Freezer Friendly Recipes & Freezing Tips

I am very worried, friends. Worried that the fear of pie crusts may be keeping a great many of you from making your own pies at home. Is this true? Does this sound like you? Do debates over butter vs. shortening or tender vs. flaky make you want to run and hide? Well, take a deep breath and grab your notebook — today we’re going to go over how to make a pie from start to finish, one step at a time. Here’s your first lesson: Homemade pies do not have to be perfect. Really.

For me, the best part of Thanksgiving dinner are the leftovers. Day one is the day for turkey sandwiches and plates of reheated dinner. And this turkey noodle soup is the ideal next step for leftovers. It not only uses up the leftover turkey meat, but also any vegetables and herbs you may have left from the big day.  It’s the best way to use leftover turkey.

Bonus: The recipe uses a whole can of pumpkin.

Perfect for pairing with a PSL.

Save a slice for me.

Pumpkin cookie meets snickerdoodles.

Do you have a soft spot in your heart for roasted winter squash, like butternut squash, kabocha, or acorn squash? If so, it’s high time to roast a pumpkin. If you’ve done this before then you know the results are nothing short of amazing. And spoiler alert: it’s not as tough or fussy as you might think. In fact, prepping a pumpkin is a lot easier than some other squash varieties (I’m looking at you, butternut squash).

Say bye-bye to the blue box.

Bonus: It’s so easy.

Bonus: There’s only 5 minutes of prep.

When you really think about it, the whole Thanksgiving meal is one giant twofer. Next-day Thanksgiving leftovers are just as important as the perfect day-of meal. The turkey, however, is even more generous. You roast your turkey on day one; have the leftover meat for turkey sandwiches, chilis, and cheesy turkey enchiladas in the days after; and now you get this glorious sunny stock from the bones and bits leftover even after the meat is gone.

Chocolate chips in every bite.

And you only need four ingredients.

It’s that good!

It uses a full pound of zucchini.

Whatever regular ol’ butter can do, maple butter can do better. The touch of sweetness and caramel-y, toffee notes alter butter so magically that it’s hard to believe how simple it is to make. Because maple butter has so few ingredients, it’s essential to ensure those ingredients are good-quality. Here you’ll want real-deal maple syrup — sweet, smoky, and amber-colored.

Pronounced poh-taazh, potage is a fancy term for a thick and comforting soup cooked in a pot. Typically, it also infers that the soup is made of vegetables and is puréed until smooth. Like many French dishes, it originates from peasants and farmers who were using the ingredients they had available — in this case, any mix of vegetables. Potage is often enriched at the end with some kind of dairy.

Here’s how to use up that bumper crop.

No special ingredients needed.

When you have a glut of fresh summer fruit, sorbets are the answer. You don’t need a recipe — just a basic template to follow and a little creativity. Strawberry-peach sorbet? Mint-infused watermelon sorbet? Raspberry-rosé sorbet? Yes, let’s make all of these this summer. All you need is chopped fruits, puree it, then add a little simple syrup and lemon juice, chill the base, churn the sorbet, and then freeze it.

I’m visiting family in Texas this summer, and I did a triple-take upon seeing the price of Hatch green chiles from neighboring New Mexico: three pounds for a mere dollar! There are only so many chile peppers one can eat in a sitting, but that didn’t stop me from buying them in bulk and roasting them to put up in my family’s freezer.

Cooler than the original.

If you love margaritas, this one’s for you.

The humble banana gets the spotlight.

It’s so versatile.

They’re decadent and deeply chocolaty.

It’s a must-try!

Banish all thoughts of stringy, tough, sad chicken from your mind. For our chicken salad sandwiches and quick chicken weeknight meals, we want nothing but the best. And for that, poached chicken is definitely the way to go. This poached chicken method is easy, fast, and foolproof. Totally tender chicken breasts that are as good for dinner as they are for lunch the next day? Not a problem.

If you’ve avoided cooking dried beans at home because you’ve heard they are tricky, finicky, or complicated, it’s time to leave all that behind. Cooking dried beans, whether they’re black beans, pinto beans, or dried chickpeas, is no more trouble than filling a pot of water and letting it simmer happily on the back burner all afternoon. In fact, that’s basically all it is.

Make this once, and it will be your new go-to.

They’re soft, tangy, and oh-so tender.

Ever had a classic French palmier? A flaky turnover filled with fruit? A bite of puff pastry filled with cranberry sauce and brie at a cocktail party? All these delicious treats start right here, with this dough. Yes, you can buy puff pastry at the store, but if you’re in the mood for a real baking project, you can make it yourself at home. All you need is a pastry scraper and a French rolling pin, and simple ingredients like flour, water, and butter.

With fresh or frozen bananas.

We've got the secret to fluffy and dense matzo balls.

So tender, so fluffy.

I make them every week.

Mom always knows best.

Oh, and it's so easy to make.

Behold the single food that has revolutionized my weekly meal plan – shredded chicken! The very best thing about cooking up a batch of shredded chicken are all the possibilities it brings to mealtime. It can mean a week’s worth of dinners — everything from chicken tacos and chicken burritos to chicken salad are made more satisfying with shredded chicken. It’s an easy solution for make-ahead lunches and weeknight dinners the whole family will love.

It's hard to eat just one.

It takes just a little bit of time and patience with nearly zero effort.

Hello, gorgeous.

lasagna's lazier cousin.

Yes, it’s really that good.

Perfect with a cup of Joe.

Meet your new favorite sweet.

Many of us turn to beans for our weekly meals. It’s a beloved pantry staple for hearty chili, winter stews, and comforting soups. Canned beans are no stranger to my pantry (there’s always a variety lining the shelves for an emergency), but over these past several months at home, I’ve become a dried bean convert.

Looks fancy, but it's so easy to make.

Trust us on this one.

So light, so citrusy.

Enjoy with a glass of good wine.

Chewy, nutty, chocolaty perfection.

All the pickle girls out there — this one’s for you.