sheryl Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 1. I learned how to use quinoa a little better now. I've always "tried" to use it but was not successful. I made chicken meatballs stuffed with mozarella. The recipe does not call for quinoa but I divided the meatball batch. In half I followed the recipe and in the other half with which to make meatballs I added just a bit of quinoa. My dh didn't even know and I feel it adds texture, flavor and is healthy! QUESTION - Since then I made a BIG batch of quinoa. I did so I would not have to make a lot of small batches. I made a larger batch to use in several recipes! HOWEVER ****** Can I freeze and pull out as needed? Will it get mushy? I don't know how long it would take for me to use up these 4 cups but "maybe" 2 months. 2. Beef tenderloin - what "paste" seasonings would you use on this roast? I only want the seasoning paste to enhance and not replace the beef taste. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaplank Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I have frozen cooked quinoa in the past with great success. It's not mushy at all, even being frozen up to 6 months. For the beef tenderloin, I would use salt, fresh cracked pepper, and fresh minced garlic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I freeze quinoa with no problems at all. I cannot even tell the different from freshly made. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 1 hour ago, aaplank said: I have frozen cooked quinoa in the past with great success. It's not mushy at all, even being frozen up to 6 months. For the beef tenderloin, I would use salt, fresh cracked pepper, and fresh minced garlic. 1 hour ago, skimomma said: I freeze quinoa with no problems at all. I cannot even tell the different from freshly made. YAY! I'm so excited because I will add to chicken salad, tuna salad, lettuce salad, soups and the list goes on. 🙂 How do you both freeze your cooked quinoa? In what container? Thanks so much. And, aaplank, thanks for the paste rec. I use fresh garlic and mince myself. YUM! Love garlic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 10 minutes ago, sheryl said: YAY! I'm so excited because I will add to chicken salad, tuna salad, lettuce salad, soups and the list goes on. 🙂 How do you both freeze your cooked quinoa? In what container? Thanks so much. And, aaplank, thanks for the paste rec. I use fresh garlic and mince myself. YUM! Love garlic! I use pint-sized deli containers to freeze quinoa (and beans, rice, millet, etc....). I always make 4+ the amount I need and freeze the rest in those containers. I just saved them from deli foods over the years but any plastic pint container works. I also sometimes freeze in 1/2 pint or quart size. Even pint sized ziplock freezers bags if I'm in a pinch. It is REALLY nice to be able to grab a quart of rice or a pint of quinoa from the freezer rather than starter from scratch on busier days. The deli container are nice because I can run toss them in a bowl of hot tap water to defrost if I didn't plan ahead. Many a 5pm dinner panic has been solved by grabbing a pint each of rice and beans, adding them to some sautéed onions, spices, and canned tomatoes....all of which I always have on hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 47 minutes ago, skimomma said: I use pint-sized deli containers to freeze quinoa (and beans, rice, millet, etc....). I always make 4+ the amount I need and freeze the rest in those containers. I just saved them from deli foods over the years but any plastic pint container works. I also sometimes freeze in 1/2 pint or quart size. Even pint sized ziplock freezers bags if I'm in a pinch. It is REALLY nice to be able to grab a quart of rice or a pint of quinoa from the freezer rather than starter from scratch on busier days. The deli container are nice because I can run toss them in a bowl of hot tap water to defrost if I didn't plan ahead. Many a 5pm dinner panic has been solved by grabbing a pint each of rice and beans, adding them to some sautéed onions, spices, and canned tomatoes....all of which I always have on hand. Thanks for that! I googled and one bit is to layer on a sheet first in the freezer. Then put in container. I just did one but that will be time consuming. Kinda undoes the whole point for "large batch" to save time when I'm spending the time to make several thin layers in the freezer. The said this to avoid clumpy quinoa. I made my quinoa yesterday and as I pulled it out it is drier in consistency than what I remember from times past. Do you take your quinoa from stove top to freezer immediately after cooling down? Has it ever clumped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 30 minutes ago, sheryl said: Thanks for that! I googled and one bit is to layer on a sheet first in the freezer. Then put in container. I just did one but that will be time consuming. Kinda undoes the whole point for "large batch" to save time when I'm spending the time to make several thin layers in the freezer. The said this to avoid clumpy quinoa. I made my quinoa yesterday and as I pulled it out it is drier in consistency than what I remember from times past. Do you take your quinoa from stove top to freezer immediately after cooling down? Has it ever clumped? I have never done the layer-on-a-sheet thing. And no, nothing that I freeze like that has been clumpy. Rice and millet can have clumps, whether frozen or just being in the fridge, but the clumps are easily handled with a fork. I usually cool the pot to room temperature, then put in deli containers. Other times, I don't know how much I will use before freezing so the whole pot goes in the fridge for a day or two before I transfer some to containers for the freezer. The only things I pre-freeze on a sheet is berries and green beans as those can end up in a frozen mass that makes taking just what I need difficult. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Quinoa really does not have anything sticky in it to clump (unlike rice and millet) so anything that clumps should break apart very easily once thawed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 3 hours ago, skimomma said: I have never done the layer-on-a-sheet thing. And no, nothing that I freeze like that has been clumpy. Rice and millet can have clumps, whether frozen or just being in the fridge, but the clumps are easily handled with a fork. I usually cool the pot to room temperature, then put in deli containers. Other times, I don't know how much I will use before freezing so the whole pot goes in the fridge for a day or two before I transfer some to containers for the freezer. The only things I pre-freeze on a sheet is berries and green beans as those can end up in a frozen mass that makes taking just what I need difficult. Thank you so much for this. I will finish this up tomorrow then. Your advice has helped me quite a bit and expanded our menu! 🙂 YAY! Much appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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