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Casseroles
Refrigerator and Freezer, Approximate Storage Times
Breads, pastries and cakes can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, for up to one year, depending on the type.
Unbaked breads and rolls can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks and in the freezer up to 1 month, longer time inactivates the yeast.
Cinnamon rolls that have been partially baked, baked quick breads unbaked fruit pies and unfrosted baked cakes can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Baked muffins, cookies, angel food cakes and fruit cakes can be stored in the freezer from 6 to 12 months and still have good flavor when they are thawed out.
Dairy products require different freezer times; Butter and margarine can be stored up to one year in the freezer, but only 3 months in the refrigerator.
It is not recommended that you freeze buttermilk, heavy or whipping cream, milks or commercial or homemade dips.
Cottage, cream cheese and ricotta cheese can be frozen up to a month but should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2 weeks. Natural, aged cheeses and pasteurized process cheeses can be frozen up to 8 months.
However, freezing changes the texture of soft cheeses and they become crumbly.
Eggs still in the shell should not be frozen, to freeze fresh yolks and whites for up to 12 months break shells and stir until well blended, adding a small amount of salt or sugar improves storage quality.
Most fresh fruits, except citrus fruits can be frozen up to a year, it is not recommended that you freeze avocados.
Opened canned fruit can only be frozen for 1-2 months.
The majority of fruits should not be kept in the refrigerator for more than 3 weeks.
Beef roasts and steaks can be frozen up to 12 months, veal or pork roasts and lam and veal chops should not be frozen longer than 9 months. Meats should not be kept in the refrigerator longer than 5 days.
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Efficiency will save you lots of time in the kitchen, to accomplish this, learn to do more than one thing at a time. Increased preparation time before cooking is another way to become a faster cook.
Read your recipe before starting, this will save you many headaches, like getting a dish ready and finding out you need bat wings and you dont have any! Just kidding, I dont stock bat wings in my kitchen either, but you get the idea.
Get everything you will need together, follow the order they are used in the recipe, this allows you to be sure that you have everything you will need. Once you are sure you have everything, measure out the ingredients according to the recipe.
Organize all of your ingredients on one side of the work area, as you use something, move it to the other side, lessens confusion as to whether you used it or not.
Use the cutting board for all of your non-meat items first, this avoids cross contamination. If you have to prepare the meat first, wash the cutting board thoroughly before using it for any other food items.
Keeping a sink of hot soapy water will help cleanup later on, just drop used utensils in the water and allow them to soak.
Sometimes it is better to use your hands to mix something than it is to use a utensil; it also saves time washing up later. I for one loved making mud pies when I was a child, the only difference is the mud is now hamburger and the crushed leaves are now herbs.
Salads are always mixed more evenly if they are tossed with your hands. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly, inexpensive plastic gloves will help if you didnt like playing in the mud!
Coat measuring cups, spoons and molds with non-stick spray before putting anything sticky in them, the ingredients will slide right out. To prevent having to clean a burned on, sticky mess from your boiler pan, line the pan with foil and spray the rack with non-stick spray.
Re-sealable plastic is great for marinating and coating foods with flour or cornmeal.
Planning in advance can save you a lot of time in the kitchen opening up your evenings to spend more time with your family. |
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Organizing Your Pantry
When I say pantry, I am referring not only to the shelves of food that you have but also the foods in your freezer and long lasting refrigerator items.
If you dont organize properly, you could end up forgetting that you have something and buy it again.
When organizing your dry and canned foods, put like items together, fruits with fruits, vegetables with vegetables and baking goods with baking goods.
It may seem silly, but it saves a lot of time later when you are looking for something specific.
Put all of your plastic wrapped foods, such as different kinds of beans and pastas in the same area, this could also include coconut, brown sugar etc.
Part of the reason for this is that in most instances they lie flat, and can easily be stacked on top of one another.
When wrapping foods for freezing, make sure they have at least one flat side, this will make it easier to store.
Use a one-inch piece of masking tape and write what the item is and the date it was frozen, attach this to the end of the item that will be towards the door of the freezer.
Designate a specific area of the freezer for certain foods; again, keep like foods together, pork, chicken, beef and hot dogs would all go in the area for meats.
If items are small, they can be put into a large plastic freezer bag with other smaller items that are alike, this makes things easier to find and keeps all the little packages from slipping to the back of the freezer.
Vegetables and fruits could go in one area; again they are in packages and are fairly easy to stack.
In the refrigerator, designate areas just like the freezer, the taller areas for drinks, and all the condiments together, the sandwich spreads, including mustard and catsup together.
Try to put the items that are most often used in the front, so you dont have to dig each time you want to find something.
By following this simple organizational plan for your pantry you will be able to minimize the possibility of duplicating items that have become lost, and save time and money when preparing food, creating your menu and while shopping.
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Casseroles, Luaus a Traditional Type of Party
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