Niven Chili by Jake

Ingredients:
½ lb bacon
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
½ tbs brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cans beans (I use several different kinds, pinto, black, kidney rinsed)
add 1 can of water
 
Assembly:
1.    Turn stove top on med-med high.
2.    Put bacon in the pot to start to cook, once browned add minced onions until translucent. Add garlic once onions are soft.

     a.    Mix in the spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic salt)

                    i.    Throw in brown sugar and allow all of the spices to cook in for about 1 min.

     b.    Put the tomatoes and tomato paste in. Let simmer.

                   i.    Add water until you like the consistency of the chili.

3.    In a skillet, brown the beef and drain the fat.

      a.    Pour into the chili

4.    Stir in the rinsed beans of your choice.

5.    Let simmer for on low for an hour or more.

6.    Cool completely. 

7.    Pour 12 cups of chili into one Ziploc freezer bag.  Lay flat and freeze. 

 

Serving Day:

Thaw completely.  Reheat and serve.

 

 

Chicken Margherita Pasta by Amy

(Adapted from Once a Month Cooking recipe which can be found here: http://onceamonthmeals.com/better-than-the-freezer-aisle-chicken-margherita/)

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of cubed or shredded cook chicken
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons of dried basil
1 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced
16 oz. bag of penne pasta
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Assembly:
1.  Toss first five ingredients and put chicken mixture in freezer bag - freeze.


Serving Day:
1.  Thaw bag of "chicken" mixture.
2.  Cook pasta. (Friendz: Our pasta came al dente, so no need to cook.)
3.  Toss chicken mixture, pasta, and cheese.
4.  Place in casserole dish, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Macaroni & Cheese by Beth

Ingredients:
16 oz. shell macaroni, cooked and drained
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
5 c. milk
16 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed

Assembly:
Make sauce while macaroni is cooking.  Melt butter in large saucepan.  Combine flour and seasonings in separate bowl.  Add to melted butter (over medium/high heat) and whisk until smooth and bubbly.  Gradually add milk, whisking constantly.  While stirring, add cheese-one cube at a time.  Continue to stir until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened, remove from heat.  Dump cooked and drained macaroni in greased 9x13 pan.  Pour sauce on top.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Cool, cover, and freeze.
 
Serving Day:
Thaw completely in fridge.  Bake at 375 for approximately 40-45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.  Enjoy!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meat Loaf By Jen

For complete recipe, visit: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/bacon-cheeseburger-meat-loaf/8ccf1469-2b5f-4e73-a8c7-fc30d7d78bd1   (5 star rating)

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.  Bake uncovered for 1-1 1/4 hours or until meat temperature is 160 degrees.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Cut into slices.  Serve with your favorite burger toppings: mayo, relish, ketchup, mustard, etc.  Enjoy!

 

 

Tuscan Style Chicken by Jackie

*adapted from original recipe by Once A Month Mom http://onceamonthmom.com/hellmanns-tuscan-glazed-chicken/

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. diced roasted red peppers

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Assembly:
Trim all fat from chicken breasts.  Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4" thickness.

You can do this two different ways:  1.  Lay a large piece of Glad Press 'n Seal on the counter.    Place 4 breasts on top.  Cover with another piece of Press 'n Seal.  Seal well around the edges.  2.  Place 3 breasts into a Ziploc freezer bag.  Seal. 

 Pound meat with a meat tenderizer.  (I'm sure you can tell - Mine is over 20 years old!)  Move chicken to a tray lined with waxed paper or plastic wrap.  I ran out, so I had to use foil.  Foil works, is not ideal for later steps, as the chicken sometimes freezes to the foil.

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Spread evenly on top of all 6 chicken breasts. 

Place tray in the freezer and flash freeze the chicken.  This means, leave chicken in freezer until each piece is individually frozen.  This usually takes 3-4 hours.  Place frozen chicken breasts in a gallon size Ziploc freezer bag.  Label and freeze.

 

Serving Day:

Option 1:  Take out the number of chicken breasts that you would like to cook.  Place them in a baking dish.  If any of the topping is stuck to bag, try to add it to the top of the chicken breasts.  Thaw completely.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Option 2:  Cook from frozen.  Bake on 425 for 45 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees.