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, July 12, 2010

Hearty Hamburger Stew by Mel

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 1/4 c. chopped onions
2 c. carrots, sliced (uncooked)
1 c. chopped green pepper
3 stalks celery, diced
1 can green beans with juice
1 can corn with juice
1 c. sliced mushrooms (canned is fine)
1 46oz. can tomato juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef and drain. Mix beef and remaining ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve or cool and freeze.

Freezer instructions:
Thaw and reheat.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Marinated Pork Chops by Jackie

*This recipe is adapted from The Freezer Cooking Manual from the 30 Day Gourmet

Ingredients:
8 pork chops
2 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/3 c. Italian dressing

Assembly Day:
Place pork chops in gallon size Ziploc freezer bag. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl. Pour over pork chops. Seal and lay flat on cookie sheet to freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Grill pork chops until no longer pink inside. Discard marinade.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Chicken by Andrea

Ingredients:
chicken tenderloins
Bacon slices


Instructions:
Lay out tenderloins on 1/2 a slice of bacon. Roll up and skewer or use toothpicks to hold together. Freeze for later or grill to desired doneness.


Note: This was hard to determine servings for. I used @ 2 lbs of chicken per entree, which by serving size should feed @ 8. Please let me know if there was enough food so I can adjust if I make it again.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Coke-a-Cola Pot Roast (aka.Pepsi Pot Roast)

***This recipe was originally submitted by Susan Lape. I used Coke a Cola instead of Pepsi simply due to personal preference. Any regular or diet Coke/Pepsi/or generic Coke/Pepsi-type soda will work just fine.***

Ingredients:
(1) 2-3 lb. pot roast (I used 2.5 pound chuck roasts for each recipe)
(1) pkg. of dry onion soup/dip mix
(2) cans of 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
(16 oz.) of regular or diet Coke/Pepsi/generic cola equivalent

Assembly/Cooking/Freezing Directions:
Mix soup/dip mix, both cans of soup, and cola together in a large mixing bowl. Place roast in a slow cooker/crock pot and pour soup mixture over top. Cover and cook on high 6 hours till it is falling apart. Then cool completely and place roast and its gravy into freezer bag, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely and re-heat. Serve with mashed potatoes, veggies, and/or a salad. Or you can easily shred the beef for delicious sandwiches.
Enjoy.

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers by Jen

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
3 Tbsp. ranch Dressing, divided
4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
2 American cheese Singles, cut into quarters
4 hamburger buns

Heat grill to medium heat.

Mix meat and 2 Tbsp. dressing; shape into 8 thin patties. Combine remaining dressing and bacon. Spoon onto centers of 4 patties; top with Singles quarters and remaining patties. Pinch edges together to seal.

GRILL 7 to 9 min. on each side or until burgers are done (160°F).

Freezer Friendz:
I usually thaw then grill burgers 7 to 9 min. on each side or until burgers are done (160°F). If you do not defrost burgers, then adjust the cook time accordingly.

Note: I grilled our burgers and was very careful when I flipped them so the burger would not fall apart. Very good flavor!

Serve with buns, lettuce, tomato, etc.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Chicken Enchiladas by Amy (variation of Stephanie Cooksey's recipe)

Ingredients:
12-20 flour tortillas (fajita size)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 small can of green chilies, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 cups cooked chicken
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup picante or salsa
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Assembly:
Warm tortillas if necessary to be pliable. Blend shredded chicken, Monterrey Jack, chilies, onion, and chili powder. Fill tortillas and place seam side down in a lightly greased shallow glass casserole dish.

Mix together soup, salsa, and Cheddar cheese. Spoon over enchiladas. Cover with plastic wrap and foil. Freeze.

Freezer to Oven:
Thaw completely. Remove plastic wrap and foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (preheated). Cover with foil if top is getting too brown.

Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

Stir-fry cooking is the speedy method used to make this fresh Italian pasta dish. Bow tie pasta adds a kid-friendly touch, but feel free to substitute any favorite pasta shape.
- The Pampered Chef

Ingredients:
6 oz. uncooked bow tie pasta (about 3 cups)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (or 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained)
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" strips
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
1 ounce (1/4 cup) grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Assembly:
Cook pasta, drain and keep warm. Meanwhile dice tomatoes and chop onion. Slice zucchini. Cut bell pepper into thin strips and chicken crosswise into 1" strips.
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Press garlic into skillet. Add chicken, stir fry 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasoning mix and salt; stir fry 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; heat 1-2 minutes, stirring gently until heated through. Remove from heat.
Stir in warm pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pasta. Serve immediately.

To assemble to freeze:
Bag #1: Sandwich Bag - 3 cups pasta.
Bag #2: Sandwich Bag - Chicken, oil and garlic.
Bag #3: Quart Bag - Onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasoning mix, salt
Bag #4: Sandwich Bag - Tomatoes
Bag #5: Snack Bag - Parmesan Cheese
Place all bags in Gallon Size Ziploc Bag and freeze.

To Cook from Frozen:
Thaw all bags completely. Cook pasta in Bag #1, drain and keep warm. In skillet over Medium-High heat, cook contents of Bag #2 for 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add contents of Bag #3 to skillet and cook for 2 minutes on Medium heat. Add Bag #4 to skillet. Heat 1-2 minutes stirring gently until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in warm pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

Calories: 190 per serving

Yield: 6 servings

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Pizza Pasta Casserole by Mags

Original Recipe HERE.
*This recipe makes TWO 9x13" pans serving 12; cut recipe in half if you only want to serve 6.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 lb. ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 jars (28 oz) spaghetti sauce16 oz. whole wheat spiral pasta, cooked and drained
  • 4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 6 oz. sliced pepperoni


DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large skillet cook meat and onion until the meat is thoroughly browned. Drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce and noodles, stirring well.

  2. Divide mixture in half and put one half in each 9x13 pan. Top each with 2 cups cheese, then top with pepperoni.

  3. To bake one immediately, preheat oven at 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes or heated through. Serve.

  4. To freeze, cover and place in freezer.

  5. To thaw and cook, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 and bake 35-40 minutes, or until heated through. Serve!

Enjoy!
:) Mags