Meal Prep for the Pantry, Kitchen, and Freezers

Meal Prep for the Pantry, Kitchen, and Freezers
SoCal Growzone 10b.
January and February bring a shift in chores and the rhythm of life on the homestead. All our cold-season crops are in the ground, next season’s herbs are started in pots, and it’s still too early for sweet potatoes and other warm/hot-season crops.
This is the perfect time to take stock: we inventory our food supplies, check for spoiled bags and jars, note what to grow more of next season, and give our storage areas a thorough cleaning.
I’ve just finished organizing the freezers, making space for new freezer meals and upcoming harvests. This year, it feels more important than ever. For the last five years, my son has handled most of the dinner cooking, but he heads off to college in Oregon on March 30th. Around the same time (March 20th), I’m scheduled for airway surgery. The surgeon says I’ll need to take it easy for the first month, with full healing taking about three months.
To prepare, we’ve started batching freezer meals, canned goods, and freeze-dried options so dinners can be simple and low-effort during recovery.
We had about 20 pounds of lemons left in the freezer that needed using up, so my son made a double batch of lemon curd. The leftover zest and juice went into silicone molds for freezing. Once solid, the little pucks get transferred to jars and back into the freezer. I use this method for lots of things: garlic, ginger, turmeric, pesto, single-serve pasta sauce, elderberry juice, and more.
We also made a big batch of Greek-style rice (with lemon juice, zest, chicken broth, saffron, and vegetables). I froze it on trays with dividers, then transferred the frozen squares to storage containers for the freezer.
Next week, when my Azure Standard order arrives, I’ll tackle large batches of meatball mix, meatloaf mix, and pasta meat sauce. Mac and cheese and creamed kale are on the list too. Some will go into casserole dishes for family-sized portions; others will be frozen individually.
I’m also planning to can chicken pot pie filling and Salisbury steak. Plus, I’ll make instant sweet potato mash, hash browns, and breakfast sausages.
My goal is to stock the freezers and pantries with at least a month’s worth of ready-to-go meals. We already have plenty of freeze-dried and canned soups on the shelves, along with lots of broth.
I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled these past five years. My son often brought me breakfast in bed, indulged my sweet tooth, and cooked dinner for the family. I’ll miss having someone to laugh with in the kitchen. Once he leaves, it’ll just be my oldest daughter still at home.
What’s ready for fresh eating right now? We always have something! Currently harvesting: Winner cabbages, Napa cabbages, mustard greens, radishes, arugula, butter lettuce, cutting lettuce, tomatoes, chives, parsley, basil, celtuce, radicchio, iceberg lettuce, spinach, nettles, mint, sage, lemon balm, kale, tree collards, regular collards, broccoli, lemons, and celery. We’re also slowly getting fresh eggs again.
Now I’m off to find a good recipe for crustless pumpkin pie to use up some of the baked pumpkin in the freezer. I’m also planning pumpkin muffins and cookies.
Happy gardening and preserving, everyone!

Thanks for sharing this.

Today I had a discussion with dear hubby about food supplies.

He said that the National Weather Service was advising folks to have at least a 3 day supply of food on hand.  He could not understand why folks might not have a 3 day supply without being told.

I said because most folks use Uber Eats ...

Anne Miller wrote:Thanks for sharing this.

Today I had a discussion with dear hubby about food supplies.

He said that the National Weather Service was advising folks to have at least a 3 day supply of food on hand.  He could not understand why folks might not have a 3 day supply without being told.

I said because most folks use Uber Eats ...

When people call me a food hoarder, and don’t understand why I do this, I tell them about the time my husband got fired and it took 18 months before he found work again. I tell them about staying out of grocery stores during Covid and about all the times, when have come down with winter viruses. I  also tell them about going hungry, as a child because food was limited.
Once I have told them this, I take out my spreadsheets and show them how much money we save each year. This year we saved 10 thousand dollars after expenses were deducted. This isn’t about hoarding, it’s about having food security, about health and peace of mind. I don’t have to worry about prices going up or empty grocery shelves.
We are not dependent on fast food either, which so many people are.
I don’t have a 3 day supply of food. I have enough in long and short term storage to feed us 2 to 3 years.
Now I will go to the kitchen and get to work. Today we are making pumpkin custard cups, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies. All three will be frozen as snacks and breakfast options.

Lovely photos. I'm a bit jealous of your bok choy and cabbage, they look so healthy and green. Your freezer meals remind me of the times I've been getting ready to have a baby and have put away a bunch of meals in the freezer for the extra busy/tired days.

One of my favourites was moussaka. I'd cook up ground beef or lamb with onion and fresh herbs. Boil some potatoes or turnips (then slice them once cool), fry some zucchini slices and/or eggplant, make a white sauce, then in ovenproof glass freezer containers I'd layer the meat with the vegetables, top with a generous layer of white sauce, then grated cheese on top.

How long does your lemon curd keep for? All the recipes I've seen have said to only keep it for around a month in the fridge. I'd love to find a shelf-stable recipe.

Kate Downham wrote:.

How long does your lemon curd keep for? All the recipes I've seen have said to only keep it for around a month in the fridge. I'd love to find a shelf-stable recipe.

I use a recipe where it’s canned. The canning process makes it shelf stable.
Here is a link to the recipe Canned lemon curd

Since the link doesn’t work, I have added screenshots of the recipe.

Ulla's link for water-bath canned lemon curd wouldn't work for me. I think the Facebook group must require membership before showing the recipe instructions. I found this one from Ashley Adamant instead:  https://practicalselfreliance.com/canning-lemon-curd/

Good to know it can be preserved, though she does say it's only good for 3-4 months.

Jane Mulberry wrote:Ulla's link for water-bath canned lemon curd wouldn't work for me. I think the Facebook group must require membership before showing the recipe instructions. I found this one from Ashley Adamant instead:  https://practicalselfreliance.com/canning-lemon-curd/

Good to know it can be preserved, though she does say it's only good for 3-4 months.

I thought the link worked, but since it doesn’t, I have added screenshots

Thank you, Ulla. It appears to be a copy of the recipe I linked to, but with quantities doubled.

Great to follow this.  Regarding lemons, we've found quartering, lightly salting, preserving in brine lasts a long time & makes a great ingredient for Mediterranean dishes whether tagine, chickpea salad, pasta sauce.