Today On FOX21 News…How to Freeze Summer Herbs & Veggies (AND Lots of Recipes!)

Make Your Own Frozen Veggies…Saves Money &Time…And Tastes Great!

EASY SKILLET CORN

Ready in 10 minutes         Serves 4 for approx. $2.50 

INGREDIENTS –

2 tablespoons butter

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups frozen corn

pinch of paprika 

salt and pepper to taste

(I sometimes add a bit of chopped jalapeno or slice green onion for something different. You can also add fresh chopped herbs.)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in skillet and saute garlic over low heat, just until garlic softens. This is the time I add the jalapeno or green onion if using. Add corn and cook until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of paprika if using or fresh herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*Don’t add the salt until corn is done . It can dehydrate the kernels and make them tough.

You can all use frozen corn in this super tasty Mexican corn salad.

Fish With Mexican Corn Salad – $10 or Less Meal & Gluten-Free

 

Homemade Pasta with Basic Pecan Pesto or Fresh Tomato Sauce (Who Knew It Was So Easy?) – $10 or Less Meal

 

SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

Active Time: 30 minutes      Total Time: 3 to 5 1/2 hours      Makes: 7 cups

*I found this recipe in my Eating Well September 2020 magazine. I think I’ve made it 3 times already (in about a week) and I just can’t stop eating it!

You can refrigerate these for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. I’ve been eating this on toasted baguettes, with scramble eggs, on pasta, and quite honestly, without anything. Can’t stop popping them in my mouth. Also would be great on sandwiches, in rice dishes, chopped up and added to dips, etc.

INGREDIENTS:

8 pound plum tomatoes or 8 pints cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 cup thinly sliced garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as oregano, basil, thyme and/or parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Position oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 300 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Halve tomatoes (quarter larger plum tomatoes and leave cherry tomatoes whole). Divide the tomatoes between the prepared baking sheets, placing them cut-side up. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Bake the tomatoes, switching the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until shriveled, about 2 1/2 hours for cherry tomatoes and about 5 hours for plum tomatoes. Let cool completely before storing.

Freezing Herbs in Butter, Oil or Broth….Saves You Time and Money

FREEZE/DRY/PROPAGATE

You can also freeze herbs by simply washing, drying thoroughly, and placing the leaves/sprigs on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer for a few hours and then toss in freezer bags, label and date. You can also roll your frozen leaves/sprigs in paper towel before putting in freezer bags to help prevent them from sticking to each other.

Herbs can be dried in the oven! Preheat oven to 150 degrees or whatever the lowest setting your oven will go to. Clean, dry, and then dry again just to make sure they aren’t wet before placing in oven. I gently blot mine with a paper towels. Place herbs on baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes. Check to see if they are getting dry. Continue drying, checking often, till they become crumbly. Depending on your oven and the herbs you are drying, they could take up to 30 or 40 minutes. Crumble and store in an airtight container for up to one year. Make sure you label them.

PROPAGATE IN WATER

There are lots of herbs you can propagate in water, which will keep you in fresh herbs all year. Simply cut off stem just below where a leaf grows on the plant. Remove all but the top leaves and stick in a glass jar with an inch or so of water. Roots should appear in a week or two and then you can plant in dirt. I use the leaves I removed for butter, drying, and freezing. 

Herbs I have personally done this with are rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, basil, mint, cilantro, chives and lavender.

My favorite compound butter recipe this summer has been this jalapeno, lime with cilantro and garlic. It’s so good I could seriously eat it with nothing else!

JALAPENO, LIME, CILANTRO BUTTER WITH GARLIC

INGREDIENTS:

1 jalapeno roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, cut in half or roughly chopped

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons lime zest

1 teaspoon Kosher/sea salt, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste

2 to 3 sprigs cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS –

Place everything in a food processor and blend till smooth and ingredients incorporated. 

FREEZING LEAFY GREENS

Hardy leafy greens such as spinach, kale, chard, turnip and mustard greens freeze well. This is my favorite method to use which is quick and super simple. Once frozen you can pop these in smoothies, soups, stews, casseroles, etc. 

Blanch cleaned greens by dumping in a large pot of salted boiling water. Cover and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Immediately plunge the greens in a bowl of very cold, ice water. Let cool in cold water for. Drain and with hands, squeeze out as much water as possible and then chop. Form small balls of greens, give them another good squeeze to release any remaining liquid and place on cookie sheets. Pop in the freezer and let freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen, place balls in freezer bags, label, and enjoy later.

WHITE BEAN SOUP 

Takes about 30 minutes                Serves 8 

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion chopped 

2 carrots, thinly sliced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

3 cans (16 oz.) white beans (navy, cannellini,  Great Northern, or any other white bean

32 oz. chicken broth

pinch salt and pepper, to taste

chopped parsley if desired

2 cups chopped kale or spinach if desired

DIRECTIONS:

In large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook over medium high heat till soft, about 3 minutes.

Add beans and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes. If adding spinach or kale, add after 15 minutes simmering.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley if desired.

(You can easily add cooked sausage or cooked chicken to this for a heartier meal.)

You can freeze this super in freezer bags or for individual servings, put in muffin tins, freeze and then pop out. Place in freezer bags.

OVEN ROASTED PEPPERS

You can roast any type of pepper in the oven using this method. Depending on the pepper, your cooking time can vary. You can roast your peppers whole or in slices. I’ve done it both ways but my preferred method is cutting the peppers in half and removing the seeds and membranes before roasting. (It just seems less messy to me.)

Clean peppers and dry. Place peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast in 450 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. If using sliced peppers, roast skin side up. If using whole peppers, turn peppers midway to roast both sides. Once peppers have blackened, immediately put in bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel off blackened skin, and remove seeds and membranes if roasted whole.  You can keep these in the fridge for about a week or freeze for future use.

I like to chop my peppers, add a few teaspoons of olive oil and place small portions on saran wrap. Roll and wrap tightly, place on cookie sheets, and freeze for a few hours. Once frozen, pop wrapped peppers in a freezer safe bag and label. If freezing sliced peppers, skip the oil, freeze peppers, then pop in freezer bags.

ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS WITH RED PEPPER AND WALNUTS

INGREDIENTS:

1 garlic bulb

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo)

2 tablespoons tahini

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup warm water

juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup roasted red pepper 

chopped walnuts – optional

DIRECTIONS –

To roast garlic…

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice off top of the head of garlic so that tips of garlic cloves are exposed. Rub/drizzle olive oil over garlic and wrap tightly in foil. Place on baking sheet and roast for 30 to 40 minutes. 

Once cool, squeeze out garlic cloves.

In a food processor, add garlic, garbanzo or chickpea beans, tahini, olive oil, warm water, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. At this point you can add roasted peppers or add them chopped at the end. Blend until smooth and creamy. (If it’s too thick you can add a bit more water or use less if you like it chunkier.)

I like to spread the hummus in a serving dish, add the peppers in the middle and sprinkle with chopped walnuts for a pretty presentation.

In this pic I added green and red roasted peppers.