5 Simple Steps to Freezing Corn

Where has the summer gone?  I can't believe that I am back to work and Labor Day is just around the corner.  With the close of summer, many people are canning, preserving, and freezing the produce of summer.  Slowly but surely, I am learning different ways to preserve summer's bounty and while it is tons of work, I love the feeling of accomplishment when I am done.  And both my husband and I love being able to eat our own fruits and vegetables all through the winter.  While we don't have a garden, we do get most of our produce from local stands or the farmer's market, so it is usually all locally grown.
The first thing I learned to freeze was corn, as it is a simple process and something both my husband and I really really enjoy.  Corn is a staple at our meals, appearing at least once a week.
Freezing corn is a simple process.  My husband likes to find a roadside stand with the peaches and cream corn or "super" sweet corn, because that is what he likes best and we feel that it retains a great flavor, even after being frozen for months.  Starting with a good sweet corn is important, because then we don't have to add anything at all to our corn, not even butter!  This year we got 5 (baker's) dozen which yielded around 70 cups of corn.

Step 1 Shuck the corn - easy enough.  Try to get off as much of the "hair" as possible.

Step 2 Blanch the corn by boiling it in water for 5 minutes.  Blanching destroys the enzymes in the corn that would cause it to lose its color, taste, and texture.

Step 3 Immediately place corn in ice cold water.  This stops the cooking process

Step 4 Cut the corn off the cob either using a sharp knife or with a mandolin or a corn peeler tool like this one (which is what we use - so easy!).  You want to cut about 2/3 of the kernel off, but don't cut into the cob.  I cut my corn in a cake pan to make it easier and less messy.

Step 5 Measure your corn into Ziploc freezer bags.  For the two of us, I usually put in two cups of corn into a quart Ziploc bag.  Squeeze out as much air as you can from the bag.  Then wiggle the corn around so that it lays flat and place in the freezer.  Once it's frozen, then you can stand the corn upright, like a book, which makes for easy storing and grabbing.

I hope you enjoy making your own corn.  I know you'll enjoy the fresh taste of summer in the middle of winter.

If you have any questions, let me know!

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Amish White Bread

We all know my husband loves bread of any kind, so I am always on the hunt for a new homemade bread recipe.  I came across this one a few weeks ago and made it a few days later.  Ahhhh, the smell of fresh baked bread in the kitchen, so lovely, and it pairs so nicely with beef stew on a cold fall evening that is quickly turning to winter.  This recipe was a huge hit in my house, I hope you like it!  

Amish White Bread

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 3 cups flour

Amish White Bread

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 3 cups flour

Directions

In a glass measuring cup, dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then stir in yeast.  Let the mixture sit for about five minutes to proof until it gets foamy.

In a stand mixer, mix together the oil, salt, and  1 cup of flour.  Add in the yeast/water/sugar mixture.  Slowly add in the remaining two cups of flour.  Mix well until a cohesive dough mixture forms.  It should not be sticky and should clump together in a ball. 

Place in an oiled bowl and turn once to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rise for one hour until double in bulk.  Punch the dough down and knead briefly.  Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 9x5 loaf pan.  Allow to rise for 30 more minutes (dough should be about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan).  

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Let cool before slicing.

Enjoy!

The original recipe makes a double batch, if you don't need two loaves of bread, make the recipe according to the directions, let it rise the first time, then divide in half.  Place half in a loaf pan and let rise and bake that loaf.  For the other half of the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer ziploc bag.  You can save the dough for another time!  Take the dough out of the freezer in the morning and place in the fridge, when you are ready to bake, unwrap the dough and place it in a loaf pan, let rise for 30-45 minutes in a warm place, and then bake as directed.  

The measurements for two loaves of bread are listed below. 

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
• 1/3-2/3 cup white sugar (1/3 cup makes it sweet enough)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups flour. 

<--- Click on the magic button for nutrition info and a printer friendly version

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Chicken Enchiladas

Mmmm
Love having a freezer full of food so that I don't have to cook every night (or can have something quick for lunch besides a grilled cheese sandwich).
I really enjoy these enchiladas because they are super plain the way I like them, but still healthy and filling.
I usually make them up in batches of about 50 and freeze them in Ziploc bags and store them in the freezer.  They'll keep for months, but 50 usually only lasts about 3 months around here

Ingredients (can be changed depending how many enchiladas you want to make)
10 lbs of chicken
50 8 or 10 inch flour tortillas
3 lbs of Colby jack shredded cheese

Steps

1. Cook the chicken - I boil it in a big pot for 30 minutes and then check it with my meat thermometer to make sure it has gotten to 180*
2. Let the chicken cool
3. Chop the chicken.  I use a food processor, but if you don't have one, you can cut it by hand, it just takes longer and your chicken bites will be bigger
4. Get your assembly line ready!  Line up all of your ingredients.
5. Put a handful of chicken and a handful of cheese in the middle of a tortilla. 
6. Fold the edges of the tortilla into the middle, then fold in the ends (or close your tortilla however you want to)
7. Place in a Ziploc bag and smooth out as much air as possible.  Place in the freezer
8. Repeat until you run out of ingredients.

Thursday night we made 59 enchiladas, with a little more than 3 lbs of cheese.

When you want to eat one, head them up in the microwave for about 2-2:30 minutes.  In my microwave 2 1/2 minutes on 70% power works perfect.  You want to cook them so the chicken gets heated all the way through, but you don't want the tortilla to turn crunchy or the cheese to burn.

I know I know, I should have taken more pictures.  However, it's hard to take pictures when your hands are full of chicken and cheese!

So here's a picture of the finished product.  Maybe next time I make them, I'll remember to take pictures of all the steps. 

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