Fajita Chicken Bake by Amy

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1-2 tsp taco seasoning
• 2 bell peppers in assorted colors, de-seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Assembly:

1. Trim the chicken breasts then lay them in a single layer in a foil pan.
2. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the top of the chicken breast to taste.
3. Lay your thinly sliced onions and peppers on top of the chicken breast, spread out evenly over the top.
4. Drizzle the olive oil over the peppers and onions. 
5. Freeze.

Serving Day:

1. Thaw completely.
2. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the dish.
3. Bake at 375 F for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked though and the juices run clear.

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.

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Meat:  Ranch House Pork Chops
6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz. can Cream of Chicken Soup

Assembly Day:
Place chops in freezer bag.  Mix seasoning and soup in a bowl and then pour over chops in freezer bag.  Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw chops completely.  Place pork chops with mixture into a crock pot and cook at HIGH for 4 hours OR on LOW for 6 hours.

Side Dish:  Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
You do not freeze these.  You make the mashed potatoes on the SERVING DAY.
4 lbs. peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tablespoons real butter
1 Cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves of garlic
1- 1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

1. Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, Parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consistency.

2. Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. Enjoy!

Sweet Mustard Chicken by Amy (adapted from Good Dinner Mom)

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ¾ cup good quality spicy brown mustard with whole mustard seeds
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 9 x 13 pan.
2. In small bowl, whisk together mustard, maple syrup, brown sugar and red wine vinegar.
3. Arrange chicken in baking dish, leaving space between pieces.
4. Liberally salt and pepper each chicken breast.
5. Pour sauce mixture over chicken, making sure to coat all chicken pieces with some of the sauce.
6. Bake 15 minutes, then open oven and with a ladle, gather some of the sauce from the pan and pour on chicken again.
7. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and cook 15 minute more until sauce is bubbly and golden brown.                                                                                                                                                   This can be prepared in a crock pot. Cooking time is 3-4 hours on low.                    

 

 

Assembly for Freezing:   Do steps 2-5.  Then, place chicken mixture in a gallon-sized freezer bag.  Freeze.                                                                          

 

Serving Day:  Thaw completely.  Do steps 1, 6 and 7.

Chicken Fiesta Soup by Amy (adapted from Once-a-Month Meals)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
• 15.25 ounces canned corn - drained
• 2 cups of enchilada sauce ( mild or medium)
• 8 ounces chopped green chiles
• 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes, don't drain
• 14.5 ounces chicken broth 
• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Additional desired toppings such as corn chips, sour cream and shredded cheese.  

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and place in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with corn chips, sour cream and shredded cheese (if desired).

Freezing Directions:

Place chicken in a gallon size freezer bag.  Combine remaining ingredients and place in freezer bag. Ensure bag is evenly mixed.  Remove as much air as possible, label & seal.  

Serving Day:  
Thaw. Place in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with corn chips, sour cream and shredded  cheese (if desired).  

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.

Swiss Chicken Casserole by Amy

Ingredients
6 chicken breasts
6 slices of Swiss cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups herb seasoned stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted

Assembly Day
Arrange chicken in lightly greased 9x13 dish.  Top with cheese slices. Combine soup and milk. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle butter over crumbs. Cover and freeze.

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

Coke Pot Roast by Amy

Ingredients:
3 pound roast
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1-10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1-12 oz. can of Coke

 Assembly:
1. Place all ingredients into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag
2. Freeze

 Serving Day:
1. Thaw completely
2. Place in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours
3. Serve with a potato dish - We prefer mashed potatoes!

Crock Pot Pulled BBQ by Amy

Ingredients:

2-3 lb. boneless pork roast or tenderloin, cubed

1 large onion, chopped

16 oz. bottle barbecue sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

salt and pepper

Assembly:

1. Place meat in slow cooker. Sprinkle salt and pepper over pork. Add onions and sauce.

2. Cover. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

3. Use 2 forks to shred meat.

4. Serve on sandwich rolls with sauce.
 

Freezing:

1. Allow barbeque to cool completely.

2. Place barbeque in a freezer container (Ziploc bag).
 

Freezer to Eating:

1. Thaw barbecue completely.

2. Place in sauce pan. Warm up barbecue over medium heat. Add more sauce if barbecue is dry.

3. Serve on sandwich rolls with sauce


***For this freezer meal, I froze the meal RAW. You will need to THAW the meal and start at Step 2 under the Assembly section. 

Mexican Chicken Bean Filling by Amy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken (3-4 chicken breasts)
3 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 bag of frozen corn
1 jar (32 oz) of salsa

Optional Ingredients: To be put with meal AFTER IT IS COOKED! 
1 bag of shredded cheese
1 bag of tortilla chips

Assembly:
1. Make a "rub" with the 4 spices and rub on the chicken breasts - place in a crock pot.
2. Add the other ingredients (except chips and cheese) and mix.
3. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken during the last hour of cooking to give the meat more flavor.

If you want to freeze:
1. Cool chicken mixture.
2. Pour into Ziploc freezer bag.
3. Freeze.

*For our group, you will need to thaw ingredients and then start at #3 under "Steps".

Serving day:
1. Thaw overnight.
2. Heat mixture and serve over rice with shredded cheese on top or just eat with tortilla chips.

Easy Stroganoff by Amy

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of garlic
1 - 8 oz. package of fresh mushrooms or 1 - 4oz. can of mushrooms
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt (I used Kosher.)
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 - 16 oz carton of sour cream
1/4 cup of ketchup
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 bag of egg noodles

Assembly:
1. Cook ground beef, garlic and onion in a large skillet until meat is browned, stirring to crumble meat - drain.
2. Stir in fresh mushrooms - cook until mushrooms are tender.
3. Stir in flour and next two ingredients for 1 minute.
4. Stir in soup - simmer for 2-3 minutes - stirring occasionally.
5. Add sour cream, ketchup, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes - stirring occasionally.
6. Completely cool, bag in freezer Ziploc bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
1. Completely thaw.
2. Heat in saucepan - you might need to add a little milk.
3. While sauce is heating, cook noodles.
4. Serve over noodles!

Chicken Tetrazzini by Amy

Ingredients:
1 package of vermicelli
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
8 oz. package of sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Assembly Day:
1.  Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2.  Saute the mushrooms in the sherry.
3.  Stir together the chicken, mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, soup, sauce and broth.  Stir mixture into pasta.
4.  Pour into a 9x13 pan and top with remaining cheese.
5.  Freeze

Serving Day:
1.  Thaw completely.
2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin by Amy

Ingredients:
1 cup Coca-Cola
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey mustard
2 small Granny Smith apples, chopped
4-6 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds whole pork tenderloin

Assembly Day:
1.  Combine Coca-Cola, beef broth, vinegar and mustard in large bowl and mix well.  Add apples, onions, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper to Coke mixture and mix well.
2.  Place pork tenderloin in large plastic ziploc bag.  Pour Coke mixture over pork, turning to coat.  Seal bag and marinade in freezer (or in refrigerator for 3 hours if you want to cook it on the assembly day).

Cooking Day:
1.  Thaw completely.
2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Remove pork from marinade, discard marinade.  Place pork in roasting pan.  Cook pork about 25-30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
3.  Remove pork from oven and transfer to cutting board.  Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving.  Serve with applesauce and your favor side dish.

Chicken Enchiladas from Amy

Ingredients:
1 cup diced sweet onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1Tbsp. canola oil or EVO
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
2 (4.5 oz.) cans chopped green chilies, drained
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, cubed and softened
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded pepper jack cheese
Optional:  1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
8 (8-inch) soft taco-size flour tortillas
Cooking spray

Filling steps:
1.  Saute onion and garlic in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat - 5 minutes or until tender.
2.  Add spinach and green chilies - saute 1 to 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.
3.  Stir in chicken and next 3 ingredients, and cook, stirring constantly - 5 minutes or until cheeses melted.
4.  Cool filling and place in Ziploc bag to freeze.

Serving day:
1.  Completely thaw filling bag.
2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3.  Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken filling down center of each tortilla.
4.  Roll up tortilla and place rolled tortillas - seam sides down in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
5.  Lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray.
6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Thai Beef with Noodles from Amy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. of steak for stir fry -  cut into strips (I used top round steak.)
1/2 cup Sherry
3 tbs. lite soy sauce
2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp dark roasted sesame oil
1 package of lo mein noodles

Assembly:
Place strips of meat into a freezer bag.
Mix ingredients of sauce together in a bowl and whisk.
Pour into bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely
Preheat skillet, cook meat and sauce until warmed and meat is cooked to your liking.
Serve over cooked noodles.

*To add vegetables to our meal, I used a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables.  Before I cooked the meat, I put 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil in a pan - heated.  I put the vegetables in the hot oil and cooked.  I removed the vegetables and then cooked the meat to my liking.  Then I put a cornstarch mixture (3 tablespoons cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water) into the pan with the meat - sauce will thicken.  Finally, I returned the vegetables to the pan and heated.  Serve over noodles.

Chicken Mushroom from Amy

Serving Day
From thawed:  cook it at 350 degrees for 45 min. 
From frozen: cook in the crock pot frozen on high for 3-4 hours

Serve over rice.

Matchless Meatloaf (Coca-Cola Refreshing Recipes cookbook) from Amy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs or prepared bread cumbs (plain or Panko crumbs)
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons finely cut parsley (I used dried parsley.)
1 egg
1/2 cup Coca-Cola
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon basil leaves
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Topping:
1/4 cup of chili sauce

Assembly Day:
Break up meat with fork in large bowl; add crumbs, onion and parsley, mixing well.  Beat egg; mix with remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour over meat mixture.  With fork, toss lightly to blend thoroughly.  Mixture will be soft.  Turn into a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and heavy duty foil.  Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.  Remove wrappings.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour uncovered. In the last 10 minutes, spread chili sauce on top of meat loaf.  Let set abou 10 minutes before slicing.

Beef Fajitas by Amy

Ingredients: 
1.5 pounds of tip sirloin sliced into strips 
1 bell pepper sliced into strips 
1 onion sliced into strips 
1 packet of fajita seasoning 
1 cup of water. 
1 pack of tortillas 
1 bag of cheese 

Assembly: Mix the fajita seasoning and 1 cup of water in a bowl.  Combine this mix and the beef strips in a gallon Ziploc bag.  Put the vegetables in a quart-size Ziploc bag.  Freeze these bags.

Serving Day: Thaw both bags.  Put 1-2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Preheat skillet. Put beef mixture in the hot skillet.  Cook until brown.  Remove beef.  Put 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet.  Put the vegetables in the hot skillet.  Cook until tender.  Add the beef.  Cook for a little longer.  Scoop into tortillas, add cheese if desired.

Mexican Chicken with Black Bean Filling by Amy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken (3-4 chicken breasts)
3 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 bag of frozen corn
1 jar (32 oz) of salsa

Optional Ingredients: To be put with meal AFTER IT IS COOKED! 
1 bag of shredded cheese
1 bag of tortilla chips

Assembly:
1. Make a "rub" with the 4 spices and rub on the chicken breasts - place in a crock pot.
2. Add the other ingredients (except chips and cheese) and mix.
3. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken during the last hour of cooking to give the meat more flavor.

If you want to freeze:
1. Cool chicken mixture.
2. Pour into Ziploc freezer bag.
3. Freeze.

*For our group, you will need to thaw ingredients and then start at #3 under "Steps".

Serving day:
1. Thaw overnight.
2. Heat mixture and serve over rice with shredded cheese on top or just eat with tortilla chips.

More ideas for the chicken filling:
1. Mexican pizza topping.
2. Tacos
3. Taco salad
4. Breakfast burrito

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake by Amy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked
1 package (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon of dried basil leaves
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 oz (1/4 of 8 oz. package) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided - 1/2 cups
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Assembly Day:
1.  Cook pasta in large pot as directed on package, omitting salt and adding spinach to the boiling water for the last minute.
2.  Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat for three minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and spaghetti sauce; bring to boil.  Simmer on low heat for three minutes or until chicken is done.  Stir in cream cheese.
3.  Drain pasta mixture; return to pan.  Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella; pour into 9x13 foil pan sprayed with cooking spray.
4.  Freeze.

Serving Day:
1.  Thaw completely.
2.  Remove plastic wrap and foil before placing pan in a preheated oven - 375 degrees.
3.  Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through; top with remaining cheese.  Bake three minutes or until mozzarella is melted.