Freezer Friendz: June 2016

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Chicken Tortilla Rollups by Jackie

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chopped green chilies
2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
6-8 burrito size tortillas

Assembly:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except 1 cup cheese and tortillas.
Divide mixture evenly among 6-8 burrito tortillas.
Spread mixture down the center of the tortilla.
Roll up burritos and place seam side down in aluminum freezer pan.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
Cover with aluminum lid. If you don't have one of these, you can cover with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil.

Serving Day:
From Frozen: Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until warmed through.
From Thawed: Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through.

**Hint: You can also make this without the chilies. We just like the extra flavor they add to the dish.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken by Jen

Ingredients
1 bottle of Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing
3lbs chicken breasts

Assembly
Trim chicken. Place in gallon-size Ziploc freezer bag. Pour entire bottle of dressing over meat.

Serving Day
Thaw completely. Discard marinade. Grill or bake until cooked through. Enjoy!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Rerun: No Fuss Lasagna by Beth (originally Wendy's recipe)

Here is the link to the recipe.

The only things I changed was:
1) Add 1/2 large onion (chopped) to the ground beef while browning.
2) I did not get Zesty spaghetti sauce, so instead, I added 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and 1 1/2 tsp. of basil to the saucy beef mixture.

http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-fuss-lasagna.html

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!