This recipe is a great example of Cooking Forward, one of my favorite techniques in which tonight’s meal gets transformed into something entirely different tomorrow.  Read more about Cooking Forward here.

This recipe for Mexican style pulled pork is a great utility one, in that you can use the pork to make so many things: sandwiches, tacos burritos, enchiladas, etc — so it has built in Cooking Forward potential.  The cooked pork is also freezer friendly, providing you freeze it in some of the broth.

But that’s not … Read more

Keeping your freezer stocked with sauces like this one makes good sense.  All you need do is toss in some cooked pasta, or spoon over some grilled chicken or fish, and you have a meal.

Could you freeze the sauce and cooked pasta together?  Technically yes, but I don’t recommend it as the pasta can turn mushy.  Better to cook up fresh pasta — easy  — and toss with some heated-from-the-freezer sauce.

Penne is the traditional pasta shape to serve with Arrabiatta, but don’t limit yourself, this versatile can … Read more

This recipe is reprinted from my book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Easy Freezer Meals (2011 Alpha Books).

Bring the sizzling flavors of Korean barbecue – soy, garlic, and tantalizing sesame — to your home table with this easy grilling recipe.  My advice is to double or triple the recipe.  Everyone loves these so much,they’ll want more than might normally eat.  Also, we’re going to make something equally yummy out of them — an entirely new recipe — later in the week, so I promise you’ll be happy you have … Read more

I have to admit I’m not a big meatloaf fan myself, but my best friend and business partner is.  Since meatloaves are so easy to keep in the freezer to just reheat and heat, I often experiment with new recipes for him.  This one got high marks.

Kicked up with spicy jalapenos and coated in a sweet and spicy glaze, this is not your grandmother’s meatloaf.  According to Mitch, leftovers make fabulous sandwiches.  If you like cold leftover meatloaf for sandwiches or otherwise, you won’t even need to reheat after … Read more

This chicken is so good, it had my business partner contemplating the possibility of us opening a chicken restaurant!  The out-of-this-world flavor comes from a tantalizing combination of spices we Americans typical only use at Thanksgiving time when making pumpkin pie, accented by a liberal dose of heat from habenero chiles  (known as Scotch Bonnet peppers in the islands).

The chicken and marinade are frozen together in this recipe.  When you’re ready to eat, just thaw and grill .  I plan on doing an upcoming post about freezing meats … Read more

The Blog By Lander Sea Food Tales recently did a very complimentary  review of my book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Easy Freezer Meals (2011 Alpha Books).

If you haven’t already discovered it, Debi Lander’s blog is a wonderful mix of creative recipes along with restaurant reviews and ramblings, frequently about all the wonderful places its travel writer editor visits.

This particular posts deals with my book and how Debi is using it to help her college age daughter, living on her own for the first time, get used to … Read more

Seafood from the freezer? Not exactly.  There are few instances where seafood from the freezer will live up to my personal culinary standards.   But in the case of the classic French seafood stew,  Bouillabaisse,  you can make the base of the stew — a Bouillabaisse base if you will,  and freeze.   When you are ready to eat, defrost the frozen soup base in a saucepan,  add fresh seafood, and dinner is on the table in minutes.  And not just any dinner.    Add a salad and crusty baguette and … Read more