Small Recipes...Cream Sauce for the Freezer

Clockwise: top right, Creamed Potatoes, Creamed Chicken, Sausage Gravy Skillet, Sausage Gravy on Biscuits     

Here’s the best idea I found in the cookbook by Judith Jones, “The Pleasures of Cooking for One" and its one I'm actually finding myself using frequently.  This recipe makes cream sauce for the freezer; nice to have on hand to use as a sauce in casseroles, to cream vegetables, or  hard cooked eggs or cooked chicken or crumbled sausage to serve over biscuits or toast!  You can combine several cooked-ahead items and make a new dish.
I'm finding that I can use it anywhere the recipe starts with white sauce.  One other big advantage, is it's a way to freeze a little extra milk in a product that is very usable.
We used some to make creamed potatoes first; I steamed my diced potatoes about 16 minutes after the water came to a boil.
In the next week or two I used the rest to make two more meals; creamed chicken on biscuits and sausage gravy on biscuits.  In both cases, the recipe was much quicker because I already had the cream sauce made.  I am trying it for the sauce in a casserole or two and in cream sauce based soups, it's just as convenient as purchased condensed soup.

Both Myrna and I expected the sauce to separate in the freezer, instead, it was perfect!  I did use real butter and whole milk for the rich flavor.

                       Cream Sauce for the Freezer

  4        tablespoons  butter

  4        tablespoons  flour, all-purpose

  2 1/4  cups  milk

            salt and freshly ground pepper

            Other seasonings depending on the end use (add when reheating)

 Melt the butter in a small, heavy pot.  Add the flour and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for about 3 minutes.  Do not let the butter begin to brown.  This is to eliminate the uncooked flour taste.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the bubbling die down.  Pour all of the milk in, start whisking furiously, and return to a low heat.  Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.

When it does, let it gently simmer another 3-4 minutes, stirring.  Season with salt (starting with a half teaspoon then taste), plus several grinds with a pepper mill.

SECOND ROUND:  Pour what you don't use into 1/2 cup or 1 cup containers (leave head room for expansion) and freeze.  Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then pour into a small pan and heat slowly, whisking until smooth.

 Yield:    "2 1/2 cups"  This made 3 meals for the two of us…a little over ¾ cup for each meal.   Below are some recipes of mine that I tried it in with good success.

  RECIPES FOR FREEZER CREAM SAUCE

Creamed Potatoes

Add ¾ cup thawed cream sauce to 8 ounces cooked diced or sliced potatoes; heat through. Myrna likes this sprinkled with a little nutmeg.  Serves two as a side dish. 

Creamed Chicken

Heat ¾ cup thawed cream sauce with a little chicken base; add 4 ounces cooked diced chicken and serve over biscuits, toast, rice, mashed potatoes or pasta.  Serves 2

Sausage Gravy

Brown 4 ounces sausage or sausage patties, along with a little chopped onion, drain off excess fat.  Add 3/4 cup thawed cream sauce to skillet and heat through.  Serve over hot split biscuits.  Serves 2