Tag: quickmeals

Yes, you can freeze Zucchini!

A quick weeknight dinner

We’ve all been there, staring at the refrigerator trying to see what to whip up for dinner. Sometimes there’s a plan, and sometimes there isn’t and today was that day!

It was Monday evening and we had chicken. We did not have any fresh veggies so I opened the freezer and saw some zucchini wedges I had frozen from the height of the pandemic.

Decision time

Soy Lime Grilled Chicken is always easy and yummy so I decided on that! I make this marinade all the time so I usually don’t measure.

Here’s my guesstimate!

  • 3/4 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 spoonful of minced garlic
  • 1 spoonful of honey
  • juice of one lime
  • a few shakes of red pepper flakes

Just dump the chicken in and let it sit at least 20 minutes before grilling.

Then I found an inspiration for hibachi style veggies. I was a little worried about the zucchini being frozen but it was the only veggie I had to work with. I heated up a skillet, drizzled some sesame oil in the pan and dumped the frozen zucchini in.

The zucchini started to release a ton of water so I just let them cook until the water started to dry up. After several minutes, the zucchini started to brown. This process took a while so I browned some sesame seeds while I was waiting for the water to cook down.

I tried to resist the urge to stir the veggies so they wouldn’t turn to mush. I mixed together a little soy sauce and squeezable ginger and drizzled it over the zucchini and then sprinkled them with the sesame seeds.

Pulling it all together

Finally, I used some leftover jasmine rice, put about 2 tbs of butter in it and squeezed a half a lime into the rice after I zested the peel into the rice and microwaved it for 3 minutes.

We took the chicken off the grill, the sides were ready and dinner turned out better than expected! I have a lot of friends who have a lot of zucchini coming out of their gardens so YES, you can indeed cut it up and freeze it and still enjoy it months later just like this!

Enjoy!

Save time – Save money

So when Covid-19 hit... and things were getting locked down, we were all scared to go to the grocery store and I wanted the fresh veggies I was used to. I wanted to stock up on things we would use and I didn’t want things going to waste. You know how you buy onions, peppers and even cauliflower or zucchini or potatoes and if you don’t use it fast enough, the onions get slimy, the potatoes grow buds, the veggies are not as firm and fresh…. eeek… sometimes they turn into watery messes if you leave them too long.

So I fixed that!!! I was so thrilled to have been doing this before the pandemic… but I was doing it on a smaller scale…

Buy a bag of onions and chop the whole thing!!! Buy potatoes and chop the whole thing ( julienned, cubed, sliced). Wash and chop those peppers (diced or in strips) and FREEZE them FLAT! Why flat? So they can break apart easily! OMG! Such a game changer in our house! Anyone can pull off a nutritious omelette with onions and peppers and even potatoes in it and it takes no time at all due to all the prep! Freeze left over ham, cubed, for quick ham and cheese anything or a pasta carbonara!

  • Quick onions and peppers for omelettes
  • Frozen diced peppers
  • Frozen diced onions
  • Onions for stir fry
  • Green and red peppers flat
  • Thin sliced peppers for pad thai/stir fry
  • Julienned potatoes for hash browns/egg scrambles

Making Pad Thai or Stir Fry and need those red peppers sliced thin? Got that covered! How about making homemade chili? Toss those frozen peppers and onions into your crock pot or saute pan and you’re good to go! I love how this method has saved me prep time in the moment!

Need a side dish in a hurry, just take those cubed potatoes out of the freezer, drizzle with oil and spices and pop in the oven! SOOOO simple! The trick I found with potatoes is that once they are cut, you’ll want to rinse them in water to get some of the starch off… otherwise they’ll turn brownish pink before they get frozen!

I hope this inspires you to save time during the week in your daily cooking and saves you money as nothing will go to waste! Cooking has been so much more enjoyable when most of the prep work of washing and chopping has been done!

Comment and let me know if you tried it and what you think!

Quick & Healthy Dinner Ideas

For the past 2 years, I’ve had to modify my diet.  I’m almost 51 and it’s harder to keep weight at bay… so I’ve cut out gluten, sugar and most dairy… and eat Low fat now.    I think I’ve finally weaned myself off sugar because my sweet tooth seems less demanding!  I never thought I would see that day coming!

I love how the grocery stores today are helping with the prep work!   Already cut up veggies makes this a super simple supper!

Just throw all of these ingredients into a skillet with a little broth, add lid to “steam” and then add some low sugar full of flavor Fra Diavlo sauce and some crushed red pepper and you have yourself a meal!  I’m a huge fan of spices to really kick up simple dishes a notch!   Add some protein… some sautéed shrimp, chicken or chicken meatballs 🙂  and you have a super healthy meal in less than 20 minutes!

So next time you’re at the store, avoid the pre-packaged foods with lots of preservatives…. go with fresh ingredients…. cut up if necessary to save time and you’ll be on your way to healthy in no time!

What are your go-to healthy meals?  I’d love to hear!

 

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