Quick Tip: Freezing Salmon for Quick Meals

Salmon (or any fish) thaws pretty quickly making it a great weeknight meal option.  Freezing salmon in serving sizes has become my lifesaver for a meal in a rush.  I'm hungry and want something good for me.  Salmon is so versatile as well.  I've listed a few of my favorite recipes below.  If you pull it out of the freezer it will thaw in less than 20 minutes! That means you can having a filling, fresh dinner in less than 30 minutes.  To thaw, just place 1-2 salmon fillets (still in the baggy) in a medium bowl of lukewarm water.  Swap the water every 5-10 minutes. Viola! Thawed, ready-to-broil salmon, already sliced in serving sizes.  My absolute favorite salmon is Scottish Salmon.  You can order it online to be delivered to your door the next day at Chef's Fresh Fish.

Needed:

-1 large salmon fillet (3-4 lbs) (skinned removed or not, your choice)
-1 large sharp knife
-freezer quart plastic bags

Salmon Recipes: 

Salmon with Apricot and Pesto Glaze
Smoked Salmon
Smoked Salmon Spread
Smoked Salmon Bruschetta
Salmon Pho
Stuffed Salmon with Spicy Mayo Sauce

Easy Vegetable Stock from Old Scraps

This is the most thoughtless and cheapest recipe I've ever made because it's basically from water and frozen vegetable scraps.  It started with a gallon freezer bag and a few extra carrots I had leftover from a recipe.  Over the next few weeks I added chopped red onions, white onions halves, celery stalks, parsnips, wilted herbs, sprouting garlic, and a Parmesan rind. Basically anything that was no longer "good" to use in my kitchen but by no means rotten.  After a few weeks I had a FREE bag of vegetable stock goodness.  With olive oil and some water you have an amazing vegetable stock for soups, sauces and more.

Optional Veggies (and other things) to Add to your Freezer Bag:


-carrots
-celery
-parsnips
-turnips
-white, yellow, green or red onions
-leeks
-mushrooms
-tomatoes or tomato paste
-bell peppers
-yellow or butternut squash
-zucchini
-garlic cloves
-parsley leaves and/or stems
-other fresh or dried herbs
-hard cheese rinds such as parmesan
-bay leaves
-cloves
-whole peppercorns

How-To: Easy Homemade Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock at home is so easy that you will be shocked you've never done it before once you've tried it.  First thing's first: What is the difference between stock and broth? Well, they are very similar, both use parts of chickens, water and veggies to make.  The main difference is that stock uses just the bones (carcass) of the bird while broth uses the whole chicken, meat included.  Stock has a richer taste with more "body".  Often times the bones from roasted chickens are used to make a stock.  This is what I have done here.  Just follow one of my two roast chicken recipes below..... and keep the bones:

Easy Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken on a bed of Lemon and Onions

Ingredients:

-bones and carcass from a roasted chicken (most of the meat removed)

-water

-3-4 stalks of celery

-2-3 carrots

-2 white onions

-2 Tbsp black peppercorns

-2 dried bay leaves

-5-6 springs of fresh parsley

Optional additional ingredients:

-fresh springs of thyme

-fresh sprigs of rosemary

-2-3 garlic cloves, crushed with a knife

-1 parsnip, peeled and cut into pieces

-2-3 cloves (if you like the flavor)

Quick Tip: Growing Green Onions

Did you know you could grow green onions...at home...in just water?  Yes, that means one batch of green onions can provide months supply of fresh scallions.  It also provides a pretty splash of green on a kitchen window sill. 

What you need:

-1 (or more) bunches of green onions

-a small water glass or small vase like in my pictures

-kitchen twine (optional)

Easy Tip to Freezing Bacon: How-To

Do you have bacon left-over that you know will go to waste if leave the rest in your fridge?  Ever frozen bacon in the package before to find a huge frozen hunk that would take forever to thaw and you only want 2 pieces!?  I read this recently and thought I'd give it a try after making my Zesty Broccoli Salad,  which only called for a few pieces of bacon.

Needed:


-leftover bacon
-parchment or waxed paper
-rubber bands
-gallon plastic freezer bag