Freezer Friendz: July 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Turkey Ravioli Lasagna by Beth

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/turkey-ravioli-lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. grated carrots
1 c. chopped fresh mushrooms
1 T. olive oil
28 oz. spaghetti sauce
25 oz. frozen cheese ravioli
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
Assembly:
In skillet, brown turkey; drain and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. In saucepan, cook carrots and mushrooms in oil until tender; remove from heat and stir in spaghetti sauce. In greased 9x13 foil pan, spread 1/2 c. of sauce mixture. Layer half of the frozen ravioli (no need to cook first if freezing), half the turkey, and half the cheeses. Repeat layers. Cover with foil lid and freeze.
Serving Day:
Thaw in fridge. Bake, covered, at 375 for 40-45 min or until bubbly and heated through. Remove lid and bake another 10 min or until golden. Let stand 15 min before serving.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Get Out of the Kitchen and Enjoy Your Summer!

Summer is in full swing! We love to use our grill in the summer for quick, easy dinners. How about you? One of the ways that I have found helpful for keeping me in the fun with my kids and out of the kitchen, is flash marinating. See our instructions below for this super easy, very tasty way to make some flavorful meat for the grill.

Flash Marinade

Mix marinade in small bowl or open a bottle of your favorite pre-made marinade.
Place raw chicken or beef in a freezer Ziploc bag.
Pour in your marinade.
Lay bag flat and freeze.
Thaw overnight when you are ready to use the meat.

In the freezing and thawing processes, your meat will be infused with the marinade and will be tenderized at the same time. You are now ready to cook!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef by: Jen

*adapted from Recipes.com

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef rib steak
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 bottle (12 fluid ounces) dark ale or beer
Hot mashed potatoes or egg noodles

Note: Add 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed if desired.

Assembly:
Place the beef into a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the brown sugar, garlic, thyme and flour and toss to coat. Stir the soup and ale in a small bowl. Pour over the beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours OR on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.-- until the beef is fork-tender. Serve with the mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours Or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. or until the beef is fork-tender. Serve with the mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Italian Subs by Beth

Ingredients:

6 sub buns, split horizontally
12 slices provolone cheese
red onion, thinly sliced
tomato, sliced (I used Roma because they are
smaller and fit better on the buns)
6 slice salami, cut in half
18 slices deli ham
1 T. olive oil
2 t. apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 t. dried basil
1/8 t. pepper
Assembly:
Open the buns and on the bottom bun layer one slice of cheese (cut in half to fit), onion, tomato, 1 slice of salami (cut in half to fit), 3 slices of ham, and another slice of cheese (cut in half to fit). Combine remaining ingredients and drizzle over top layer of cheese. Cover with top bun and place 3 subs in gallon size freezer bag (you will need 2 bags). Freeze.
Serving Day:
Thaw subs in fridge. Place subs on cookie sheet, removing top bun. Broil for 3-5 min. or until cheese is melted (this may take longer as the entire sub is cold). Replace top bun and return to oven just until top bun gets lightly toasted. **This meal can probably be cooked from frozen, I'm just not sure how long to tell you to bake it. If you decide to do it this way, please comment with instructions**

Cilantro Lime Chicken by Jackie (Rerun)

I love the versatility of this meal! You can eat this on rice, in regular taco shells or on tortilla chips. This time, I've included tortillas for you. Just shred the meat at the end of the cooking time and serve on the tortillas. Enjoy!

For cooking directions, see original recipe at this link: http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/search?q=cilantro+lime+chicken

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!