Few things are better than a well-stocked freezer. A cooler full of soups, stews, sauces, casseroles, meats, poultry, fruits, and vegetables indicates that you’re ready for anything – culinary-wise. It’s like having money in the bank or a full tank of gas.
Learn to use the freezer sparingly, and maximize the use of the refrigerator’s sidekick.
Keep a stash of frozen pancakes, waffles, bagels, pastries, egg sandwiches, and breakfast burritos (like the ones below), and you can enjoy a nutritious breakfast in (roughly) the same amount of time it takes to pour a bowl of cereal with milk. And let’s face it; a hot breakfast can be considerably more enjoyable.
The freezer is also an excellent vessel for leftovers, whether it’s a batch of Sloppy Joe’s tonight or extra marinara from pasta night. MYou can take your sauce out of the freezer at any time, toss it in a pan and enjoy it in minutes. ake extra marinara — and any other sauce you’ve worked hard on — and store leftovers for up to 3 months in freezer bags or airtight containers.
Recipe: Make-ahead casserole is easy to make and looks exquisite
You can also make stews, especially for the freezer — meaning planning and preparing dinner for your future self. On nights when you’ve made diced, sliced, cooked, and assembled casserole-style meals, make two of the same dish and pop one in the freezer. The ingredients are already ready, so use them well. Preparing two oven-ready meals is as easy as one. Prepare once, eat twice!
Sure, you can fill that cold space with bulk items, but consider frozen foods in individual portions so you can easily enjoy single meals. Smaller pieces heat up faster and prevent food waste.
How to: Choose the perfect watermelon, melon, or honeydew
Be smart with your frozen foods, and you can enjoy them faster too. Thawing in the fridge overnight is always a good idea, but it’s also incredibly useful if you can transfer a meal from the freezer to the stovetop and oven and nosh in less than an hour.
Breakfast burritos with avocado salsa
Servings: 4
You can enjoy these burritos immediately (whether the breakfast or dinner version) or freeze them for up to 3 months. Defrost one or two—whatever you need—and you’ll dine with little to no effort.
See the instructions below for freezing and reheating the burritos.
Ingredients:
For avocado salsa:
One large avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced ⅓ cup diced tomatoes two tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro two green onions, finely chopped one clove garlic, finely chopped one teaspoon fresh lime juice teaspoon salt teaspoon ground cumin
For burritos:
Six large eggs ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika teaspoon salt -pound sausage of choice, such as chorizo, sweet Italian, or hot Italian, casing removed
Instructions:
To make the avocado salsa, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Put aside.
For the burritos, whisk together the eggs, smoked paprika, and salt in a medium bowl. Put aside.
Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Place the link on a plate and leave the drops in the pan.
Reduce the heat to low, add the eggs to the pan, and cook until tender and moist. Place the eggs on a plate and clean the pan (we’ll need it again to cook the burritos).
Place the tortillas on a flat surface. Spoon the avocado salsa into the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle the salsa with the sausage, eggs, and cheese. Fold the sides of the tortillas to cover the filling and roll them up tightly.
Lightly coat the skillet with cooking spray and place the skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the burritos, seam side down. Cover with foil or a lid and cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the burritos, cover the pan with foil or a lid, and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Variation: Beef and Bean Burritos
Replace the six eggs and pound sausage with 1 pound of lean ground beef. Add a 15-ounce can of spiced black beans. Follow the rest of the instructions below.
To make the avocado salsa, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Put aside.
To make the burritos, brown the meat in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the heart as it cooks. Add the beans, smoked paprika, and salt and stir to coat.
Place the tortillas on a flat surface. Spoon the avocado salsa into the center of each tortilla. Top the salsa with the beef mixture and then with the cheese. Fold the sides of the tortillas to cover the filling and roll them up tightly.
Brush the skillet lightly with oil and place the skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the burritos, seam side down. Cover with foil or a lid and cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the burritos, cover the pan with foil or a lid, and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
How do you freeze and reheat burritos?
Cool the burritos completely. Wrap the burritos in plastic wrap or press a seal and transfer them to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to cook defrosted burritos
Microwave method: Remove the plastic wrap and wrap each burrito in a damp paper towel. Place on a microwave-safe plate and cook on HIGH for 1 minute, until hot in the center, turning halfway through.
Oven method: Remove the plastic wrap and wrap each burrito in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until hot in the center.
How to cook frozen burritos
Microwave method: Remove the plastic wrap and wrap each burrito in a damp paper towel. Place on a microwave-safe plate and cook on 50% power for 3 minutes until the center is hot.
Oven method: Remove the plastic wrap and wrap each burrito in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minute, until the center is hot.
