You know those nights when you're too tired to put together a delicious meal after a long day of errands, shopping or work? At that moment you just want to head out to a restaurant because it's so much easier than spending the next hour cooking but don't- instead I've got the solution that'll save you effort, time and cost- freezer dinners!
Freezer dinners are meals you put together on your free time, and then assemble and freeze until you need them. The night before, you take one out and defrost in the refrigerator and cook as directed. In no time you've got a delicious, healthy and simple meal with very little effort except grilling, baking or roasting in the oven. Today I managed to whip up 5 dinners in 45 minutes that will be ready for use in the next couple of weeks. I'll share two of my easy recipes below and in upcoming weeks I'll share more. Hopefully these will work out for your family as well as they do with mine :)
Fish with Mustard Nut Crust (serves 4 from A Decade of Cooking The Costco Way)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds, but you could use hazelnuts or pine nuts as well)
4 fish fillets (I use tilapia but any white fish is great)
salt, cayenne pepper
3 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
In a food processor, mix nuts, mustard, and butter until resembles a coarse paste. Set aside.
Lay 4 fish fillets in a freezable and oven proof container, sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Spread nut butter over fish in an even layer and sprinkle with thyme. Pour wine around fish, cover tightly and freeze with the following instructions: Day of cooking- preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bake, uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is flakey and the crust is bubbly. Serve immediately.
Honey and Mustard Glazed Sausages (serves 4)
5-6 uncooked italian sausages (mild, medium or hot)
1/4 c. whole grain mustard
1/4 c. honey
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp. chopped parsley
place uncooked italian sausages in a freezer safe and oven proof container. Meanwhile, mix the honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl and pour over sausages. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, cover and freeze with the following instructions: Day of cooking- preheat and then roast sausages at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until sausages are cooked through. Halfway through cooking, turn sausages over once to glaze on bottom side. Serve immediately and enjoy