When I think of freezer food I suppose immediately what comes to mind are fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips and things like potato waffles. These are all things my husband categorises as ‘beige food’ and although there’s definitely a time and place for a fish finger sarnie or some oven chips, I think on the whole I try to steer away from those types of suppers. Quick it may be to get something out of the freezer but convenience often means a lack of healthy options like this.

Of course home-cooked freezer food is perfectly healthy and if I make something like a veggie lasagne, fish pie or even just home-made pizza dough then I often freeze a portion for a quick fix tea when the need arises – this is great but I don’t do it often it has to be said. And I suppose those are the sole two ways I have used my freezer historically, for the odd beige dinner and to make last some home-cooked meals…

Of course I also use frozen peas, who doesn’t? But aside from that I’ve not really, until now, used any other frozen vegetables and actually, now that I’ve started, I can’t think why not? Vegetables like sweetcorn, which are frozen on their day of picking, don’t really lose any of their taste or goodness by the process so in theory, they should be fresher than ones which haven’t been frozen and have been hanging around in the supermarket for days… Something to think about.

Sainsbury’s have quite a few frozen vegetables that I would never even have thought about as being in that section and to boot they are prepared and ready to be cooked straight from the freezer. Chopped onions was a new one to me as was sliced peppers. I use both of those ingredients ALL the time but I hate chopping onions and I very rarely need to use a whole pepper, this is really quite a solution I thought so I bought myself a bag of each as well as some good to go green beans and some corn on the cobs which are cut to the perfect size for a children’s tea accompaniment. Brilliant!

So, first up I made Quesadillas with corn on the cob on the side. For the adults I’d add chopped red chilli, coriander and spring onion but for a quick tea for the children I make these using mini flour tortillas and spread one all over with half grated Red Leicester cheese and half grated Mature Cheddar along with a few pieces of cut up pepper – now, frozen pepper! I place another tortilla on the top and then dry fry for a minute or two on each side before serving up with the freezer corn on the cob and some guacamole!

Next I decided to cook a family favourite of mine and see what it came out like using frozen chopped onions and frozen green beans instead of fresh. They are the two ingredients I hate to have to prepare for this dish as I find chopping onions and topping and tailing beans so time consuming. This dish is a little like a risotto but it’s made with pasta instead and we like to have it on cold evenings to warm up!

Ingredients:

10 Small potatoes peeled and chopped or baby potatoes with skins on and chopped in half, A handful of prepared green beans, a handful of chopped onions, 3 cloves of chopped garlic, a chopped and deseeded red chilli, a handful of fresh basil, a vegetable stock cube, 2 big handfuls of grated hard Italian cheese, a litre of water, 350g of tricolour pasta shapes, salt and pepper to taste and a glug of olive oil.

Method:

Fry the potatoes, onions, green beans, chilli and garlic for five minutes and at the same time bil the kettle for a litre of water to add the stock cube to. Add the pasta and pour the stock liquid on top then bring to the boil before simmering for twenty minutes. When the liquid has thickened and almost evaporated add the cheese, stir well and mix in the fresh basil.

I love this recipe and it feels like brilliant comfort eating to me. It’s very quick and easy to do but now with frozen chopped onions and frozen prepared green beans it’s even more easy!

I was sent an incentive to write this post.

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