Meet The Freezer Friendz!

Looking for a way to simplify dinnertime in your home?
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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!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Creamy Bow~Tie Pasta with Chicken by Missy

Ingredients:
3 cups (8 oz.) Farfalle (bow-tie pasta) uncooked
4 cups broccoli florets
3 Tbs. Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp. minced garlic ( I bought it in the tiny jar.)
2 cups tomato-basil spaghetti sauce
4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese

Assembly:
Boil pasta and broccoli about 5 minutes. Drain completely and transfer to freezer bag. Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Turn chicken over, continue cooking 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add pasta sauce and cream cheese to chicken in skillet; cook on medium-low heat 2-3 minutes or until cream cheese is completely melted, mixture is well blended and chicken is coated with sauce, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to a separate freezer bag. Freeze both.

I experimented with cooking the chicken. I cooked 1/2 like the recipe and the other 1/2 I placed in the crock pot (already cut in half) with the measured amount of dressing/garlic per meal. I removed the c.breasts as soon as they were cooked through. I placed 6 pieces of chicken in the freezer bag and added the sauce, 1cup of broth (created in the crock pot)and cream cheese into the bag and placed into freezer. All of the breasts looked the same after cooking. The crock pot chicken did cook in a folded and goofy position.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Throw pasta and broccoli into hot water to heat back up. Taste for desired tenderness. Reheat sauce and chicken in a non-stick skillet. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add sauce to pasta, mix well. Transfer to bowls. Cut chicken crosswise into thick slices; fan out chicken over pasta mixture in each bowl. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Shredded Salsa Beef over Rice by Jackie

**Recipe adapted from Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer

Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 lbs beef chuck roast
1 Tblsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1 c. chunky salsa
2 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 Tblsp. soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2-1 c. water

Assembly:

Place oil in skillet and brown beef on all sides. Place beef in crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and enough water to barely cover roast. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours until beef is tender. Remove and shred, using 2 forks to pull apart. Return meat to crockpot and stir to combine meat and liquid. Cool. Freeze flat in Ziploc Gallon-size freezer bag. Freeze enough rice for 6 servings in Ziploc quart-size freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Reheat slowly in pan. Serve over cooked rice (see directions below).

Directions for cooking rice on stove top: Pour contents of rice bag into pan with 3 1/3c. water. Add butter and salt if desired. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes.

Directions for cooking rice in microwave: Pour contents of rice bag into microwave safe container with 3 1/3c. water. Add butter and salt if desired. Stir and cover. Cook on MEDIUM (50%) power for 20-25 minutes. Remove from microwave and let stand for 5 minutes.

Optional:
Serve as a filling for tacos, burritos, chalupas. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Chorizo & Black Bean Chili by Andrea

Ingredients:
  • 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, browned
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
  • 3 (14-ounce) cans diced
  • 1 (8 1/2-ounce) can corn, drained
  • 1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation:

Remove 2 chiles from can; finely chop. (I have put these into a separate bag so you can decide how hot you want your chili.)
Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chiles, 1 3/4 cups onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients (chili powder through corn), stirring to combine. At this point it can be bagged to freeze.

From Frozen:

Defrost and add as much chipotle chilies (from baggie #2) as your family would enjoy.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat;  stir in chocolate (from baggie #3).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  This is good topped with sour cream.





    Monday, October 4, 2010

    Beef Vegetable Soup with Potatoes by Amy

    Ingredients:
    1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
    2 - 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
    2 carrots, sliced or cubed
    2 onions, sliced or cubed
    2 potatoes, diced
    1-2 garlic cloves, minced
    12 oz. can V-8 vegetable juice (or more)
    1 1/2 - 2 cups sliced celery
    2 tsp. beef stock concentrate or 2 beef bouillon cubes
    2-3 cups vegetables (frozen)

    Assembly:
    1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
    2. Cover. Cook on Low 12 hours or High 4-6 hours.

    *If you want to freeze, cook in slow cooker after soup is thawed.

    Cooking Day:
    1. Thaw completely.
    2. Pour into slow cooker. Cook on Low 12 hours or High 4-6 hours.

    Chicken Mozzarella Roll-Ups by Wendy

    Found this at Ziploc.com
    Ingredients:
    6 small (4 oz. each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    4 pcs roasted red peppers (available in jars), about 2" x 5", ribs and membrane trimmed, patted dry (I substituted 1 orange pepper, cooked to softened, in the microwave and cut into strips.
    2 cups canned, plain tomato sauce, divided
    18 large, fresh basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
    6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, (I substituted Italian cheese mix)

    Assembly:
    1. Place chicken breast on a cutting board and pound thin until 1/4" thick, with rolling pin, meat tenderizer or the bottom of a heavy skillet, being careful not to tear meat, until it is the shape of a 4" x 8" rectangle.

    2. With long 8" side edge toward you, layer each piece with 3 basil leaves, 1 piece of roasted red pepper (or my 2 slices of orange peppers), and 2 tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella (reserve remaining mozzarella for later). Roll one long edge towards other long edge to enclose fillings - like a wrap - making sure the edges overlap slightly. Fold in the loose ends and secure with toothpicks on each side.

    3. Pour 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9 x 12 baking dish that's at least 2 inches deep, and distribute sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Sprinkle with Oregano or Italian Seasoning for a little more flavor.

    4. Place the rolled chicken breasts, seam side down, in the baking dish. Top each roll with the remaining 1 cup tomato sauce (about 2 Tablespoons each).

    5. Sprinkle the remaining 6 Tablespoons of shredded mozzarella (1Tablespoon each) over the top of each chicken roll. Cover with plastic wrap and foil, then place in freezer.

    To Serve: Thaw completely. Remove plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake 375 degrees for 30 minutes then uncover and bake until cheese melts and browns on top.

    3 Cheese Lasagna by Andrea

    This is a repeated recipe.
    I did update the directions to recommend keeping this covered while cooking. You may remove foil in the last few minutes to brown the top, if you wish.

    Apricot Glazed Pork Roast by Mel

    Ingredients:
    1 can chicken broth
    1 jar Apricot preserves
    1 large onion, chopped
    2 tsp. Dijon mustard
    4 lb. boneless pork loin roast (I like to slice it first)

    Directions:
    Mix broth, preserves, onion, and mustard in 31/2 quart crock pot. Add pork. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

    Sauce:
    Mix 2 Tbsp. water and 2 Tbsp. cornstarch until smooth. Remove pork from cooker. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth. Cover and cook on high for 10 minutes, or until boils and thickens.

    Freezer Instructions:
    Defrost completely. Reheat and serve.

    Notes:
    A 4 pound roast will serve 12-14 people. I used 2 pounds per family.