I am so into this at the moment! Frozen Mystery Mix bags, conveniently frozen and ready for a stir-fry, slow cooker or soup.

Do you have an oven tray in your freezer, or is it just me?

It started when all my broccoli matured at the same time. I blanched and froze several kilos of florets then, with left over odds and ends, I blitzed up the stems to create broccoli rice, which I free-flow freezed too. With broccoli rice in abundance, I started adding other odds-and-ends: half a raw red onion, cooked quinoa, capsicum, roasted beetroot — and before I knew it, I had a bag of DELICIOUS frozen mystery mix that I can scoop out and cook any time I wanted.  Nothing went to waste, and everything went to taste.

The mystery? You never know what you’re going to add to it or how you’re going to use it, but that’s part of the fun.

This has become a regular occurrence for me now. Once a week I will survey the fridge. If there is a stray carrot, a lonely courgette or a stick of celery that isn’t enough to make up a full meal, I free-flow freeze them then add to my frozen mystery mix bag in the freezer. Rather than throwing away half an onion, pieces of capsicum, or even fresh tomato that didn’t quite make the salad, they are added to a rather eclectic bag of deliciousness.

It sounds rather like a bag of mixed veggies I bet you’re thinking! Yes, with a bit of extra ooomph. I am also happy to add cooked rice, quinoa, cooked chickpeas, diced kumara and even bacon too! Now my bagged mix is not only full of veggie goodness but added carbs too – perfect for a soup, stir fry or slow cooker recipe.

There are no set rules although here are some tips:

• Dice everything up into a similar size (this way, when you do come to cook it, it cooks evenly).
• Blanch veggies (including leek and capsicum, but excluding onion and tomato which I freeze raw) in boiling water for a few minutes then quickly drain, cool with iced water, drain again.
• Take the effort of free-flow freezing your ingredients, absolutely, even if it is only half an onion. If you shove them in a clump together, they will freeze together in a clump. Free-flowing them on an oven tray lined with baking paper (in your freezer) if only for a few hours, will be enough to harden them up before throwing into your mixed bag. Don’t forget about them on your freezing tray though otherwise they may be prone to freezer burn. Best to get them into an air-tight bag as soon as practically possible (within a few hours).
• Keep a check on the volume of cooked grains you add. You can’t go wrong with ALL sorts of veggies, but you probably wouldn’t want to overdo the amount of different grains particularly if they are in-proportionate to the amount of vegetables.