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, March 9, 2015

Freezer to Table ~Creamy Cheesy Chicken with Noodles~

Ingredients:
3 lbs (5-6 pieces) of chicken breast
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cheesy soup
1 stick of butter
4 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups of water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbs dried minced onion
1 bag of egg noodles (place in crock pot 30 minutes before you serve)

Assembly:
Place chicken in the freezer bag, cut up the stick of butter, empty a can of cream of chicken and cheesy condensed soup. Dissolve 4 chicken bouillon cubes with 4 cups of water and add to the Ziploc freezer bag.

Add your spices and seal the bag.

Serving Day:
Empty items into the crock pot set on low and come back 6.5-7 hours later. Stir in a bag of egg noodles for the last 30 minutes then grab a plate and enjoy!


Saturday, March 7, 2015

Sweet and Sour Meatballs by Amy

Ingredients:
MEATBALLS
2 1/2 lbs. hamburger
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk (I used whole milk.)
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
6 crushed garlic cloves
2 small onions, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
3 teaspoons salt

SWEET and SOUR SAUCE
1 can pineapple chunks {20 oz.}
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large pepper (green, red, yellow or orange)



 
Assembly for Meatballs:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs {makes about 30}. Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool. Place in Ziploc freezer bags.

Assembly for Sweet and Sour Sauce:
Combine the water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch in a bowl.  Pour mixture into a quart size Ziploc bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Drain pineapple, save juice and set pineapple aside. Measure 1 cup of pineapple juice {add water to reach a cup if the can doesn’t yield enough} and pour into a large skillet. Add thawed sauce mixture. Stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add the pineapple, meatballs and green pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until meatballs are hot. Serve with rice.  I use long grain rice.  I put 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water in a pan and bring to a boil.  Cover, put lid on pan, reduce heat to LOW, cook for 20 minutes.

Overstuffed Mexican Peppers by Jackie

Ingredients:
3 large or 4 regular size bell peppers
1/2 c.  quinoa, uncooked
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. water
1 (15oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies
1/2 c. cilantro, minced
3/4 c. picante sauce
1 1/2 c. grated Mexican cheese (Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla & Asadero combo), divided
1 (15 oz.) can mild, red enchilada sauce

Assembly:
Add quinoa, 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt to small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil 5 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Cover and let steam for 15 minutes.  Fluff with a fork. 

Brown beef and onion in skillet.  Drain fat and return meat to skillet.  Add seasonings and water.  Cook for 5 minutes. 

Add quinoa, beans, chilies, cilantro, picante sauce and 1 cup cheese.  Mix well. 

Pour enchilada sauce into aluminum freezer pan. 

Cut peppers in half.  Place in baking dish.  Divide filling equally into each pepper.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. cheese.  Cover.  Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.  Bake covered for 25-30 minutes on 375 degrees.  Remove foil.  Bake another 5 minutes. 

*If you prefer spicy, top peppers with enchilada sauce from the bottom of the baking dish.  If you like things more mild, I recommend not putting the sauce on the peppers. 

Thai Chicken Calzones by Beth

Adapted from
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/grands-thai-chicken-calzones/3de466bc-bbe2-4eb4-a1d9-c322887992ae?src=SH

(I made this recipe 1 1/2 times for our group to produce 12 calzones)

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked chicken, finely chopped
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix
1/2 c. red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 c. Thai peanut sauce
3 green onion, chopped
2 T. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits (8 biscuits)

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375.  In medium bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients.  Flatten each biscuit into a 6 inch circle.  Divide filling evenly onto each biscuit (about 1/3 c.).  Spread filling to cover half of biscuit to within 1/4 inch of the edge.  Fold other half over the filling; pinch edges firmly to seal.  Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.  Do not bake completely, remove from oven just before calzones begin to golden.  Allow to completely cool and place in single layer in freezer bag.  Six calzones fit in one gallon size freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Preheat oven to 350.  Place desired number of frozen calzones onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 20-25 min, turn calzones and bake another 5 min, or until golden.

**Caution, this has a bit of a kick (even without the cilantro and with non-spicy peanut sauce).**
This is the peanut sauce I used.  I have made it before with a different brand and they weren't as spicy (however, I don't remember the name of that brand).

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Corned Beef in the Crockpot by Jen

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! 
Ingredients:
6 carrots, cut into chunks (or bag of baby carrots)
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
12 oz. bottle beer (Guinness)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water

Assembly:

Combine all ingredients in a gallon Ziploc bag. Freeze until ready to cook.

Thaw entire bag. Dump contents in Crockpot, cover and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours.

Remove corned beef from Crockpot and cover with foil until ready to serve.

To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side; I myself prefer honey mustard.

If you have a newer, hotter cooking Crockpot you might want to check it after 8 or 9 hours. Although, with this much liquid, there shouldn't be much problem with anything burning.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Melt in your Mouth ~Cube Steak & Gravy~

*Freezer to Table*

Ingredients:
Family Pack of Cube Steak (6) 
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom 
1 Pack of Onion Soup Mix 
3/4-1 cup of water 

Assembly:

Place cube steak in crockpot and cover with cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix and 3/4 cup of water. 

Serving Day:

Place bag of contents straight from the freezer into the crockpot   on low for 6-8 hours. 

Serve with a side of mashed potatoes or green beans