As I’ve been cooking and baking my way through the weekend, trying to get ahead…if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: My Freezers Are REALLY Full!
I AM NOT COMPLAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is one of the most blessed problems to have!!! Freezers…PLURAL…are full. I am so thankful.
But here is my “problem”. One of my freezers is full of frozen fruits and veggies that I put up during the summer and fall. Remember all those strawberries we got? Many of them are still in the freezer. I put them in there so we could eat them the whole year through. Um, hello Laura? That would be now.
But the problem with having frozen strawberries in the winter is that frozen strawberries are…cold. Go figure.
It’s time to let go of the cold factor and the fact that I tend to like to keep food stocked away for “when we need it”. Come on Laura…get out the frozen strawberries and EAT THEM. That’s what they’re for!!!
So…working to get over it (and because I really needed freezer space for all my other goodies), all weekend we were munching on partially frozen strawberries. YUM! The trick? Just do a few jumping jacks in between bites…then go wash dishes in hot water. You’ll warm up eventually.
Beyond just eating them out of the bags, I’m going to be very focused on making lots of slushies and smoothies. This is the point of winter that we always feel lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables. Bring on the smoothies.
AND…of course I’ll add the Antioxidant Omega 3 Greens from Tropical Traditions to give us even more nutrition. Want to win some?
Here’s our menu for the week:
Sunday, January 31
Oatmeal, pears
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans
Nachos, mixed fruit slushies
Monday, February 1
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Potato soup, carrot sticks, yogurt-fruit smoothies
Baked fish, stir fried rice and veggies
Tuesday, February 2
Whole wheat and honey zucchini bread, applesauce
Creamy mac and cheese, peas
Venison stew, corn bread muffins
Wednesday, February 3
Cinnamon swirl bread, canned peaches
Chili with cheese, carrot sticks, apples
Bean and rice bowls, kefir fruit smoothies
Thursday, February 4
Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, oranges
Melting snowflakes, apples, bananas
Sloppy cornbread, tossed salad, strawberry-peach slushies
Friday, February 5
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Meat and cheese burritos, fresh pineapple
Homemade pizza, fruit salad
Saturday, February 6
Warm chocolate soother, homemade crunchy oat cereal
Leftover buffet
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Stay tuned for pictures and details about how our weekend went with the cooking and baking marathon!
Also…What would you make with lots of frozen strawberries and peaches?! Have any fun new recipes I should try?
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More menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.
I would kill (not really!) for those frozen strawberries and peaches right now. :) I’d be using them up on homemade strawberry or peach or strawberry/peach topping for pancakes, french toast, and waffles. YUM!
We have strawberries in the freezer we picked in the spring too :) We use them mixed with blueberries as pancake/waffle topping too. Also use them for a lot of smoothies. The last thing is that we got the strawberries in the crushed and ready to made into jam stage… measured out and frozen.. so now i can make more jam for the winter/spring. Need to get on that! LOL
Oooohh, I love strawberries. I would make some strawberry yoghurt, strawberry muffins, peach crumble, peach upside down cake… yum!!
Cobbler… peach cobbler is what I would make…
We’ve used this recipe for strawberry syrup for pancakes and everyone loves it! It’s great WARM!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-syrup/Detail.aspx
We also eat them thawed with sliced up bananas as a quick serving of fruit.
I once had a recipe for strawberry muffins. Unfortunately I don’t remember where I found the recipe, nor do I still have it. But I’m sure you could find one on allrecipes.com. :)
I’d love frozen strawberries right about now ….mid summer In Australia
My kiddos love to put frozen strawberries in their hot oatmeal…it cools it down to just the right temperature!
And I do like to use frozen fruit to make up some fruit syrup for topping pancakes.
Thank you for your menu plans!! They give me some good ideas. I also forward them to my daughter and she likes to make your recipes and divide them up for the freezer. I also will make a quadruple recipe of something and trade with a friend who makes something else. It’s a nice way to have a variety in the freezer (expecially if I have a good buy on beef and she has a good buy on chicken!) I look forward to your photos of your cooking marathon. Thanks again Laura.
If I had a freezer full of strawberries I would totally make strawberry syrup to put on waffles and pancakes. Also, strawberry shortcake, I am really in the mood for strawberry shortcake right now, and Tammy has a recipe for whole wheat strawberry shortcake that looks divine! And, do you think it would work if you thawed them and dipped them in chocolate? For valentine’s day? Or would they be too syrupy, who knows!
Oh, I do the same thing with fruit! I pick it when it’s in season, stash it in the freezer, then . . . hoard it! I’ve got strawberries, blueberries and apricots (and concord grapes!), as well as some sour cherries from a couple of years ago. :(
I’ve been very diligent, this year, about using the frozen fruit in my breakfast smoothies: 1/2 cup OJ, 1/2 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt, and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of each of 2 different fruits, blend the daylights out of it and enjoy!
And I just this morning found a granola recipe that uses, of all things, fruit pulp instead of oil!
http://tinyurl.com/yfll5wz
I’m sure frozen fruit (of any variety) would work just as well here – I’m going to try it as soon as my current granola is gone!
put the strawberries in warm muffins!