Freezer meal night!

Chicken Puffs

Pork burritos

Cheese/bean enchiladas -- 2 cans of refried beans, 4 cans of enchilada sauce (divided), 2 cups cheese.  Put mixture in tortillas, rolled them up and put them in a 9x13 pan, covered with enchilada sauce.

Breakfast pockets  -- we used Rhodes rolls and let them thaw for an hour or so, pressed them out and then put the filling in and pressed them like a hot pocket!  YUM!!!

Pizza -- we got the crust from Papa Murphy's and added our own toppings

Cross Rib Roast
Taco soup
Dressed Up Sloppy Joes

Creamy Baked Taquitoes
Cornflake Chicken Tenders
Chicken Puff

Another successful day of freezer meal cooking!  LOVE IT!!!  We spent about 4 hours on Saturday morning assembling all of these recipes and now we are stocked up for quite a few weeks!  So excited!!

Pork Burritos

Sweet Shredded Pork Burritos

Meat: (This recipe makes 45-50 burritos)
10 lbs boneless pork roast
4 cans tomato sauce
3 C brown sugar
2 cans coke or Dr. Pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 C or 1 bunch of finely minced cilantro

Put meat in crock pot. Add tomato sauce, sugar and garlic. Add soda and cilantro. Cook on medium heat 4 hours or more. shred when tender.

The following ingredients are based off 1 serving of about 15 burritoes
I used converted rice with a conversion of 2:1, we used 2 cups.
2 C of cheese
2 cans of black beans drained

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. fill burrito tortillas with 1/4 C to 1/3 C mixture. Roll and freeze.  Cook at 350* for 12-15 minutes each side. No need to thaw prior to cooking.  Or microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Top with your favorite burrito toppings!

Chicken Puffs

2 pck crescent rolls
6 ounces softened cream cheese
2 cups cooked chicken in small pieces
1 green onion finely chopped
1 package of peas
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 sleeve ritz crackers
1 cube butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 C of milk

Cook and shred chicken. mix cream cheese, chicken, peas, onion and all seasonings together.  Freeze in a bag or you can put it into the crescent rolls and then freeze those.

Thaw out chicken mixture. Roll out crescent rolls. fill rolls with chicken filling and roll up. Melt butter, dip rolls in the butter and roll into the crushed crackers. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes or until brown.

Mix cream of chicken and milk in a pot and heat over stove on low. pour on top of cooked chicken rolls

freezer meal night

Another successful freezer meal night happened last night.  It took us quite awhile this time with 5 people and quite a few interruptions, but it was so worth it!  I love seeing the meals pile up in my freezer in anticipation of the crazy busy nights that happen at my house this time of year!  Here is what we did this time...

Meatballs
Tater-tot casserole
Pizzas (we got the crust from Papa Murphy's)
Savory Breakfast Muffins
Pork, rice, bean and cheese burritos
Creamy Baked Taquitoes
Cornflake Chicken Tenders
Chicken Puff
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole 

Freezer Meal Night #3

This time we did things a little differently. We had 4 of us and we wanted meals that we could take right from the freezer and cook immediately...no thawing, no prep, nothing the night we ate them.  We also decided to just double each recipe we chose so we could have more of the same thing.  It turned out pretty well.  Once again, I am excited to eat the product of our hard work!

The recipes we did this time included....

Creamy Baked Taquitoes

Pork, rice, bean and cheese burritoes

Pesto Stuffed Shells

Cornflake Chicken Tenders

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

12-16 jumbo pasta shells
water for boiling pasta
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

**In a large pot over high heat, boil water and prepare pasta shells as directed on package. Cook pasta shells only until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked. Drain the pasta shells and set aside.
**In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, except the 1/4 cup of cheese for the topping. Fill the pasta shells with the filling and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 30 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts
** To make ahead/freezer meals - Prepare as directed but place filled shells in an oven- and freezer-proof baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells, cover and freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts. 

recipe found HERE

Savory Breakfast Muffins

1 lb sausage
2 C Bisquick
1 C Cornmeal
2 eggs
1 3/4 C milk
1/4 C green or red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 C finely minced onion
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Line muffin tins with paper liners (I sprayed mine), fry, crumble and drain sausage.  Preheat oven to 375*.  Mix togehter bisquick, cornmeal, eggs, garlif and milk.  Add drained sausage, peppers and onions and cheese. STir well.  Ladle the filling into the prepared muffin tins.  Bake for 11-15 minutes. ALlow to cool completely.

Store in freezer in a large airtight container. Remove, thaw for a few minutes and then microwave on high for 90 seconds.

** I doubled this recipe and we really enjoyed it.  Great for a quick breakfast.  Next time I won't do peppers and will do sausage and ham!  Recipe found HERE.

Chicken Manicotti

2 TBL garlic powder
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 boxes manicotti
4 to 5 C bulk spaghetti sauce (alfredo)
1 pound jimmy dean sausage, cooked and drained
4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 C water, divided

Rub garlic powder over chicken; cut chicken into 1-inch strips. Stuff chicken into manicotti. Spread 1 C spaghetti sauce in each of three greased 8-inch square foil pans.

Divide stuffed manicotti equally between three pans. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top. Be sure to cover all noodles or they will dry when cooked. Sprinkle with sausage and top with cheese.

Drizzle 1/3 C water around the edge of each dish. Cover and bake 1 pan of manicotti at 375* for 65 to 70 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and pasta is tender.

Cover, label and freeze remaining casseroles for up to 3 months.  To serve, thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours, then bake at 375* for 65 to 708 minutes.  To bake frozen, cover with foil and bake at 350* for 2 1/2 hours.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

*** I thaw mine straight from the freezer in the morning and good it like normal at night and it turns out yummy!!!

Freezer Meal Night...

My friends and I did another freezer meal night and I wanted to post the recipes for future reference...

Empanadas

Cross Rib Roast

Ham & Cheese Braid

Shish K-bobs

Stuffed Shells

Chicken Manicotti

Pork tacos with chili verde (Our Best Bites Cookbook)

Cornflake Chicken

Corn, Black Beans & Beef Empanadas

Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Filling
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound 85% lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup taco shredded cheese blend

1 package empanada dough rounds

To make the filling, heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onions and garlic until softened. Add the corn, black beans, cumin, cayenne, and cloves and cook until fragrant. Crumble the beef into the pan and brown. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze and transfer the beef mixture to a bowl; cool.

Stir in the cilantro leaves into the beef mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cool completely in the refrigerator. Once cooled completely, fold in the cheese.
To assemble the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place a large baking sheet in the oven. Using the premade empanada dough, place 1/3 cup of filling mixture in the center of each dough round. Brush the edges of the dough with water and fold dough over the filling. Press the edges to seal and crimp the edges using a fork.

To bake, drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over the surface of the large preheated baking sheet and then return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the empanadas onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the empanadas with oil. Place the baking sheet of empanadas in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until well browned and crisp. Cool empanadas on a wire rack for 10 minutes and serve.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the empanadas as directed above. Once assembled, place empanadas in a gallon sized freezer bag in one layer. Remove any excess air from the bag and freeze flat. When ready to prepare, preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a large baking sheet in the oven. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over the surface of the large preheated baking sheet and then return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the frozen empanadas onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the empanadas with oil. Place the baking sheet of frozen empanadas in the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until well browned and crisp. Cool empanadas on a wire rack for 10 minutes and serve.

Cornflake Chicken Tenders

Recipe adapted from Pennies on a Platter

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, melted
2 cups finely crushed corn flakes cereal


Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400˚F. Place an oven-safe cooling rack on a baking sheet and set aside.

Combine the flour and spices in a small bowl; set aside. Place melted butter in another small bowl; set aside. Place the crushed cereal in a medium-sized bowl or pie plate.

Dip the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour, then the butter, then the cereal. Place the coated chicken strips on the rack in the baking sheet.

Bake the coated chicken pieces in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Serve with your favorite sauce.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare as directed to coat the chicken and spread them on a wax paper lined baking sheet after coating. Place the baking sheet in the freezer uncovered and flash freeze for half an hour, until mostly firm. Transfer the strips to a gallon sized freezer bag labeled with the date and cooking instructions. When ready to prepare, preheat oven to 400˚F and bake from frozen (do not defrost) for 25 minutes on the baking sheet with the cooling rack.

Freezer meals night...

I did a freezer meal group with a few friends last week in preparation for the last few weeks of pregnancy when I HATE to cook. Here is a list of the recipes we used and the hyperlink for where you can find them...

Navajo Tacos


Cafe Rio Pork Style Burritos

Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Breaded Ranch Chicken

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos


Meatballs/Meatloaves


Salisbury Steaks


Chicken Puffs

We got together beforehand and 'rated' the 8 recipes we wanted to do, each of us taking 2 meals to prepare beforehand and bringing them ready to assemble. We got together 1 night so we had no kids to take care of and worry about and started around 7:30. It was our first time so we didn't go as fast as we probably could, but we finished up around 11:15.

I will get about 13 meals from what we did that night and couldn't be more thrilled. We all brought our receipts, added up the prices, divided them by 4 and made sure we all payed the same amount.

I cannot wait to use them and do it again before baby comes!!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 ounces) cream cheese
3/4 C green salsa
1 TBL free lime juice (half a lime)
1/2 teas cumin
1 teas chili powder
1/2 onion powder
1/4 teas granulated garlic
3 TBL chopped cilantro
2 TBL chopped green onions
2 C cooked, cubed chicken
1 C grated cheese
6-inch corn or flour tortillas (as fresh as possible)

Combine ingredients, put on tortillas and wrap up. Place unbaked taquitoes in a single layer of a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen enough to hold their shape. Pack in freezer safe container for up to 3 months. To bake, 25-30 minutes or until crisp at 350*

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Meatball/Meatloaf Mixture

4 lbs ground beef
3 C Bread crumbs
6 eggs, beaten
1 large onion, hopped
3 cloves garlic
2 TBL dried parsley
1 TBL dried basil
1 teas kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Don't mix too much, just enough to distribute ingredients throughout mixture.

Form into meatballs or divide into four parts and form four meatloaves. These are not very salty meatballs since you will them with sauce or gravy.

For meatballs, bake in 350* oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through for meatballs. Cool, label and freeze.

For meatloaves, wrap, label and freeze. When ready to serve, thaw and bake 45-60 minutes or until cooked through.

***I just flashed froze my meatballs and will cook them when we want to eat them. This is A LOT of meat. I wouldn't put as much onion in it the next time either.

Chicken Puffs

2 packages refrigerator crescent rolls
2 cups crushed buttery crackers (ritz)
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/4 C diced onion
1/2 C chopped celery
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
1/2 C sour cream

dash of garlic powder
dash of salt & pepper

Press together 2 crescent-roll triangles to form a square. Repeat with remaining dough. Place crushed crackers in a shallow dish. Stir together remaining ingredients in a large bowl and scoop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto dough squares.

Fold and pinch edges together. Roll each chicken puff in the cracker crumbs. Place puffs on a greased cookie sheet and put cookie sheet in freezer for 1 hour. Then place chicken puffs in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze.

To Serve:
Place frozen chicken puffs on a greased cookie sheet and back at 350* for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

This recipe came from the Fabulous Freezer Meals book. I am stocking up for the next few months since I never want to cook this late in pregnancy! Hopefully I can do another freezer meal night before baby comes to get even more meals in!!

Freezer Meatloaf Mix

I got this recipe from a USU Extension pack that has a bunch of freezer meals and mixes. It makes a easy dinner on the nights you just don't want to cook. And you can use the mix for other things too!

Meatloaf Mix

• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp dried chopped onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp ground oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground marjoram
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 2 lbs lean ground beef (it has to be fresh since you will freeze it raw)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup regular oatmeal
• 1/2 cup cooked rice

In a large bowl, combine eggs, tomato sauce, onion, salt, and Worcestershire sauce, sage, oregano, marjoram, and celery salt. Stir in ground beef and bread crumbs. Spoon evenly into three 2-cup freezer containers with tight-fitting lids. Attach lids. Label containers with date and contents. Store in freezer. Use within 3 months. Makes 3 packages or 6 cups of Meatloaf Mix. (I usually make 4 smaller packages)

These are the recipes you can make with the mix:

Mini Meat Loaves

• 1 pkg Meatloaf Mix
• 2 tsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape meat mix into two mini-meat loaves. Place in shallow baking pan. Top with tomato sauce mixed with brown sugar, if desired. Bake 30 min or until done.

Porcupine Meatballs
1 pkg Meatloaf Mix
Form into balls, each about 2 inches in diameter. Place in casserole dish. Cover with sauce (below). Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Makes 6 to 8, 2 large meatballs each.

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dry onion flakes

Combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat and pour over meatballs.

Stuffed Peppers

• 1 pkg meatloaf mix
• 2 green peppers, halved, seeded
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/8 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 cup cooked rice

Cook green pepper halves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain well. Combine tomato sauce and res of ingredients with meat mixture. Fill each pepper half. Place in glass baking dish. Top each pepper with 1 Tbsp Tomato Sauce. Bake uncovered at 375 for 45 minutes or until done.

Casserole Pizza

• 1 pkg Meatloaf Mix
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp oregano leaves, crushed
• 1/8 tsp dried basil leaves, crushed
• 1 (4-oz) can sliced mushrooms
• 6 green pepper rings
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbsp grated Romano cheese
• sliced black ripe olives for garnish
• 2 parsley sprigs for garnish

In medium bowl, combine tomato sauce, oregano, basil and mushrooms; set aside. Preheat over 375 degrees. Divide Meat Loaf Mix evenly into two 4 inch pie pans, or individual casserole dishes. Spoon tomato sauce mixture evenly over mix. Bake 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove from oven and top each with 3 green pepper rings. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese and Romano cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer. Garnish with black olives and parsley sprigs.

Freezer Corn

Best freezer corn ever!

For one batch of corn you use the following amounts:

8 C. corn
1/2 C. butter or margarine (one stick, cube, w/e you call it:)
1 C. Water
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt

On stove top add butter, water, sugar and salt. When the butter melts add corn. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes. After five minutes put it in a container where it can cool. Once it is cool enough, put it in freezer baggies. (double bag them)

This is my parents recipe that they use and I have not found a better one. It freezes really well and tastes really good even after being in the freezer for a year. When we do this we usually quadruple the recipe.

Ham and Swis Casserole

1 8 oz wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
2 C ham, cubed
2 C swiss cheese, shredded
1 C cream of mushroom soup
1 C sour cream

In a 9x13 pan, layer noodles, ham and cheese. mix lightly. in a seperate bowl, mix the soup and sour cream together. pour soup mix over the other ingredients in the pan. ***If freezing slightly undercook the noodles. If not freezing, bake at 350* for 45 minutes. cover for the first half of baking.

Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 24 ox jar salsa
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 pkg. tortillas

Cook chicke and salsa in a slow cooker on high for 3 hours. Shred chicken and add cream cheese. cook until cream cheese is melted. ***Freeze in freezer bag. Otherwise, spray a frying pan with cooking spray and fry tortillas until browned. put mixture on tortilla and roll up.

Chicken Macaroni Bake

I wanted to post a few more freezer meals recipes so I know where they are...

2 Cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 1/2 C uncooked elbow macaroni
2 C shreeded cheddar cheese
1 C Cream of chicken soup
1 C milk
1 C mushrooms, optional, drained
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, combine chekcne, macaroni, cheese, soup, milk,mushrooms and pepper. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and bake at least 350* for 60-65 minutes or until macaroni is tender. ***May freeze in a freezer bag before cooking.