January 9, 2019

Frozen Veggies Rock! Roasted, charred, mashed…

Frozen vegetables rock! Need new recipes to cook them? Look no further – 6 different ways to cook frozen vegetables to get the best taste ever.

You’re thinking that the only way to cook frozen veggies is the way your mother did it back in the day? Boiling is so passe. My mother was more of a can fan than frozen, and the way she cooked those was to dump the water out and butter them up. I’m still a fan of the canned buttered green beans you get on a church line buffet, but don’t tell anyone.

Why use frozen?

Availability. You can find them in all the grocery stores plus half the convenience stores.
Better nutritionally because they are frozen at their peak instead of trucked a million miles.
Never out of season.
No trimming or prepping. They’re all ready to go right from the bag.
You can use the whole bag or a portion.
Easy to store, so you can keep them on hand.
They are CHEAP.
You can use them like an ice pack as needed. (I’ve mentioned that we have three sons, right?)

I’m a fan of simple sides – and frozen vegetables are great for that.

CHARRED

Put a cast iron skillet (affiliate link) on high heat until it is screaming hot. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan (less if it is well seasoned) and add frozen corn directly from the freezer. (Add the corn away from you and the heat – it can splash and it’s really hot.) Salt, pepper and a sprig of thyme if you have it and LEAVE IT ALONE. Turn the heat down to medium high.

Let it sit on medium high heat until it chars – about 5 minutes. Then you can stir it. Take out the spent sprig of thyme when it’s cooked to your liking.

This method works great for corn because of all the starch in it – it ends up super sweet. Frozen carrots, sweet peppers, and snow peas all work great with this method too. Try our Corn & Poblano Salsa.

It makes a nice side – it’s charred as well!

ROASTED

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and mound frozen green beans (I use the little whole ones). Drizzle with olive oil then spread out on sheet. Sprinkle well with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Cook until brown and crispy in areas and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Frozen Brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower are all great roasted. I serve roasted veggies a lot when we are baking something else – like meatloaf.

MASHED

By now everyone has heard about mashed cauliflower, which is delicious. (It tastes like, you know, cauliflower, though – don’t be fooled.) Frozen cauli works better than fresh for mashing – it cooks faster and it’s all prepped. Drain WELL so it doesn’t taste watery.

You know what is REALLY great mashed? Frozen peas. Bring some water to a boil, salt and add the peas. Conversely, microwave until piping hot.

Drain well and put in the food processor. Add a little hunk of butter and give it a whirl. Taste it for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed and serve. Add a dollop of sour cream instead of butter for a tangy flavor.

I didn’t have any pictures, and this stock photo is as close as I can find. Actual frozen peas give you a vibrant green veggie to liven up your plate instead of this insipid color.

UPDATE: Actual Mashed Frozen Pea Picture

Aren’t they purty?

CROCK POT

Put frozen beets in crock pot (affiliate link), sprinkle with a little salt and olive oil, and let cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Carrots, parsnip, turnips, and squash all work great this way too.

ADD-INS

Use frozen french style green beans, red peppers and onions PLUS cheese to make an epic casserole perfect for Italian night:

Italian Green Beans

Mix and match your favorites from the freezer section. Cheese makes everything delicious.

MICROWAVE

The easiest way to cook them is in the microwave. I put them in a glass bowl (affiliate link) drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper before covering with a plate and microwaving on high until they are done. It depends on your microwave, and how much of the veggies you use, but a whole bag takes about 5 minutes in ours. Stir about half way through.

Mix it up a bit:

add a little pat of butter, instead of olive oil

use red pepper flakes instead of black pepper

add hot sauce instead of the oil

try a dollop of cream instead of oil