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Let me say that I love the idea of the Butcher Box, but unfortunately, I have not been happy with the Butcher Box delivery. Both month's shipments came thawed. I'm currently cooking an entire box of meat. I will be able to freeze the cooked meat, but for me that's just not feasible all the time.
I live alone and package my freezer meals as single servings for a month at a time - a lot of them are fully cooked and can be thawed/heated in the microwave. A friend makes fun of me but loves having so many choices when she comes for dinner! For December I just made cheesy chicken and noodles, V8 hamburger soup with french onion soup mix and veggies, cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham, spaghetti, meatballs/gravy, sweet and sour chicken, shep pie using ragu sauce and green beans with hamburger, potato/polish sausage/cheese soup, enchiladas and your cranberry chicken. I also freeze cooked chicken, pork, hamburger, sausage and chopped onions and peppers. Not a fancy cook-a lot of recipies came from my grandma and I'm 66 years old. It sure makes it easy to eat healthier and avoid fast food! Thanks for lots of great ideas!😁
That’s a great idea. I love that you do that. And yes having them ready in hand will keep you out of the fast food places. Have a wonderful holiday season 😊
I always cook my mashed potatoes in my Instant Pot. I never cover my potatoes in water. I cut up 5 lbs. of potatoes into 2 inch chunks (white, yellow and Russet peeled.........red unpeeled) I pour in 1 cup of chicken broth with 1/2 tsp black pepper, then add in the potatoes. close the lid, press the pressure cook button and set on high for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, release the pressure (don't drain the broth) add 1 stick of butter and mash or whip in some milk and seasonings to taste. (I like to add in sour cream and chives)
I know this video is a bit older, but as for freezer storage, my grandma has a great trick for stacking casserole dishes! She will still do the tin foil pretty tight like what you do, but then she keeps flats of corrugated cardboard from her recycling that are slightly larger than the casserole dish. That way she can pack the freezer, reliably stack dishes on top of each other, and not worry about tearing tin foil or any moisture leaking. Added bonus, you can write on the cardboard in sharpie so if you’re looking into the freezer you can still see what’s underneath if you label on the cardboard itself :) She doesn’t have any issues with air circulation as long as you don’t do like one giant piece of cardboard that covers the whole freezer, just cover each casserole dish individually. Hopefully this is a good tip for someone!
Hi Becky! I'm a retired chef. Your channel was recommended on my TH-cam bc I'm interested in homesteading topics. I watched one video and literally caught myself saying out loud, "Omg, someone who ACTUALLY knows what they're talking about when they're prepping/cooking". You said something about fond left over in a pan and I about fell out! LOL I cannot express how INCREDIBLY refreshing it is to see someone making real, scratch food and not all these Karen shortcut meals with a bunch of store bought garbage. I could instantly see that you're an experienced, good cook when I saw you eye-balling your seasonings and bread dough ingredients. I immediately subscribed to your channel. You have a new (and huge) fan! I'm 37 and it seems like NO ONE my age and younger knows how to make real food anymore. Heck, I know more than plenty people older than me that cannot cook, either. It's heart breaking. Thank you so much for creating this content and showing younger people (and others alike) that cooking real food is absolutely achievable. It's more sustainable, cheaper, tastes better, and is healthier. What's not to love?! I'm so happy TH-cam suggested your videos and introduced me to your content! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bar Keeper's Friend! It's excellent to clean stainless steel cookware, as well (like the Instant Pot insert!) Tip: If you line up all those shells into the pan first (using the sauce on the bottom to keep them anchored in place), you could then pick up the piping bag and bang out that filling even faster. Boop Boop boop, DONE!
But I don’t want to wait 17 hours, I want to watch my hero fill her freezer right now…. Your first freezer meal vid is what got me hooked on your channel!
I want to try the pumpkin pasta. I'm trying to cook healthier foods, and more of a variety. But I have a picky husband that doesn't care for many veggies. So I need to figure out how to make vegetables more likely for stubborn men 🤣
I’m a new subscriber which means I’m binge watching. It’s so refreshing to watch someone who cooks with fresh ingredients as well as a variety of ingredients. Most freezer meal videos have cream of whatever, canned whatever, cream cheese, etc. You rarely see someone cut up fresh vegetables to add to their recipes. Becky, you are truly inspiring.
When I was homeschooling (many years ago), I had the Once a Month Cookbook. They weren't always my favorite recipes, but the greatest lesson I learned was how to put up meals in the freezer. One thing I remembered was when you put casseroles in the freezer, they used foil, but I used plastic wrap to line the casserole. Then stick it in the freezer just long enough to freeze it solid. The you can pull it out of the casserole dish and slide it into a freezer bag or food saver bag and seal. That way, you have the dish to use for other things. Also if there are directions, just keep an index card for that dish with instructions and tape to it and any toppings that get added during the baking process.
My Mom used to do that when making pies. She would put plastic wrap into the pan, make the pie as usual, except she didn't vent it till time to bake. When the pie was frozen, she removed it from the pan and wrapped it securely. When ready to bake she put it back into the pan, cut the vents and baked.
You are one of the very few people I have watched who knows how to season. I've seen people put a 1/2 a tsp of salt to flavor a pot of food. Not going to happen. The reason why people think restaurant food is so delicious compared to home food is because people often don't know how much seasoning to use. It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm always happy to see you really season your food.
@@ashleenicole71 Agreed. Definitely have to season to taste. Salt is underrated and underused by most home cooks. However, I'm a retired chef and never once was MSG ever utilized in a place I worked. MSG isn't what sets apart those restaurant meals. The key is simply appropriate amounts of salt (and other seasonings) and understanding how to use cooking techniques correctly to build/enhance flavor. It's not adding MSG, but rather experience and knowledge that makes the difference. The sad part is that most restaurants can't even get that part right now days LOL.
I have made freezer meals with uncooked manicotti shells and they came out perfectly. Plus they were easy to fill! Just make sure that all the pasta is coated in sauce before you freeze.
I do the same! So much easier to fill them, and they cook perfectly! As mentioned just be sure they are all covered with sauce. I am sure shells would work the same. More sauce on top than on the bottom, cover them all really well.
@@nightnaughty Pasta is a dehydrated product, so you have to either cook it in water or direct in sauce to rehydrate it. It will turn to crunch/rubber in the oven without liquid of some kind!
I missed the news about Gizmo. He will definitely be missed, but he’s probably so happy right now chasing squirrels and helping someone tend to their garden ❤️
Lol I do the same thing. I made five lasagnas today. I love when Becky calls us friend 😊 and I love reading in the comments that there are so many of us that enjoy cooking for ourselves and our families. Happy New Year 2023 friends! God bless you
Really REALLY respect how upfront you are about affiliates, the cost of organic etc. Overall your channel is an inspo and it's very refreshing to see people like you who really care about viable and healthy solutions but are also respectful of others. Also I haven't come across any other channel that does food prep in such a variety and everything frm scratch.
well.. I questioned her about the negative reviews on the butcherbox thing.. and she deleted my comment. so.. she's not really transparent.. she's just looking to make money.
I agree. The amount of effort and quality content she provides is worth whatever affiliate money she would make (and is up front about). She is putting in the work and deserves whatever she gets, if not more. No one is forced to click on the link or use BB to take advantage of her meal prep ideas.
@@deborahb.3736 No. Someone's channel is just that. Their channel. She's not responsible for or at your mercy to answer for other people not liking something, it's her channel and she can delete what she wants and she doesn't owe you (or anyone else) an answer on something that has nothing to do with her. She shares what she likes and uses for herself. Every brand is going to have bad reviews. It doesn't mean she's not transparent.
@@kelliknight126 she also invites comments.. otherwise she'd turn them off. the fact I mentioned the negative reviews is also a valid comment. transparency and making money are two entirely different cats... and the truth should be invited in all cases.. yes... everyone has the choice to buy that product or not.. but the fact she is putting herself out there does not mean she gets to control the input she gets on what she is putting out there. people are wayyyyyy too okay with sugar coating stuff.. which is why the world is the way it is.. I understand people make a channel to try to get something for themselves.. but clarity and truthfull ness should never be shamed.
@@deborahb.3736 The fact that someone has comments open doesn't mean they have to keep irrelevant negative comments up that, again, don't have anything to do with their channel. Anyone can go look at reviews. She never said this is perfect and everyone will like it. She said I use this. I like this. She doesn't have to answer to every single aspect of a product to like it, use it, promote it and continue to be transparent. Seriously. Think about it. If she were to answer to that, it would be something like, oh, too bad not everyone has had the world's most positive experience, I've been happy with it. In what world is there not going to be negative reviews on every single product out there? It's unreasonable to ask promoters to answer to those negative reviews, it's unreasonable to say that they aren't allowed to delete negative and irrelevant comments on their own channel, and it's unreasonable to say that someone isn't being transparent when they do these things.
OH wow Becky, Jess from Roots and Refuge shared a link to this video and was saying how much your way of doing meal prep using all your home grown foods has inspired her to try and do this herself now. You may be getting a rush of new subscribers soon. ❤️
Becky, you have been an inspiration for me to do this. So now, any time I cook, I make enough to freeze something, and it's building up nicely. Thank you so much, friend. I watch you every day now. My health doesn't allow me in the heat much. But I will be trying to grow some herbs inside and a couple of tomatoes this yr. Agin, thank you.
Girl you are an incredible cook for someone so young. Wise beyond your years. I’m so impressed with your organization and creativity. Do you have these recipes somewhere? New subscriber today.
I ducked out for a sec and verified you CAN use uncooked shells in this sort of dish. Bonus: the shells are easier to fill when they’re dry. You might try one dish of shells the next time you make freezer lasagna just to verify it works for you - and us! Perhaps make the sauce just a bit more liquid? Great question and thanks for pursuing this idea!
@@fionafiona1146 there's no need to worry about this. Shells are surprisingly resilient and don't just crack from freezing most of the time. ANd if they DO crack they can still be used for the dish anyways
I've done it, works fine. Stuffed dry shells and froze Mexican stuffed shells. Tasty. Taco meat seasoned beef, cheese, covered entirely with red enchilada sauce and top with cheese.
I’m glad to know this. Thank you. I’ve only fixed stuffed shells one time and it was so frustrating that I’ve never fixed them again. But they’re delicious.
My upright freezer has an alarm to let you know when the door is open for more than a minute or two! I love my upright freezer- nothing gets lost in the depths and the food is easier to reach, especially since I’m vertically challenged!🤣. So sorry about Gizmo 😥
You have no idea how excited my 4 yr old gets when I tell her it's time to watch your recently uploaded video. She loves to help in garden, cook in the kitchen and let's me know when we need to try one of your meals.
I have been doing freezer meals for 20+ years. I will do manicotti with uncooked regular shells - I find it easier to fill. I do the same with lasagna, I started using the No boil noodles only because they are thinner and it’s a preference of ours. I am glad you do it for just the 2 of you because many have thought I am funny because I have done it for so long just for the 2 of us. It has been a budget and brain saver for years!!!
Ok. Just found you on my home feed. I am half way through watching this (my first episode) and I have to comment. Thanks for being real! You don't edit out life's little flubs. You are showing what real cooking is like for every one of us. I LOVE THAT!
I always make my mashed potatoes in the instant pot. I peel and cube the potatoes, add half a cup of water and some salt. Cook high pressure for 10 minutes. Perfect every time no matter how many potatoes I put in there!
Becky you are an excellent teacher! You explain, provide great rationale for your decisions, and you never talk down to your audience. You never speak negatively about what might be the choices of others. It’s a gift :)
If you line your glass dishes with aluminum foil, then freeze the food, you can remove the food and foil after the food has frozen, wrap it in more foil and some plastic wrap, label it with what is inside, then put them back in the freezer. That frees up your glass dishes so you can use them for other things.
Never do sour dishes in alumium, it will leech it out into the dish. You do not want to eat that. Also, she has various sizes of glass dishes, so I imagine it'd be hard to match up to the correct size after.
I'm not even 10 minutes in and I already feel like you're the mom I've never had. I am learning so much and I'm so incredibly grateful for you and your videos.
Freezer storage suggestion: Make appropriate-sized bags out of fabric, or use old pillowcases and fold them over. Since the sole purpose of another layer is to keep the foil from ripping, being air-tight is not an issue. I love cooking with you. I had this video on while I prepped persimmons for my dehydrator, made cole slaw, and baked some Hello Dolly bars.
I just found your channel and am feeling so inspired by you. I have been battling depression and anxiety for years and it has had a real toll on my health and weight. You have inspired me to cook good things and use good ingredients!
Me too. I haven’t been having the most pleasant life. 😒Watching this channel and reading the comments makes me feel less anxious and alone. Bless both of you. 😘
I don't know if you are an amazon shopper (not everyone is), but I bought like stretchy silicone lids for these weird sized round bowls I have, they were for a size range. I'd imagine they'd have rectangle too and most of your baking dishes look to be general casserole / 9x13ish sized, so that might be something for consideration that's reusable. Also, I put the silicone covers on mason jars for my daily protein shakes and I could shake them up w no leaks, so it was a decent seal, even on the smaller end of the range.
Oh my gosh! Watching you cook is like looking in the mirror! Using a recipe as a guide but not a rulebook, reusing the pasta water, not having a ton of cookware, etc!! I love your videos. Your honesty and enthusiasm is so refreshing. Than, you for sharing your life with all of us. May you be blessed.
Becky, your best bet would probably be to use: Two chest freezers -- one for meats, one for frozen produce (veggies, berries, etc.) and One upright freezer -- for freezer meals (because the baking dishes would fit in there better.
Thanks for the video. I fill my freezer so "future me" will thank me during the busy seasons of the year. Shredded chicken breast made in the crockpot (and frozen) can turn into all kinds of quick weeknight meals. Browning and freezing ground beef for recipes is also an amazing "got it done already" step and a great way to prep meat when there's a good sale at the store. Lasagna is a favorite to freeze in portions. I make lots of soups (chili, chicken and rice, mushroom wild rice, veggie beef, squash soup) and portion them in containers to take to work for lunches. It's a lot of work, but I'm always glad that "past me" was thinking of "future me." I appreciate your philosophy of making multiples of each recipe. If you're "in" it, might as well really get "in" it. :)
You amaze me with how you are doing so much at once. I taught Restaurant Operations at a career center for 30 years and I'm not sure I would be able to do this!!!
You asked us to leave a thumbs up if we saw any value in this video. Well let me tell you girl, I see great value in all of your videos. You show us so much, teach us so much and inspire me to want to do better in my own kitchen for my own family. Thank you for going through all the trouble you do to make these videos and keep them coming! Be blessed, Cheryl
Becky, I think this is a very smart way to do your cooking, because if you get 20-25 meals from 4-5 hours of cooking, that's enough for a month (more or less) of suppers and lunches. That is very time-efficient, plus you have the peace of mind of knowing that something is in the freezer. I did this years ago before my twins were born -- just cooked and froze a ton of meals. It came in so handy after the babies arrived. This is a good thing to do before a harvest season, a busy season, a surgery, chemo, babies, and so on. It frees up the primary kitchen person from having to THINK about supper every single day. I agree with your rationale. Good work.
One of my favorites is to make homemade mac and cheese (and I cook the pasta in the cheese sauce) and add chopped broccoli to make it an entire meal in one dish. I actually add a tablespoon of prepared horseradish to my cheese sauce to cut the cloying taste of all the cheeses. My family adores it. My sons and I started making spicy mustard in our kitchen, and it is SO easy to make from scratch. Take a pint mason jar and add dry mustard seeds to 1/4 of the jar. I use mostly yellow seeds and about 2 tablespoons of brown seeds. Then I fill the mason jar with vinegar, put a lid on it and let it sit for a week or so. I grind it up in the blender when we are ready to use it. I doubt I will ever buy prepared mustard again. We call it Josh's spicy mustard (for my son Josh).
Just completed a soup marathon - making 5 huge pots of each - using the same prep practices. Every beef pot received a healthy amount of horseradish. :)
Because of just having hip replacement surgery on Nov 24, day before Thanksgiving, I did ahead of time, several meals in freezer and with my meals I've canned.we are doing good in food department...thanks for the confidence to do freezer meals..
Thank you all the way from Australia. You have inspired me to preserve everything we produce this summer. Thank you for your down to earth, informative videos. Wish you all the best.
Another Aussie subscriber here. Love your content Becky, and you’re inspiring me the same way! Even simple things like washing, chopping and freezing some greens to use since they’re growing crazily right now. Same with zucchini!
I did this for the 1st time when I was pregnant! Honestly along with breast feeding it was the best thing I could have done! I didn’t go all out like you- I just cooked 3 meals instead of 1. I took about 3& 1/2 months to fill the freezer right up& 1 of the things I did was to either line my casserole dishes with freezer bags or cook soups & then line my bowls so when the food is frozen you can take away the containers so you don’t have to go & buy extras & ALSO it used less freezer space! I always freeze food like that whenever it’s possible (& if you use your brains, it usually is!!!!! I always use instant pasta sheets etc & I’ve never had a problem with it- just make sure to add a little sauce or whatever to the bottom of the dish before you put in the pasta or whatever!! Really enjoyed watching you & I will do it again. I’m in Australia & we do things a little differently but all good, no worries ( as we are fond of saying) for instance I roast in the oven- we have gadgets sure but ( for myself anyway) not so many I guess! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😎🇦🇺✌️
Hey Becky, I use the 2.5 gallon Hefty storage bags to put around my foil wrapped freezer meals. They hold up well and are reusable. You might try scrubbing your sink with Comet after using Barkeepers Friend, It will remove the rest of the stains. Love watching your videos. Well done!
About 10 years ago I started a job that had an almost 1 hour commute each way so I started meal prepping. My easiest favorite preps were all the marinated meals in freezer bags. Simplified my life so much 😁
You're so confident in the kitchen Becky,eating out once in a while is a treat,but I sometimes think to myself I could do better than that at home! I hope you put your feet up after all that cooking 💜💜💜
Becky I’m going backwards watching your channel and I absolutely love the fact that you do your cooking to encourage, teach, give creative ideas and keep it real by not “editing “ out certain situations. Instead you proof and show you can still move forward and continue on. ❤❤
i have 2 marinades you might like one is half cup each soy sauce and vinegar and quarter cup honey and garlic to taste bake in the oven the other is equal amounts Worchester sauce and soy sauce and garlic and a little sesame oil opt
thank you for doing what you do and sharing it ALL with us! So sorry for your loss I know its hard losing a fur baby family member my heart goes out to you and yours praying that he has finally found peace.
we use pumpkin more commonly for savoury dishes in New Zealand - roast pumpkin, pumpkin feta and spinach salad, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin pasta. Very tasty and works well with salty flavours to balance out the slightly sweeter pumpkin
Well, you've totally inspired me. I am a full-time teacher with three kids. Tomorrow, while I'm still on break I'm planning on making 3 batches of birria beef in the Instant Pot for tacos, two batches of my jalapeño popper rice, three batches of kielbasa pasta, and 4 of your chicken and biscuit (which I've never made/had). Thanks!
I get so inspired Becky from your videos. Thank you. I prepared a menu for a month, and freezer meals for my husband and I when I had a surgery. He was working full time from home, caring for me and the house and he is NOT a cook at all. He sure appreciated all of my prep work ahead of time. Like you and Josh, we prefer to eat at home and we know what is in our food and where it came from. Keep on cooking. We will keep on watching.
I just love these types of videos,feels like I'm right in your kitchen with you watching you cook and listening to you teach.Thank you Becky for bringing us in your kitchen with you😊
So excited! Because of your channel I have started getting excited for my garden next year after not being able to garden since we moved. Also…freezer meals…how did I miss this freedom my whole life?
I love how you approach things - grow some, buy some and then mix all - and how it's sometimes okay with shortcuts. You make it seem less daunting and like it's okay to not do everything. Truly inspiring. And everything looks delicious!
Give your precious babies a treat!!! They have been looking on the floor for hours!!!!! Be kind and PLEASE give them a nice big treat!!! They are so dedicated to you, they DESERVE a treat from you at the very least, don't you think? Great job on the cooking! Show how much you love ❤ them!!! Joannie
I love the way you save time with using the same pot, all the tips you give I love! The cilantro that you love is purely amazing! Most don't like cilantro is because it's a heavy metal detoxer, and for those with a lot of metals often the saliva contains it and mixes with the cilantro when you taste it. Once you get your metals lower in your body, the cilantro taste so good! This was true for me.
Girl I need a freezer tour lol, I can only store about 3 meals tops in my freezer! Love watching you videos, so so so helpful and learned so much , especially with the garden :)
We had a family from church over for dinner, and the wife was talking to me while I made a pot of spaghetti sauce. Her eyes got very wide as she watched me pour in more & more garlic powder, and she said, very slowly, "Well, I'm thinking you must know what you're doing...." LOL!
Becky, I love your channel and wish so much I had room for a garden! I've been gardening on & off since i was 3!! To yield more peppers, plant them close enough that their leaves touch each other. Also, you don't have to precook the shells. You are AWESOME!!- Hilary from upstate NY.
Great video! My white sink looked bad as well until I found “SOFT SCRUB WITH BLEACH”. Omg my sink looks brand new! Make sure to buy the kind that has bleach added. It even removed black scuff marks from my cast iron pans. Keep up the good work Becky you are the real deal!!
I can’t wait to watch this! Ive stared marinating my chicken and beef and freezing it and it really is so convenient! I can’t wait to have more freezer space for more freezer meals!
Yes!!! We have been doing that too!!! I need to get some freezer meals done to put in our freezer. And make ahead some of her dinner rolls. My family are loving those rolls.
I live in the Caribbean and I marinate meats and freeze all the time so it's ready to use when I get home from work. I don't have a garden so every other week we go to the market to get fresh produce. I don't have freezer space so I cook twice a week.
I can’t wait! One of my sons friends moved in with us for the Hockey season and I’m off all December and can’t wait to cook! You’ve inspired me and I bought a freezer! I’m ready to fill it before tax season hits in January!
First of all, this is probably a weird way to start a post but I have been on and off obsessively watching your videos for the last 2 years because two years ago I lost my mom and your videos have been an unexpected comfort. You remind me so much of her the way you talk the way you think about things so sometimes when I cook I put your videos on because it makes me feel less alone. Thank you so much for being so genuine and Goofy and fun. As for freezing the meals, what my mom would do, and this Probably sounds slightly insane but she swore by it, and she would separate meals into, "pan meals" and "dump meals" anything that was in a pan meal went in a glass Pyrex, wrapped in tin foil about the way that you do. But the dump meals went in you won't believe this but I swear it's true, ice cream buckets. Like the big plastic ones with the handle. The plastic containers are super sturdy, see through so you can see what's in them, have handles for easily carrying up and down from the basement, and they stack pretty well. Dump meals were the ones that didn't go in a specific order like enchiladas or lasagna. Those were the ones that you could just freeze, and then put in the fridge to thaw and then dump into a Pyrex. It also made them easier for transportation because you can shove an ice cream pail in a cooler full of ice a lot easier than you can put a glass Pyrex. She was the kind of vacationer who normally brought our dinners with us, so we just had one cooler full of Frozen ice cream buckets of food. It's silly, but in the last 10 years of adulthood I haven't found anything that works better that doesn't cost an insane amount.
That was awesome! My favorite freezer meal to make for my family is what I call "Shipwrecked". It's basically the lazy or necessary version of stuffed shells where you use shell pasta all broken up and place the filling down like you would for lasagna. If you have a good solid shell or 2 you set them on the top for decoration. I made this one up when I found a VERY shaken box of pasta shells when my twins were little. Due to allergies I use tofu instead of ricotta, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast instead of parmesan and all of the typical herbs and spices for seasoning.
For mashed potatoes I cut them into about 1.5 inches and cook for 12 minutes with only a half cup or less of water (sometimes I use chicken stock and leave it in to mash). Perfect every time. I've never put them in that much water, they will boil and not steam. Steamed potatoes retain much more of their flavor.
No offence. That method still dilutes/washes away the texture and nutritional health aspect. As usual if you have the Time, reguarding a quality, traditional style Potato Mash always use prepared slow Roasted potatoes simply brushed lightly with Sea salt/Pepper/oil then scoop out and add Butter. Plus an additional benefit you also have the Skins to use as 'Stuffed Potato Cheese Skins' as a wonderful Side. Highly recommended alternative to Boiling.
You should start a website where I can buy one or two of your frozen meals and keep him in my freezer. Being a single man which is my animals around me, it be nice to have a home cooked meal from someone else besides myself. Wishing you and yours the best from my Homestead to yours. #LoveInspirationAndMotivation
This was my first visit to your channel and it was time WELL SPENT! I will say that my favorite baking dish hack for freezer meals is to double foil the baking dishes/pans, fill, freeze well (2 full days), REMOVE FROM PANS and stack the foil wrapped meals in the freezer. When it’s time to eat, place the foil wrapped meal in a baking dish to thaw and bake! Saves cleaning and frees up baking dishes for use throughout the month.
You definitely don’t have to cover the potatoes with water in the instant pot, I only add a 1/2-2/3 cup of water, and a bit of butter for 10 min. Once done you don’t have to drain, just add a splash of milk and mash or whip :)
I do the same, regular or sweet potatoes... peel, big chunks, 7-8 minutes about a cup of water. Natural release and drain off excess water. Throw in stick of butter, block of cream cheese and bit of cream, s/p and put lid on, walk away while it stays in warm mode and I do other prep. Residual heat warms dairy then I use hand mixer to mix and stays warm till we eat. Love my IP. 😀
Sending you huge hugs and condolences for the loss of Gizmo. You gave him the best life, full of love, and that's all we can do for our fur babies. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and life with us. You make me feel like I can achieve anything. ❤️
Great job! That's so much food! Freezer meals are one of those things where you really thank previous you for being prepared. There's also two in my household so I'll make a 6 person meal maybe 2-3 times a week (stew, curry, pasta sauce, bakes etc) eat 2 then freeze the other 4 in single portions. It builds up over time so we always have a large selection of meals ready to pull out and we can both choose anything we fancy that night. I just cook the side dish or rice, pasta etc on the night if it's not a complete meal. Saves so much time and I don't have to do a huge lot all in one day (chronic illness so I can't spent 6 hours in the kitchen unfortunately! I wish I could give your method a go.) It gives the flexibility to cook an 'on the day' meal during the week if we fancy something specific, things like steak or stir-fry that you can't freeze, but I also know if I'm ill for a few weeks I have a freezer full of back ups. My freezers are full to bursting at the moment in preparation for a busy December where I know I'm going to be temped to grab takeaway instead of cooking ;) Your so right on how much money it saves too!!!
I absolutely love your energy!!! You’re recipes are always so delicious to look at, but it would be so great to see you and your husband sit down to eat one of your meals. But you work so hard to make sure seem so easy. You are a fantastic person to watch and I enjoy you so much!
To get the best flavor and creaminess in your mashed potatoes, you should salt the potatoes in the water before cooking. It’s hard to salt them after they’re done. Also, I use evaporated milk when mashing them instead of whole milk. The evaporated milk makes the mashed potatoes sooooo creamy.
I just turned off the burner under my pressure canner. I've been canning turkey vegetable soup all day. I made broth yesterday with the carcass and ham bone from Thanksgiving dinner. Now I get to have a relaxing time watching your video. You get so much accomplished in one day. It boggles my mind!
I’ve learned more from Beckys channel here there anywhere else on the internet! She’s inspired me so much to explore in the kitchen and try new techniques, thank you Becky ❤
VERY inspiring, despite the fact that we're a plant-based household! I watch your prep videos and wish I was not so ADHD, and could have my stuff together this much! My jaw dropped at the Thanksgiving video. You and your mom were like a well-oiled machine. My mom and I would have killed each other!!
Hi Becky--I have been looking forward to this for quite awhile. IMO-The advantage of at least a pre-boil or al dente for the shells is that it will open up the shells to get in more of the filling. I think some of the dry shells are kind of closed so it would be difficult to stuff in the filling. Hugs.
Brilliant inspiring video! I use cotton bags sewn from tea towels in the freezer and 'fridge to wrap my bread, vegetables and anything fragile. I use no plastic bags and Saran wrap and find that glass jars and cotton wrap and bags do the job perfectly.
I love your freezer meal videos! They remind me of when I spent the end of 2019 filling my upright freezer for when I had my daughter. The winners were Mac and cheese (recipe from another YT channel - Easy Freezer Meals), breakfast burritos, quesadillas, and baked ziti.
Becky! Rewatched your Shepard’s pie video because there was a sale on ground beef! This made 3 8 x 8 casserole dishes for my husband and I. They are in the freezer! Took a teeny taste of the sauce! Sooooo good! Big thank you!.
Pumpkin pasta?!?! I’m in love. I have so many pumpkins I’ve been dreading roasting and drying. Love this idea to use up pumpkins. I’ll be making that today!
I do freezer meals and hate using cling film (plastic) to cover my meals too. Plus my kitchen storage is a lot smaller so I can’t keep such a brilliant collection of glass dishes. How I have gotten round this is I take a glass dish layer two sheets in the dish (pushing it down into the shape) then I add a little cooking oil and rub it all over the tin foil (aluminium foil). This is to prevent sticking. Then you add your freezer meal on top of the foil, fold the edges over the top so completely covered. At this point I put it into the freezer for 1-2 hrs (sometimes less if it’s frozen enough to hold its shape or more if I have forgotten it 🤣). When it’s frozen enough to hold its shape I can then take the foil parcel out of the glass dish and put into gallon freezer bags (don’t forget to label). These bags I use again and again. When I come to cook the meal I get out my foil brick and let thaw for maybe ten mins, peel off the foil wrapper (saving some to cover the top when cooking) then put the frozen food directly into the original shaped dish you froze it in. Then either cook straight away or leave to defrost in your glass dish that it fits. X
Jessica Sowards from roots and refuge channel mentioned watching you and how impressed she was with your cooking. I really admire Jessica and thought if she is impressed it's gotta be good! Before the video was over I clicked subscribe, You're awesome! I look forward to watching more! 🙂
I equate my own homesteading experience to that of prepping and self-sufficiency. Freeze-drying produce from the garden and full meals is the ONLY way to go in my opinion. You still can eat healthily, retain all the nutrients without having to waste time and energy on canning and freezing (not to mention the perpetual purchases of plastic bags, non-Tattler canning lids, etc). . Space is also a key factor. Once the freezer is full, that's that. Freezer foods, last at best up to 3 years. Canning, 1 to 2 years. Dehydrating, 4 years. Freeze-drying, 20-30 years.
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Let me say that I love the idea of the Butcher Box, but unfortunately, I have not been happy with the Butcher Box delivery. Both month's shipments came thawed. I'm currently cooking an entire box of meat. I will be able to freeze the cooked meat, but for me that's just not feasible all the time.
Llllll
Hey Becky, go check out Jess at Roots and Refuge’s latest video that came out today, a good bit of it is about you!
@@Sherrie_D I just watched that one! Becky s channel will really explode now!
Hi there, I own a brand and was wondering if you wanted to be my affiliate.?
I live alone and package my freezer meals as single servings for a month at a time - a lot of them are fully cooked and can be thawed/heated in the microwave. A friend makes fun of me but loves having so many choices when she comes for dinner! For December I just made cheesy chicken and noodles, V8 hamburger soup with french onion soup mix and veggies, cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham, spaghetti, meatballs/gravy, sweet and sour chicken, shep pie using ragu sauce and green beans with hamburger, potato/polish sausage/cheese soup, enchiladas and your cranberry chicken. I also freeze cooked chicken, pork, hamburger, sausage and chopped onions and peppers. Not a fancy cook-a lot of recipies came from my grandma and I'm 66 years old. It sure makes it easy to eat healthier and avoid fast food! Thanks for lots of great ideas!😁
That is a great idea!! Thanks for watching!!
You need a YT channel. I will be your first sub!!! I’m single and would love to see the single version!!!!
That’s a great idea. I love that you do that. And yes having them ready in hand will keep you out of the fast food places. Have a wonderful holiday season 😊
I do this too!
What do you package them in my grandmother is wanting to do individual meals she can micro or bake each day
I always cook my mashed potatoes in my Instant Pot. I never cover my potatoes in water. I cut up 5 lbs. of potatoes into 2 inch chunks (white, yellow and Russet peeled.........red unpeeled) I pour in 1 cup of chicken broth with 1/2 tsp black pepper, then add in the potatoes. close the lid, press the pressure cook button and set on high for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, release the pressure (don't drain the broth) add 1 stick of butter and mash or whip in some milk and seasonings to taste. (I like to add in sour cream and chives)
I know this video is a bit older, but as for freezer storage, my grandma has a great trick for stacking casserole dishes!
She will still do the tin foil pretty tight like what you do, but then she keeps flats of corrugated cardboard from her recycling that are slightly larger than the casserole dish. That way she can pack the freezer, reliably stack dishes on top of each other, and not worry about tearing tin foil or any moisture leaking.
Added bonus, you can write on the cardboard in sharpie so if you’re looking into the freezer you can still see what’s underneath if you label on the cardboard itself :)
She doesn’t have any issues with air circulation as long as you don’t do like one giant piece of cardboard that covers the whole freezer, just cover each casserole dish individually. Hopefully this is a good tip for someone!
thanks - great idea
I just did that with extra cooling racks as I only do baking during the holidays!
Brilliant
Wonderful useful suggestion Ty
Love this thanks so much for sharing!
Home-growing, resourceful people really are a dying breed. Thank you for showing us this great video.
Hi Becky! I'm a retired chef. Your channel was recommended on my TH-cam bc I'm interested in homesteading topics. I watched one video and literally caught myself saying out loud, "Omg, someone who ACTUALLY knows what they're talking about when they're prepping/cooking". You said something about fond left over in a pan and I about fell out! LOL I cannot express how INCREDIBLY refreshing it is to see someone making real, scratch food and not all these Karen shortcut meals with a bunch of store bought garbage. I could instantly see that you're an experienced, good cook when I saw you eye-balling your seasonings and bread dough ingredients. I immediately subscribed to your channel. You have a new (and huge) fan!
I'm 37 and it seems like NO ONE my age and younger knows how to make real food anymore. Heck, I know more than plenty people older than me that cannot cook, either. It's heart breaking. Thank you so much for creating this content and showing younger people (and others alike) that cooking real food is absolutely achievable. It's more sustainable, cheaper, tastes better, and is healthier. What's not to love?! I'm so happy TH-cam suggested your videos and introduced me to your content!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bar Keeper's Friend! It's excellent to clean stainless steel cookware, as well (like the Instant Pot insert!)
Tip: If you line up all those shells into the pan first (using the sauce on the bottom to keep them anchored in place), you could then pick up the piping bag and bang out that filling even faster. Boop Boop boop, DONE!
But I don’t want to wait 17 hours, I want to watch my hero fill her freezer right now…. Your first freezer meal vid is what got me hooked on your channel!
Haha you are so very sweet! Thank you 💕
Same here 🙄❤️💋
Ditto!
Same here. She is amazing
Ditto!
Any one wanting to try her food just because she seasons like a pro? I do!! Keep doing you. :) Love these videos.
You're the best! Thank you!!
Yess 🙋♀️
I want to try the pumpkin pasta. I'm trying to cook healthier foods, and more of a variety. But I have a picky husband that doesn't care for many veggies. So I need to figure out how to make vegetables more likely for stubborn men 🤣
@@jgherity Yep, I know what you mean. I too want to try the pumpkin pasta but i'm sure i'll be the only one eating it
Yes! Sometimes I watch videos and they literally shake a tiny bit of salt and pepper on stuff.
I hope people that make content like this know how much of a service they are doing!! She's like all of our mom, teaching us to function
Yes!! Agreed!! 👍
Grow up.
@@user-bv1ss5nj9b You will miss your Mom one day . My mom just passed, even though we didn`t have a perfect relationship I miss her everyday!😪😪
I’m a new subscriber which means I’m binge watching. It’s so refreshing to watch someone who cooks with fresh ingredients as well as a variety of ingredients. Most freezer meal videos have cream of whatever, canned whatever, cream cheese, etc. You rarely see someone cut up fresh vegetables to add to their recipes. Becky, you are truly inspiring.
When I was homeschooling (many years ago), I had the Once a Month Cookbook. They weren't always my favorite recipes, but the greatest lesson I learned was how to put up meals in the freezer. One thing I remembered was when you put casseroles in the freezer, they used foil, but I used plastic wrap to line the casserole. Then stick it in the freezer just long enough to freeze it solid. The you can pull it out of the casserole dish and slide it into a freezer bag or food saver bag and seal. That way, you have the dish to use for other things. Also if there are directions, just keep an index card for that dish with instructions and tape to it and any toppings that get added during the baking process.
My Mom used to do that when making pies. She would put plastic wrap into the pan, make the pie as usual, except she didn't vent it till time to bake. When the pie was frozen, she removed it from the pan and wrapped it securely. When ready to bake she put it back into the pan, cut the vents and baked.
So smart
That’s a great idea
NOW THAT IS A GREAT TIP!
You are one of the very few people I have watched who knows how to season. I've seen people put a 1/2 a tsp of salt to flavor a pot of food. Not going to happen. The reason why people think restaurant food is so delicious compared to home food is because people often don't know how much seasoning to use. It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm always happy to see you really season your food.
Same with me. The lack of seasoning in most recipes is a pet peeve of mine as well..
Season to taste.
Restaurants generally serve food that has msg which enhances the flavor.
Yes! I never follow the recipe for seasoning amounts. I sprinkle until it smells seasoned.
@@ashleenicole71 Agreed. Definitely have to season to taste. Salt is underrated and underused by most home cooks. However, I'm a retired chef and never once was MSG ever utilized in a place I worked. MSG isn't what sets apart those restaurant meals. The key is simply appropriate amounts of salt (and other seasonings) and understanding how to use cooking techniques correctly to build/enhance flavor. It's not adding MSG, but rather experience and knowledge that makes the difference. The sad part is that most restaurants can't even get that part right now days LOL.
Same 100%!!
I have made freezer meals with uncooked manicotti shells and they came out perfectly. Plus they were easy to fill! Just make sure that all the pasta is coated in sauce before you freeze.
I was hoping some one would answer her question! Thanks for the info!!! Totally gonna try it!
I do the same! So much easier to fill them, and they cook perfectly! As mentioned just be sure they are all covered with sauce. I am sure shells would work the same. More sauce on top than on the bottom, cover them all really well.
Why did they have to be coated in sauce before freezing?
@@nightnaughty any pasta not coated in sauce will remain crunchy after cooking!
@@nightnaughty Pasta is a dehydrated product, so you have to either cook it in water or direct in sauce to rehydrate it. It will turn to crunch/rubber in the oven without liquid of some kind!
I missed the news about Gizmo. He will definitely be missed, but he’s probably so happy right now chasing squirrels and helping someone tend to their garden ❤️
Is it weird that I love to watch these when I am food prepping?? It's like we are doing it together!!
Lol I do the same thing. I made five lasagnas today. I love when Becky calls us friend 😊 and I love reading in the comments that there are so many of us that enjoy cooking for ourselves and our families. Happy New Year 2023 friends! God bless you
Really REALLY respect how upfront you are about affiliates, the cost of organic etc. Overall your channel is an inspo and it's very refreshing to see people like you who really care about viable and healthy solutions but are also respectful of others. Also I haven't come across any other channel that does food prep in such a variety and everything frm scratch.
well.. I questioned her about the negative reviews on the butcherbox thing..
and she deleted my comment.
so.. she's not really transparent..
she's just looking to make money.
I agree. The amount of effort and quality content she provides is worth whatever affiliate money she would make (and is up front about). She is putting in the work and deserves whatever she gets, if not more. No one is forced to click on the link or use BB to take advantage of her meal prep ideas.
@@deborahb.3736 No. Someone's channel is just that. Their channel. She's not responsible for or at your mercy to answer for other people not liking something, it's her channel and she can delete what she wants and she doesn't owe you (or anyone else) an answer on something that has nothing to do with her. She shares what she likes and uses for herself. Every brand is going to have bad reviews. It doesn't mean she's not transparent.
@@kelliknight126
she also invites comments..
otherwise she'd turn them off.
the fact I mentioned the negative reviews is also a valid comment.
transparency and making money are two entirely different cats...
and the truth should be invited in all cases..
yes... everyone has the choice to buy that product or not..
but the fact she is putting herself out there does not mean she gets to control the input she gets on what she is putting out there.
people are wayyyyyy too okay with sugar coating stuff.. which is why the world is the way it is..
I understand people make a channel to try to get something for themselves.. but clarity and truthfull ness should never be shamed.
@@deborahb.3736 The fact that someone has comments open doesn't mean they have to keep irrelevant negative comments up that, again, don't have anything to do with their channel. Anyone can go look at reviews. She never said this is perfect and everyone will like it. She said I use this. I like this. She doesn't have to answer to every single aspect of a product to like it, use it, promote it and continue to be transparent.
Seriously. Think about it. If she were to answer to that, it would be something like, oh, too bad not everyone has had the world's most positive experience, I've been happy with it.
In what world is there not going to be negative reviews on every single product out there? It's unreasonable to ask promoters to answer to those negative reviews, it's unreasonable to say that they aren't allowed to delete negative and irrelevant comments on their own channel, and it's unreasonable to say that someone isn't being transparent when they do these things.
52 minutes with Becky in the kitchen... YES PLEASE!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
OH wow Becky, Jess from Roots and Refuge shared a link to this video and was saying how much your way of doing meal prep using all your home grown foods has inspired her to try and do this herself now. You may be getting a rush of new subscribers soon. ❤️
Me!
And me!
Me too ❤️
Me too 😉
LOL And me!!!!
I think it would be nice to see a video of all the prep and how you decide what meals you're going to work on
Becky, you have been an inspiration for me to do this. So now, any time I cook, I make enough to freeze something, and it's building up nicely. Thank you so much, friend. I watch you every day now. My health doesn't allow me in the heat much. But I will be trying to grow some herbs inside and a couple of tomatoes this yr. Agin, thank you.
Girl you are an incredible cook for someone so young. Wise beyond your years. I’m so impressed with your organization and creativity. Do you have these recipes somewhere? New subscriber today.
I would say woman not girl
@@Mercury688 Lol , girl can be used even for grandma`s!!
I ducked out for a sec and verified you CAN use uncooked shells in this sort of dish. Bonus: the shells are easier to fill when they’re dry. You might try one dish of shells the next time you make freezer lasagna just to verify it works for you - and us! Perhaps make the sauce just a bit more liquid? Great question and thanks for pursuing this idea!
America’s test kitchen did this as well. Look for that video too. They didn’t freeze it but if you can do it with lasagna, you can do it here
I would worry about shells cracking while freezing, I wouldn't care with Lasagna thought
@@fionafiona1146 there's no need to worry about this. Shells are surprisingly resilient and don't just crack from freezing most of the time. ANd if they DO crack they can still be used for the dish anyways
I've done it, works fine. Stuffed dry shells and froze Mexican stuffed shells. Tasty. Taco meat seasoned beef, cheese, covered entirely with red enchilada sauce and top with cheese.
I’m glad to know this. Thank you. I’ve only fixed stuffed shells one time and it was so frustrating that I’ve never fixed them again. But they’re delicious.
My upright freezer has an alarm to let you know when the door is open for more than a minute or two! I love my upright freezer- nothing gets lost in the depths and the food is easier to reach, especially since I’m vertically challenged!🤣. So sorry about Gizmo 😥
You have no idea how excited my 4 yr old gets when I tell her it's time to watch your recently uploaded video. She loves to help in garden, cook in the kitchen and let's me know when we need to try one of your meals.
this is my favorite comment
How wonderful that she loves to work with mommy!
I did this with my daughter. This year I got sick on Thanksgiving. My now 15 yr old pulled off the entire meal WONDERFULLY!
This makes me want to do this when i have kids one day😊
I have been doing freezer meals for 20+ years. I will do manicotti with uncooked regular shells - I find it easier to fill.
I do the same with lasagna, I started using the No boil noodles only because they are thinner and it’s a preference of ours.
I am glad you do it for just the 2 of you because many have thought I am funny because I have done it for so long just for the 2 of us.
It has been a budget and brain saver for years!!!
You , " aren't funny", you are organized to keep the two of you feed. 😉
Ok. Just found you on my home feed. I am half way through watching this (my first episode) and I have to comment. Thanks for being real! You don't edit out life's little flubs. You are showing what real cooking is like for every one of us. I LOVE THAT!
I always make my mashed potatoes in the instant pot. I peel and cube the potatoes, add half a cup of water and some salt. Cook high pressure for 10 minutes. Perfect every time no matter how many potatoes I put in there!
Becky you are an excellent teacher! You explain, provide great rationale for your decisions, and you never talk down to your audience. You never speak negatively about what might be the choices of others. It’s a gift :)
If you line your glass dishes with aluminum foil, then freeze the food, you can remove the food and foil after the food has frozen, wrap it in more foil and some plastic wrap, label it with what is inside, then put them back in the freezer. That frees up your glass dishes so you can use them for other things.
Awesome tip!!
I use parchment paper in the dishes. After freezing it doesn't stick to the food as mich as foil.
@@beaittie and aluminum is linked to neurological diseases. So always good idea to cook in glass. I love all the tips above!
@@camillebambi6449 Thanks.
Never do sour dishes in alumium, it will leech it out into the dish. You do not want to eat that. Also, she has various sizes of glass dishes, so I imagine it'd be hard to match up to the correct size after.
I'm not even 10 minutes in and I already feel like you're the mom I've never had. I am learning so much and I'm so incredibly grateful for you and your videos.
Tuna noodle...pasta/pizza. Add pasta and sauce in 13x9 pan cover with pizza toppings and bake. Chicken dressing casserole...scalloped taters...
Freezer storage suggestion: Make appropriate-sized bags out of fabric, or use old pillowcases and fold them over. Since the sole purpose of another layer is to keep the foil from ripping, being air-tight is not an issue.
I love cooking with you. I had this video on while I prepped persimmons for my dehydrator, made cole slaw, and baked some Hello Dolly bars.
I never heard of hello dolly bars and just looked them up, think I'll have to try them, any recipe you recommend?
I'm also interested in you Hello Dolly bars!
Great 💡
@AMAZING RELAXING thanks for responding! They sound similar to what we call Magic Cookie Bars
@AMAZING RELAXING yum!
I just found your channel and am feeling so inspired by you. I have been battling depression and anxiety for years and it has had a real toll on my health and weight. You have inspired me to cook good things and use good ingredients!
Me too. I haven’t been having the most pleasant life. 😒Watching this channel and reading the comments makes me feel less anxious and alone. Bless both of you. 😘
I don't know if you are an amazon shopper (not everyone is), but I bought like stretchy silicone lids for these weird sized round bowls I have, they were for a size range. I'd imagine they'd have rectangle too and most of your baking dishes look to be general casserole / 9x13ish sized, so that might be something for consideration that's reusable. Also, I put the silicone covers on mason jars for my daily protein shakes and I could shake them up w no leaks, so it was a decent seal, even on the smaller end of the range.
Oh my gosh! Watching you cook is like looking in the mirror! Using a recipe as a guide but not a rulebook, reusing the pasta water, not having a ton of cookware, etc!! I love your videos. Your honesty and enthusiasm is so refreshing. Than, you for sharing your life with all of us. May you be blessed.
Becky, your best bet would probably be to use:
Two chest freezers -- one for meats, one for frozen produce (veggies, berries, etc.) and
One upright freezer -- for freezer meals (because the baking dishes would fit in there better.
Thanks for the video. I fill my freezer so "future me" will thank me during the busy seasons of the year. Shredded chicken breast made in the crockpot (and frozen) can turn into all kinds of quick weeknight meals. Browning and freezing ground beef for recipes is also an amazing "got it done already" step and a great way to prep meat when there's a good sale at the store. Lasagna is a favorite to freeze in portions. I make lots of soups (chili, chicken and rice, mushroom wild rice, veggie beef, squash soup) and portion them in containers to take to work for lunches. It's a lot of work, but I'm always glad that "past me" was thinking of "future me." I appreciate your philosophy of making multiples of each recipe. If you're "in" it, might as well really get "in" it. :)
You amaze me with how you are doing so much at once. I taught Restaurant Operations at a career center for 30 years and I'm not sure I would be able to do this!!!
You asked us to leave a thumbs up if we saw any value in this video. Well let me tell you girl, I see great value in all of your videos. You show us so much, teach us so much and inspire me to want to do better in my own kitchen for my own family. Thank you for going through all the trouble you do to make these videos and keep them coming! Be blessed, Cheryl
Girl, you have a TON of energy! Good for you for using it so productively - and with tasty results! 😊
Becky, I think this is a very smart way to do your cooking, because if you get 20-25 meals from 4-5 hours of cooking, that's enough for a month (more or less) of suppers and lunches. That is very time-efficient, plus you have the peace of mind of knowing that something is in the freezer.
I did this years ago before my twins were born -- just cooked and froze a ton of meals. It came in so handy after the babies arrived. This is a good thing to do before a harvest season, a busy season, a surgery, chemo, babies, and so on. It frees up the primary kitchen person from having to THINK about supper every single day. I agree with your rationale. Good work.
One of my favorites is to make homemade mac and cheese (and I cook the pasta in the cheese sauce) and add chopped broccoli to make it an entire meal in one dish. I actually add a tablespoon of prepared horseradish to my cheese sauce to cut the cloying taste of all the cheeses. My family adores it. My sons and I started making spicy mustard in our kitchen, and it is SO easy to make from scratch. Take a pint mason jar and add dry mustard seeds to 1/4 of the jar. I use mostly yellow seeds and about 2 tablespoons of brown seeds. Then I fill the mason jar with vinegar, put a lid on it and let it sit for a week or so. I grind it up in the blender when we are ready to use it. I doubt I will ever buy prepared mustard again. We call it Josh's spicy mustard (for my son Josh).
Just completed a soup marathon - making 5 huge pots of each - using the same prep practices. Every beef pot received a healthy amount of horseradish. :)
Such a great idea. Will try it.
Because of just having hip replacement surgery on Nov 24, day before Thanksgiving, I did ahead of time, several meals in freezer and with my meals I've canned.we are doing good in food department...thanks for the confidence to do freezer meals..
Oh my gosh I hope you are doing well post surgery! I’m so happy my videos helped you!!
Candace, had my hip replacement done Nov. 16! Best decision ever, speedy recovery to you!
@@wvmountainmomma5696 this was my second go around, I had the other done 2018. I am home and doing great.. take care..
Thank you all the way from Australia. You have inspired me to preserve everything we produce this summer. Thank you for your down to earth, informative videos. Wish you all the best.
Wow, thank you!
Another Aussie subscriber here. Love your content Becky, and you’re inspiring me the same way! Even simple things like washing, chopping and freezing some greens to use since they’re growing crazily right now. Same with zucchini!
@@marabanara Hope all is well Down Under.
Becky, use your Bar Keepers Friend on your Dutch oven to clean out those burn marks, it works wonders!
I did this for the 1st time when I was pregnant! Honestly along with breast feeding it was the best thing I could have done! I didn’t go all out like you- I just cooked 3 meals instead of 1. I took about 3& 1/2 months to fill the freezer right up& 1 of the things I did was to either line my casserole dishes with freezer bags or cook soups & then line my bowls so when the food is frozen you can take away the containers so you don’t have to go & buy extras & ALSO it used less freezer space! I always freeze food like that whenever it’s possible (& if you use your brains, it usually is!!!!!
I always use instant pasta sheets etc & I’ve never had a problem with it- just make sure to add a little sauce or whatever to the bottom of the dish before you put in the pasta or whatever!! Really enjoyed watching you & I will do it again. I’m in Australia & we do things a little differently but all good, no worries ( as we are fond of saying) for instance I roast in the oven- we have gadgets sure but ( for myself anyway) not so many I guess!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😎🇦🇺✌️
Hey Becky, I use the 2.5 gallon Hefty storage bags to put around my foil wrapped freezer meals. They hold up well and are reusable. You might try scrubbing your sink with Comet after using Barkeepers Friend, It will remove the rest of the stains. Love watching your videos. Well done!
Where do you find the 2 gallon bags? I find them so hard to source!
@@railNtrail09 I buy the 2 1/2 Gallon Hefty bags at Walmart and Safeway. I have seen them on Amazon also. :)
@@railNtrail09 The Dollar Tree also carries the larger bags. I think they have 5 bags per box. that comes out to .20 cents per bag.
About 10 years ago I started a job that had an almost 1 hour commute each way so I started meal prepping. My easiest favorite preps were all the marinated meals in freezer bags. Simplified my life so much 😁
You're so confident in the kitchen Becky,eating out once in a while is a treat,but I sometimes think to myself I could do better than that at home! I hope you put your feet up after all that cooking 💜💜💜
Becky I’m going backwards watching your channel and I absolutely love the fact that you do your cooking to encourage, teach, give creative ideas and keep it real by not “editing “ out certain situations. Instead you proof and show you can still move forward and continue on. ❤❤
Love how your furbabies are always close by and Patiently waiting for something to not make into the pan😂😂😂
i have 2 marinades you might like one is half cup each soy sauce and vinegar and quarter cup honey and garlic to taste bake in the oven the other is equal amounts Worchester sauce and soy sauce and garlic and a little sesame oil opt
Using the Instant Pot for mashed potatoes is such a game changer!! I use mine every time now.
I loved it!!
thank you for doing what you do and sharing it ALL with us! So sorry for your loss I know its hard losing a fur baby family member my heart goes out to you and yours praying that he has finally found peace.
Vanessa, I really appreciate that :0
we use pumpkin more commonly for savoury dishes in New Zealand - roast pumpkin, pumpkin feta and spinach salad, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin pasta. Very tasty and works well with salty flavours to balance out the slightly sweeter pumpkin
Pumpkin, feta and spinach salad sounds so good. Going to look for a recipe after the video is done.
I love pumpkin ravioli. Would love to try that pumpkin feta and spinach salad. Sounds delish.
All your pumpkin recipes so wonderful.
Well, you've totally inspired me. I am a full-time teacher with three kids. Tomorrow, while I'm still on break I'm planning on making 3 batches of birria beef in the Instant Pot for tacos, two batches of my jalapeño popper rice, three batches of kielbasa pasta, and 4 of your chicken and biscuit (which I've never made/had). Thanks!
Can you please share your birria beef recipe? I’d love to try it! Thanks.
@@laurenmusial3750 Sure! It's not mine, though. I use the Instant Pot recipe from Views on the Road. th-cam.com/video/_8oQCk4jmfc/w-d-xo.html
I get so inspired Becky from your videos. Thank you. I prepared a menu for a month, and freezer meals for my husband and I when I had a surgery. He was working full time from home, caring for me and the house and he is NOT a cook at all. He sure appreciated all of my prep work ahead of time. Like you and Josh, we prefer to eat at home and we know what is in our food and where it came from. Keep on cooking. We will keep on watching.
I just love these types of videos,feels like I'm right in your kitchen with you watching you cook and listening to you teach.Thank you Becky for bringing us in your kitchen with you😊
So excited! Because of your channel I have started getting excited for my garden next year after not being able to garden since we moved. Also…freezer meals…how did I miss this freedom my whole life?
I'm excited too! She is an inspiration! 😆
I love how you approach things - grow some, buy some and then mix all - and how it's sometimes okay with shortcuts. You make it seem less daunting and like it's okay to not do everything. Truly inspiring. And everything looks delicious!
Give your precious babies a treat!!! They have been looking on the floor for hours!!!!! Be kind and PLEASE give them a nice big treat!!! They are so dedicated to you, they DESERVE a treat from you at the very least, don't you think? Great job on the cooking! Show how much you love ❤ them!!! Joannie
I love the way you save time with using the same pot, all the tips you give I love! The cilantro that you love is purely amazing! Most don't like cilantro is because it's a heavy metal detoxer, and for those with a lot of metals often the saliva contains it and mixes with the cilantro when you taste it. Once you get your metals lower in your body, the cilantro taste so good! This was true for me.
I’m watching this and my four year old said, “that’s a really cute lady!” 🥺 and I have to agree! Love your videos
Girl I need a freezer tour lol, I can only store about 3 meals tops in my freezer! Love watching you videos, so so so helpful and learned so much , especially with the garden :)
Coming soon :)
Becky: I’m going to put a bit of garlic powder in there
Also Becky: uses a half cup measure to scoop it 🤣👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
We had a family from church over for dinner, and the wife was talking to me while I made a pot of spaghetti sauce. Her eyes got very wide as she watched me pour in more & more garlic powder, and she said, very slowly, "Well, I'm thinking you must know what you're doing...." LOL!
Becky, I love your channel and wish so much I had room for a garden! I've been gardening on & off since i was 3!! To yield more peppers, plant them close enough that their leaves touch each other.
Also, you don't have to precook the shells.
You are AWESOME!!-
Hilary from upstate NY.
Coming back to watch old videos and I never realized how fast you used to talk Becky! Makes me chuckle because you are so very calm and relaxed now.
Great video! My white sink looked bad as well until I found “SOFT SCRUB WITH BLEACH”. Omg my sink looks brand new! Make sure to buy the kind that has bleach added. It even removed black scuff marks from my cast iron pans. Keep up the good work Becky you are the real deal!!
I can’t wait to watch this! Ive stared marinating my chicken and beef and freezing it and it really is so convenient! I can’t wait to have more freezer space for more freezer meals!
YAY!! Thank you!!
Yes!!! We have been doing that too!!! I need to get some freezer meals done to put in our freezer. And make ahead some of her dinner rolls. My family are loving those rolls.
I love her video's
I live in the Caribbean and I marinate meats and freeze all the time so it's ready to use when I get home from work. I don't have a garden so every other week we go to the market to get fresh produce. I don't have freezer space so I cook twice a week.
@@sandrajagroop9750 Smart gal.
I can’t wait! One of my sons friends moved in with us for the Hockey season and I’m off all December and can’t wait to cook! You’ve inspired me and I bought a freezer! I’m ready to fill it before tax season hits in January!
YAY! Congratulations!
So excited for you to start your
Freezer meals. I make freezer meals and they are so convenient. I almost feel guilty.
@@1gr8lpta Thank you for your comment and it will make my life so much easier!
Absolutely love how healthy these meals are! Organic, no foil, grass fed etc this is exactly how we eat in my home as well. Great video!
I don't know if I'd call it healthy. She literally uses half-and-half in place of milk, like let's be honest here.
Half and half beats 12 chemical additives. Think it ALL the way thru😍
Organic doesn't mean better
First of all, this is probably a weird way to start a post but I have been on and off obsessively watching your videos for the last 2 years because two years ago I lost my mom and your videos have been an unexpected comfort. You remind me so much of her the way you talk the way you think about things so sometimes when I cook I put your videos on because it makes me feel less alone. Thank you so much for being so genuine and Goofy and fun. As for freezing the meals, what my mom would do, and this Probably sounds slightly insane but she swore by it, and she would separate meals into, "pan meals" and "dump meals" anything that was in a pan meal went in a glass Pyrex, wrapped in tin foil about the way that you do. But the dump meals went in you won't believe this but I swear it's true, ice cream buckets. Like the big plastic ones with the handle. The plastic containers are super sturdy, see through so you can see what's in them, have handles for easily carrying up and down from the basement, and they stack pretty well. Dump meals were the ones that didn't go in a specific order like enchiladas or lasagna. Those were the ones that you could just freeze, and then put in the fridge to thaw and then dump into a Pyrex. It also made them easier for transportation because you can shove an ice cream pail in a cooler full of ice a lot easier than you can put a glass Pyrex. She was the kind of vacationer who normally brought our dinners with us, so we just had one cooler full of Frozen ice cream buckets of food. It's silly, but in the last 10 years of adulthood I haven't found anything that works better that doesn't cost an insane amount.
That was awesome! My favorite freezer meal to make for my family is what I call "Shipwrecked". It's basically the lazy or necessary version of stuffed shells where you use shell pasta all broken up and place the filling down like you would for lasagna. If you have a good solid shell or 2 you set them on the top for decoration. I made this one up when I found a VERY shaken box of pasta shells when my twins were little. Due to allergies I use tofu instead of ricotta, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast instead of parmesan and all of the typical herbs and spices for seasoning.
For mashed potatoes I cut them into about 1.5 inches and cook for 12 minutes with only a half cup or less of water (sometimes I use chicken stock and leave it in to mash). Perfect every time. I've never put them in that much water, they will boil and not steam. Steamed potatoes retain much more of their flavor.
No offence. That method still dilutes/washes away the texture and nutritional health aspect. As usual if you have the Time, reguarding a quality, traditional style Potato Mash always use prepared slow Roasted potatoes simply brushed lightly with Sea salt/Pepper/oil then scoop out and add Butter. Plus an additional benefit you also have the Skins to use as 'Stuffed Potato Cheese Skins' as a wonderful Side. Highly recommended alternative to Boiling.
Thank you for the information. I was thinking there had to be a way. Can't wait to try this method!
You should start a website where I can buy one or two of your frozen meals and keep him in my freezer. Being a single man which is my animals around me, it be nice to have a home cooked meal from someone else besides myself. Wishing you and yours the best from my Homestead to yours. #LoveInspirationAndMotivation
You should do a cookbook where all your recipes are together 😍
This was my first visit to your channel and it was time WELL SPENT! I will say that my favorite baking dish hack for freezer meals is to double foil the baking dishes/pans, fill, freeze well (2 full days), REMOVE FROM PANS and stack the foil wrapped meals in the freezer. When it’s time to eat, place the foil wrapped meal in a baking dish to thaw and bake! Saves cleaning and frees up baking dishes for use throughout the month.
Yes! I do the same!
You definitely don’t have to cover the potatoes with water in the instant pot, I only add a 1/2-2/3 cup of water, and a bit of butter for 10 min. Once done you don’t have to drain, just add a splash of milk and mash or whip :)
I actually add cream. Makes it even better! (I'm my opinion)
I do the same, regular or sweet potatoes... peel, big chunks, 7-8 minutes about a cup of water. Natural release and drain off excess water. Throw in stick of butter, block of cream cheese and bit of cream, s/p and put lid on, walk away while it stays in warm mode and I do other prep. Residual heat warms dairy then I use hand mixer to mix and stays warm till we eat. Love my IP. 😀
This is what I do all the time! I’m too busy to drain the potatoes! 🤣
Same! So weird that the recipes are telling her to use that much water 🤔
Same…but I use chicken stock instead of water. Perfect every time!
Sending you huge hugs and condolences for the loss of Gizmo. You gave him the best life, full of love, and that's all we can do for our fur babies. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and life with us. You make me feel like I can achieve anything. ❤️
Great job! That's so much food! Freezer meals are one of those things where you really thank previous you for being prepared. There's also two in my household so I'll make a 6 person meal maybe 2-3 times a week (stew, curry, pasta sauce, bakes etc) eat 2 then freeze the other 4 in single portions. It builds up over time so we always have a large selection of meals ready to pull out and we can both choose anything we fancy that night. I just cook the side dish or rice, pasta etc on the night if it's not a complete meal. Saves so much time and I don't have to do a huge lot all in one day (chronic illness so I can't spent 6 hours in the kitchen unfortunately! I wish I could give your method a go.) It gives the flexibility to cook an 'on the day' meal during the week if we fancy something specific, things like steak or stir-fry that you can't freeze, but I also know if I'm ill for a few weeks I have a freezer full of back ups. My freezers are full to bursting at the moment in preparation for a busy December where I know I'm going to be temped to grab takeaway instead of cooking ;) Your so right on how much money it saves too!!!
I absolutely love your energy!!! You’re recipes are always so delicious to look at, but it would be so great to see you and your husband sit down to eat one of your meals. But you work so hard to make sure seem so easy. You are a fantastic person to watch and I enjoy you so much!
To get the best flavor and creaminess in your mashed potatoes, you should salt the potatoes in the water before cooking. It’s hard to salt them after they’re done. Also, I use evaporated milk when mashing them instead of whole milk. The evaporated milk makes the mashed potatoes sooooo creamy.
Excellent! I have two cases of evaporated milk. I shall use your suggestion. From Ohio, meat and potatoes, plus a huge side of vegetables 😋!
that's how my mom does hers. now I am married and that's how i do ours. butter and can milk
We stan a queen! Can't wait! I so look forward to these premieres and chatting with everyone.
Love to watch you cook! You have so much energy😃 I've learned so much from you. Sending hugs and prayers for the loss of your sweet Gizmo💙
I just turned off the burner under my pressure canner. I've been canning turkey vegetable soup all day. I made broth yesterday with the carcass and ham bone from Thanksgiving dinner.
Now I get to have a relaxing time watching your video.
You get so much accomplished in one day. It boggles my mind!
You are amazing Becky..I love your spirit and energy. Josh is a lucky man
I’ve learned more from Beckys channel here there anywhere else on the internet! She’s inspired me so much to explore in the kitchen and try new techniques, thank you Becky ❤
VERY inspiring, despite the fact that we're a plant-based household! I watch your prep videos and wish I was not so ADHD, and could have my stuff together this much! My jaw dropped at the Thanksgiving video. You and your mom were like a well-oiled machine. My mom and I would have killed each other!!
I feel like I could have written this! Wouldn't it be great to be able to organize?!
I would love to see how these meals work for you guys in real time. Love the realness and confidence you have!
So refreshing!
Hi Becky--I have been looking forward to this for quite awhile. IMO-The advantage of at least a pre-boil or al dente for the shells is that it will open up the shells to get in more of the filling. I think some of the dry shells are kind of closed so it would be difficult to stuff in the filling. Hugs.
Brilliant inspiring video! I use cotton bags sewn from tea towels in the freezer and 'fridge to wrap my bread, vegetables and anything fragile. I use no plastic bags and Saran wrap and find that glass jars and cotton wrap and bags do the job perfectly.
Potatoes- I like to boil them whole then refrigerate overnight. The peels just slip off. They can be chopped, shredded or mashed.
I love your freezer meal videos! They remind me of when I spent the end of 2019 filling my upright freezer for when I had my daughter. The winners were Mac and cheese (recipe from another YT channel - Easy Freezer Meals), breakfast burritos, quesadillas, and baked ziti.
I really appreciate how you popped in the promotion. I can really tell you care and are invested in the company. I’m looking into it!!
Your freezer meal videos have totally rescued our family dinner time since having a second child thank you so very much
Becky! Rewatched your Shepard’s pie video because there was a sale on ground beef! This made 3 8 x 8 casserole dishes for my husband and I. They are in the freezer! Took a teeny taste of the sauce! Sooooo good! Big thank you!.
Pumpkin pasta?!?! I’m in love. I have so many pumpkins I’ve been dreading roasting and drying. Love this idea to use up pumpkins. I’ll be making that today!
I do freezer meals and hate using cling film (plastic) to cover my meals too. Plus my kitchen storage is a lot smaller so I can’t keep such a brilliant collection of glass dishes. How I have gotten round this is I take a glass dish layer two sheets in the dish (pushing it down into the shape) then I add a little cooking oil and rub it all over the tin foil (aluminium foil). This is to prevent sticking. Then you add your freezer meal on top of the foil, fold the edges over the top so completely covered. At this point I put it into the freezer for 1-2 hrs (sometimes less if it’s frozen enough to hold its shape or more if I have forgotten it 🤣). When it’s frozen enough to hold its shape I can then take the foil parcel out of the glass dish and put into gallon freezer bags (don’t forget to label). These bags I use again and again. When I come to cook the meal I get out my foil brick and let thaw for maybe ten mins, peel off the foil wrapper (saving some to cover the top when cooking) then put the frozen food directly into the original shaped dish you froze it in. Then either cook straight away or leave to defrost in your glass dish that it fits. X
Jessica Sowards from roots and refuge channel mentioned watching you and how impressed she was with your cooking. I really admire Jessica and thought if she is impressed it's gotta be good! Before the video was over I clicked subscribe, You're awesome! I look forward to watching more! 🙂
I am so very sorry for the loss of your furbaby. They are such a big part of our lives. God's bless you with comfort.
I equate my own homesteading experience to that of prepping and self-sufficiency. Freeze-drying produce from the garden and full meals is the ONLY way to go in my opinion. You still can eat healthily, retain all the nutrients without having to waste time and energy on canning and freezing (not to mention the perpetual purchases of plastic bags, non-Tattler canning lids, etc). . Space is also a key factor. Once the freezer is full, that's that. Freezer foods, last at best up to 3 years. Canning, 1 to 2 years. Dehydrating, 4 years. Freeze-drying, 20-30 years.