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!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Southwest Chipotle Pork Roast by Jackie

Ingredients:
1 4-pound boneless pork loin roast
Tones Southwest Chipotle Seasoning (I buy this in a big bottle at Sam's Club.)

Assembly:
Pat pork dry with paper towel. Rub seasoning onto all surfaces of the pork roast. Place in Ziploc freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely (this will take at least 24 hours).

Option 1: Place roast in slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. This is my preferred method because the meat comes out so tender. Don't be intimidated by not adding any liquid. The meat and condensation provide plenty of liquid.

Option 2: Place roast in a shallow pan and roast in a 350 degrees F. oven for about 1.5 hours (18-20 minutes per pound), until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 150 degrees F. Remove roast from oven; let rest until temperature reaches 160 degrees F., about 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

***Important*** Do not baste the meat with the juice unless you want it VERY spicy. The juice is HOT!

Note:
This made a TON of meat! I shredded the leftovers to use as taco meat in another meal.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

3 Cheese Lasagna by Andrea

Ingredients:
8 oz. lasagna noodles
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 T. butter
1 can cream of chicken
1/3 c. milk
1 6oz. can mushrooms, drained
1/4 c. pimento, chopped
1/2 t. basil
1 1/2 c. cottage cheese, creamed
3 c. shredded chicken
2 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Assembly:
Saute onion and pepper in butter. Stir in soup, milk, mushrooms, pimentos, and basil.

Layer noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, chicken, cheddar. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or cover with foil and freeze.

Serving day:
Defrost and bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Quick Sweet and Sour Pork by Wendy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork loin
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium green and/or red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges (I only used 1/4 of an onion)
1 - 15 1/4 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or regular vinegar)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Hot cooked rice

To make and eat same day:
Partially freeze pork. Cut across the grain into 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 inch strips; set aside. Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Stir-fry pepper and onion in hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Add more oil, if necessary. Add pork; stir-fry until browned. Keep warm.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a small saucepan, combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Return peppers and onion to wok. Stir in pineapple and thickened pineapple juice mixture. Cook and stir until heated through. Serve with rice, if desired.

To freeze and eat later:
Cut across the grain into 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 inch strips; set aside. Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Add pork; stir-fry until browned. Let cool and place in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a quart size Ziploc bag, add cut peppers and onions and pineapple chunks. No need to cook. Place bag in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

In a small saucepan, combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Let cool and pour into Ziploc sandwich bag. Place bag in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

To eat from frozen:
Thaw all bags completely. Combine all bags in skillet or wok and heat until warmed. Serve over rice.

Serves 6.

For other dishes that cook in less than 30 minutes, visit TheOtherWhiteMeat.com/PorkRecipes .

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Pasta by Debbie

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
Italian dressing
1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 recipe Pesto (see recipe below)

Pesto
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup firmly packed parsley springs with stems removed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds
1 large clove garlic, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/4 cup milk

Assembly:
Combine the chicken breasts and Italian dressing. Let this marinate for several hours, or freeze at this point.

To prepare the pesto, combine all ingredients, except the oil and milk, in a food processor or blender. Cover and process until a paste forms. Gradually add the oil and process until the consistency is like soft butter. Transfer the pesto to a mixing dish and whisk in about a quarter cup of milk. Cover and set aside, or freeze at this point.

Serving Day:
Thaw chicken breasts and pesto in the refrigerator. Leave the pesto covered until you are ready to use it, or lightly coat it with olive oil (this keeps the pesto from turning brown).

Grill the chicken breasts (or bake in the oven).

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is done, drain and return to the cooking pot. Add the pesto directly to the pasta and stir until the pasta is completely coated. When the chicken is cooked, slice the breasts into strips and place on top of the pasta.

Note: When making my pesto, I use Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and olive oil. The pesto recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book. Our family LOVES pesto - I hope your family enjoys it too!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Meatloaf by Andrea

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce (divided)
1 c. Ritz crackers, crushed
1 egg
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 c. water
2T. each brown sugar, vinegar, & yellow mustard

Assembly:
Mix meat and onion with 4 oz. tomato sauce, bread crumbs, egg, S&P. Form in loaf shape and place in greased loaf pan. For sauce, mix remaining 4 oz. tomato sauce with remaining ingredients. Mix well with whisk or fork. Pour over meatloaf. (Can be frozen here.) Bake uncovered at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours.

To prepare frozen:
Defrost both meatloaf and sauce. Remove loaf from alum. pan and place in a larger loaf pan. Pour sauce over top and bake uncovered 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Breaded Ranch Chicken (resubmitted by Mel)

See earlier post by Debbie for recipe:
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/search?q=Breaded+Ranch+Chicken

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups by Jen

This was a repeat from May 2008. Hope you enjoy again!

Here is the link for the recipe: http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicken-lasagna-roll-ups-by-jen.html

Basic instructions:
Thaw, Preheat to 375 and Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Cheesy Salsa Chicken & Pasta by Katie

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. mini penne pasta
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 jar Thick & Chunky Salsa-we use med/hot, but I made this with mild for the faint of heart :)
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 large green pepper , cut into short strips
1 c. Mexican style shredded cheese

Assembly:
Cook pasta as directed on package. (If freezing, only cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain and freeze in Ziploc freezer bag.)
Heat nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on med-high heat. Cook chicken. Stir in salsa, corn and pepper. (If freezing, spoon into Ziploc freezer bag.) Freeze. If not freezing, follow directions below.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Bring chicken mixture to a boil. Simmer on med-low heat 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Drain pasta. (or warm up frozen pasta) Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from heat; cover. Let stand 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!