Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Occasionally someone asks me what my favorite thing to cook is and I generally tell them Indian food.  The process of making Indian food is very enjoyable as it requires a lot of ingredients with various and amazing smells.  Generally you start by cooking aromatics like onions, garlic, peppers and fresh ginger.  Then you add spices like cumin, garam masala, cinnamon, chili powder, tumeric, and on and on.  Each stage of the process introduces new aromas and they continue to change as the aromatics and the spices continue to cook.  Finally you add the ingredients that make up the bulk of sauce and simmer.  The scent continues to change.  All together it makes for a wonderful sensory experience.  Plus at the end I have delicious Indian food to eat, and that always makes me happy.

Unfortunately, making Indian food is a time consuming and labor intensive process.  All of those aromatics have to be peeled and minced.  The many spices must be found in the cupboard and measured.  Often the meat requires a marinade.  Plus the cooking process if generally fairly long.   Generally when I make Indian food I have had to set aside an entire afternoon to work on it.  It was a happy day when I realized that some of my favorite Indian dishes would freeze very well.

Chickpea Stew

I love this garlicky stew.  It's filling and delicious, and between the spinach and the chickpeas, it is packed with nutrition.  It is also inexpensive.  The only ingredient that is on the pricey side is the saffron.  However, a little saffron goes a long way, and  this recipe only uses a tiny amount, so after your initial investment you will be able to make this and other dishes containing saffron for a long time before you have to buy it again.

Technically this falls in the Simple Side category because you do have to add the spinach to it as it reheats before serving. It is so easy to add a bag of pre-washed baby spinach to it that it is almost like a Heat and Eat.

Cheese Blintzes

I love blintzes and yet I have had them less than five times in my life.  Few restaurants serve them, and I have only made them once.  They are labor intensive.  They require making the crepes and the filling.  Then all the crepes need to be filled, rolled and fried.  The one time I made them they were delicious, but they were too much work for a single breakfast for me to do again.  Until one happy day I realized that they would freeze well.  Making a huge batch of these is a project, but the fact that I can make a ton of these one afternoon and have enough for several breakfasts makes the work worth it for me.

A Collection of Pancakes

Pancakes are great for freezing, and it's easy to make a huge batch of them.  Plus, they heat well straight from the freezer, which is convenient if you're short on time and forgot to thaw something for breakfast.  We have pancakes at least once a week, so I make a triple or quadruple batch when I make them.

As I've stated before, I like a hearty breakfast.  My day is so much more enjoyable and productive if I start the day by eating something substantial.  Unfortunately, as delicious as traditional light and fluffy flapjacks are, I don't find that they stick with me and keep me going until lunch.  As such I am always on the hunt for more filling pancakes.  Below are a few pancake recipes I freeze that are filling as well as delicious.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Everyone should add this soup to their freezer cooking lists.  Not only is it tasty, but it's cheap and easy to make.  After a little prep you can toss this in the crockpot and let it cook while you make all your other freezer meals.