Freezer Friendz: Chicken Chili Casserole by Mags

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Chicken Chili Casserole by Mags

(Original recipe from www.momsbudget.com)

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 brick of cream cheese (4 oz)
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
3 cups rice
1&1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I just used 1 bag)
4oz. diced green chilies (I used 1/2 lg can which was about 3.5 oz) - Use mild (or choose the spicy for an extra kick!)
15 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
15 oz. can of black beans (drained)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Preparation:

Boil 3-4 chicken breasts and make your Minute Rice. Chop up the chicken into small pieces.
Combine sour cream, ricotta, and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients (including the chicken) except the chips - mix well.
Pour into greased 9x13 freezable casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw casserole.
Bake in a 350 oven for 30-45 minutes (depending on how thoroughly it is thawed).
Top with your crushed tortilla chips and serve!

Enjoy!
:) Mags

3 comments:

MagsAugust 20, 2008 at 8:00 AM
For all of the TONS of ingredients used to make this - I expected a bit more flavor! It was kind-of bland. Family liked it okay - but for the work, I probably wouldn't make it again.
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DebbieAugust 29, 2008 at 9:01 AM
I agree with you, Mags - it was kind of bland. We enjoyed it and ate it, but I expected more kick.
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AnonymousOctober 5, 2008 at 1:15 PM
We liked this meal, but thought agree that it was a bit bland. Perhaps adding a packet of taco seasoning would improve the taste. It made tons. We ate it 2 nights and had some for lunch too. I always love a recipe that feeds us more than one meal!
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Freezer Cooking Quick Tips

When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn. Using one layer of plastic wrap and a top layer of foil is best.

Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don't skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!

Meat in Freezer Meals: Thawed meat must be cooked before it can be refrozen. Frozen cooked meat can not be refrozen once thawed.

Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.

Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!

Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!

Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc...

Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it - it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1" above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).

1lb. raw ground beef=12 oz. cooked ground beef=2 - 2.5

Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags. **PBJ works too, if bread is a higher quality wheat bread.

Freezer Efficiency: If your freezer isn't full, fill empty milk jugs 3/4 full with water and place in freezer. This helps your freezer not have to work so hard to stay cold, saving you money.

Substitutions: Here is a great source for figuring out substitions for your recipes when you start making something and realize you are missing an ingredient: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Common-Substitutions/Detail.aspx

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Chicken Chili Casserole by Mags

3 comments:

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