5 Freezer Essentials

Living on my own, without too much time to spend preparing meals all day, I have found that it is imperative to stock my kitchen with things that can be whipped together at a moments notice.  After a long day of classes, practice, homework, whatever it is, when I get home late I usually just want to eat something and then relax.  Standing over the stove is the last thing on my list of things I want to do.  Keeping these five items stocked in my freezer makes life a million times easier, and the adjustability of the portion sizes is also great for when friends decide to visit last minute.

1. Chicken
I buy chicken breasts from the grocery store, but before I freeze them I cut off the extra fat and use a meat mallet to pound them out a little thinner.  Depending on the size, I usually cut them in half, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and zip them up in a larger freezer bag.  Wrapping them individually makes it a lot easier to control portion sizes, and pounding them beforehand makes them easier to cook. Spoonful has a great post about different things to do with boneless chicken breast, and there are some really tasty recipes in my Recipe Book (shameless plug?), so you should definitely check those out.

2. Meatballs
I always like to keep a bag of meatballs in my freezer.  They make for a great addition to pasta dishes, but they can also be a great quick meal after a long day.  Sometimes I will get home after a long day, throw a handful into a bowl in the microwave with some sauce (pasta, barbecue, buffalo--whatever I feel like) and cook them up.  I usually add some cheese and boom... Instant meal :)

Other similar options: Chicken Nuggets, Perogies, or a Frozen Pizza

3. Edamame
Alexa introduced me to this bag at Sam's Club.  This bag of individual, microwavable portions of edamame soy beans (we call them Edamoms) is great for a snack for 2-3 people in less than five minutes.  I made a package for myself one time and couldn't finish them, but we usually split a bag when we hang out and the portions are perfect (and healthy!).  They even come with individual bags of sea salt to pour on top.

4.  Frozen Fruit
I make a lot of protein shakes after workouts, well... at least I try to.  I have found that it is great to have a bag of frozen fruit available.  Not only does it add to the nutrient density of the shake, but it saves fruit from rotting in the fridge (I have found that chopping fruit that I wont have time to use and freezing it before it goes bad is a good way to prevent the second, but buying pre-frozen bags is a bit of a time saver).

5. Dark chocolate with Sea Salt
Ok, so this might not be a meal essential, but my teammates have gotten me hooked on keeping a bar of dark chocolate in the freezer. A square of dark chocolate after a meal is a great "healthier" guilty pleasure (or a good pick-me-up after a long day).  You work hard, you deserve a treat :)

Leave a comment! :) What are your freezer essentials?

Kitchen Tip: Dicing Onions

I love onions.  I was never really a big vegetable person as a kid (as in anything vegetable related was an absolute no-go), but growing up has significantly expanded my once-extremely-picky palette and now, almost anything with onions and bell peppers is an immediate Yes, Please.

Unfortunately, dicing onions can be a real hassle, especially if your eyes tear up as much as mine do (Did you know that they reason we cry cutting onions is because they chemicals they release creates sulfuric acid in our eyeballs?? Umm ouch.).  Luckily, my mom showed me this little trick that really helps.

First, I try to keep at least one onion in the fridge.  They can obviously be stored at room temperature, but it seems to minimize the crying response when they are being cut when they are cold.

Second, instead of cutting rings and trying to line them up to dice them, slice off one stem (is that what they are?)

Third, carefully cut the onion (almost) all the way in vertical lines.

Wow... that was probably the worst way to describe that process possible... Check out this photo for a (hopefully) more understandable, visual representation of what I mean.

Third, cut horizontally to dice.

As you should be when cutting anything in the kitchen, be very careful.  The structure of the onion will be compromised and may slide.  It may also help to cut off one edge so there is a flat surface to place on the counter.

Nutella Banana Bread Swirl Muffins

Yes you did read that correctly... this is a recipe for Nutella Banana Swirl Muffins...

Also known as Heaven in a Muffin Cup.

The other day was Felix's birthday, so I asked him what I could make him to celebrate. I was already planning on making banana bread for a team potluck the next day, so I asked if he wanted banana bread muffins.  He got really excited and started talking about how I should put Nutella in them.....

Now, I have a secret banana bread recipe that is amazing and I have thought about posting every time I make it, but I haven't been able to get myself to do it.  This particular recipe does not say anything about Nutella additions, so I hit the Pinterest boards.

I found this incredible, amazing, mouth-watering recipe.  Felix couldn't find the words to describe how much he like them (he also thought he could get them to last for two weeks despite the fact that he was eating like 5 at a time).  I also learned I could probably just try adding Nutella swirls to my banana bread recipe..... Next time. :)

Nutella Banana Bread Swirl Muffins
Recipe from The Novice Chef

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed (I only had 3 large ones left after making banana bread, but they still turned out pretty delicious)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil... technically it is a vegetable?)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Nutella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare muffin pan with liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together bananas, sugar, and brown sugar.  Beat in the egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.  Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients until their are no lumps (mixture will be thick, be sure not to over mix). 

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.  Top each muffin with about 1 tsp Nutella and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.

Bake muffins 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

The original recipe said this yields 18 muffins, I stretched it to two dozen because I was worried I was filling more than 3/4 full and they were going to overflow (and also, it made them last longer... yumm)

Quick and Easy Scones

So I have a couple food obsessions:

• Onions and Bell Peppers (could pretty much eat them in anything)
• Chai Lattes (I am trying to start liking coffee because I am getting old and it seems like something I should do--and Alexa is pressuring me--but I am in LOVE with Chai)
• Croissants (soft, buttery flaky ones... like the ones from Sam's Club that Lex wouldn't split with me today)
• Mozzarella sticks (pretty much anything with melted cheese if I'm being honest)
• Scones (The dining hall at my school makes the most incredible, mouth-watering scones... I think I could sustain myself eating them exclusively for the rest of my life)

I mean, in order to have a blog about food, I feel like you have to love eating... but there are a few things that I just cannot turn down, and these are some of them.

So now that I've whet your appetite (gotcha), I have another little story to tell.  This is my last semester in undergrad, so I am trying not to buy extra odds and ends for my apartment.  Unfortunately this does not apply to Alexa, who just started her Masters here (jeez I am talking about her a lot today... I hang out with her way too much apparently).  Anyways, she has been decorating her new apartment for the past month or so, so we have made a couple trips to the local thrift store.  

Now... I am a sucker for thrift stores.  Maybe it is because of my obsession with Pinterest, but I go into a thrift store and think, "Oh ya.. I can totally make something cool out of this broken chair."

Unfortunately, I have essentially ZERO creative talent.... so really I just walk around whimsically looking at junk I want but have no use for.

Not that THAT stops me.

On one particular excursion, I found a cookbook for like a dollar entitled "Microwaving for 1 or 2."  Considering the fact that I do usually cook for myself I thought it would be a good buy.  Flipping through I found some interesting ideas.  I might try them out and see how they go, but there was one I HAD to try.

Scones.

They didn't turn out quite how I was expecting (Realistically.... my expectations were probably a little high... I don't think the dining hall bakes their scones in a microwave), but with jam on top they were actually a great snack. 

Microwave Scones

Recipe from: Microwaving for 1 or 2 by Susan Brown Draudt

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine 
• 3 Tbsp dried currants or raisins (I left this part out)
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and 2 teaspoon sugar.  Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  

Mix in currants or raisins, milk, vanilla, and egg.  When dough is smooth, kneed 4-6 times.  Shape in a 5-inch circle.

Place on a flat microwave-safe plate.  Cut into 6 wedges.  In a small dish, mix together remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle mixture on top of scones.

Microwave on 70% (Medium-high) 1-2 minutes, or just until dry.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Serve with Strawberry Jam (and whipped cream)