Kayla was home a couple of weeks ago. When she came, she brought with her a pint canning jar of baked beans. She said they were frozen and we could add them as a side dish to one of our meals while she was here. PERFECT!!
We opened the beans, warmed them up, and ate them. Oh my, they were really good.
The whole thing got me remembering how much I love homemade baked beans. They really are a favorite of mine. I know it’s odd but I can sit down with a bowl of baked beans, and pair it with some cottage cheese and it’s a perfect lazy day lunch for me.
I loved the idea that I could put them in a pint jar, freeze them and pull them out at my leisure. PERFECT!!
So in talking to Kayla I asked if she had a recipe that she uses. She did. HERE is the link.
The recipe is more or less the same recipe I use. I add a jalapeno and a little ham bullion too.
While Kayla was still at my house I mixed up a batch and when they were done, I put them into jars and put them in the freezer.
I am…
so happy to have these in the freezer.
I have so many meals with family here. Sometimes our son Karl pops over to mow my lawn and I end up making supper for us. Sometimes my son in law Craig comes to pick up the boys and Kalissa is working so he eats supper here. Almost every Monday I host “big family supper” when all the kids and grandkids who live locally come for supper.
Having an extra easy to pop out of the freezer and reheat item is going to be great. It can extend or enhance many suppers.
Are there other things you do to help you quickly make meals for unexpected guests? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Great post on baked beans. Have you ever had Calico Beans? They are super easy to make in crock pot and soooo tasty.
Grilled cheese with tomato soup.
Frozen soups & chili I can pull out.
Browned hamburger mixed with prepared macaroni & cheese is good. I brown a quantity of hamburger with onions. Freeze in flat packages for quick thaw.
I keep cooked protein in the freezer in ziploc bags.
1. Italian Sausage, ground beef or turkey or both. 1 pound each
2. Taco meat: 1 # ground beef and 1# ground turkey
Burritos, soft tacos, hard tacos, taco salad
(I always have Spanish Rice a Roni in the pantry and corn in the freezer)
3. My garden ratatouille for a quick pasta dinner-adding some of that Italian meat above
Also could do 2 cans stewed tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, Italian seasoning (I can my own tomatoes)
4. Veggies in the freezer: corn, green beans, riced cauliflower, pea/carrot mix
5. I try to have a baggie of chopped ham and can do a stir fry with items in #4
6. When I cook beef roast I cook 2. Leftovers get shredded and frozen. Can be used like #2 or for a quick beef stew with barley from the pantry (I don’t keep potatoes around).
7. Blueberries
8. Breakfast sausage links. I can always do my Oatmeal/Buckwheat pancakes, blueberry compote and sausage.
Love the idea of freezing baked beans thanks for the idea. I love baked beans and can make a meal out of them. Thanks again.
I’d like to live at your home! Sounds so good.
I never thought about freezing beans, but very good idea. Recently I watched a YouTube video of lady who canned her own beans – super idea. Since I so easily run out of freezer space, that sounded intriguing to me and dry beans are fairly cheap. This lady had a large canner and could process 18 pints at one time and process time way 75 minutes!!
I’ve made calico beans but I’ll have to try this Instant Pot recipe. Thank you! I freeze the beans in two-cup containers so I can heat them up when needed to have with polish sausages, etc.
Our family loves hamburger hotdish with one pound of hamburger, 2 cups of pasta, cooked, an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, and a can of tomato soup. Don’t add any vegetables!!
Those beans sound yummy! My problem is no room in freezer. I’d be more inclined to can them but afraid the canning process would turn them to mush.
I live alone so I put my taco soup recipe from the Crock-Pot or instant pot into two cup containers with lids and put them in the freezer for later meals. I made black beans with onions and seasonings for tacos and I mushed some slightly for bean dip and also froze that. I’ve cooked all sorts of dry beans in the IP, spending a couple of hours doing that one day, and freeze them flat in zip top containers for chili, Taco soup, etc. I eat low sodium and canned beans are very high in sodium. I have flat frozen zip top plastic bags containing 1 cup of homemade chicken stock, turkey stock, buttermilk (for waffle recipe, etc.) The plastic bags with liquid are placed flat on a jelly roll pan with the sealed side up on the edge or prior bag in case I don’t get it sealed completely. After freezing I remove the pan. When my children still lived at home I had lasagna in the freezer all the time for busy days.
Your post brought back memories of my mom’s baked beans we had growing up. She would put the ingredients in a bean pot, put that on our wood burning kitchen stove and they would cook all day. Best beans ever.
I freeze 2 cups of buttermilk for pancakes and baking, pulled pork (buy pork shoulders on sale do in crock pot with 1 can dr pepper and shred with fork), soups, black bean &hamburger combo for taco meat, buy small turkey on sale (bought one 29cents/pd this year) roast freeze in portions, freeze excess summer tomatoes to use soup (wash cut in quarters put in zip lock bags squeeze together in bag to remove air and seal) remove tomato skins skins as they come up to top.
I envy those of you with friends and family to eat with. It’s just me and my husband, and no room in the freezer either! It’s all taken up with leftovers. Trying to empty it now, so I have room for the half turkey we get from Thanksgiving to cook for Christmas! Then New Year’s Day is whatever is left over, cause now there’s really no room in the freezer!
Why not can the beans so they are shelf-stable and save the precious real estate in the freezer? They do look delicious!!
I hate dragging ou the canner for just a little batch. I have plenty of freezer space so it’s not a problem.
Can you freeze stuff in “glass” jars?
As long as you leave room for the items to expand in the jar.