Triple Clicks

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Freezer Cooking

I've been dabbling in freezer cooking for awhile.  It's an awesome way to have a convenience meal that's healthier and cheaper.  

I have been doing pizzas for awhile, but I think I finally have it figured out (according to the family, I can't enjoy pizza right now).  I tried thin crust for the first time this week, it prebaked ok, so we'll see how it turns out when it comes to eating.

I did cinnamon rolls and pizza this time.  I was able to get both done and frozen within 2 hours thanks to my gadgets.  My hubby bought me a stand mixer this year and I've had my bread maker for awhile.   So I did the pizza dough in the mixer and the cinnamon roll dough in the bread maker.  Although clearly I do need to add more flour to the pizza recipe I make.  But I'll dabble in that.. 

Anyway.  The pizza came from Jamerrill over at Large Family Table, the cinnamon rolls came from Money Saving Mom.  With a little tweaking from advice from Amy at Plain and Not So Plain.  



The pizza



I made the dough and let it rise (recipe).  This time I made a recipe and 1/2...so I probably did the math wrong which is why I needed (or is it kneaded? *snare drum*) to add flour at the end.  Then I took half the dough and did one crust.  As I'm trying to stretch the dough out by hand, I have the pizza stone in the oven warming up..  When I get the dough close to the size of my 16" stone, I pull the stone out, spray it with Pam (well.. off brand Pam), sprinkle on some corn meal and finish stretching the dough out to fit the pan. Prick it all around with a fork to keep out the air bubbles.  Then sprinkle all over with garlic powder and dab 2 tablespoons of butter in small chunks all around the crust. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until you see brown on top.  

Cool completely.  Now, to freeze it you have to get it off your stone... If you use aluminum pans, you can freeze those if you have enough.  I saved the cardboard rounds from Walmart deli pizzas and use those.  Transfer the crusts to whatever you are going to freeze them on and top with desired toppings..  After it's done, you have to mummify that pizza in saran wrap to keep out the frost build up.   I do 4 layers with a label in there somewhere of what it is if it's going to be in the freezer more than a couple days.  You want to freeze it as flat as possible so your toppings don't go everywhere, but after it's frozen you can stand it up on end to save space.  

To cook.. set out a few hours before so it can thaw, then bake 425 for about 15-20 minutes.  



The Cinnamon Rolls



Ok, so I thought I got this from Jamerrill, but apparently I got it from Money Saving Mom.

I let the bread machine do the work.  Then roll it out.  I melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup)and spread it on the dough.  Sprinkle on sugar, brown sugar (then spread it out), then sprinkle on cinnamon.  Roll it up and cut it.  I got 22 rolls out.. Put them on parchment on a cookie sheet and flash froze for 20 minutes.  (Now here is where the recipe from Plain and Not So Plain takes over.) Then they go in a ziploc bag.  I will have to add some more toppings to the two end pieces when I bake them.

To bake, I pull out the night before and thaw to let them rise.  They are ready to go in the morning.  While they are baking I'm making this yummy caramel frosting, eggs and bacon.  They take about half an hour in the oven so just perfect timing.  

I am going to try something new, I saw on a YouTube video by Bon Apetit to use a muffin tin to make the cinnamon rolls rise better... so I'm going to try that this time. 


So that's my freezer cooking I was able to get done.  Enjoy! 

~Tabitha





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