Less than two weeks to Christmas! Here are my top food freezer tips for a stress-free Christmas dinner!
It’s time to start planning what you will need, but maybe first it is worth checking what is already in the cupboards, throwing out-of-date tins and spices, and donating food to charities that is in date you have no intention of eating.
1 Have a freezer week and eat what is in your freezer, and the money saved can go to food for Christmas.
2 Dedicate a freezer drawer to Christmas Day ingredients and pre-prepared food so they are easy to find.
3 It is worth doing a Freezer audit and keeping it on the fridge so you know what needs using up. Base meal plans on food that has been sitting in there for a long time, leaving space for get-ahead food for Christmas.
4 Sausage rolls (or use nut roast filling) and mince pies can be made up and frozen uncooked. Just pop them back in the baking trays and pop them in the oven to cook.
5 Gravy – make a nice gravy from this week’s roast chicken. Boil the bones with a lemon for an hour or so to make a nice stock, then add a dash of white wine and the juices from the cooked chicken for extra flavour.
6 Stuffing – make up stuffing and place in an oven-proof dish, ready to go in the oven.
7 Sauces – make bread, brandy and cranberry sauces ahead of Christmas Day. Store in old yoghurt pots in the freezer.
8 Red cabbage – slow cooker or pressure cooker is a great way to braise red cabbage. Store in the freezer and reheat in the oven.
9 Gammon ham – Use a slow cooker and cook in spices and cider. When cold, slice and freeze in portions. Strain the stock and freeze it; use it as a base for soup.
10 Yorkshire puddings – freeze after cooking, they only take 10 minutes to warm through.
11 Potatoes – par-boil and freeze; they will only need to be roasted on the day. You can even roast and freeze, and then preheat.
12 Turkey – cook and slice when cold. Freeze the slices and reheat in gravy on the day.
13 Sausages – wrap in bacon, cook and freeze. Reheat from frozen.
14 Make a stock from the turkey/chicken/duck giblets (cats and dogs enjoy the cooked giblets too!), which can be used for the gravy or kept in the fridge for a soup after Christmas.
15 Leftover cooked vegetables are great for adding to a pie with leftover roast meat – keep a pack of puff pastry or filo pastry in the fridge or freezer to make a quick pie topping or puff pastry pizza.
16 Buy a whole salmon and ask the fishmonger to cut it into steaks and fillets and freeze in portions – much more economical than buying already prepared.
17 Keep a few simple meals or soup in the freezer for days when you don’t fancy rich food.
18 If short on space in the freezer, remove packaging and wrap food well in freezer bags with air removed.
19 Packets of pancetta, bacon, sausages and smoked salmon are helpful to have in the freezer. don’t take up much room and defrost quickly
20 Most importantly, don’t stress, it’s only a roast dinner with a few extra sides, which can be easily made in advance.
NO FREEZER?….NO PROBLEM!
Prepare as much as you can up to 48 hours beforehand; don’t overplan or make it overly complicated.
Organisation is key; write a list and a timeline. Work backwards from when you want to serve Christmas dinner.
Get the family to help you! Pop on some music and get everyone involved in the veg prep…many hands make light work of this. Potatoes can be stored in a pan with a lid outside in the cold, submerged in water. Root veg and Brussels do not need to be stored in water. Store somewhere cool.
Other blogs you may find useful:
https://get-cooking.co.uk/how-to-reduce-food-waste-at-christmas/
https://get-cooking.co.uk/reduce-food-waste-advent-calendar/
If the thought of cooking a roast dinner fills you with dread, why not book a private cooking lesson? In two hours, you will have a plate of roast chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables along with fabulous Yorkshire puddings and thick homemade onion gravy. Plus a host of cooking hints, tips and hacks!
Great fun, these private workshops always book up early. Create your own festive bake-off with family or friends!
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