Suzy called out for contributors and we are thrilled that so many galpals have shown interest!  Chef Lisa Caccamise will be joining us often with foodie words of wisdom, time saving tips, recipes and more.  She is the proprietor of Simple Earth Cuisine and a personal chef.  Her wealth of knowledge is welcome in Suzy's fast paced world and talents include, personal menu planning, cooking lessons, private parties (our personal favorite!), everyday meals and more.   So sit back and enjoy the first installment of many!

FINDING THE TIME

Are you going to be in charge of the family dinner this holiday? Have you planned the menu yet? I'm going to suggest a tip that might set you outside your comfort level. Make everything you can in advance. I mean way in advance. Yep, you can even start tonight. Here's how:

The trick is to plan your menu by using recipes that can be frozen. Homemade foods that you freeze taste just as good, if not better, when you thaw and heat them again. The flavors get a chance to meld together and become vibrant while frozen with very little to no nutritional value lost. You can certainly package all the side dishes such as stuffings, soup, mashed potatoes and most desserts for the freezer. Let your freezer be your best friend for the holidays. Imagine having the eve of the holiday free for what you want to do! Imagine waking up in the morning knowing that all you have to do is prepare the main dish, stick it in the oven and relax the rest of the day! Just imagine how proud you would be of yourself that you made it all happen because you planned ahead. Good job!

If all you have is a top or bottom freezer compartment in your fridge, then you can use good quality freezer bags to help minimize the space they take up. place contents that need to be frozen in bag and zip closed. Smooth out contents so that it lays flat and freeze on a cookie sheet until firm. Once firm, remove from cookie sheet and stand the bags upright like file folders. Make sure you label them as once they are frozen, it is hard to tell what is what.

Here are some recipes that are excellent to freeze:
Freezer Mashed Potatoes
Make 8 servings
5 lbs organic russet or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream (Daisy brand is best)
Sea salt to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp organic butter

Fill a large pot with cold water and put potatoes in. Bring to a boil and once boiling, salt the water liberally. Cook the potatoes until tender - Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.

Mash the potatoes until smooth with either a masher tool, ricer, food mill or electric mixer. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

Place potatoes on a large jellyroll pan and cool completely. Transfer to a freezer bag and freeze until firm.

Thaw overnight in Refrigerator. One hour prior to serving, place potatoes in a greased casserole, dot with butter, cover and heat at 350 for 45 minutes, or until heated through.

Frozen Individual Cranberry Molds
Serves 12
1 can whole organic cranberry sauce
1/4 cup organic sugar
8 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. sour cream

Mix together all ingredients and freeze in muffin cups or a large mold, glass dish or baking dish.

Pumpkin Cake
Serves 10-12
2 cups organic sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
4 "free running" or "pastured" eggs
2 tsp. baking soda
½ cup organic apple sauce
½ cup coconut oil (melted)
½ tsp. Sea salt
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups canned, organic pumpkin

Cream sugar, eggs, apple sauce and oil until all traces of oil are gone.

Add dry ingredients. Mix.

Add pumpkin and mix.

Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 F. for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely prior to frosting.

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Tbsp. Butter(softened)
2 cups confectioners sugar

Beat all ingredients together and spread over cake. Freeze cake.  To serve, remove cake from freezer and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Traditional Stuffing
This is a very basic stuffing.  You can always add other good embellishments like chestnuts, cranberries, apples, pears, mushrooms, nuts, etc. .
Serves 10-12
3 Tablespoons butter
1 bag of stuffing or 8 cups breadcrumbs
1 organic onion, chopped
3 organic celery stalks, chopped
2 organic carrots, chopped
2-3 leaves of fresh sage, chopped fine
2 "free running" or "pastured" eggs
½ cup organic chicken stock (more if necessary)

In skillet, melt butter.

Add onions, celery and carrots and saute until onion is translucent and the carrots are tender.

Add sage and saute 1 or 2 minutes more.

Transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool enough to handle with hands.

Add breadcrumbs or stuffing mix, eggs, and enough chicken stock to make moist.

Transfer to a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cool completely then wrap well and freeze.  To re-heat, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Place in 350 oven, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until top of casserole is crisp and brown.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Serves 6
3 cups peeled, diced butternut squash (about 1 small squash)
2 cups thinly sliced carrot (4 medium)
¾ cup thinly sliced leek or chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup half-and-half or light cream
Crème fraiche or sour cream (optional)
Toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
Fresh tarragon sprigs (optional)

In a large covered pot cook squash, carrot, and leek in hot butter over medium heat about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 to 35 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Cool slightly.

Place one-third of the squash mixture in a food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until almost smooth. Repeat with remaining squash mixture. Alternatively, blend all until smooth with an immersion blender right in the pot it was cooked in. Return all of mixture to pot. Add white pepper and nutmeg; bring just to boiling. Add half-and-half; heat through.  If desired, garnish each serving with crème frache, pumpkin seeds, and/or fresh tarragon.

Cool completely and freeze in storage bags. Thaw in fridge overnight prior to serving.

Have fun and enjoy this beautiful season,

Chef Lisa

917 696 1284