Our summer is coming to an end and I have already started dreaming of cool Fall evenings, with a brisk wind whipping up the crunchy leaves in a flurry, the autumnal colors decorating the outdoors, and a warming fire crackling in the back yard pit, sipping hot apple cider and filling our tummies with rich warm soups, stews and chowders.
I have been stocking my freezer with all my extra celery, onions and carrots. I dice them up and put them in freezer bags in 1 or 2 cup amounts. I am determined to make up slow cooker packs for my favorite soups and stews. Most soups and stews start with the same base…mirepoix (equal parts celery, onion and carrot) or the trinity (equal parts celery, green pepper and onion). With all the lovely fresh herbs in the last few Italian packs and a few from my back yard I have a gold mine.
I have gathered up some of my goodies from recent baskets, veggie packs and case add ons with a few extras like meats, cheeses and stocks and some canned tomatoes this will become 7 meals of soups, stew and chowder. I have a supply of snack size, quart size and Gallon size plastic freezer bags on hand ready to get these packs together.
You can take any of your favorite recipes and make them into freezer packs. Chili, corn chowder, beef stew, minestrone, pasta fagioli just to name a few.
Chop your veggies as instructed in your recipe; separate ingredients that need to be sauteed. (things like green beans, peas, greens and potatoes need to blanched before freezing.) Meats, cheeses, herbs and spices should also be bagged separately. Place all the small bags into a gallon sized freezer bag; label and seal, removing as much air as you can. For convenience you can tuck in a copy of the recipe.
Lay flat in the freezer, once solid these can be stacked vertically to maximize space.
Whether you plan to use a slow cooker or prepare them on the stove, you will have hot hearty healthy meals available for your family.
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Just find a recipe that you like for a soup or stew and prep the quantities called for in the recipe in the into the smaller bags then grouped into the gallon bag. Keeping in mind that things like green beans, peas, greens and potatoes need to blanched before freezing. Meats, cheeses, herbs and spices should also be bagged separately as stated in the article.
I would love the recipe for your lasagna soup!!
I AM 2 WEEKS NEW to bountiful baskets. I made the decision to start because the cost was beginning to be a lot at the grocery store. with BB I can get a variety of different veggies and fruits for a steal.
My problem is I am new to cooking with ingredients and from scratch so I am in a rut because I want to cook with fresh ingredients and not sure how to start.
Are there any suggestions?
I bought the stew ingredients basket. but I don’t know the measurements on how much of each item to use….Please help
Do you freeze the fresh herbs as well?
That’s a wonderful idea. I usually just do a bag of chopped celery, a bag of chopped bell peppers, but making mirepoix and trinity bags is brilliant. I’d also love to try your recipes. Please share.
Please share the recipes you are talking about. I would love more information about this. It probably seemed basic but not for us newbies
I would love the full recipes you talk about. I would also love to see what you do with the “base” bags. Boil them I assume but then what?? More directions for us newby’s
Love this idea. Any way to make an easy dinner for those week day nights since I work full time.
Great idea.. I use this method when making cake mixes, muffin mixes etc.. and write instructions and amount of non-dry goods ( eggs/oil/fruit etc .) on the bag w/ permant marker. Never thought of doing it with soup ingredients .