Freezer Pleasers

Our freezer saga began when we got back from our vacation this summer.  The house was in great shape, the animals well taken care of by my niece,  and a freezer that had just quit.  Thank goodness we had gone down to get something for dinner!  Our freezer was an upright, frost free, appliance that we utilized to the max.  Meats, bacon, fruits,vegetables, bacon,  bread, cookie dough, freeze pops, and bacon...(did I mention bacon?) were all in jeopardy.  Luckily, we discovered it shortly after it had quit so the food was still frozen.   We phoned my Mom who has an upright freezer and asked if we could move our groceries to her house until we either got the freezer repaired or replaced.  We called it the "Massive Meat Mobilization" and fortunately saved everything but a few bags of vegetables.  (The  bacon and the pepper sticks were safe, that's all that matters!)

Over the summer, we looked for a good freezer deal and we used up as much as we could of the food that was in the upstairs refrigerator freezer.  It was quite an adventure.  I'm a total fan of upright freezers.  When I was a kid we had a chest freezer, and my grandparents had a HUGE chest freezer in their garage.  I would be sent out to get something, and I couldn't reach very far down.  I'd have to stand on a chair or step stool to see what was in there.  My favorite part of the freezers was both my Mom and my grandmother would freeze  molasses cookies in foil  packages.  I would be standing on a stool, bent over at the waist, butt up in the freezer hunting for those cookies, when I had been sent out for onions or ground beef.  The reward was awesome when I would find one of those shiny, metallic packages.  I would eat the cookies ice cold, and rock hard.  They were that good!

Change is coming to our family in many ways, and we had been blessed to have a great deal on a freezer that benefited both my Mom and us.  We now have an upright freezer to store food in.  Hubby has a promotion, soccer is starting up for the boy child, and play rehearsals are gearing up for me.  Dinner needs to be something quick, easy, and  hearty. We were also blessed to be given a whole bag of fresh garlic cloves.  Dinners this week will be from the freezer and will be using the fresh garlic.   Many meals prepped ahead can be stored in the freezer and their ingredients can go directly from freezer to oven or Crock Pot.  After I gave birth to my boy child, many friends and family members made dinners that could be frozen and go directly from freezer to oven.  When I went back to work, that was an invaluable gift.   My sister has announced that  she is "expecting" and I'll be stocking up meals and recipes for her.

The apple pie pictured uses my Grandmother's no fail pie crust recipe.  The beauty of this recipe is the pie dough can be refrigerated up to a week, or frozen up to 4 months!  The recipe is not in this blog, as I'm planning an entire "Pie Blog."  I'll include it then....Maybe.....

Freezers sure are "cool"!  (Especially when there is bacon in them!)

***Indicates a recipe included
Weekly Menu



Shrimp and Scallops in Garlic Cream Sauce


Sunday
Shrimp and Scallops in a Garlic Cream Sauce***
Cheesy Flat bread
Grilled Asparagus
Apple Pie

Monday
40 Clove Garlic Chicken  (Chicken from the freezer cooked in the Crock Pot)***
Green Salad
Mandarin Orange Salad

Tuesday
Sweet and Sour Meatballs (Meatballs from the freezer, cooked in the Crock Pot)***
Pineapple Chunks
Brown Rice

Wednesday
Sausage Orecchiette Pasta (Turkey Sausage defrosted from the freezer)***
Green Beans
Raspberry Strata (can be frozen up to 2 months)***

Thursday
Tortellini with Pesto, Shrimp, and tomatoes (Tortellini and Shrimp from the freezer)***
Apple sauce

Friday
Rotisserie Chicken (Defrosted from freezer)***
Mashed Potatoes
Carrots