bag.

• Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze, once they are solid you are stack them vertically to save space and make it easier to find in your freezer.
• Label the bags before you fill them. I did not label mine first this time and  when I went to label them I did a terrible job, much easier to do it first.     
• If you want to reduce the amount of butter or half and half, it will still work, just be sure to stir often while it is baking. 
• I use my cast iron enameled dutch oven (not the kind you take camping)  to bake the corn in, and it works well. But any pan that is large enough and has a lid will work great.  
• To cut the corn off the cob. Place the husked uncooked corn in a bowl or on a cookie sheet with a lip.  Slice the kernals off the corn, try to get the entire kernal but not any of the cob.  It is a little bit of an art but after a cob or two you will get the hang of it.  

 Photo Source: by whitneyinchicago

Corn Off The Cob—Easy Frozen Corn

36 ears of corn, husked

1 pound butter

1 pint half and half

1 teaspoon salt

Cut corn from ears and place kernels in a large dutch oven.   

Add butter and half and half. 

Bake at 325 for 1 hour with the lid on. 

Stir occasionally. Let cool.  Package and freeze. 

Freezer Biscuits and Honey Butter Using Powdered Butter

Printable Recipe

4 cups flour
2 Tbs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup butter powder
1 cup sour cream powder
1 ¾ c water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add water and mix to combine.

Roll out (I roll them out right on the cookies sheet)  to 1 inch thick cut with biscuit cutter.   

 Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  OR freeze individually on a cookie sheet. When frozen solid, place in a freezer bag to store. When ready to use, place frozen biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 15=17 minutes or until top is golden. Makes 16-20.

*use parchment paper or grease cookie sheet

Honey Butter

1 cup butter powder

1 cup honey

2 T water (use less if you want it thicker)

1 c powder sugar

1 t vanilla

Using wire whisk or Kitchen Aid beat ingredients until creamy.

Coconut Honey Spread

2 C honey

¾ c butter powder

½ c coconut chopped

1 tsp coconut extract

 1/3  Cup water

Using wire whisk or KitchenAid beat ingredients until creamy.

Raspberry Butter

½ c butter powder

1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water

½ c freeze dried raspberries

Using wire whisk or KitchenAid beat ingredients until creamy.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Butter

4 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup butter powder
2 Tbsp water

½ c powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cinnamon

 Using wire whisk or KitchenAid beat ingredients until creamy.