Freezer Cooking Day 1.4

Today was a little work=high payout kind of day. There was a LOT of food involved, but not much effort on my part. Today on the menu was honey barbecue chicken, beef ribs, pork ribs, baked chicken in gravy and chocolate pie.
The chicken was the same recipe as the previously made honey barbecue beef, but with chicken instead. I must have used more chicken than beef, because I ended up with 16 servings of the chicken. Nathan, Matthew and I had the chicken for dinner, so I only froze 12 portions.

The beef ribs and pork ribs were very easy. I just wrapped them in heavy duty foil and baked at 325 degrees for 3 hours. After letting them cool down, I put them in freezer bags and poured barbecue sauce in with them. From there you just smoosh it around in the bag until all the ribs are coated.

The baked chicken has always been one of our favorite freezer meals. This time I did it a bit differently, because it always seems that there's not enough of the chicken to go around come meal time. Here's what I did:

6 Lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breast
1 C. Flour
1 C. Melted Butter
16 slices American cheese
2 C. Mushrooms, sliced
1 C. Minced onion
1 Can Evaporated milk
2 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Coat chicken with flour. Pour melted butter over cookie sheet(s). Place chicken in butter. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn chicken and bake 20 minutes more. Remove from oven. Arrange chicken in square foil baking pan. Top chicken with cheese, mushrooms and onion. Combine milk, soup, salt and pepper. Pour over all. Cover with heavy duty foil and freeze. When ready to eat, thaw, then bake at 350 degrees for 45 mins-1 hour, or until sauce starts to bubble.

This recipe was also found from the Dinner is Ready cookbook.

The chocolate pie was just a basic Oreo cookie crust with chocolate pudding pie filling. I can't seem to make anything chocolate without eating some, so although I made 2 pies, only one went in the freezer and we had the second for dessert, topped with Cool Whip. Yum!

All in all, super easy, super productive day!

Freezer Cooking Day 1.3

I think Friday has quickly become my favorite day of the week! This week was a bit tricky, as Nathan had the day off work. We had plans, but I didn't want to miss out on cooking, so I managed to squeeze in some fun with the family and a MAJOR cooking day! In fact, I think I over-did it a bit, and maybe should have cut out one of the meals I made. Oh well, they all turned out great and super yummy. Today on the menu I made Lasagna, Fried Chicken and Honey Barbecue Beef.
Lasagna:
1 Lb. Lean ground beef
1 Lb. Italian sausage
1 C. Chopped onion
2 Cans Spaghetti Sauce
2 Cans Italian tomatoes
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
3 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Salt
2 C. Ricotta Cheese (1 container)
6 C. Cottage Cheese (3 med containers)
2 C. Parmesan Cheese (I actually use the Kraft Italian blend of shredded cheese- cheaper and more flavor)
Sprinkle of Italian Seasoning
8 C. Mozzarella Cheese
1 box lasagna noodles

Brown beef and sausage with onions. Add tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, garlic, Italian seasoning, sugar and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer about half an hour.
Mix Ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle of Italian seasoning in large of bowl.

I use the disposable foil square cake pans to keep the lasagna in. Start with meat sauce on the bottom. Next do 2 layers of each: noodles, cheese mixture, meat sauce, shredded mozzarella. Be sure to end with the shredded mozzarella. Cover with extra heavy foil. When ready to eat, thaw at room temperature most of the day, then bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until cheese is nice and bubbly.

Honey Barbecue Beef:
1 (3 Lb.) Beef Chuck Roast
24 Oz. Barbecue sauce
1/2 C. Honey
1/3 C. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp. Mustard
1/2 C. Chopped onion
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Trim roast of all visible fat. Cut roast in 4 pieces and place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Drain broth. Combine barbecue sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion, salt and pepper. Pour over roast in slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 5-6 hours. Remove roast and allow to cool enough to handle. Shred or chop meat and place in a large bowl. Pour some of the sauce over shredded meat, enough to thoroughly coat. Stir to coat. Allow to cool completely.
For individual servings, spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Fill muffin cups with meat and sauce. Cover and place pan in freezer bag until just frozen. Pop out and place in gallon freezer bag.
When ready to serve, just thaw and heat. Serve on toasted bun. (Recommended garnishes: shredded lettuce and dill pickles).
You can also substitute boneless skinless chicken for the roast. I WILL be trying this one in the coming weeks!

Both the Lasagna and the Honey Barbecue recipes came from the 30 Meals in One Day line of recipe books. Lasagna from "Dinner is Ready," and Honey Barbecue from "Lunch is Ready."

I also made Fried Chicken, which can be found in the Pioneer Woman Cookbook. She does have a website as well, but doesn't have all the recipes available there that are in the book.

Today I made 4 lasagna, 3 meals of fried chicken, and 9 servings of the honey barbecue beef.

Freezer Cooking Day 1.2

Well, it's Friday again, and that means more cooking! Today on the menu we had meatballs, Chile Verde, and blueberry pie.
Meatballs:
1 Lb. Lean ground beef
1 Lb. Ground pork
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Garlic salt
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
1 C. Dry bread crumbs
1/4 C. Minced onion
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine ground beef and pork. Mix in egg, garlic salt, salt pepper, bread crumbs, onion and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into 1-inch meat balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cooked through. Freeze meatballs in single layer. Put in freezer bags to use with meal of your choice!

Chile Verde:
1 Med. Pork Roast
2 cans Golden mushroom soup
1 can Cream of mushroom soup
1 jar Salsa ( I like green)
1 can Diced green chilies

Cook roast in crock pot until fully cooked. Shred roast, drain juice, and return to crock pot. Mix in soups, salsa and chilies. Cook on high for about an hour or until heated throughout.

For the blueberry pie I just made a basic pastry crust and canned blueberry pie filling...very easy!

Today I was able to make 3 meals of meatballs, 4 meals of Chile Verde and 2 blueberry pies. Yum!

Freezer Cooking Day 1.1

I love freezer cooking day! I think I'm going to try to do at least a few meals every Friday. With Nathan gone ALL day, I need something to distract myself from being too lonely. Today on the menu was chicken-fried pork and pork enchiladas (unintentional theme). When I do freezer cooking, I typically do just a few meals, but LOTS of servings of each. Today I did 4 pans of enchiladas, and 3 meals of the chicken-fried pork.Enchiladas:

Med. Pork Roast
4 lbs. Shredded cheese (I used the Mexican blend)
2 Large cans green enchilada sauce
28-30 Corn tortillas
*oil for frying* (optional)

I put the roast in the crock pot until fully cooked. I then cut/shredded it. I mixed the pork, 2 lbs, of cheese and about half the first can of enchilada sauce. Nathan likes the tortillas lightly fried before being rolled up, so I did that in canola oil, but that step can be skipped. Then put a large spoonful of the meat mixture in each tortilla and roll. Pour remaining sauce over top of rolled enchiladas and sprinkle remaining 2 lbs of cheese over everything. I cover with foil and put in the freezer at that point. When ready to cook, it takes about an hour at 350 degrees.

The chicken-fried pork recipe I got from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook. She uses steak, but I tried that once and wasn't thrilled. I've tried chicken, pounded very thin, and it's wonderful. This is the first time I've tried the pork, so I hope it turns out okay!

Finally, the last of my cooking for today, mighty mini meatloaves. After spending hours cooking the freezer meals, I wasn't in the mood to eat either of those, so I whipped up a batch of mini meatloaves.
Mighty Mini Meatloaves:
1 egg ¾ c. buttermilk ( I never have buttermilk on hand, so I mix ¾ milk w/ ¾ Tbsp white vinegar to make my own)
1 ½ c. cheddar cheese, shredded
½ c. oats
½ onion, chopped
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. lean ground beef
½ c. ketchup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin. In a bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk, stir in the cheese, oats, onion and spices. Add beef and mix well. Fill muffin wells, making individual loaves. Combine ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and spoon over mini loaves. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.

Deal of the Day

Nathan and I have had a great time in the past week or so looking at the clearance outdoor items. It's fun that they've been putting all the summer stuff on clearance already, as there is still plenty of time to use it this year. Our favorite place is Target, and have already been there a couple times. Today, we went looking mainly for a lounge chair and/or outdoor table and chair set. We did find some great deals, but nothing that really stood out. Then, as we were about to leave that section, I saw a child-size picnic table that was just too cute! We looked all over for a price, but couldn't find one. Nathan grabbed the box and took it over to the price scanner. After he hauled it away, there was another box behind it that was clearly marked $8.71. He came back with the box he'd taken away, saying it was $12.48. Turns out, the box in back had been repackaged, resulting in a lower selling price. Here's the best part: the original price was $49.99! That's a savings of about 83%! I can't imagine spending that much on such a little picnic table, but for under $9, we couldn't leave the store without it. Here's a pic of the boys testing it out.