As the leaves on the trees in my yard start to turn and the air gets a little more crisp, I begin to feel the need to hoard food like a squirrel. So, last weekend, I began the process of restocking my freezer with the things that I must have when the weather gets cooler.
In the middle of making red sauce, I was stung by a yellow jacket, so I ended up taking Benadryl. That knocked me out for most of the rest of the day, so the following day, I continued my work. I started with chicken stock, which took most of the day:
While the chicken stock was cooking, I started some French bread:
Next, I made lasagna. Here is a helpful hint for those of you with gassy dogs: if you drop a piece of lasagna meat, do not, under any circumstances, allow your dog to eat even the smallest piece of it. You will regret it for days.
Several hours later, I had two loaves of French bread:
Another day later, I had chicken stock ready to freeze:
Then, I used the chicken that I had roasted previously (the bones, skin, etc. went into the stock) to make individual chicken pot pies in these super cute pie pans that I bought at the grocery store this week:
For the filling, I just used about two cups of shredded chicken along with potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, chives, and parsley. I made one recipe of pie crust and divided it into eight pieces because I like a double crust on my pot pies.
Lids on, vented, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with salt and pepper:
I baked one for dinner and then froze the other three (I dropped this one on the way to the baking sheet, so it isn't very pretty):
Finally, I have everything I need. Frozen strawberries and blueberries from this summer, extra pot pie filling, lasagna, chicken stock, red sauce, pot pies, and plenty of bread.
I thought that I would start making baked goods to freeze for October, when I am expecting a lot of visitors who all want to come "before it snows," but I don't know where I would put any of that right now. I guess I'll have to eat some of this first.
