Fall has a way of stirring up my appetite and sending me back into the kitchen to whip up some delicious and nutritious meals. Cooler temperatures make me hungry for things I’ve not eaten in a while and motivate me to get cooking again. This month I was able to spend a lovely morning meal prepping a few things to add to the pre-made meals I have tucked away into my kitchen freezer.
One of the items I was eager to make up was to put together and bake ten gorgeous stuffed bell peppers. I had found these huge beautiful bell peppers on sale at my local supermarket and after cutting them in half and cleaning them up I stuffed each pepper half with my meatloaf mixture. After baking them for an hour I allowed them to cool completely before they headed into the freezer.
Once they were frozen I vacuum sealed several of these for the deep freezer to enjoy later on this winter while the rest I put into Ziploc bags. These will be perfect to reheat and serve alongside a baked potato or some rice pilaf and some veggies or a nice crisp green salad. I love quick and easy to prepare meals, especially when I am busy or just don’t feel like cooking.
While I had the oven on I also mixed up a batch of pecan cranberry pumpkin muffins. I was able to bake eighteen beautiful little muffins from that batter which I placed into Ziploc bags and put away in the freezer for a quick snack or to accompany eggs or some fruit for brunch.
The last item on my list that morning was to put together two small low carb sausage, cheese and broccoli crust less quiches to use up some extra eggs as well as the end of a block of Colby Jack cheese I had in the fridge. I froze them raw and then wrapped each one in plastic wrap. I will be able to thaw and bake these later whenever I wish. I might even have to serve a pumpkin muffin alongside a slice. Yummy!
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| Repeats from last month - so good! |
The last month has been a very busy one for me so quick and easy meals were a high priority for me. The cooler weather made me hungry for chili and hot soups too so I was able to utilize quite a few jars from my LTFS to heat up for dinner. I love having a variety of readymade soups to enjoy and I served them along with half a sliced turkey, tuna salad or grilled cheese sandwich. Delicious!
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| Tacos too! |
Hamburgers with lettuce and sliced tomato and a serving of my homemade fries made an appearance a couple of times too. Much tastier and healthier than fast food, not to mention a whole lot less expensive too! I’ve really been enjoying the Hero low carb hamburger buns and breads.
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| Bagels & cream cheese! 😍 |
What wonderful meals have you been making as the weather has been cooling off? What is on your list to make soon? Have you done any meal prepping? I’d love to hear about what is cooking in your kitchen.
I added that stuffed pepper plan to my list of things to do! I was craving a rotisserie chicken this weekend, so I bought one for $5 and made it stretch to 5 meals by deboning it and storing the meat I didn't eat that night. I'm also going to put my crock pot into service with a pork roast this week. I'm looking forward to having that meat to top baked potatoes and make quesadillas!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds! Over the weekend I put a pork roast in my slow cooker to make verde. I want a rotisserie chicken too, Yum! :0)
DeleteWe've finally hit soup weather, and I made a big pot of chicken vegetable soup with some freezer chicken and lots of odd veggies from the refrigerator. So yummy and thrifty!
ReplyDeleteDH has taken to buying 1 rotisserie a week to make chicken salad for his lunches. Of course I save the carcasses, along with veggie scraps and cuttings. I do need to clear out the freezer and make veggie & chicken broth.
I also tried a recipe for breakfast "porridge" made from brown rice, red lentils, broth, and lots of carrots & onions. I enjoy it hot with a fried egg or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese on top. I need to run it through a nutrition calculator to see just how many of the carbs are offset by the veggies, and what the protein content is.
I find it so much easier to cook in fall/winter than summer. I could live off gazpacho, other cold soups, tomato sandwiches on keto bread, and salads. But the fam would rebel.
I do need to slow-roast a pork shoulder as well. I love that I can freeze so many containers of cooked pork for easy meals.
I don’t tend to freeze meals. I don’t know why. Here in the PNW it’s always cooking season, but for a number of reasons I have gone off cooking. The shorter, darker days , though have set me back in a bit of a groove. Recent success were apple cabbage soup, a drastically reduced “cook in bag from frozen” turkey breast, slow cooker pot roast, risotto, and burritos made with the leftover pot roast meat. I have also baked a few things…a Breton butter cake, Russian tea cakes, and a pumpkin pie.
ReplyDeleteWhen searching the freezer for something I discovered some New York strips I had marinated but never cooked. Those will be tonight’s dinner.
A kid requested slow cooked pork with sauerkraut and apples, and another asked for another turkey breast again soon. I guess new normal is setting in.
-Meg B.