Spicy Sausage and Pepper Stew by Missy

from Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 9 servings, 1 cup stew and 5 crackers each

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) reduced fat hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I found it much easier to open the sausage up and brown is like hamburger.)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 can (14 oz.) reduced sodium beef broth
2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15-1/2 oz. each) kidney beans, drained, rinsed

Assembly:
COOK sausage, pepper and celery in large saucepan on medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently; drain.
ADD flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes with their liquid and beans.

Freezing Instructions:
I made this meal as directed and froze it in 1 gallon sized Ziploc Freezer bags...doesn't get much easier than that!! If you're preparing this meal in large #'s that you will divide, I recommend cooking your meat, pepper, celery, flour mixture (for all your meals) and measuring it out in 2 1/2 cup servings per freezer bag, then dumping your canned ingredients into each bag separately. I find that much easier than making the meal separately over and over again.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crackers.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Substitute
Prepare as directed, using your favorite variety of canned beans.
Serve with crackers or bread.
Cooking Know-How
The secret to a quick-cooking stew is having all your ingredients cut small enough to cook quickly. If you have trouble cutting the sausage into 1/2-inch slices, just remove it from the casing and break it up as you brown it. Be sure to drain the excess fat after browning.

Taco--Filled Pasta Shells by Debbie

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
12 jumbo pasta shells
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup taco sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Assembly:
Cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir for 5 - 10 minutes or until melted. Transfer to a bowl and chill for 1 hour.

Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture. To use on the same day, spoon taco sauce and salsa into the bottom of a 9 inch greased baking dish. Place the shells on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheeses, and bake 15 minutes more or until heated through.

Freezing Instructions:
Place filled shells in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

Serving Day:
Thaw shells in the refrigerator for 24 hours (shells will be partially frozen). Spoon salsa and taco sauce into a greased 9 inch square baking dish and top with the shells. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with combined cheeses, and bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. You can serve with sour cream and chopped onions.

Recipe taken from Taste of Home Freezer Meals.

Pepsi Pot Roast by Susan

Ingredients:
3 lb Pot roast
2 - 10 3/4 oz ccans fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 - 16 oz. bottles of diet cola (I used Diet Coke)

Assembly Day:
1. Place meat in slow cooker.
2. In large bowl mix together mushroom soup, dry onion soup, and cola. Pour over roast in cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on high 6 hours.
4. Allow to cool. Divide between 2 gallon Ziploc freezer bags.
5. Freeze

Serving Day:
1. Thaw completely
2. Reheat
3. Serve

From Fix it and Forget it Lightly

Chicken and Rice Casserole by Wendy

This recipe comes from my Amish Cookbook. It originally called for 1 qt. green beans, undrained, but I didn't have any canned green beans. (Sorry, not enough time to do that). So I cut down on the green beans and added more water.

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1 small onion, chopped
1 can green beans, undrained
1 (10 oz.) can mushroom soup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1-3/4 cup water
1 carrot, grated
2 tsp. chicken bouillon (or 2 bouillon cubes dissolved)
2 or 3 cups chopped cooked chicken

Assembly:
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Pour into gallon size ziplock bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw bag and pour ingredients into large casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cover at least half of the time, then uncover.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Grandma's Goulash by Katie

This is a combination between my mother-in-law's recipe and my mom's (and neither one really follow a recipe). So, I hope you all enjoy this Pokopac original!
Sorry for the late post ladies!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, browned (and seasoned to your liking)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
(sugar, tomato paste, and vegetable juice used in various amounts to attain desired sauce consistency)
cooked macaroni noodles

Assembly:
Brown ground beef and season to your liking. (I added a bit of garlic powder, salt, and Italian seasoning.) Add sugar, tomato paste, vegetable juice, diced tomatoes, and jar of spaghetti sauce to ground beef. Mix together. *(This is where I stopped and prepared to freeze.) Cook box of pasta, drain, and add to mixture. Heat through and enjoy!

Freezing:
*I prepare ground beef mixture and put it in a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, seal, and freeze flat. Cooked pasta can be added on serving day.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. Reheat on stove top. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Cheesy Texan Casserole by Missy

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can diced tomatoes in juice (undrained)
1 tbs green chile peppers (add to your liking)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp of both salt and pepper
6 cups cooked Piccolini Mini Pasta
The pasta box serves 8 so I scooped out 6 cups of cooked pasta, stirred, and added a few more as I gauged the sloppiness of everything mixed together.

Assembly:
Cook chicken and pasta and set aside. Mix together in a separate bowl the soup, sour cream, tomatoes, green chile peppers, onion pwd, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked chicken. Finally add the 6 cups of cooked pasta (feel free to add more if you think it's too sloppy). If you are planning to freeze this dish you will need to under cook the pasta a bit, add all of the wet ingredients, and place in the freezer safe container of your choice. I gave this to our group with all of the wet ingredients mixed together in a gallon freezer bag and the box of pasta to cook on the day of preparation.

Serving Day:
On cooking day you will cook the pasta as directed and add the bag of wet ingredients to 6 cups of cooked pasta. You can warm the wet ingredients in a skillet and add pasta to that or combine all ingredients in an oven safe dish and place it in the oven at 350 for 30 min or until warm and bubbly. Either way, you will have a warm and yummy meal to ENJOY!

Variations:
I got the main idea for this recipe from www.kraftfoods.com and loved what they had to offer! They did this meal using a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese (it only served 4). If you did this, you would not use the pasta and can of cheese soup, as in my recipe.

Also you can substitute the can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup for Campbell's Nacho Cheese soup which is a bit spicier and makes the dish zesty delicious.

You can also substitute the tomatoes and green chile peppers for 2 cups of the salsa of your choice.

Freezer Sloppy Joes by Jackie

Adapted from Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes
*As of May 2009, this recipe can be made gluten free by using the products in parenthesis.
Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:
3 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 c. ketchup (*Heinz)
1 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. water
4 T. brown sugar (*organic)
4 T. prepared mustard (*French’s)
4 T. vinegar (*red wine vinegar)
4 T. Worcestershire sauce (*French’s or Lee & Perrins)
3 tsp. chili powder

Assembly:
In large skillet, brown ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat. In any size crock pot, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in meat mixture. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hrs. or on High 3-4 hrs.

Allow mixture to cool. Place silicone muffin tin on a cookie sheet. Spoon meat into each section of tin. Freeze just until meat is frozen in solid pieces. Pop out disks and place in freezer Ziploc bags. Of course, you can also just pour the entire mixture into a gallon size freezer Ziploc bag. I like the convenience of being able to pull out only the amount we need.

Serving Day:
Take out one or two disks per sandwich, depending on how much meat you like. Place in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until heated through. Serve on bun.

Beef Enchiladas by Mel

Ingredients:
1 lb. beef
1 can refried beans
1Tbs. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can enchilada sauce (I use red, but green spices it up a bit)
1 can tomato sauce
8 tortillas
16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly:
Brown ground beef and drain off grease. Add spices, refried beans, and 1/2 cheese. Spray 9x13 baking dish with Pam. Spread 2 Tbsp. of meat mixture in a line in the center of a tortilla. Fold over in half, and roll up. Place rolled tortilla in baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine tomato sauce and enchilada sauce, and pour over top of tortillas. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Cover and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pulled Pork BBQ by Mel

Ingredients:
1 pork roast
BBQ sauce of your choice (1 bottle per 2 lbs. of pork)
Hamburger Buns

Assembly:
Place roast in a crock pot and fill 1/3-1/2 with water. Cook on LOW overnight. Drain water and remove excess fat. Break apart roast with a wooden spoon. Pour sauce over pork and mix. Pour into gallon-size Ziploc bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Heat and serve on buns. (Cole slaw is an optional topper if you want)

Our family prefers Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce.

Dijon Pork Chops by Mags

Recipe from Mom's Budget.com

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless pork chops
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (can use plain if that's all you have but add a dash of Italian seasoning)

Assembly:

• In a bowl, combine Dijon mustard and Worcesterhire sauce. Lightly season the four pork chops with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
• Use a pastry brush to brush each side of the pork chops with the Dijon mixture. Next, coat each side with the Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Freezing:

• Option 1 - flash freezing separately - Place on cookie sheet flash freeze in the freezer. After a few hours, place the pork chops in a freezer bag or container.
• Option 2 - Slide 3-4 pork chops into a gallon-size Ziploc Bag. Press out air and freeze flat. If the chops are big, you'll need to put 3 per bag.
  

Serving Day:

• Thaw in refrigerator or cook directly from freezer.
• Set your oven to the broil setting and allow to preheat.
• Place pork chops on a broiler pan (or use a cookie sheet with a baking rack on top to allow the drippings to fall) and broil each side for 10-12 minutes or until pork chops are thoroughly cooked inside. (Adjust time depending on whether you thawed first or took directly from freezer.)

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Grilled Sesame Chicken by Tish

Note from Tish:
If the pieces of chicken are too big, you might want to cut them up before cooking. I recommend GRILLING these for the best results. They make yummy kabobs - I make ours with the chicken, onions, red bell peppers, mushrooms and pineapple. Use the marinade to baste them! Enjoy!

Yields 6 servings:(or roughly 12 kabobs)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup of WHITE grape juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ground black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced fine (I cheat and use the already prepared garlic in the jar -> 2 tsp = 4 cloves)
1/8 - 1/4 cup of sesame seeds (I think 1/8 cup is plenty)
1/2 cup green onions, tops and all
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Assembly:
Combine all marinade ingredients and mix well. Place chicken breasts in 1 gallon size Ziploc freezer bag. Pour marinade over top of chicken. Remove excess air from bag, seal, and freeze. I mix mine around inside the bag a couple of times to make sure it gets all over the chicken.

Serving Day:
(*** Don't throw out the marinade - you need it to baste the chicken with***)
Thaw completely! If making kabobs, cut chicken into bite size pieces, add veggies/fruit of your choice to the skewers, and save marinade to baste kabobs with. If just grilling, cook till completely done, making sure to baste often with reserved marinade.

I serve these with rice and black beans!

Hearty Beef 'n Cheese Crescent by Susan

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb ground beef
1/3 c. chopped onion (I use what I have on hand: fresh, frozen, dried)
1/4 c. chopped green pepper (fresh or frozen)
15 oz can tomato sauce (original calls for 8oz, I didn't really read recipe for years and we like this)
15 oz can green beans (again calls for smaller, but we like the big can)
1/4 tsp garlic salt (can use garlic powder or fresh, adjust to taste. I used 1/2 - 3/4 tsp.)
1/4 tsp salt
1 can crescent dinner rolls
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, DIVIDED
9" deep dish pie plate (others will work but may over flow or not hold all of the filling)

Assembly For Cooking IMMEDIATELY:
In large frying pan, brown beef, onion and pepper. Drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, green beans, garlic, and salt. Simmer while preparing crust. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Place dough triangles into bottom and up sides of pie plate to form crust. Combine egg and ONE CUP of cheese. Spread over the crust. Spoon hot meat mixture into crust. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Assembly For Freezing:
In large frying pan, brown beef, onion and peppers. Drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, green beans, garlic, and salt. Simmer while preparing crust. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Spray bottom of pie pan with cooking spray. Place dough triangles into bottom and up sides of pie plate to form crust. Combine egg and ONE CUP of cheese. Spread over the crust. Spoon cooled meat mixture into crust. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil and freeze.

Serving Day:

Thaw completely. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

This is a family favorite and I was inspired by Mel to try freezing it. One lesson learned is it will not thaw in 12 hours. Overnight would be best. I actually made it ahead, I know hard to believe, and it came out really well. So, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did and have a great May! I will see you when we are back!

Lemon BBQ Chicken by Susan

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium.)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 lbs. chicken tenderloins (Used because they thaw fast and marinade quick)
Box of Minute Rice

Assembly:
Combine all of the above ingredients in a large freezer bag and mush together. Add chicken to the bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Place in fridge the night before and allow to thaw. Prepare Chicken on the grill and serve. Cook rice as package directs. You can boil the marinade for 5 minutes and serve it over the rice if you would like.

I'm not sure exactly who to give credit to as my Mom gave me this recipe and she got it from her friend Dottie Hall. So, thanks ladies!

Chicken and Vegetable Soup by Katie

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, diced
3 carrots, scraped and sliced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a med onion , diced
1 cup frozen peas
3 chicken breasts, boned, cooked and diced
1 1/2 quarts water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
spices to taste:
ground black pepper
thyme
parsley flakes
celery seed

Assembly:
Simply combine all ingredients, except frozen peas. (I did warm the water to get the bouillon to dissolve easier.)

Freezing Instructions:
Place the frozen peas in a small freezer bag. Combine all other ingredients in a separate larger freezer bag. Freeze both.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Pour into a large stew pan (except the frozen peas). Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until potatoes begin to disintegrate. Add frozen peas and cook 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Debbie's Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1 jar pasta sauce
1 small onion
1 clove garlic, minced
fresh veggies - peppers, squash, whatever is in season
1 lb. pasta (I use rotini)

Assembly:
Chop onion and veggies. Saute veggies in a little olive oil until tender. Remove the veggies from the pan and brown the chicken. Once the chicken is no longer pink, add the veggies and the pasta sauce to the chicken. Heat all the way through.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce mixture. Toss together and serve.

To Freeze:
Once the chicken pasta sauce is complete, put in gallon freezer bag and freeze flat.

Serving Day:
When ready to serve, thaw the sauce completely. Reheat it on the stove top and cook your pasta. Toss together and serve!

"Destitute" Chicken by Mags

A while back, I wanted to try Jen's Poor Man's Chicken recipe, but I was lacking the key ingredient of the fancy cream cheese mixture... Not one to be deterred, I did find a new package of STRING CHEESE sticks in our fridge and decided to get creative.... Poorer-Man's Chicken didn't sound as good, so today, I bring you "Destitute Chicken!" (Never mind that my husband noted that string cheese may cost more than a block of cream cheese... details...details...!) :)

Ingredients:
6 boneless chicken breasts
6 sticks of string cheese
6-12 strips of uncooked bacon
garlic salt

Optional add-ons: shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Assembly:
Pound out the raw chicken breasts flat with your meat hammer.
Roll the flat chicken breast around an UNWRAPPED stick of string cheese.
Wrap/Tie 1 or 2 pieces of uncooked bacon around the whole thing.
Sprinkled with garlic salt (and any other seasonings you want).

Freezing Instructions:
Carefully place each roll in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. You can fit 6-8 chicken rolls in one bag.
Press out the air, seal, and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw out your frozen rolls.
Lay your chicken rolls in a 9x13" pan (spray it first with PAM!).
Back for 1 hour at 350.

With 10 minutes to go, you can sprinkle extra mozzarella or Parmesan cheese over the top of it and continue cooking if you want. (If you sprinkle the cheese at the beginning of the hour, your cheese will burn.)

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Mexican Lasagne by Tish

I got this recipe off of 30 Day gourmet.com. They have lots of good freezer meal recipe ideas!
Serves :6-8

Ingredients:
1 - 10 count package of flour tortillas (regular size, not the little taco size)
1 lb. ground beef (I use fairly lean ground beef)
1 cup of salsa (you choose your spice level - we like spicy at our house)
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce
1 pkg of taco seasoning (regular or spicy, your choice)
1 (160z.) container of cottage cheese (I use 1% milk fat, large curd variety, but any will do)
2 eggs
1 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I like Monterrey jack, but you can use whatever you like)
*** I also add a little black pepper (about 1/2 tsp.), dried basil (1 tsp.) and minced garlic (1-2 cloves, or to your taste) to the cottage cheese mixture for extra flavor***

Assembly:
Brown meat, drain and discard fat. Stir in the salsa, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, oregano, black pepper, dried basil, and minced garlic. Line the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 or (2) 8x8 pans with HALF of the tortillas, overlapping the edges. Top with HALF of the meat mixture. Spoon ALL of the cottage cheese mixture over the beef. Arrange rest of tortillas over top of the cheese mixture. Top with the remaining meat sauce and distribute the shredded cheese over all.

Freezing Directions:
Cover pan tightly with heavy duty freezer wrap, foil and/or a 2 gallon freezer bag, label and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw and bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or till thoroughly heated through.

Mexican Manicotti by Susan

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 package manicotti shells 8 oz
2 1/2 cups water
1 jar (16 oz) picante sauce
2 cups (16 oz) sour cream
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican style cheese

Assembly:
In a bowl combine the UNCOOKED beef, beans, chili powder, & oregano. Spoon into UNCOOKED manicotti shells, arrange in a greased 13"X9"X2" baking dish. Combine water & picante sauce, pour over shells.
If freezing: Cover & freeze.
If making this meal to eat without freezing: Assemble, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely in refrigerator before baking. Cover & bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover, spoon sour cream over the top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted

from: http://www.cdkitchen.com/

Chicken Noodle Casserole by Katie

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast-baked and cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
16 oz. bag of egg noodles-cooked

Assembly:
Mix all ingredients. Place in Freezer bag. Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Place into baking dish. Stir to mix ingredients up. Crumble potato chips and put on top of mixture. Put shredded cheddar cheese on top of potato chip layer.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup by Wendy

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
3 cans (14 1/2 oz each) chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

Assembly:
Chop chicken, carrots and onion using food chopper. Put carrots and onions in pan on stove or in microwave, adding enough water to just covered. Cook until softened (about 7 minutes in microwave).
Pour carrots and onions into mixing bowl. Add garlic, chicken, lemon juice, soup, chicken broth, black pepper and parsley to bowl. Pour into gallon size Ziploc bag. In a sandwich size Ziploc bag, pour in rice. You may put both bags into another gallon size Ziploc to keep together.

Serving Day: Thaw completely. Bring mix to a boil. Stir in rice; reduce heat. Cover; simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.