Well, my sons track meet was cancelled due to weather. This winter has been nuts! I’m home for the first time since Thursday and it’s nice to be back in my own house.
I loved all of the pancake suggestions from my last post! I think the one I’m most interested in trying is the frozen corn kernels.
For lunch, I went to my freezer and grabbed one of my 2 cup portions of frozen food. Today’s deliciousness was my New Years Day Black Eyed Peas and Greens! Since I spiced it knowing I would eat it over rice, I decided to add a couple T of dried quinoa ( I have a very small stash I use very judiciously since quinoa is so expensive now ) and water to make a stew. What I LOVE about the freezer is that it actually IMPROVES the taste of many soups/stews. The flavor was out of this world. The little chunks of ginger were still crisp and gave delightful bursts of flavor with every bite.
If you aren’t utilizing your freezer, what are you waiting for? Here are some links for several of my favorite freezable recipes:
- Chana Saag
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Pie (make this ahead for Valentine’s Day!)
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Creamy White Bean Stew with Collards
- Chipotle Split Pea Soup
- Thai Tofu and Veggies
On a different note, I had some really good commercial Chipotle Hummus at my brother’s house. I don’t usually like commercial hummus at all, but this was really good. I think Tribe was the brand? I whipped up a batch when I got home today. Super simple and delicious!
Chipotle Hummus
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1 t Tony’s creole seasoning
- ¼ t cumin
- ¼ t coriander
- 2 c HOT chickpeas (reserve ½ c cooking liquid)
- 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 4 T tahini or peanut butter
- 2-4 T chickpea cooking liquid as needed or Olive Oil if you aren’t watching your calories
- Juice of 2 limes ( around 3 T )
- ¼ c chopped cilantro (optional)
- Salt/pepper to taste
Method:
- Pulse garlic and tony’s in food processor until garlic paste is formed
- add the rest of the ingredients and puree until totally smooth
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.
I just love hummus! It’s so versatile. I am planning on using a good portion of this in soup later on this week.
Here are some of my other hummus recipes:
I am going to have an entire chapter devoted to different types of hummus in my cookbook!
What are your favorite hummus flavors?
I absolutely love the idea of taking one day to do your week’s (or two week’s) worth of cooking and then freezing it! Unfortunately, I share a tiny freezer with my three roommates.
One way to maximize space it to use ziploc freezer bags for soups and stews and lay them totally flat. You can really maximize the space that way!
Wow, that’s a great idea – I never would have thought of that! Thanks for the tip