Freezer-Friendly Food Frenzy

We run around more than those people with kids you always hear about; you know, the ones who are members of the PTO, Rotary Club and the church deacon board and they have three kids who each play in at least two seasonal travel leagues and are learning piano from the old lady across town. Every weeknight has a plan - an exercise class, church small group, or family time. Which leaves very little time to prepare nutritious, not to mention tasty, meals at home.

I'm tired of eating out and so is my wallet. So I've decided to take on the challenge of freezing easily reheated or crock pot friendly dinners, desserts and sides. I know casseroles are a cinch to freeze and maintain their yumminess, so this weekend I made three mini chicken casseroles from an old family recipe. This recipe is tried and true, so I have very little worries about it being a successful project.

I did however, try a new freezer-friendly recipe for apple crumble adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties which I found on Pinterest (my foe!). I made two of the 8x8" square tin pans of it on Sunday and we just sampled it tonight. And it was delicious, I only want to make one minor change for our taste buds (I'll note the original and change) and I will share it below.

I know some families who do the once a month cooking thing (where you dedicate one weekend to shopping, cooking and freezing a month's worth of meals). I'm not sure we're there yet and I don't know that I want to be. However, I do want us to have a wide variety (maybe just not a month-wide) of quick foodstuffs at the ready for these hectic nights, but also when extra guests come over or we forget about a church function or potluck and don't have time to start from scratch.

With that being said, I'm looking for recipes that are easily frozen and reheated, but that maintain their deliciousness and the integrity of the dish. What good are frozen burritos if they have the texture of wet socks? So I'm wanting to know if you freeze your food and what are your favorite (and least favorite) items to freeze? We are certainly open to suggestions!

Now on to the apple crumble...

Ingredients
- 5 lbs of apples; cored, peeled and sliced into chunks (I used Gala apples but, McIntosh, Granny Smith    and Honeycrisp are great cooking apples too)
- grated zest of 1 orange (this was WAY too much for me, I'd drop it by 1/2)
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 2 t ground cinnamon
- 1 t ground nutmeg

For the topping:
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 3/4 c granulated sugar
- 3/4 c light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter; cold and cut into cubes

Method

Preheat oven to 350 if you do not plan to freeze it. Butter dish(es).

Combine the apples, zests, sugar and spices into a large bowl. Toss to cover completely and spread the spices. Pour into dish(es).

To combine topping, combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (I used two standard, non-paddle beaters and it worked fine). Mix on low until mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas (be patient this takes 5-7 minutes if your butter is really cold). Scatter evenly over apples. It will look like way too much crumble, but it's the best part after cooking, so load it up.

If eating right away: place crisp on sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until top is brown and apples are bubbly. If it begins to brown too much, cover with tin foil. Serve warm with ice cream.

If freezing: do not cook beforehand. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, label and date and freeze. When ready to cook, pull straight from freezer and follow traditional instructions.

Serves 10 (Can use 9x2x13 pan, two 8x8, or more smaller containers - I want more, smaller servings)