Shrimp in Spiced Tomato Sauce

This sauce gets a nice kick from ginger and coriander -- add a little more salt than you normally would so the shrimp become seasoned as they simmer.



Shrimp in Spiced Tomato Sauce
Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, cut into medium dice
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound large frozen raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Chopped cilantro, for serving
Couscous (optional), for serving

To Prepare:
- In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and ginger; cook until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add coriander, cayenne, and lemon zest; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, breaking them up as you go. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
- Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper and let cool to room temperature.

To Freeze:
- Place shrimp in a one-gallon freezer bag and pour cooled tomato sauce on top.
- Press out air, seal bag, and freeze flat. Store in the freezer, up to 2 1/2 months.

To Serve:
- To serve, thaw shrimp mixture in refrigerator overnight.
- Transfer to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high; cook until sauce is hot and shrimp are opaque throughout, about 3 minutes.
- Serve sprinkled with cilantro, with couscous alongside if desired.

* recipe and photo from marthastewart.com

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Freezing Blanched Veggies

Often vegetables need to be blanched before freezing. Here is a quick and simple guide for blanching common vegetables. Blanching vegetables helps preserve color and texture.

After blanching vegetables in boiling water immerse immediately into cold water then drain. I often reuse the same water again and again. A large pasta type pot works great for blanching. You can submerse the vegetables into the pot already in the strainer.

Allow approximately a gallon of water for a pound of vegetables. Vegetables will need to cool for the same time as they are blanched.

Preparing Your Vegetables

Peel, trim and cut vegetables into uniform sizes. Look at the chart below to find the time needed. Extra large pieces may need to blanch a minute longer than the table calls for.


Blanching Timetable Chart for Vegetables

Asparagus: Blanch 2 minutes – 3 -4 4 minutes for large asparagus

Beans: green- Blanch for 3 minutes.

Beans: lima, butter or pinto - Blanch small beans 2 minutes, medium beans 3 minutes, and large beans 4 minutes.

Beets: small beets – 35- 30 minute, medium ones 45 – 50 minutes. If you leave the stem on top they won’t bleed into the water as bad.

Broccoli: Blanch 3 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts: Blanch small, 3 minutes; medium, 4 minutes; large, 5 minutes

Carrots: Blanch tiny, whole, 5 minutes; diced or strips, 2 minutes

Cauliflower: Blanch 3 minutes.

Corn: Whole small ears for freezing – 7 minutes, medium ears 9 minutes and large size ears 11 minutes. If you are going to take the corn of the cob for freezing blanch for 4 minutes and remove from cob.

Okra: Blanch small pods 3 minutes and large pods 4 minutes.

Peas: Shelled. Blanch for 1-2 minutes, chill, freeze.

Snap Peas: Blanch 1 1/2minutes

Spinach and other greens: Blanch 2 minutes

Summer squash: Blanch for 3 minutes.

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Freezing Bread

All bread products freeze beautifully. From pitas to tortillas to regular loaves. Here are some tips on freezing loaves of bread.

If you've just baked your own bread or purchased it warm, make sure you allow it to cool before freezing to avoid soggy bread or mold.

To Freeze. Wrap your loaf using two clear plastic bags. Then, seal it using masking tape and place it in the freezer.

To thaw your frozen bread, take it out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature, about 3 hours.

To serve the bread hot, wrap your bread in parchment paper and foil and place it in an oven heated to 400 degrees for 3 or 4 minutes to restore its crisp texture.

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Breaded Pork Chops

Here's another great recipe from Martha Stewart. Stack the breaded chops in the freezer, and remove as many as you need when you're ready to eat. Any chopped fresh herb can be substituted for the sage. These chops can go straight from freezer to oven for a fast meal in minutes.

This recipe makes 8 chops, but can be doubled.


Breaded Pork Chops

4 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons packed finely chopped fresh sage
8 bone-in pork chops (1 inch thick and 2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
2 cups plain dried breadcrumbs
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil

To Prepare:

- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard, and sage and let stand 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pound each pork chop (avoiding bone) between two pieces plastic wrap to a 1/4-inch thickness.
- Spread breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture onto another rimmed baking sheet. In batches, season pork chops with salt and pepper and coat in egg mixture. Gently shake to remove excess, then dredge in breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere.

To Freeze:

- Layer pork chops between sheets of freezer paper and transfer to two 1-gallon freezer bags. Press out air, seal bags, and freeze flat. Store in the freezer, up to 6 weeks.

To Serve:

- Heat broiler. Place a rimmed baking sheet in broiler to heat.
- For each frozen chop, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; brush on both sides.
- For each batch of two, place chops on sheet and broil until both sides are deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Make sure each chop has reached an internal temperature of 160* F

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