Sunday, October 25, 2009
Pumpkin Bread
Cheeseburger Soup
- I use ground turkey instead of beef
- I use 2 cups shredded cheddar instead of the Velveeta
- I do not add the sour cream until just before it's served on the day I reheat it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sweet & Sour Chicken
3 Tbl canola oil
1/2 cup onion, chunked
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chunked
1 1/3 cups cold water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
To Serve: Thaw and heat in saucepan on stove. Serve in bowls over rice.
Hearty Burritos
Pizza Pasta Casserole
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Honey Lime Chicken
(We tried this recipe last night for the first time and it was delicious. Thankfully, the weather was warm enough to grill! A good side dish would be rice & veggies & pineapple with a Caribbean spice.)
1/2 c. honey
1/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. lime juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 chicken tenderloins
Blend ingredients for marinade together in blender for several seconds until honey is completely combined. Pour marinade in Ziploc freezer bag then place chicken inside and seal.
To Freeze: Lay Ziploc bag flat in freezer.
To Serve: Thaw bag laying flat in fridge overnight. Remove chicken from marinade and grill or bake (350*F for 35-45 minutes) chicken until no longer pink.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sloppy Joes
Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
- instead of a 12 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce, I used a 16 oz. bottle
- instead of frozen chicken breasts, I use fresh chicken breasts
- halfway through the cooking time I shred the chicken with a fork, then cover and let it cook the rest of the time in the sauce
- with buns, rolls or bread for sandwiches
- over baked potatoes
- over nachos with shredded cheddar, tomatoes & lettuce on top
Easy Sandwiches
Classic Mac'n'Cheese
Spinach Lasagna
Black Bean Soup
Baked French Toast
Double Chocolate Muffins
Biscuits
(adapted from a recipe from Taste of Home's website)
4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. sugar
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1 egg
2/3 c. milk
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking poweder, sugar & salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; roll to 3/4" thickness; cut with pizza cutter (or use a circle biscuit cutter). I opt for ease so I use the pizza cutter. :o)
To Freeze: Lay biscuits flat on baking sheet or cutting board and place in freezer to "flash freeze." Once frozen, remove biscuits and store in Freezer Ziploc bag.
To Serve: No thaw needed. Place on greased baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes at 400*F.
Options:
- To make Garlic/Cheddar biscuits, divide dough in half and to one half add 1/2 c. shredded cheddar and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
- You can use 2 c. all-purpose flour instead of 1 c. white & 1 c. wheat
- You can also use a 1/2 c. shortening instead of butter or margarine
Taco Seasoning Mix
1/2 c. dry minced onion
1/4 c. chili powder
2 T cornstarch
2 T crushed red pepper flakes
2 T garlic powder
1 T oregano
2 T cumin
Combine all in airtight container. Stir thoroughly. Use 2 T per pound of meat or for recipe calling for 1 envelope of taco seasoning. Enjoy!
Slow-Cooked Chunky Chili
- In a bowl with toppings and biscuits or cornbread
- Over spaghetti or macaroni noodles with cheddar cheese on top
- With fries as a gameday snack
- Over baked potatoes
- Over hot dogs (FYI - Oscar Mayer & John Morrell both make nitrate-free hot dogs, now!)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Spaghetti Sauce
Pizza Bites
spaghetti sauce (optional for serving)
Easy Pizza Dough
1 1/3 c. water
1/4 c. olive oil
Optional: Add 1-2 teaspons of garlic and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning prior to adding the flour for seasoned dough for breadsticks or pizza.
For Freezer: Place in gallon size Ziploc bag, seal and freeze.
To Serve: Thaw dough 24 hours in fridge. Remove from fridge about an hour before using to come near room temperate. Remove from bag and bake for pizza (400 for approx. 10 minutes, top then bake 10-15 minutes longer) or use for other recipes.
The Basics of Freezer Cooking
Things to have on-hand...
- Ziploc Freezer Bags in both quart & gallon sizes
- Plastic wrap & foil
- Sharpie Marker - dark color of your choice
- Great recipes that freeze, thaw & warm well - don't worry, they're here on this website!
- Food
- Kitchen utensils, pots & pans, measuring cups & spoons, etc...
- Freezer - can be the fridge freezer or a separate upright or chest freezer
What do I cook?
Think about the foods your family typically eats? Sandwiches, spaghetti, tacos, burgers, pizza, breakfast, snacks, muffins...etc. Begin with the things you already enjoy eating, then add new recipes later. Figure out how many batches of the recipes you'll need to make. For example, for our family right now 1 recipe of taco meat will make about 3 meals for us. If you have a larger family, you may need to double or triple your recipe to make 3 meals.
How do I determine what I need to purchase?
Once you choose the recipes you'll make, create a spreadsheet to figure out what ingredients you'll need to purchase. I like to list my recipes on the left side going down and then my ingredients across the top. That way if I need 1 lb. of ground turkey for tacos, I mark it "1 lb" in the box where tacos & ground turkey meet. If I need 2 lbs. of ground turkey for burgers then I'll mark "2 lbs" in the box where burgers & ground turkey meet. When I total the ingredient columns I'll find that I need to buy a total of 3 lbs. of ground turkey. Even though this takes a little bit of time, it's VERY helpful to account for all your ingredients, even spices & pantry items because if you begin cooking and are missing something, it's very frustrating!
When & where do I shop?
Whenever you can (without kids, preferably) and wherever the best deals are. I look for deals at our local grocery stores, but also visit a warehouse club to buy my meats & shredded cheese as their cost tends to be cheaper than the grocery stores unless something is on sale. I also like to shop the discounted bread rack at one of our big box stores to get french & Italian bread for a few of my recipes and the sell by date doesn't matter since it's going to be frozen.
I'm home with TONS of food, now what?
Plan.
Does your meat need to be browned or cooked prior to using in a recipe? Crockpots work well for cooking chicken & ground beef/turkey. I will often cook the meat the night before I actually make the rest of my meals.
Chop the veggies - might as well chop all the onions you'll need, rather than chopping one for each recipe you assemble.
Pasta - cook the noodles you need for only HALF the time called for on the package. (This can also be done the night before the cooking/assembly day.) The lasagna recipe I make doesn't require any noodle cooking!!!
Once your ingredients are done being prepped then you can begin making the meals and assembling them. Some of my favorites are the ones you mix in a bowl or a blender and then dump into a Ziploc bag. Can't get any easier than that!
How do I package my meals & foods?
Casseroles that require being frozen in a pan like French Toast will need to be in a glass pan. Wrap with 1 layer of plastic wrap and then 1 layer of foil. Use your Sharpie to write "French Toast, Thaw, UC 350F/30m" then place in the freezer. This means I have to thaw it prior to baking it and I will bake it UnCovered for 30 minutes at 350*F. This is just what I use - do whatever works for you!
Meals like baked ziti, pasta or rice dishes, soups, casseroles (that don't require layering in a pan to freeze in) can all be placed in quart or gallon Ziplocs.
- Be sure the meal has cooled completely which is easy to do once meal is made, set aside to cool while you're cooking & assembling other meals.
- Use the FREEZER Ziplocs. I have used these for ALL my meals and nothing ever tastes like it's been frozen!
- Label the bag with the Sharpie FIRST before placing food in it and let the marker dry for a second. Yes, I've ended up with smudged writing the first time I did this quickly.
- Roll the opening of the bag down so it makes it easier to ladle or pour in the ingredients and the zip part stays clean. Fill a bit over half the bag then press the air out and seal the zip part. Lay flat to freeze.
- Once frozen these meals will expand a little bit, but will still take up very little freeze space. They can also sit upright once frozen in a basket in a chest freezer making it easier to find in the coming weeks.
How should I keep track of what's in my freezer?
As I make my meals I write a list of each meal along with anything I want to serve it with when I make it. This helps me prep my weekly grocery list easily! I also make open boxes next to the meal title with 1 slash through them telling me how many bags or pans of that meal is in my freezer. When I use one I make 1 slash the other way so I know it's used. I can quickly see what meals I have left to use.
Okay, my freezer is stocked, now what do I do to prepare a meal?
Most of the meals have to thaw completely before warming them so thaw the meal the night before in your fridge. Sometimes large casseroles may require more than 24 hours to thaw in your fridge. Whenever I make one night's dinner, I usually remove the next night's meal from the freezer and place it in the fridge.
As far as cooking goes, follow the recipe. If you labeled your meals you won't even need to peek a the recipes because you should have the baking temperature and time listed on the foil or bag.