Mexican Two Bean Chicken Chili by Wendy

Another delicious Pampered Chef Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Medium Zucchini, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8 3/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
1 jar (16 oz.) thick and chunky mild salsa
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1/2-2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, crushed corn or tortilla chips, sliced green onions and fresh cilantro leaves.

To Assemble to freeze: Chop zucchini. Drain and rinse beans. Drain corn. Add all to a gallon size Ziploc bag. Add chicken broth, salsa, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Freeze flat in freezer. I gave everyone a 2 cup bag of cheese, an 8oz. container sour cream and a 1 cup Ziploc bag of crushed tortilla chips. So there were 4 pcs. total for this recipe.

To Serve: Thaw bag completely. Pour into 4 Qt. Pan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Ladle chili into soup bowls. Top with desired toppings.

Yield: 6 servings (10 cups)

Freshly baked cornbread, cornbread sticks and soft flour tortillas are also nice accompaniments.

Pesto Chicken by Jen

Ingredients:
6 Frozen chicken breasts
1 jar of Classico Pesto
1 box whole wheat pasta

Place frozen chicken breasts in dish. Next spoon pesto over the top of each breast. Freeze until ready to bake. Thaw 24 hours in refrigerator and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes covered. Serve with pasta, risotto or garlic mashed potatoes.

Freezer Friendz:
Thaw 24 hours in refrigerator
Place entire bag of marinaded frozen chicken in 9x13 dish.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes covered.
Serve with whole wheat pasta.

Note: When I made this for our family, I cooked pasta then removed the chicken breasts on to another plate and mixed the pasta with the pesto sauce and served the chicken on top of pasta.

Grilled Honey Lime Chicken-submitted by Tish

**This is one of my favorite easy grilling dishes that I got from my cookbook entitled, "Don't Panic MORE Dinner's in the Freezer"-by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia.**

(original recipe yields 4 servings, so I followed the instructions for 24 servings and then just divided it up into 4 portions for each of our families)

I am giving you the directions for 8 servings, since most of you need at least 6 servings. I used dried cilantro this time since I forgot to buy fresh at the store. It works just fine, but I do like fresh cilantro the best if given the option.

Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of lime juice
1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped or 1 T. dried cilantro
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp. chopped jalapeno peppers

Assembly and Freezing Directions:
Mix all ingredients except chicken in a large bowl. Place chicken breasts in a large zip top bag and pour marinade over top. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Label and lay flat to freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely.Discard marinade. Grill over medium heat till chicken is tender and juices run clear.

**Delicious served as a whole chicken breast, but also is awesome when cut into strips and made into fajitas or a southwestern wrap with your favorite toppings!!**

Breakfast Sandwiches by Andrea

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat English Muffins
sausage patties, bacon slices, Canadian bacon slices
scrambled eggs
cheese slices

Preparation:

Open, butter and toast English muffin halves. Cook meat and cool. Mix eggs, season to taste and ladle 1/4c. into greased plastic snack cups. Microwave @ 2 min. each until cooked through. (I did 5 at a time because I had 5 cups.)

Assembly:
Layer breakfast meat, egg, and cheese on English muffin. (You each have 5 of each type of meat. The bag is labeled with which type it contains.) Top with remaining English muffin half. Wrap in foil. Freeze inside freezer bag.

Serving Day:
These can be cooked from frozen.
Option 1: Keep in foil and bake at 350 for about 20 min.
Option 2: Remove foil and wrap in a paper towel to heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes. (Maggie tried the defrost setting for 5 min, also.

Meatloaf by Amy Sauve

Ingredients:

2 pounds of ground beef (or other ground meat - could be a meatloaf mix)

1/2 cup of onion (minced)

3/4 cup of oats

2/3 cup of milk

1/4 cup of ketchup

1 egg

1 minced garlic clove

1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 of a bottle of chili sauce (approx. 6 ounces)

Preparation:

1. Mix the above ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Shape into a loaf and place in lightly greased loaf pan.

3. Wrap with saran wrap and then heavy duty foil.

4. Freeze.

Serving Day:

1. Thaw completely.

2. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.

3. Bake for 40 minutes at 325 degrees F., and remove from oven.

4. Spread chili sauce on top of loaf.

5. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

6. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Taco Mac by Jackie

*adapted from recipe from Cooking During Stolen Moments

Ingredients:
• 1 lb. ground beef (= 2 c. cooked meat, if cooking meat in bulk)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. cumin
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2 c. elbow macaroni
• 1 1/2 c. beef stock or broth
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes (= 2 c. if using Sam's size can)
• 2 c. frozen corn
• 1 c. shredded cheese

Assembly:
1. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Stir in seasonings.
2. Place in gallon Ziploc freezer bag.
3. Place broth, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes in bag with meat mixture.
4. Place corn in Ziploc sandwich bag.
5. Place uncooked noodles in Ziploc sandwich bag.
6. Place cheese in Ziploc sandwich bag.
7. Place corn, noodle and cheese bags into a 2nd gallon Ziploc freezer bag.
8. Lay both gallon bags flat in freezer.

Serving Day:
1. Thaw all bags, except corn completely.
2. Bring noodle and meat mixture bag contents to a boil in a skillet. Reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are cooked, about 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Stir in corn until heated through.
4. Top with cheese and serve.