Boneless Pork Loin Roast with Herbed Pepper Rub by Jackie

Adapted original recipe from Pork: The Other White Meat

Ingredients:
1 (3lb.) boneless pork loin roast

Herbed Pepper Rub:
1 1/2 Tbsp. cracked black pepper (original recipe called for 2 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Assembly:
Pat pork dry with paper towel. In small bowl, combine all rub ingredients well and apply to all surfaces of the pork roast. Place in Ziploc freezer bags. Lay flat in freezer.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Place roast in a shallow pan and roast in a 350 degrees F. oven for 1-1 1/4 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.

Freezer Cooking Tips/Ideas From Our Readers

Hello Readers,

We've really enjoyed sharing what we know about freezer cooking with you. Now it's your turn to share. We'd love to hear some of your favorite tips/ideas/recipes that we may not have heard of before. Just for fun, how about you post a comment and teach us a thing or two. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!
Your Freezer Friendz

Mexican Dinner Dip Remix by Mags

Mexican Dinner Dip - by Mags

This was originally posted in June 2008, but is so far back in the archives, I thought I'd just repost it instead of linking.

This works well as a dinner or as an appetizer for a party!

Ingredients:

• Deep square aluminum pan OR deep round Corning Wear dish OR shallow 9x13 pan.
  
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 bag shredded cheddar
• 1 can refried beans
• 8-10 oz. of your favorite salsa
  
• sour cream
• large bag of your favorite taco chips (I like "Scoops!")
  
• Optional: chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce
• Optional: substitute taco shells for the taco chips

Procedure:

1. I used a deep square pan for a thicker dip. You can also use a 9x13" pan for a shallow dip -- either works fine!
2. Grease your pan!
3. Spread out the refried beans to be the bottom layer.
4. Brown and drain the ground beef. Add in taco seasoning and water according to taco pkg. directions.
5. Spread out the ground beef on top of your refried beans.
6. Spread the salsa out on top of the ground beef.
   
7. Spread out whole bag of cheddar cheese on top of beef.

To Bake Immediately: Bake at 350 for 10 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Then bake for 10 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted.

To Freeze for later: Cover with a couple layers of plastic wrap and foil, and freeze. On cooking day, thaw first, (remove any plastic wrap!), then bake at 350: 10 minutes covered with foil and 10 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted.

Add globs of sour cream on top of dip - or you can have people add this to their own plates. Scoop out big spoonfuls of the meal (be sure to get all of the layers!), and use your taco chips to dip!

You can also add chopped tomatoes, onions, or shredded lettuce to make taco salads. You could scoop up the mixture into taco shells for a fancy taco as well!

This is one of my favorites from growing up - my younger brother was in to cooking in junior high - this was his recipe! Enjoy!

Taco Soup-Submitted by Tish

**This is a good one to save for a crisp Fall or cold winter day!! I used mild reduced sodium taco seasoning, because I was afraid to make it too spicy for the others in the group. My family and I like all things spicy, so we spice ours up more:)**

This recipe is out of the first volume of "Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer", bu Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell and Bonnie Garcia.

Original Recipe yields 4-5 servings (so I increased it by 1 1/2 times)

Ingredients:
1 1/5 pounds of ground beef (I used 85% lean)
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 pkgs. of mild (or choose the spice-level you like) taco seasoning- I used mild reduced sodium type.
2 Tablespoons of Tastefully Simple Garlic-Garlic- or you can use garlic powder to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 (15oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 (15 oz) cans of whole kernel corn
1 1/2 (15 oz) cans of kidney or red beans (you could also use navy beans and/or black beans)
1 (15oz.) can of water

1 small bag of Frito corn chips, shredded cheese, jalapenos, sour cream, and/or hot sauce- if desired as toppings on serving day.

Cooking Instructions:
Place chopped onions and beef in large skillet. Top with garlic-garlic seasoning or garlic powder, taco seasoning, and black pepper. Cook till meat is completely done. Drain well and set aside.
In a gallon size Zip lock Freezer bag, add all canned items (UNDRAINED) and the one can of water. Add drained beef/onion mixture and seal, removing as much air as possible. Also, gently knead bag to mix all ingredients. Lay flat on cookie sheet to freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Then pour into a large saucepan/stock pot/crock pot and simmer for 30minutes-1 hour till hot and bubbly.
Top with Frito Corn chips, shredded cheese, jalapenos/hot sauce, and/or sour cream if desired.

I love serving this with corn muffins and a salad too!
Hope you all enjoy it and remember to spice it up more if you are like us and like your food hot and spicy!

Ground Beef Stroganoff Casserole by Wendy

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Medium noodles, cooked
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lb. hamburger
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon. black pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup diced mushrooms-fresh or canned-drained
1 (10oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 cup sour cream
parsley to garnish

Assembly:
In skillet heat hamburger and onion until no longer pink. Drain grease from pan. Add flour, salt, black pepper, garlic, paprika, mushrooms, soup and can of water. Mix well and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat stir in 1 cup sour cream.

To Cook day of:
In a 2 quart casserole dish put in noodles and top with beef mixtures. Garnish with parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

To freeze:
Pour noodles in a square foil pan. Top with beef mixture. Garnish with parsley. Freeze.

To Serve:
Thaw completely and uncover. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings.

Rerun Mustard Marinated Chicken Breasts by Jackie

Please follow this link to the recipe and leave your comments there.
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/04/marinated-mustard-chicken-breasts-by.html

Thanks! :)

Fast Fancy Chicken by Amy Sauve

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup

1 stick melted butter

6 slices Swiss cheese (or 1 pkg. of shredded)

1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup white whine

2 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb stuffing mix

Preparation:

1. Place chicken in greased 9x13 baking dish

2. Top each piece with a slice of cheese or cover with shredded cheese.

3. Lay mushrooms on top of cheese.

4. Mix soup and wine - pour on chicken.

5. Spread stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter.

6. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch for browning of stuffing - cover with foil.

Serving Day:

1. Thaw dish completely.

2. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch for browning of stuffing - cover with foil.

French Dip Sandwiches by Andrea

Ingredients:

1 1/2- 2 lb. chuck roast

1 can French onion soup

1 can beef consomme

1/2 can beer (can substitute beef broth)

Slices Provolone cheese

Sub rolls or French bread, cut to sandwich size

Cooking day Directions: Pour all liquid ingredients over meat in a crock pot. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove and let cool if freezing.

Eating day Directions: Defrost and shred meat. Open French bread and top with meat and cheese. Reheat juices to use as au jus. Broil open face sandwiches on cookie sheet until cheese is melted and sandwich is heated.