Freezer Cooking

for the past few days i've been obsessing over freezer meals...i stay so busy that i need a break in worrying about what i'm gonna cook...my 14 year old plays soccer and she has practice 5 days a week until 530...my 9 year old gets out of school at 335...3 days a week i babysit...never the same hours...my 18 year old will be playing softball pretty soon...they are active in church also...the 4 year old i babysit goes to school also...i sometimes have to take her and pick her up...there are days that i make 6 trips to "town"...thats what we call it in the south...LOL...i live about 15 minutes from where the kids have all of their activities...so, as you can see i want to pull my hair out on occasions...

i did some research online to find some easy meals that would handle the freezer...the thing that worries me about this is the fact that my food might not come out like i want it too...hopefully the ones that i made today will hold up to the test of time...i started out easy to see if we like it and if it works...

all of the recipes were found at Freezer Meals For Us unless otherwise stated...

Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken by Cassie

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 C. ketchup
1/4 C. soy sauce
1/2 C. firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. white vinegar
1/4 C. chopped onion
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Place the chicken in a 1-gallon freezer bag. Combine the remaining ingredients, stir well, and pour over the chicken. Label and freeze.

To serve, thaw and bake in a 9x13 pan, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, our until the chicken is done, turning chicken over after 30 minutes, and basting occasionally 

i didn't take photos of everything...this is just some of the ingredients that i used...you should have seen the kitchen when i got finished..too ashamed to post that one...looked like a tornado hit

Chicken Cordon Bleu by Amanda

6 chicken breasts (I used 5 really big ones, because I couldn't get any more to fit in the pan!)

6 thinly sliced ham
6 slices swiss cheese
1/2 c. cream of chicken
1/4 c. sour cream
1 Tbsp dijon
1c. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp  sea salt (or Kosher salt)
1/2 t pepper
2 scallions, chopped

Directions: Place chicken in pan, cover each chicken with 1 piece of ham, and 1 piece of swiss cheese. Combine rest of ingredients in seperate bowl and mix well. Pour over the the chicken in pan. Sprinkle with scallions. Cover with foil and freeze.
Cooking directions: Thaw completely in fridge. heat oven to 375. bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes (depending on oven). 

 

 

Beef Stir Fry by Maggie (from SavingDinner.com)

In a sandwich sized bag labeled 'BROTH' place mixture (that has been mixed):
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 2 pressed garlic cloves)

In quart-sized bag labeled "Meat and marinade" place:
1 1/2 lb. boneless beef sirloin tip, sliced in strips
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce

In gallon sized bag place:
6 c. frozen veggie stir fry mix (I usually do 7-8 cups for the meal groups)

Put other two bags into gallon bag and seal.  Don't forget to write on the gallon bag-

Beef Stir Fry

1. ONLY THAW BROTH MIXTURE AND MEAT MIXTURE-NOT VEGGIES!

2. Discard meat marinade and stir fry meat in 2 TBSP olive oil

3. Add frozen veggies and stir fry until tender crisp (about 5 minutes)

4. Add broth and fry till sauce has slightly thickened. 

Serve with crunchy chow mein noodles or rice

 

 

Chicken Pot Pie

When invited over for Sunday dinner at my friend's house, I was curious as to what she would serve our family of nine and her family of 12. We arrived and she already had a big pot heating on the stove and lots of biscuits in the oven. Since then I've served this to large groups from a crockpot to save the worry over scorching the whole thing. This is best made with whatever you have on hand. I often save back about a 1/2 cup of any frozen vegetable from a bag just for this very thing. Also this is a great way to use leftover turkey or roast.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8-12
Cost: Approx. $7.50

3 chicken breasts ($2.50)
2 cans of cream soup ($1.00) I prefer cream of chicken or potato
1-2 cups broth ($.25)
1 diced onion ($.25)
1 Tbsp butter
1/4-1/2 cup of any fresh vegetable finely chopped ( today I used carrots, celery)
1/4-1/2 cup of any frozen or canned vegetable (today I used corn and peas)
2 cans of big biscuits ($2.50) or make your own for lots less

Boil chicken breast while cooking onion and fresh vegetables in butter. When vegetables are still slightly firm add cream soups and broth and heat through. Dice meat and add to mixture. Add canned or frozen veggies and heat 10 minutes more on low heat or place in crock pot. Serve over split biscuits.
Make twice as much and bag it for the freezer. It reheats nicely.

 

this next recipe was from another blog called Life As Mom.. its called lawnmower taco...

Lawnmower Taco

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1-2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken or beef broth
9 ounces tortilla chips, crushed
2 cup grated cheese
For day of serving: shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, black olives
In large skillet, brown ground beef. Stir in taco seasoning. Sprinkle flour over top. Stir to combine. Stir in broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens. Grease 9×13 inch baking pan. Place 1/2 of crushed chips across bottom of dish. Layer with half the meat sauce and then half the cheese. Repeat layers: chips, meat, cheese. If cooking right away, place in 325° oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.
If making as a freezer meal, do not bake. Instead, cover with foil, label, cool, and freeze. On serving day, thaw casserole and follow baking directions, adding up to 10 to 15 minutes baking time, depending on how cold or frozen the casserole is at the start.
Serve with toppings.

i also cooked some taco meat with seasoning and just some plain ground beef...i need about 4 more hands and i understand why alot of freezer meals are prepared in groups...but i did come up with this handy dandy solution to putting the meat in the bag...

 

i clipped a clothes pin to my measuring cup to hold it open...kinda redneck huh...

i will update when i see how this goes...