Meet The Freezer Friendz!

Looking for a way to simplify dinnertime in your home?
You've come to the right place!
Our freezer cooking recipes are sure to take the headache out of evening meal prep.
We invite you to leave comments after you try a recipe, as well.
We'd love to know what you think!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Fiesta Spaghetti by Susan

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz) spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef (I used 90%)
1/4 cup sugar
1 package (1 oz) Taco seasoning mix
1 can (28 oz) Crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 jar (4.5 oz) Sliced mushrooms, drained
Grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Assembly:
1. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove from skillet. Add beef to same skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

2. Add onion and bell pepper to beef; mix well. Stir in sugar, taco seasoning mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn and mushrooms. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When sauce is complete, allow it to cool and transfer to a Ziploc Freezer Bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw sauce and heat. While heating sauce, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Serve sauce over spaghetti and top with Parmesan Cheese.

This recipe is from : http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/sassy-fiesta-spaghetti

Rerun of Marinated Mustard Chicken Breasts by Jackie

I made these last year too. You can find the recipe here:
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/04/marinated-mustard-chicken-breasts-by.html Enjoy!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cannelloni Pie by Mags

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 pkg. Pierino frozen cannelloni (or equivelent)
  • 1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 bag shredded parmesan cheese
Assembly:
  1. Brown ground beef - Drain.
  2. In a bowl, mix ground beef, 1/2 the jar of spaghetti sauce, 1/2 a bag of mozarella cheese, and 1/2 a bag of parmesan cheese.
  3. Press mixture into bottom of greased 9x13" pan.
  4. Boil frozen cannelloni for 2 minutes.
  5. Lay cannelloni on top of mixture.
  6. Pour rest of spaghetti sauce on top of cannelloni.
  7. Spread rest of mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top too.
Same-Day Cooking:
  1. Bake in preheated 450 oven for 25-30 minutes.
  2. You'll want to cover it with foil so your cheese doesn't burn.
To Freeze and Eat Later:
  1. Cover tightly with foil (or plastic wrap and foil). Freeze.
  2. On Cooking Day, thaw and REMOVE the plastic wrap (if you used it).
  3. Follow "Same-Day" Cooking instructions above.
--> Alternate Idea: Use all of the spaghetti sauce for the "pie bottom," and then pour 1 jar of Alfredo sauce over the top with the rest of the cheese.

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Quick Lasagna by Mel

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 small onion
24-30 ounces tomato sauce (2 cans)
1 1/2 c. water
lasagna noodles
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs. cottage cheese
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese(sliced or shredded)

Assembly:
Put meat, spices and onion in skillet and cook on medium until meat is browned. Add tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently about 20 minutes.
Don't cook lasagna noodles. Assemble with uncooked noodles. (If eating on assembly day: While meat is cooking, cook noodles as directed on package. Drain.) In 9x13 pan, arrange layers starting with beef, noodles, Parmesan cheese and cottage cheese, lastly beef. Repeat layers. (I usually do 3 layers, using about 9 pieces of lasagna noodles)

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbling. Cover lasagna with mozzarella an bake 5 more minutes until melted.

Chicken Casserole by Mel

Ingredients:
4 c. cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 c. uncooked macaroni
2 c. milk
salt/pepper to taste

Assembly:
Mix as above. Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely and cook as directed. Bake in 9x13 pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Lipton Onion Burgers by Debbie

*Recipe taken from the Lipton Onion Soup package.*

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 envelope onion soup mix

Assembly:
Combine all of the above ingredients and mix well. Shape into 8 patties. You may freeze the patties at this point, or cook them.

Serving Day:
Thaw the burgers completely. Grill or broil until done. Enjoy!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Chicken Enchiladas by Missy

Ingredients:
8 flour tortillas
2 cups chopped/shredded cooked chicken
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk (from your soup can)
1 cup sour cream
1 small can diced green chilies

Assembly to Eat Same Day:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Split your wet ingredients in half.
Spoon 1/4 of the wet ingredients on the bottom of you baking dish. Fill the tortillas individually with 1/2 of the mixture. Spread the remaining 1/4 on top of the rolled and ready to bake tortillas. Bake @350 for 45 min. Enjoy!

Assembly for Freezing:
I combined the chicken, cheese, soup, milk, sour cream, and chilies and placed them in a freezer safe bag. I counted out the flour tortillas and placed them in a separate freezer safe bag. To keep everything together, I placed the wet ingredients bag inside the tortilla bag...all done!

Serving Day:
Thaw all ingredients, assemble as directed, and ENJOY!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Chicken Potato Bake (a variation of pork chop potato bake)-submitted by Tish

Ladies,
I apologize for my lack of creativity this month. It has been quite stressful the last two weeks for my family and I haven't really had time to put everything into Freezer Friendz this month. This is a variation of Pork Chop Potato Bake from the past. Check the archives for the specifics. The only difference is that I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of pork chops. I seasoned and breaded and browned them just the same. In the past, people have really enjoyed this recipe so I hope you like this too. I promise to be more creative next month.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Pork Chops Hawaiian by Susan

Ingredients:
6 bone-in pork chops
1 Tbsp oil
2 c. beef broth
1 can (15 1/2 oz) pineapple
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 ketchup
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
6 servings of rice

Assembly Day:
- In skillet brown pork chops on each side in oil (just to avoid sticking if needed).
-Pour off fat.
-Combine remaining ingredients - except cornstarch- in bowl, stir, and pour into skillet.
-Cover and Simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring now and then.
-Depending upon Minute Rice or White Rice cook so it is ready in 45 minutes.
-Mix water and cornstarch. Pour into skillet and stir until thickened.

To Serve Immediately: Serve pork chops with rice, we like the sauce over the rice as well.

To Freeze: Allow pork chops and sauce to cool. Place in freezer bag and store in freezer until ready to use. I chose to freeze the green peppers separately and add it to the mix when reheating.

Serving Day: Allow to thaw completely. Add green peppers. Stir and reheat. Serve with rice.

-If you don't like mushy green peppers I would suggest adding them during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake by Wendy

Ingredients:
Pasta Mixture:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 jar (16 oz.) white Alfredo Pasta Sauce
1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated cheese-filled regular or spinach tortellini
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Assembly Day:
1. Chop onion. Heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas, black pepper and basil.
2. Pour into gallon size Ziploc bag and freeze.
3. Melt butter in microwave 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese; mix well. Spoon into sandwich size freezer bag.

Serving Day: Thaw mixture and topping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spoon pasta mixture into 8x8 pan, sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per servings: Calories 550, Total Fat 24g, Saturated Fat 12g, Cholesterol 110mg, Carbohydrate 54g, Protein 28g, Sodium 1150mg, Fiber 4g.
Cooks Tips:
Alfredo sauce in a jar can be found in the pasta sauce section of the supermarket. Do not substitute refrigerated Alfredo sauce; it may separate and curdle during baking.
To quickly snip basil leaves, stack the leaves and roll them up into a tight cylinder. Using a knife, slice the roll crosswise into thin strips. Then cut them using scissors.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Crunchy Onion Pork Chops by Mags


Original Recipe found HERE.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups (2 oz.) FRENCH'S® Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions
  • 4 (1/2 inch thick) bone-in or boneless pork chops
  • 1 egg, beaten


PROCEDURE:

PLACE French Fried Onions into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin. Transfer to shallow dish.

DIP pork chops into beaten egg; then toss in crushed onions. Place pork chops into disposable foil pan.


TO EAT TODAY:

For GRILL COOKING, prepare grill for indirect cooking over medium-high heat (400°F). Cook pork chops in covered grill 20 to 25 min. or until no longer pink in center.

For OVEN COOKING, place on cookie sheet and cook at 400°F for 20-30 minutes (until done)


TO FREEZE & EAT LATER:
Slide coated pork chops into freezer bag and press out all air. Seal and freeze.
On serving day, thaw completely and follow cooking instructions above.


VARIATIONS:
This can also be done with chicken - and with either, you can add 2TBSP of flour to the crushed onions as part of your coating. Use the Cheddar French Fried Onions for a cheesy alternative.

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Monday, August 3, 2009

Easy Pizza Pasta Casserole by Jackie

From Once A Month Cooking
Ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef
½ large onion, chopped
½ clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. crushed Italian seasoning
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces sliced pepperoni

Assembly:
Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and seasoning in oil. Drain. Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 1 1/2 c. cheese. Place mixture in greased 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Top with pepperoni. Cover and freeze up to 3 months.

To cook now: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.

Serving Day: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until hot.

After making this meal, I kind of wish I would have mixed more pepperoni in throughout the casserole to add flavor throughout. Just a thought you may want to try.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Sausage and Egg Casserole by Debbie

Ingredients:
1 pound lean pork sausage
6 eggs, slightly beaten
6 slices of bread, cubed
1 cup grated cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried mustard
2 cups milk

Assembly:
Brown sausage and drain. Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Refrigerate at least 12 hours, or overnight. May also freeze at this point.

Serving Day:
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. If using from frozen, thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking.