I find this method of freezing a very useful tool for making quick meals and using non-processed ingredients. It is simple: freeze items on a cookie sheet (or if a small quantity, I use a freezer-safe container lid), spreading them out so not touching, then putting them in the freezer til hardened. By doing that, food items--such as berries, chopped bacon, diced chicken, ground beef--get frozen in individual pieces rather than one big clump, stuck together. Then, the savvy cook can open up that freezer bag and grab just what (s)he needs for the recipe. It also saves the time of preparing small quantities of ingredients each time they are needed.
Real life examples:
- Raspberries and blackberries get mushy quickly, in my experience. I like to add a few to my fruit and yogurt smoothies that I make with mostly strawberries and banana. A day or 2 after I buy them, I flash freeze them, then put them in a labeled freezer bag. When I make a smoothie, I can grab just a few, and then I usually don't have to put ice cubes in either, because the berries are frozen!
- Diced chicken is a great thing to flash freeze for quick and easy use in quesedillas, omelets, or pizzas.
- Flash freezing ground beef is a great way to add just what you need to that red sauce, especially if some in your group prefer it without--just add at last minute.
- I like making spring mix salads with bacon, avecado, goat cheese, tomatoes, and vinigrette dressing....but I don't want to cook a piece of bacon every time so flash freezing bacon lets me easily enjoy my favorite salad!
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