Reducing Food Waste – Simple Way to Freeze Soups, Sauces, and Purees

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I recently teamed up with Glad Food Protection to take the #SaveItSunday pledge to not only help eliminate food waste in my own kitchen, but to show you some cool and creative ways you can reduce food waste in yours.

What is the #SaveItSunday pledge?

Well basically it’s about loving food more and wasting it less, one day at a time.

One of the coolest {and easiest} ways I reduce food waste and keep our grocery budget so low is by doubling or tripling a simple recipe, sauce or puree and freezing and storing it in Glad freezer bags or GladWare.  Since I’m already in the kitchen making the recipe, increasing the ingredients takes no more time, but yields double or triple the meals! I’ll throw in any produce that complements the recipe and is about to go bad. This virtually eliminates leftover waste, and knowing I have the option to pull a hearty soup or pasta sauce from the freezer when I’m having a busy day {or week} is a huge stress reliever.

My favorite is cooking up a huge Crock Pot of soup on the weekend, dividing it into smaller portions and freezing it in Glad freezer bags. You can use quart size bags for a perfect two- person meal, or double that and put it in a gallon bag for your family of four.  I have freezing and storing those bags down to a science. Here’s how I do it:

How to Freeze Soup, Sauce, and Puree

• Fill quart sized Glad freezer bags with 2 cups of soup, sauce or puree and seal {gallon baggies will use 4 cups}.

• Lay bags flat on a cookie sheet and place the cookie sheet in the freezer on a flat surface.

• Once the contents are frozen solid {I usually wait 24 hours}, stack them on a freezer shelf or in a freezer basket.

One of my favorite recipes to cook in bulk and bag up is my Split Pea and Ham Soup. It’s my go-to recipe when I have leftover ham in the freezer from the holidays and I’m looking for something easy to make for dinner.

Ingredients

1 pound leftover ham, cubed
1 1/2 lbs of dried split peas
2 carrots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Rinse, drain and pick over your peas to remove any rocks. Add peas to your Crock Pot, cover with about 3″ warm water and turn the Crock Pot on high. Add ham and cover. Sauté carrots and onions in olive oil until lightly browned, add minced garlic and sauté for one minute longer. Toss sautéed items over ham and pea mixture. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Stir and replace the lid.

Cook 6 hours on high.

So now you have a great recipe and a totally easy way to store and freeze it {any of my fellow readers with some OCD tendencies will agree that stacking method is pure awesome!}. Do you cook your soups and sauces in bulk and freeze them? Any tips and tricks you use?

Here’s hoping you’re well on your way to perfecting your food storage and eliminating excessive food waste.

~Mavis

For more information about the #SaveItSunday Pledge and how you can enter to win a gourmet chef prepared meal in your home, head on over to SaveItSunday.com

Looking for more Glad Food Protection Pointers? Head on over HERE where you’ll learn lot’s of cool tips and tricks to keep the food you love fresher, longer.

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