Parmesan Chicken Olivia by Jackie

*Recipe from www.FreezerSmarts.com
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup mayonnaise

Assembly:
Brush each piece of chicken with mayonnaise. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan in a work bowl or zipper storage bag. Coat each chicken breast with the crumb mixture. Lay pieces of chicken flat in the bag. This will help it freeze faster, take up less room in your freezer AND will prevent the coating from slipping off. It also prevents having a big pile of chicken pieces stuck to each other when you go to cook them. Remove excess air from bag and seal tightly.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Transfer to baking dish & bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until chicken is done (165F).

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Beef Fajita Burgers by Debbie

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground sirloin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
Several drops of hot sauce, like Tabasco

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine the meat, Worcestershire, spices, thyme, hot sauce, and grill seasoning. Score and divide the meat into 4 sections. Make 2 patties, 1 inch thick, from each section. At this point you can either wrap and freeze, or send them off to the grill.

Serving Day:
Thaw burgers completely. Drizzle them with olive oil. Cook on either a large skillet or grill pan on the stove, or on an outdoor grill. Serve on a large flour tortilla or hamburger bun.

This recipe was taken from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals cookbook. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Freezer Friendz!

A year ago, in March, a small group of four friends got together to trade freezer dinner once a month. After a couple of months of writing down recipes, copying them, and passing around the recipe cards, we finally realized that this would be SO much easier on a blog - and thus FreezerFriendz at Blogspot was born!

Now, our small group has expanded into two Teams, making dinners across 6 categories, and managing a blog that gets approximately 2000 hits per month! That's a fabulous birthday gift in and of itself!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

FREEZER FRIENDS!

Many happy returns!

Party Pasta Bowl by Mel

Ingredients:
1 pkg. uncooked ziti
1 c. chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef
2-3 garlic cloves
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar (48 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 egg
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 c. fresh parsley (I use dried)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided

Assembly:
Cook pasta according to package. Cook onion, beef and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes, then drain. Add seasonings, sauce and tomatoes. In small bowl, mix egg, ricotta, 1 c. mozzarella, 1/4 c. Parmesan, parsley and pepper. To assemble, place pasta in 9x13 baking dish (or slightly larger), add 6 cups of meat sauce and mix well. Spread cheese mixture evenly over pasta. Top with remaining sauce.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1 hour. Top with remaining cheeses. Continue baking 10 minutes or until bubbly. (Yields 12 servings)

White Sloppy Joe by Katie

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 T. milk
4 T. sour cream
1tsp. liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste
* American Cheese Slices (optional)

Assembly:
Brown meat. Stir in soup, milk and liquid smoke and reduce to a low heat. Stir in sour cream and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Pour in skillet and reheat. Serve on hamburger bun with American Cheese slice (if desired)

Spaghetti Pie by Missy

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (browned and drained)
10 oz. spaghetti (cooked)
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs (well beaten)
2 cups cottage cheese
1 28 oz. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
8 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

Assembly:
Cook spaghetti and drain. To the cooked spaghetti mix in the butter, Parmesan cheese, and eggs and form into a crust that covers the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Spread the cottage cheese over your noodles. Brown the hamburger and add to your favorite sauce then spread over the cottage cheese.

Serving Day:
Bake at 350 for 30 min. Add mozzarella cheese and put back in oven till it melts...yummy!!!

Missy's Yum-O Chili Remix by Mags

I just love Missy's Chili so I tried it myself... with a few small variations based on what I found at the grocery store. It ended up very THICK so in lieu of heating it in a crock pot (which I don't think it will fit in anyway!), you may want to pour it into a 9x13" pan and make it a "Chili Bake!" :) Here's "my way:"

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of browned, ground beef
16 oz. macaroni noodles (cooked and drained)
1 tsp chili powder (you may want more!)
1/8 cup chopped onion flakes
1 4oz can diced green chilies
1 can Del Monte diced zesty chili tomatoes
1 can chili hot beans (do not drain)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can red beans (drained)
1 quart tomato juice (for thick chili-bake). 2 quarts for more soupy chili.

Assembly:
Brown the ground beef.
Cook the noodles.
Combine with chili powder and onion.
Add in green chilies, tomatoes, and all of the beans.
Pour in 1 quart tomato juice.
Add in a 2nd quart of tomato juice if you want this more "soupy"

Freeze in a 2.5 gallon freezer bag OR heat in large pot on the stove OR pour into a 9x13" pan and cook for 1/2 hour at 350F.

Top with cheddar cheese if you want!
Enjoy!
:) Mags