Freezer Meals

I came home with a 'bug' that took the wind out of my sails and over a month later, I'm

still struggling with a cough and low energy. Through this I managed to plant and mulch the garlic for next summer. Also cut down and mulch the two boxes of strawberry plants with straw, which brings the garden close to closure for this year. 

Filling the upright freezer for winter

I am feeling behind with preparation for the season but managed to get a few big pots of soup made for the freezer. I have two freezers, a chest for raw meat, fish and poultry and an upright for fruit, baking and prepared foods. It also holds the ice packs for when we do a grocery shop off Island. Although the upright freezer is not as efficient in a power outage, the ice packs help retain some temperature.

I love the upright freezer, it's like a grocery store of my home made, ready to heat and eat meals... like pre-cooked shepherds pie, lasagna, sauces, soups etc. The other benefit is that the shelves help to actually find what you are looking for without too much digging around. 

Garlic Scape and Basil Pesto~2oz bags

Roasted Tomato Sauce~12oz and 8oz bags

Roasted Tomato Sauce and several flavors of Pesto are both frozen in zip type bags. The sauces are prepared, cooled then measured into bags that are marked with the date, amount and frozen flat on bake sheets. Once frozen, the flat bags stand neatly in shoe boxes on the top shelf. The soups are packed in single serving, 2 cup containers and easily stack three cartons high.

Many of my freezer soups have no recipe, just a list of ingredients and a few guideline instructions. For those who are comfortable with the knowledge of flavors, consistency and texture... and cooking without measuring and without a recipe, this is an easy task. For those who need a bit more guidance, I have given some measures below. Here is my favorite freezer soup...

Spicy Sausage and Kale Soup
This is my favorite, fast soup. Spicy Italian sausage has enough seasoning that very little adjusting is necessary. I like to serve it with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
 
6-8 Spicy Italian sausages
1 onion, diced
3-4 quarts flavorful chicken stock
brown rice flour or roux, for thickening
a bunch of kale; washed, stems removed and chopped

Remove sausage meat from casing and fry in oil; breaking into small, bite sized pieces. Add diced onion and fry until lightly browned. Remove from heat, drain excess fat and set aside. Meanwhile, heat and thicken chicken stock to desired thickness. Add cooked sausage mixture and chopped kale to thickened stock. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, taste and adjust seasoning.

Till next time... Bon Appétit!

Photos by Sally Rae
Recipe by Sally Rae