Before Grandma bought a ham, she’d always squeeze it a little to make sure it was nice and firm. Once she found a few solid hams, she’d select the one with the least amount of fat on it. She said she never had a ham that felt soft turn out to taste good and a ham that was overly fatty was also overly salty.
Grandma always cooked up a storm for the holidays and there were always a ton of leftovers. Although everyone enjoyed eating turkey, ham, sweet potatoes and stuffing for several days afterwards, Grandma was concerned that some of the food would go to waste.
Immediately after Thanksgiving dinner, she made up five plates of food, wrapped them, and stuck them in the freezer. A few months later, she would pull out her homemade tv dinners, and everyone would be able to enjoy that delicious Thanksgiving feast all over again.
Today, I still prepare enough extra Thanksgiving plates for the family and pop them in the freezer for another day. However, I use my Foodsaver to be sure the meal doesn’t get freezerburn. If you have a Foodsaver, be sure you freeze the plate for about a half hour to allow the liquid to firm up before sealing the meal. Otherwise, your green bean juice will end up in your pecan pie.
Grandma loved to use blueberries, blackberries, and rasberries when she cooked, so it is no surprise that she grew and froze her own fresh fruit. However, Grandma had a simple secret that made it easy for her to use small quantities of frozen fruit. She washed the berries and placed them on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once they were frozen, she popped them off the sheet and put them in a freezer bag. Since the berries were already frozen, they did not stick together and Grandma could simply take a few out of the bag whenever she needed them.
