cleaning

 Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScrubWithDots #CollectiveBias

Growing up, my grandmother never liked to have anything on her kitchen countertops, so I’m pretty sure that’s where my love of clean countertops originated. Couple this with becoming a minimalist a year ago, my need to maintain spotless countertops at home has become less a hobby and more a life narrative. Especially during all-day freezer cooking sessions!

Why all day freezer cooking sessions? Well, if you’re anything like me, there are no scarier times in your home than the 5 o’clock what’s for dinner debate. The scenario of having to decide what to cook can be a daunting task for even the most prepared home chefs. Which is why Fall freezer meals are my go-to dinnertime prep each Autumn season!

There’s nothing better than being able to provide my family with a hot, nutritious, affordable meal. Now, it goes without saying that I adore freezer cooking meals, with just one exception, the clean-up.

Try as I might, I things start to pile up in my kitchen. You know how it goes. Ingredients come out. Things get messy. Counters get cluttered. Splatters confetti your otherwise serene kitchen landscape. Dishes in the sink pile up. Life happens. Especially in the midst of a kitchen teeming with dirty, baked-on pots, pans, and dishes!

As you can see, the one area in my life I’m less than neat at is cooking. I’m what you could call an all-in, full-contact domestic goddess. A typical afternoon of cooking for me involves grease spatters, crumbs on the floor, and a pile of dishes that far exceeds both sides of my kitchen sink. From the blinds to the baseboards, nothing in my kitchen seems to be exempt from stains and spills.

It’s always a balancing act. Do you cook all the meals your family will enjoy, only to spend the rest of your evening scrubbing saucy, stained lasagna pans? Or cook just enough meals, in hopes of limiting the mess that will inevitably be created. 

For me, I go with the creating of meals. Which makes finding better, more practical ways of cleaning-up my kitchen all the more imperative in my home. Now that I’ve gotten my new Freezer Cooking Clean-Up routine down to a science, and I’d like to share some of my favorite 5 tips for Freezer Cooking Session Clean-up Success.

Prep your kitchen for cleaning success: For me, it’s also important to keep effective, affordable cleaning methods by my side during each freezer cooking session. So when I’m heading to the store to purchase any last-minute ingredients I’ll need for my freezer cooking sessions I also plan to pick up all the cleaning products I’ll need as well.

Recently, my go-to cleaning sponges have been the new Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Scrub Dots Sponges and the Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Sponges from my neighborhood Dollar General store.

My minimalist kitchen hosts cooking appliances with specific cleaning needs. Needs tailored to both Non-Scratch cookware and Cast Iron pots and pans, I love that the Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Sponges help keep my non-stick pans and induction burner clean as a whistle while the Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Scrub Dots Sponges work great at breaking down even the toughest stains on my heirloom cast iron pans! 

I like to pick up the Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Dishwands and Scotch-Brite® Dishwand Refills 2-Packs. Both products that utilize scrub dot technology to effortless lift off even the grimiest of sauces, spills, and splatters from my cookware, utensils, spoon rests, and even had the power to help tackle stains from the surface of my sink itself!

In fact, all of the new Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty and Scotch-Brite®Non-Scratching Scrub Dots Sponges and Scotch-Brite®Dishwands can clean almost everything in my kitchen. Even items that I previously would have to soak or scrub. such as glasses with milk protein deposits or wine deposit film. Both particular pet peeves of mine.

This awesome cleaning line is also easy on my budget too! The entire line of Scotch-Brite® Scrub Dots Sponges and Scotch-Brite®Dishwands are affordably priced! With both the Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Sponges and the Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Scrub Dots Sponges priced at only $2.75 for Sponge 2-pk and $4.35 for Sponge 4-pk and the Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Dishwand and Scotch-Brite® Dishwand Refill 2-pk. priced at only $3.00 respectfully! And at that price, you just can’t go wrong! 

Even better, from 10/4 through 12/31, you can save $1.00 off any two Scrub Dots items with a new Coupons.com printable coupon offer! 

Isolate spills: Instead of walking over to the trash can or compost bin with handfuls of peelings and scraps, keep a garbage bowl on the counter next to where you will be working. This will not only help you isolate your messes to a single location, which will keep kitchen floors cleaner, but will also save time and prevent slippery floors during freezer cooking sessions too! Especially important when mini chefs are helping you out in the kitchen!

Prep your cutting boards: did you know that wiping down cutting boards with lemon juice can help to naturally sanitize cutting boards at home? And that wiping down clean, dry cutting boards with kosher salt before cooking will help future foods from sticking to wood surfaces? I like to prep my cutting boards with both a lemon and salt treatment the night before freezer cooking sessions. This helps to ensure my prepping surfaces are their cleanest the next day! 

Bring in a recycling bin: For cooking projects where I’m using a lot of canned or boxed goods, I’ll take a recycling bin and set it right on the right side of my kitchen counter. This allows me to clean and deposit my recyclables without having to leave my kitchen during freezer cooking sessions where heat sources are actively in use!

Have a sink full of soapy water ready: I love to start each cooking session with a sink full of hot, soapy water full of dishwands and sponges. This sets not only the mood for cleaning success but also helps me to quickly address spills and splatters that will inevitably happen during all-day freezer cooking sessions.leaning up spills immediately will help prevent bigger messes and help prevent kitchen falls and accidents on slippery floors and to tackle stains created on small and major appliances with little to no effort. As the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Especially when it comes to cleaning up messes in the kitchen!

Immediately cleaning up spills will not only help prevent bigger messes from forming but can also help you prevent kitchen falls and accidents. As the adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Especially when it comes to cleaning up messes in the kitchen!

This past weekend, with my new Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch sponges and Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratch Dishwand by my side, I was able to create a month’s worth of creamy, ooey-gooey Italian-style freezer meals this past weekend. I cooked, assembled, and froze Skinny Chicken Alfredo, Fall-Inspired Spaghetti Carbonara, and Meatless Monday Baked Alfredo. All meals that are as delicious as they are super simple to make. The best part? They were all created using one DIY base sauce recipe, my Skinny Béchamel Pasta Sauce!

This sauce is a delicious blend of both rich and modest ingredients. Like in traditional alfredo sauces, I use salt and organic butter. Where this sauce gets its skinny cachet is its use of gluten-free flour base, use of soy milk in lieu of whole milk, almond milk instead of heavy whipping cream, and a special surprise ingredient, tofu! 

I cook each batch of sauce separately to prevent curdling and separation. I always start by adding butter to a medium skillet over medium-low induction heat. To this, I add my flour and stir until a smooth roux forms. I continue to cook until the roux turns a light, golden color, in about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the soy milk, almond milk, and tofu. Break up the tofu into the blend until smooth. Heat blend until almost at a boil. Then add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking with a rubber spatula until smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt, nutmeg, and a dash of fleur de sel. Then your sauce is ready to use!

Now that your sauce is finished, you can turn this base into different pasta meals. Again, I used my Béchamel to make Skinny Chicken Alfredo, Fall-Inspired Spaghetti Carbonara, and Meatless Monday Baked Alfredo. Here’s how I used this sauce to make these three meals:

Skinny Chicken Alfredo:

Ingredients added to Béchamele sauce:

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated good organic parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded organic Italian blend cheese
• 1 8-ounce chicken breast; cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons organic olive oil

Directions (per tray):

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Now bring 1-gallon pot, boil 8-cups filtered, salted water to a boil.
3. Cook 8-ounces of good spaghetti pasta in the salted water.
4. Once al dente, carefully drain and remove from your pot. Set aside.
5. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast in a teaspoon of organic olive oil; we used a pre-cooked chicken breast we smoked this summer at home.
6. Once your chicken breast is cooked, remove it from your skillet, cool, and cut into strips. Set aside.
7. Next, add your drained pasta and Béchamele sauce to your pan and bring to temperature. 
8. Then add your pasta, sauce, and seasonings to your freezable bakeware of choice.
9. Top with chicken strips and shredded cheese.
10. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees until your cheese is bubbly and light brown in color.
11. Cool for one hour, then top with foil. Label your dish accordingly. Freeze for up to six months; four servings per pan.

Fall-Inspired Spaghetti Carbonara:

Ingredients added to Béchamele sauce:

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground allspice
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 cup grated good organic parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded organic Italian blend cheese
• 1 8-ounce chicken breast; cut into strips
• 1 cup organic mushrooms
• 1/2 cup cooked turkey bacon; cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 beaten organic, free range eggs
• 2 teaspoons organic olive oil

Directions (per tray):

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Now bring 1-gallon pot, boil 8-cups filtered, salted water to a boil.
3. Cook 8-ounces of good spaghetti pasta in the salted water.
4. Once al dente, carefully drain and remove from your pot. Set aside.
5. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast in a teaspoon of organic olive oil.
6. Once your chicken breast is cooked, remove it from your skillet, cool, and cut into strips. Set aside.
7. Using this same pan cook your turkey bacon and mushrooms.
8. Once finished, cool and cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
9. Turn heat off of the pan.
10. Next, add your drained pasta and Béchamele sauce. Toss sauce with pasta.
11. Then add beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Toss to combine. The residual heat will cook your eggs through.
12. Add your pasta and sauce to your freezable bakeware of choice.
13. Top with chicken strips and shredded cheese.
14. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees until your cheese is bubbly and light brown in color.
15. Cool for one hour, then top with foil. Label your dish accordingly. Freeze for up to six months; four servings per pan.

Meatless Monday’s Baked Alfredo:

Ingredients added to Béchamele sauce:

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 cup grated good organic parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded organic Italian blend cheese
• 1 cup mushrooms; I used half portabello and half white button mushrooms.
• 1/2 cup chopped organic spinach
• 2 teaspoons organic olive oil

Directions (per tray):

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Now bring 1-gallon pot, boil 8-cups filtered, salted water to a boil.
3. Cook 8-ounces of good spaghetti pasta in the salted water.
4. Once al dente, carefully drain and remove from your pot. Set aside.
5. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook your mushrooms a teaspoon of organic olive oil.
6. Once your mushrooms are cooked, add your spinach and heat through. 
7. Turn heat off of the pan.
8. Next, add your drained pasta and Béchamele sauce. Toss sauce with pasta.
9. Add your pasta and sauce to your freezable bakeware of choice.
10. Top with shredded cheese.
11. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees until your cheese is bubbly and light brown in color.
12. Cool for one hour, then top with foil. Label your dish accordingly. Freeze for up to six months; serves four per pan.

Friends, those are my three favorite Béchamele sauce-based freezer meals for the fall! While it goes without saying that that was a lot of work this past weekend, it was worth it knowing I now have a freezer full of yummy, ready-to-bake meals on hand this season!

And the only thing better than ready-to-go meals is knowing how simple my kitchen clean-up will be! With the Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty and Scotch-Brite®Non-Scratching Scrub Dots Sponges and Scotch-Brite® non-Scratch Dishbrushes cleanup took just minutes. Comparing to the hours spend scrubbing dishes, pans, counters, and floors before finding these products! 

Making this new line the true hero of my freezer cooking session this past weekend! I’ve been so inspired by the ease of cleaning this past weekend that I’m already looking for new recipes for my next mega freezer cooking session online! And if you’re looking for additional freezer cooking recipes at home, be sure to check out my other freezer cooking recipes here!

I encourage you all to pick-up the new Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Scrub Dot sponges, Scotch-Brite® Non-Scratching Scrub Dots Sponges, Scotch-Brite®Dishwands, and Scotch-Brite® Dishwand Refill 2-packs while in-store at your local Dollar General. Because with Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty and Scotch-Brite®Non-Scratching Scrub Dots Sponges, you’ll no longer have to choose between a clean kitchen and the convenience of hot, fresh meals at home this Fall!

So now I have to ask, do you have any great tips for keeping your kitchens cleaned and your countertops cleared during freezer cooking sessions at home? I’d love to hear all about them below! 

Find more #ScrubWithDots inspiration here!