• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara logo

  • Home
  • X-Stitch Projects
  • 2023 WIP Along
  • Useful Links
  • Contact

May 31, 2021

Using Freeze Dried Foods

For fruits, most can be eaten just as they are. Other ways of using them:

  • Make into a powder and use to flavor icings or baked goods. The powders can also be used in smoothies but it’s pretty much the same end result if you put a piece of freeze dried fruit into a blender.
  • Cereal – Add strawberries, blueberries, etc. to cereal.
  • Muffins – I reydrate the fruit with a little water until it’s similar to the consistency fresh fruit would be, then add it to the other ingredients to make muffins. The same thing can be done for pancakes
  • Many fruits are great as a crunchy topping to salads.

I mentioned in the previous post how we use okra and eggs.

I also mentioned that oily foods will go rancid but if Vince and I were going to a cabin somewhere for a week and I didn’t want to have to bring every ingredient needed to cook meals, I would cook some ahead and freeze dry them. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about keeping them frozen while traveling and if we didn’t eat them all while there, we could bring them home and heat and eat them fairly soon. When I first started freeze drying, I would make meals, freeze dry them, then start eating them at one month, two months, three months, etc. after having packaged them. We found that three months was as long as we wanted to go on the home freeze dried meals

Meals I’ve had success with so long as we eat them fairly soon:

  • Scalloped Potatoes
  • Mac & Cheese
  • Meat Loaf
  • Crack Chicken
  • Lasagna

I know there are others but I’m not remembering them right now.

When I do have leftovers of these type meals, I can freeze them in squares in the freezera and save them til I have enough to run a whole load. While I wouldn’t freeze dry strawberries and Crack Chicken in the same load, I would freeze dry any of the above meals together.

To rehydrate, I add a bit of room temp water, let it sit til most of the water is absorbed. Add more water if needed and once it’s fully rehydrated, heat it up.

When you figure the cost of eating out these days, being able to take your meals when traveling saves a lot of money and hassle. Even if we’re in a hotel for a night, we’d often bring a couple of potatoes and a meat dish. Stick the potatoes in the hotel microwave and bake them, then take them out and heat up the meat dish, add the potatoes back for a few minutes if they needed to be reheated. Sometimes I’d bring a salad or buy a bag of salad, bring a little dressing and we had a decent meal in our room.

The effectiveness of a freeze dryer all depends on how you would use it. Some folks on trips can’t wait to eat out. Eating out isn’t something I enjoy so I’ll go to a lot of trouble to keep from eating out. There were a few weeks here that we ate out way too much and I’m happy to be eating at home again. But, if you’re one who looks forward to eating out, then taking meals to heat and eat in a hotel probably sounds like torture. For me, going out to eat is torture . . well, not really torture but I’d much rather eat my own cooking.

Also, it depends on how much work you want to put into it. Take the strawberries I just did for instance. We heard about a good deal on strawberries so we bought two flats. I spent probably 4 – 5 hours washing, removing stems and slicing strawberries. Four trays went into the freeze dryer, the rest went on extra trays and into the freezer til the first load was done. Once a load was done, I put them in jars and vacuum sealed them. It’s work and the prep work can be time consuming and tiring. If that’s something you’re willing to do, a freeze dryer is great.

It’s a big investment but it’s fun and rewarding. I’m glad we got ours. I thought about selling it when we left Texas because I new we’d never have a huge garden again. I’m glad we kept it but if it totally went out tomorrow and couldn’t be fixed, I wouldn’t buy another one, simply because I don’t see us having access to the produce we had when we were growing so much of our own.

Any questions I might could answer, just post them in the comments.

Share This!

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter

Related

Filed Under: Freeze Drying

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Subscribe Via Email

Flosstubes I Love

Colorado Stitcher (Sheri/Loopy Ewe)
Fox and Rabbit
The Contented Stitcher
Cynthia Brew
Country Stitches
Jean Farish Needleworks
Once Upon A Stitch
Saltbox Stitcher
Little Yellow House Crafts
Marlene Bush
Nicola Parkman
Needle and Flax
Crosshatch Quilts
Nicky Noodle
Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch
Bumble Stitches
Mischievous Stitches
Attic Needlework Shop
Mama Loves You GB

2023 Planned Cross Stitch Starts

January 1,2023 – Three Things Sampler
February 1,2023 – Smith Sampler
March 1, 2023 – And A Forest Grew

2022 Planned Cross Stitch Projects

Focus Projects:

Birthday Starts:

Vince – Forever and Ever by Brenda Gervais (this chart is kinda hard to find right now)
Me – Little Red Chair
Nicole – Grateful, Thankful, Blessed (and I am to have her for a daughter-in-law)
Addie – Walk Beside
Chad – Mighty Acorn (from Winds of Autumn book)

Important Dates Starts:

January 1 – Elizabeth Eyles
February 14 – Valentine’s Day – G. Leger
April 15 – Good Friday – A Saviour’s Praise
August 1 – (Anniversary) – A Plump Wife
Labor Day – Antique Christmas Sampler
November 24 (Thanksgiving) – Caroline Amelia Trowell
Christmas Day – Christmas at Dunn Hill

Alternates or 2023 List:

Heaven & Nature
Christmas Birds

Sunday Stitches & CS 501 Projects:

Away We Ride (W) (Next CS 501 Project)
Pet All Dogs (W)
A Changed World (W)
Thy Love Divine (W)
Cranberry Christmas (Next Sunday Project)
Be Kind Sampler (PNPS mag)
Memorial Day
Harriet Godhard 1817
October 31
A Patriotic Christmas Eve
Sarah Casey Unwin 1848
It’s Snow Time
Sergei
Thomas
Little Deeds Sampler
Shepherd’s Sampler

 

Recent Posts

  • Pulled Pork for Breakfast
  • Yesterday’s Canning
  • An Afternoon of Dirt Work
  • A Canning Book Recommendation
  • So Ready to Plant the Garden
  • Sunday Busy-ness
  • Things To Get Done Today
  • One Dachshund Stitched
  • Dark or Light Green?
  • Mini Long Dogs Progress
  • Bluebirds of Happiness by JBW Designs
  • Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Skillet Supper

Archives

Looking For Something?

Calendar of Posts:

May 2021
S M T W T F S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Apr   Jun »
Occasionally posts contain links which are “affiliate links.” If you click through this link and make a purchase, I am paid a small commission. I will never endorse, nor share a link with a product that I have not tested and loved. Any commision earned helps defray the cost of running Patchwork Times and I appreciate your using these links! Thanks!

Copyright © 2023 · Patchwork Times