We love baking ahead in this family. My mother was a master at this. When we would know that company was coming, Mother would prepare as much as possible ahead so she could enjoy visiting.
One thing I remember her making is Twice Baked Potatoes. She would bake potatoes, cut them in half and scoop out the insides putting them into her mixing bowl. She would then cream it very smooth with milk and butter and spoon this back into the potato “shells” topping them with grated cheese. Mother liked to freeze things and the major rule in doing this is sealing. The finished potatoes were placed on a cookie sheet and wrapped tightly with foil. (Foil tip ~ Remember to use the shiny side out when freezing and the shiny side in when baking.) You can’t always count on it not getting freezer burn if you place it in a plastic container. I put a piece of foil or plastic wrap directly on the food, then place the plastic lid on when freezing this way.
We do some of our shopping at Costco and they always have butter in four packs so I buy that and freeze it along with large blocks of cheese that we buy there. The cheese tends to be a little crumbly after freezing but if I’m using it in cooking I don’t mind.
Bekah freezes soup in freezer bags. She lays them flat and after they freeze they can be stacked and not take up so much room in your freezer. This past month I cooked up a lot of hamburger and froze it the same way. That is such a help when cooking, to be able to grab your meat and just add to it.
All this to say, my daughter is carrying on this tradition of baking ahead and freezing. Her hubby bought her a freezer and she is baking lots of muffins and main dishes to help her days flow a little more smoothly. She likes to come cook at our house because of the counter space and I love it! Last cooking day, she made 70 muffins, homemade graham crackers and a cheese cracker recipe that had the whole house smelling wonderful! She freezes them and her husband takes them directly out of the freezer on his way to work. Here’s a recipe for a breakfast muffin she makes that you serve with syrup.
Pancake Sasuage Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use regular if you prefer)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
2 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 pound cooked sausage
Mix dry ingredients. Add milk, eggs and melted butter. Stir in browned sausage. Pour batter into 18 buttered muffin tins. If you use papers be sure and spray them because this will stick. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup. Be sure and make them ahead and freeze them so you can just pull them out and serve with syrup when you need a quick breakfast. This recipe is from www.heavenlyhomemakers.com. She has tons of great recipes for breakfast that are good and good for you.
Here’s the batter.
Here she is spooning the batter into the muffin cups. I did not get a picture of the finished products…I’m sorry…I was busy……
THIS is what I was working on!!
Three months ~ 18 pounds!
I’m telling you this nana thing is the bomb!!