What do you do with frozen veggies?

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24

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  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Don't they get all mushy from all the water? How do you do it?

    They will be considerably more mushy than fresh. For this reason I don't care for roasted frozen brussel sprouts. If you completely thaw them first and dry them as much as possible it helps, but they don't taste like fresh.

    Except for frozen corn, broccoli, peas and beans, I mostly use frozen vegetables in recipes rather than alone.

    Frozen peas and corn make great additions to salads if completely thawed.
  • abovethecity
    abovethecity Posts: 42 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I love roasting the frozen California mix - a little olive oil spray, Montreal steak seasoning, a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese and lemon juice tastes great to me.

    Oh, and I do like roasting frozen Brussels sprouts, and they do stay a bit soggy, but I don't really mind - I love them with balsamic and honey.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Don't they get all mushy from all the water? How do you do it?

    They will be considerably more mushy than fresh. For this reason I don't care for roasted frozen brussel sprouts. If you completely thaw them first and dry them as much as possible it helps, but they don't taste like fresh.

    Except for frozen corn, broccoli, peas and beans, I mostly use frozen vegetables in recipes rather than alone.

    Frozen peas and corn make great additions to salads if completely thawed.

    I agree on the frozen brussel sprouts. I tried them...they weren't hideous but they also weren't good enough for me to try again. They had soggy middles.

    I tried using frozen spinach in my recipes...too much work trying to get all of the water out of them. They are okay in some things...not in others.

  • felixpettersson
    felixpettersson Posts: 12 Member
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    Throw a couple hundred gram of them in a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil or so, and then mix in some sambal oelek, curry powder and half a cube of bouillon. Mix in some lentils for extra protein.
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Don't they get all mushy from all the water? How do you do it?
    I preheat with my oven to 400F with my pan IN the oven. Dump the bag(s) onto it. Coat with olive oil, salt & pepper and cook until how i like them. I prefer softer vegetables but that's me. Decrease the time and watch.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I usually use in soup or rice&beans. On rare occasions where I'm not doing large batches of the previous, then will saute with seasonings.
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
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    I usually steam in the microwave and season with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. If I'm feeling really crazy I'll use garlic salt or a spice blend. Penzy's Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave Chicken & Fish seasoning has been a recent favorite. Mushiness is only a problem if I overcook.
  • UltimateTrashBae
    UltimateTrashBae Posts: 176 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I steam mine too, I usually buy the steam in the bag kind so it's easy... just really bland (but I really don't care for veggies in the first place).

    Then season them. I add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to my steamed veggies on the rare occasion that I eat veggies.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I've not seen this suggestion yet so I'll throw it out there. Thawed french style green beans (hard to find) are great in a cold vegetable salad. I don't think they hold as much water as regular frozen green beans. The texture is a little crunchy....yum.
  • jlemoore
    jlemoore Posts: 702 Member
    edited February 2017
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    n1cholee93 wrote: »
    Why cant you roast frozen vegetables? I do all the time and they're fine.

    @nlcholee93- Thanks for your recipe!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    n1cholee93 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Don't they get all mushy from all the water? How do you do it?
    I preheat with my oven to 400F with my pan IN the oven. Dump the bag(s) onto it. Coat with olive oil, salt & pepper and cook until how i like them. I prefer softer vegetables but that's me. Decrease the time and watch.

    This is exactly how i do mine. Sometimes though i'll bump it up to 450 depending on what i've got in there.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I usually only use them in soups and stews...

    If I steam them, I put a little butter on them...and S&P
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I roast frozen broccoli. I just put it in the oven frozen and cook it. It isn't mushy. Not sure about every frozen vegetable but roasted frozen broccoli didn't get mushy for me.
    Stir fry frozen vegetables.
    Add to soups or casseroles. Green beans, carrots, corn, peas, spinach, broccoli, etc.
    Add frozen spinach to lasagna or manicotti. Make spinach dip.

    http://allrecipes.com/recipes/1666/everyday-cooking/convenience-cooking/frozen-food/vegetables/
    https://www.pinterest.com/explore/frozen-vegetable-recipes/
  • frannieshack
    frannieshack Posts: 327 Member
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    Add them to eggs, pasta, or rice side dishes.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Ok it's really a problem. I just don't like frozen veggies. At least with fresh, I can roast them or something, but frozen is just so bland... bleh!

    So I just don't eat enough veggies because it's just not worth the calories to me (I know, I know) and I'm just so sick of them at this point... Fresh is often too expensive. I typically buy frozen broccoli, peas, corn (for the kids), sugar snap peas the most.

    I do mashed cauliflower with frozen cauliflower, I've dumped a few bags and made soup... Sometimes I'll sprinkle some parmesan on broccoli but even then... Any other ideas? I use peas and carrots when I make shepherd's pie. Other than that, I'm pretty stumped.

    What? If veggies aren't worth the little calories they contain to you, what is?
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I stir fry them in cooking spray with different seasonings or sauces or I use seasonal fresh since the in season fresh vegetables are less expensive and shop the loss leaders for fresh.

    I also have to wonder how vegetables can't be worth calories on your calorie budget, OP.
  • cuadrado12
    cuadrado12 Posts: 43 Member
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    I mostly use them in soups or stir fry dishes. I noticed that's when the consistency isn't really affected. You can buy the Asian frozen veggie mix, shrimp and an Asian sauce and mix it in the pan together. I don't like roasting- I prefer fresh with that.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I just toss em into recipes when fresh are out of season or I don't feel like trimming a pound of beans. They may exude a bit more water if you don't thaw and drain first, but I'm making a lot of recipes these days where I'm reducing the oil I use to saute and I find that if I weren't using frozen, I'd be adding small amounts of water anyway, to keep stuff from sticking. (Note: I'm talking about purees, mostly, where fresh or frozen, it's all going into the food processor when it comes out of the pan. For example, a veggie pate that's 12 oz of mushrooms, 8 oz of beans and an onion in 1 tsp oil, then processed with 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 water, salt and pepper. Using frozen green beans in that works well and if the saute is a bit too wet, I can keep it cooking another minute or two.)
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Ok it's really a problem. I just don't like frozen veggies. At least with fresh, I can roast them or something, but frozen is just so bland... bleh!

    So I just don't eat enough veggies because it's just not worth the calories to me (I know, I know) and I'm just so sick of them at this point... Fresh is often too expensive. I typically buy frozen broccoli, peas, corn (for the kids), sugar snap peas the most.

    I do mashed cauliflower with frozen cauliflower, I've dumped a few bags and made soup... Sometimes I'll sprinkle some parmesan on broccoli but even then... Any other ideas? I use peas and carrots when I make shepherd's pie. Other than that, I'm pretty stumped.

    I take a bag of frozen broccoli florets and toss them with a little olive oil and whatever seasoning I have on hand. Spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400, for 20 minutes. YUM!! Not mushy, absolutely perfect. :)
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
    edited February 2017
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    If you find frozen veg bland, that means you're not seasoning them enough. A little salt, pepper and fat goes a long way. You can also spruce them up with spices, herbs or other aromatics like onions, shallots or garlic.

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