Easy Freezy

Another great freezer food meal tonight!  Today's dishes were either steamed or baked.  Easy to make and easy to clean up.

Steamed vegetable soup.  Napa cabbage, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and ham.  Very simple to make and looked elegant.

I tried out a new recipe for steamed pork with  black "wooden ears".  Definitely a dish that I would make again.  The pork was seasoned with "sa-tay" sauce which was not usually associated with steamed food.  Yeah!  I learn something new everyday!

While two dishes were being steamed on the stove top, two more were being baked in the oven: bacon wrapped scallops and garlic butter escargot.  Yes, they were in the freezer.  Man, why haven't I eaten them earlier?

The giant scallops were from Trader Joe's.  I just wrapped them with bacons and they tasted like a million bucks!  I did not stuff the escargot in the shells.  Instead, I used the two stainless escargot pans that I found at Goodwill last year.  I put the garlic butter on the bottom, add the snails and top with bread crumbs.  Oven at 400.  The scallops in first and 20 minutes later, I popped in the escargot.

There we had it.  Easy and delicious.  I did good again!  :o)

The Freezer Food Combo

Frozen Chicken Breast + Frozen Vegetables + Frozen Pie Shell = Piping Hot Pot Pies. 

Chicken Pot Pies + Salad + Wonton Soup (yes, I found some wontons in the freezer too) = Tonight's Dinner.

Dad and Mom gave me the thumbs up.  Dad asked if I can make one with scallops and shrimps next time. OK, Dad.  I'll check if I have frozen mixed seafood in the freezer.

The Freezer Food Inventory

I took inventory of what's in the freezer and started my menu planning for the month. Instead of relying on running to the store to pick up what's called for in a recipe, I improvised. I tried to see how I can combine the ingredients and create new taste.

So what did we end up with?


For dinner last night, I took the easy way out and made hotpot. Taking all the little packets of lamb, chicken, tempera, corn cobs and adding them to a soup base of napa cabbage, tomatoes and tofu. Nothing fancy but it was perfect for a chilly night. Best of all, I cleaned out the little bags of frozen food here and there. Yes, when in doubt, make hotpot. Just make sure you have plenty of veggies and a good dipping sauce.

For tonight, I defrosted the beef short ribs made red wine-braised short ribs. New recipe. Made with simple ingredients of celery, carrots, shallots. And Oh My God, it smelled sooooo good!! I think I'm going to call this recipe one of my favorites. Thank you Williams-Sonoma!

As for the frozen chicken meat, hmmm... how about chicken with black-bean sauce? I stir-fried it with green and red peppers. Hey, it came out pretty good. Great with rice.

So, I think I did pretty good the first two nights. Let's give me a big round of applause!!

The Freezer Food Warm-Up

So my Eat Your Freezer Food game doesn't start until tomorrow. But since I had some time this morning, I figured that I'll give it some practice.

Let's see what I have: 1/2 bag of baby spinach, little bit of feta cheese and eggs. Hmmm... how about a Frittata? I also found some frozen breakfast sausage patties and frozen green/red peppers in the freezer. Perfect!

1) Stir-fry the green/red peppers

2) Throw in slightly chopped sausage patties

3) Some chopped garlic. I found some in a jar in the refrigerator.

4) Stir in the baby spinach

5) Whip up 3 eggs. Add milk. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in feta cheese. Pour into the pan. Top with Parmesan cheese.

6) Pop it in the oven at 350. Baked about 45 minutes or so.

7) Voila! Eat.

Hey, it came out pretty yummy. :o)

The Freezer Food Challenge

WHAT'S IN YOUR FREEZER? I was looking for some ingredients in the freezer the other day. I took all the stuff out and really dug. I couldn't find what I was looking for - I don't even remember what I was looking for now - but I have a little mountain of frozen food. Ugh! All these food, and none what I need! How that happened? What am I supposed to do with all these stuff?

GAME ON. So I declared to Mom and Dad that we will have a food challenge in March. Our challenge will be to consume what's in the freezer and to deplete what's in there before I start stock piling again. This means though, I'll be making food that may not always be Chinese. It may be American or Italian. Heck, I may end up making Japanese or French (ya, dream on). Mom and Dad were good sports. They said let's go for it. So, here we go, from this Sunday, 2/27/11 through 3/31/11,we will play the Eat Your Freezer Food game.

GAME RULES: I can only use what's in the freezer and in the pantry. No buying of new food except milk, eggs, bread/bagels, veggies and fruits. I will allow myself to buy onions, garlics, cilantro, green onions - you know, things that make food taste good. And, I have to have my beer and wine to go with whatever I'll be making. And, timeouts on Saturdays.

WATCH ME PLAY, PEEPS. This should be interesting. A good cook should be able to make dishes using what's at hand and make them tasty too. I'll chronicle my food challenge. We will see if I can really cook.