For Freezer Food Friday, see what MJ is putting in her freezer!

freezer-food-friday

 

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Participating in Gluten Free-zer Friday:

1. If you would like to participate, simply email your post link of your gluten free (or gluten and dairy free, etc.) recipe or leave a comment below and I will add you to the roundup.

2. Link back to this post on the post with the recipe you have linked.

Well, I’m pretty sure gluten and dairy free freezer meals are only interesting and exciting to me…  I’ll keep posting Gluten Free-zer Friday for me, I think (maybe?), but as it doesn’t seem to have a lot of interest/comments/feedback (read none at all) I think I’ll just scale it back, or maybe just chart it at home for my kid’s cooking notebooks.  No reason to bore anyone to tears!  I recognize I may have an unnatural need to organize food, and, um, sure, I can be taught.  

 

For this week, only some links to freezer cooking/gf stuff that I would like to spend some time exploring later this week in between catching up on housework and my knitting and how to freeze baked goods as we are entering the holiday  baking season:  

Cooking Traditional Foods

Ellen’s Kitchen

GF herb French bread/bread stick with freezer instructions

RecipeZaar

Strawberries are Gluten Free

 

Tips for Freezing Baked Goods:

Proper storage of baked goods allows you to get a jump-start on your holiday food preparations.  There are some things to keep in mind so that your baked goods will be in good shape for the holidays.  Always cool cookies completely before storing them. Choose airtight containers designed for food storage, such as zip-seal plastic storage bags or moisture/vapor-resistant plastic containers. These storage methods do not allow moisture or flavor to escape, or allow “off” flavors to develop in your baked goods from the other items in the freezer.  Airtight containers are also for freezing baked goods, as too much air will make crisp cookies soft and moist cookies stale. Stored this way in a freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, cookies and cakes will stay fresh and tasty for up to six months.

When freezing already baked cookies, layer cookies in rigid containers to reduce breakage. Separate layers of cookies with waxed or freezer paper or foil. Label the container with type and number of cookies and the “made on date” for easy identification. One idea for freezing cookies is to layer them in an airtight bag that has been placed inside a coffee can.  To thaw crisp cookies, keep in freezer wrap for 15 to 20 minutes. Soft cookies can be placed on a plate to thaw.

Another way to plan ahead is to freeze unbaked cookie dough. For refrigerator, as well as drop, cookies, form the dough into a cylinder and seal with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil. When ready to bake, defrost the dough in the refrigerator, slice and bake on a cookie sheet. For cutout cookies, roll dough, you can also cut out the shapes, and place on a single layer on a cookie sheet until just frozen. Store in layers in a rigid container as you would baked cookies.  Properly stored, homemade cookie dough can be kept frozen for up to six months. 

Fruitcakes and plum puddings, can be baked and frozen to enjoy for up to one year. Cool completely after baking, seal tightly and place in refrigerator until cold, then freeze. To help retain moisture, it is suggested that these products be unwrapped every few months, drizzled with rum or whiskey, re-wrapped and then returned to the freezer.

Cakes freeze well, especially if they are frosted after being thawed. It is not advisable to freeze cakes with whipped cream-style or other soft fillings, as this will result in a soggy cake upon thawing.  Cakes should be thawed at room temperature in their freezer wrap to prevent the cake from drying out. 

When freezing baked goods, the less full your freezer, the better. Good air circulation causes foods to freeze more quickly, eliminating the formation of large ice crystals, which diminish quality in baked goods. Avoid overloading your freezer and add only a few room temperature items at once. 

 


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As I am still woefully behind on housework, you know what with still trying to get all 300+ blog entries linked up over to this blog and photos and all the recipes (Yikes!) from my old one and being a little obsessed with getting that finished (it must be finished… must feed the blog…) and with being all happy to have any excuse but to CLEAN, it’s turned a little Lord of the Flies around here.  My children and very sweet and charming, and while picking up half eaten bananas, fighting about getting music practices done and the contemplation of carbon dating the towels and dirty socks on their bedroom floor is actually my life’s work and far  more interesting and fulfilling than trying to get everything transfered over here or trying to form complete thoughts without the vein throbbing on the side of my head as a chorus of “stop teasing me!  MOM!!” echos around me, I am thinking a little more mommy intervention could go a long way toward all of our peace of mind…

 

I don’t want to feel such an insane need to rush on this blog thing, because it started out just as a fun thing to help organize stuff for my family and maybe help other people.  And while that originally purpose hasn’t changed, it has gotten bigger, I have felt increasing pressure that it isn’t “good enough” or helpful, a disappointment or what have you.  And, well, I need to get over it.  Cause, ya know what?  It’s just food.  Not really that big of a deal in the full scope of things.  And this blog?  It started for my family, so I shouldn’t let the blog itself to get in the way of that, AND if it is for them anyway, what I put on here is more than good enough for them, thank you very much (I gotta remember that).  And it will be read, or not, as it goes.  I do hope it is helpful to some and if you do have a concern or question, I would still like to hear it, but if you could please do post it in the comments on the blog, as the answer/question may help someone else.  Also, questions won’t get loss in the abyss of my email.  Thank you.

 

I’ll see how it all shakes out on how I spend time on this.  There still will be plenty of posting on here, but without the pressure and just as it comes what ever that turns out to be…