Eating From The Storehouse

With just two people, I often wind up freezing leftovers as Martin prefers to pretend that I'm in the kitchen slaving over a different gourmet meal every single evening. Not really but I do think he'd rather not have the same meal two nights in a row. This is definitely different than how I grew up! My mom would make a huge portion of some kind of simple fare (say pinto beans, or potato soup) and then we'd eat that every night until it was gone. As a kid, I didn't mind the monotony one bit because I really did like my mom's cooking and, being a  kid, I just wanted something to eat. Let's just say you didn't grow up picky in the Beckett household!

Now back to we two old people and our eating habits. Recently, I've been having trouble fitting stuff in the freezer portion of my refrigerator which, of course, is a definite sign that it's time to move some of the merchandise out of the cold box and onto our plates. So, this week's dinners have been all about taking a hard, frozen lump of whatever, letting it thaw, and serving it up for our evening meal. I usually label the varied packages but a few nights ago I was positive we were having spaghetti until  the frozen mound defrosted and it became apparent my bolognese sauce was actually pulled pork. Whoops. Good thing I had some hamburger buns to toast. It did make me silently chuckle when Martin ate his not-spaghetti and then said something like "I really like these pulled pork sandwiches you make!" Little did he know it was purely serendipitous that he was getting to eat a dinner that pleased him so greatly.

Emily taught me her freezing foods method which basically involves layering protective wrapping. I start mine with either saran wrap or smaller plastic baggies. Then I often put a layer of foil over that initial covering. The smaller two-serving portions are now put into a bigger freezer baggie and, usually, labeled with what is inside and what date it was frozen.  I never microwave the foods I freeze when reheating because I have this idea that the process of microwave just screams that you're eating a leftover. After defrosting my baggies, I cook or bake them so that Martin often has to guess whether I've been slaving all day in the kitchen or am merely phoning it in with stuff that's already prepared. This system works for us - especially me, as there is nothing better than having a busy day but knowing dinner is waiting to be easily reheated.

So this week, I've not done much cooking (any?) because I'm busy trying to use up what's in my larder, so to speak. It's kind of fun to see how many meals I can put together using only what I have here in my pantry and freezer. Wonder what frozen treat awaits us for tonight? Time to go hunt and forage.