Freezer Friendz: October 2013

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Cheesy Broccoli Soup by Jen

Ingredients
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
20 oz. frozen broccoli
3-4 cups of fine egg noodles
2 T butter 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
4 T Milk Salt & Pepper to taste

Assembly
Bring to boil chopped onions, water and chicken cubes. Add frozen broccoli bring back to boil. Add noodles. Cook until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Add butter, cheese, milk, salt/pepper Soup will thicken as it cools. If making this soup to freeze, let soup cool before putting in large Ziploc bags to go into your freezer. Fills a gallon Ziploc bag full. I would double bag the soup in the freezer.

Serving Day
Thaw, Heat and Serve.

Note: Made this recipe 1.5 times for 10-12 cups of soup serving 6 adults. If you go by the recipe it makes 6 small bowls. Kids ignore the broccoli because of the yummy noodles. :-)

Monday, October 14, 2013

BBQ Chicken Cordon Bleu by Beth

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
BBQ sauce of choice
12 slices of ham
6 slices of Swiss cheese

Assembly:
Put chicken breasts in gallon freezer bag; pour in BBQ sauce to cover. Lay flat in freezer.

Day of Serving:
Thaw chicken; dump contents of bag in greased 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr 15 min, or until chicken is done. Remove from oven; cover each piece of chicken with 2 slices of ham and then 1 slice of cheese. Return to oven, uncovered, and bake until cheese melts.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Beef & Noodles by Jackie

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef stew meat
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 bag egg noodles

Assembly:
In large bowl, mix the cans of soup together. Add meat and mix until well coated. Place gallon-size freezer Ziploc bag in large can. Pour into bag.

Freeze for 2 hours in can. (If you freeze longer than this, the bag may become stuck in the can. If this happens, it can be removed by running can under hot water.)

Remove from can and freeze solid.

Serving Day:
Remove contents from bag. May need to use hot water to help release bag. Place in slow cooker. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. If you prefer, you can thaw completely and then cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles.

Freezer Cooking Quick Tips

When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn. Using one layer of plastic wrap and a top layer of foil is best.

Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don't skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!

Meat in Freezer Meals: Thawed meat must be cooked before it can be refrozen. Frozen cooked meat can not be refrozen once thawed.

Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.

Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!

Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!

Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc...

Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it - it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1" above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).

1lb. raw ground beef=12 oz. cooked ground beef=2 - 2.5

Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags. **PBJ works too, if bread is a higher quality wheat bread.

Freezer Efficiency: If your freezer isn't full, fill empty milk jugs 3/4 full with water and place in freezer. This helps your freezer not have to work so hard to stay cold, saving you money.

Substitutions: Here is a great source for figuring out substitions for your recipes when you start making something and realize you are missing an ingredient: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Common-Substitutions/Detail.aspx

Meet The Freezer Friendz!