Slow Cooker Taco Pasta by Jen

Adapted from: https://kristineskitchenblog.com/easy-slow-cooker-taco-pasta/

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup jarred salsa (I used mild)
• 15 ounce can corn, drained
• 3 tablespoons taco seasoning 
• 2 ½ cups water or low sodium chicken broth (I used one 14.5 ounce can chicken broth plus enough water to total 2 ½ cups)
• 12 ounces shell pasta shapes 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly: 
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook the meat, stirring often, until browned. Transfer beef to slow cooker.
Add the bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, salsa, corn, taco seasoning, and broth or water. Stir.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
Stir in the pasta. Cook on high for 10-20 minutes. Pasta cook time will vary by slow cooker, begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes.
Stir in the cheddar cheese and serve.

Serving Day: 
From freezer, adjust crockpot settings. 
Bag 1 - Meat Mixture -- Thaw and Cook bag of meat on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.

Bag 2 -  Pasta -- Stir in the pasta. Cook on high for 10-20 minutes. Pasta cook time will vary by slow cooker, begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes.

Bag 3 - Cheese -- Stir in the cheddar cheese and serve.

Tuscan Chicken by Jackie

*adapted from original recipe by Once A Month Mom http://onceamonthmom.com/hellmanns-tuscan-glazed-chicken/

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. diced roasted red peppers

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Assembly:
Trim all fat from chicken breasts.  Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4" thickness.
Here is a method I've found successful for flattening chicken.

1. Lay a large piece of Glad Press 'n Seal on the counter.   
2. Place 6 breasts on top. 
3. Cover with another piece of Press 'n Seal.
4. Seal well around the edges.  
5. Pound meat with a meat tenderizer.  Move chicken to a tray lined with parchment paper. 

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Spread evenly on top of all 6 chicken breasts. 

Place tray in the freezer and flash freeze the chicken.  This means, leave chicken in freezer until each piece is individually frozen.  This usually takes 3-4 hours.  Place frozen chicken breasts in a gallon size Ziploc freezer bag.  Label and freeze.

Serving Day:

Option 1:  Take out the number of chicken breasts that you would like to cook.  Place them in a baking dish.  If any of the topping is stuck to bag, try to add it to the top of the chicken breasts.  Thaw completely.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

Option 2:  Cook from frozen.  Bake on 425 for 45 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees. 

Jake's Backyard Burgers by Jackie

Ingredients: 
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 tsp Garlic Salt
1 1/2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 1/2  tbs Worcestershire sauce
                 
Assembly:
Mix all ingredients in large bowl.  Divide mixture into 8 (1/2 c.) portions. 
Press into 8 burger patties.  Lay flat on a lined baking sheet.  Flash freeze. 
Place frozen patties into Ziploc freezer bag.  Place buns into Ziploc freezer bag. 

This pic is from different burgers I made.  Forgot to take photo of this recipe, so I thought this would suffice for now.  LOL!

Serving Day:
Thaw completely or cook from frozen.  Grill until done to your liking.  Enjoy! 

COPY CAT STOUFFER’S LASAGNA by Tiffany

• Ingredients:
1 pound cooked Ground Beef
1 pound cooked Ground Sweet Italian Sausage
34 ounces Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
½ cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated
15 ounces Ricotta Cheese
9 ounces No-Boil Lasagna
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
• Assembly:
• In a large pan over medium heat, combine ground beef, sausage, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
  Cook for 15 minutes.
  Set aside to cool.
  In a small bowl, stir together grated Parmesan and ricotta cheese.
  Pour 1/2 cup of sauce into the bottom of indicated number of pans.
  Top with enough lasagna noodles to cover the bottom.
  Layer meat sauce, ricotta cheese mixture, and then lasagna noodles ending with meat sauce on top.
  Cover top of lasagna with mozzarella cheese.
  Cover tightly with foil, label, and freeze.

• Serving Day:
Bake at 375 covered for 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.

Asian Toasted Sesame Chicken by Jen

Ingredients:
1 bottle of Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
3 lbs. of chicken breasts

Assembly:
Place chicken in a gallon-sized freezer bag.  Pour entire bottle of dressing over meat.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Discard marinade.  Grill or bake until cooked to 160 degrees.

Crockpot - Cook low from frozen on low 6-8 hours.

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.

Creamy Italian Chicken by Jen

Adapted from: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html#Usbc41b8LBh95Tg2.99

Ingredients:
6 Chicken breasts
1 1/2 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1 1/2  package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
Hot cooked pasta or rice

Assembly: 
Place the chicken in a crock pot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it.  Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat until completely melted.
Pour over chicken in the Ziploc freezer bag. 

Serving Day:
Empty items into the crock pot set on low and come back 6.5-7 hours later.  Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.  Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crock pot and stir into the sauce. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk.  Prepare noodles before ready to serve, and enjoy chicken over hot cooked noodles!

Breaded Pork Chops by Beth

Adapted for freezer from http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/flavorful-breaded-pork-chops

Ingredients:
2 T. flour
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce
3/4 c. bread crumbs
3 T. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
6 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 in. thick)

Assembly:
Place flour in shallow dish.  In another shallow dish, beat egg whites, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and hot sauce.  In a third dish, combine bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings.  Coat pork chops with flour.  Dip into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.  Place on wax paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer.  Place in freezer until frozen solid.  Once completely frozen, place in gallon size freezer bag and return to freezer.

Serving Day:
Thaw in fridge.  Place chops in greased baking dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-28 min. or until juices run clear.  If you bake these from freezer (which I'm sure you can do), please comment how long they took.

Chicken Pot Pie by Jackie

 Ingredients:

1 pkg. refrigerated pie crust
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of potato soup
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen, mixed vegetables
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

Assembly: 

Place one pie crust in the bottom of a half size steam table pan or glass pie plate.  Mix remaining ingredients in large mixing bowl.  Top with other pie crust.  Use sharp knife to make slits or a design on top of crust.  This is important for venting the pie. Cover with lid.  Label and freeze.

Serving Day:
Option 1 - Cook from frozen:  Preheat oven to 425.  Bake covered for 1 hour.  Uncover.  Bake another hour or until crust is golden brown and inside is bubbly.

Option 2 - Thaw first. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes at 425. 

**Both methods: If edges start to brown early, cover them until inside is cooked through. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs by Beth

adapted from http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/the-best-meatballs-114119.aspx

Ingredients:
2 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz.) stuffing mix for chicken
1 c. water
2 eggs
16 oz. spaghetti noodles
Jar of spaghetti sauce
Assembly:
Heat oven to 400.  In large bowl, mix beef, stuffing, water, and eggs with hands.  Using large scoop (about 1/4 c.), shape into balls.  This will yield about 28-34 meatballs.  Each time I got a different amount.  Place meatballs on greased 15x10x1 pan (line with greased foil for less clean up). 


Bake for 18-20 min. or until done (160 deg).   Cool completely and place in gallon size freezer bag.  I gave each friend 24 meatballs (serving size is 4 meatballs).  Place in freezer. 
Serving Day:
Thaw meatballs in fridge.  Cook noodles per box instructions.  In large saucepan, place sauce and meatballs.  Heat up until hot.  You could probably place frozen meatballs in with the sauce.  It would just take longer to heat up.

Rerun: Sweet & Sour Meatballs by: Jen

http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2012/06/sweet-and-sour-meatballs-by-jackie.html


Enjoy!

Sun-dried Tomato/Pesto Chicken & Pasta by Jen

Ingredients:
3 lb chicken (frozen)
2 jars of Alfredo sauce
1 small jar of sun-dried tomato & pesto
Box of Pasta of choice.  

Assembly:
Place chicken in large Ziploc bag and cover with sauces.

Serving Day:
Place bag of chicken with sauces in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile cook pasta as directed on package.  Serve chicken over hot pasta with sauce.

Chicken Tortilla Soup by Wendy

Ingredients:
22 oz. frozen Cubed Chicken Breast Dices
1 onion or 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
6 Chicken boullion cubes
28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
7 oz. chopped green chilies, undrained
8 tsp fresh cilantro, snipped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla Chips
6 cups water, (To be added when ready to cook.)


Assembly:
In a gallon size freezer bag pour chicken pieces, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, boullion cubes and green chilies. In a snack size bag place snipped cilantro.  In a sandwhich bag pour 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Pack all of the bags into another gallon size bag.


Serving Day:
Pour chicken mixture into an 8 qt. pan.  Add 6 cups water.  Heat on medium high until boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  This may also be cooked from frozen and/or in a crockpot.  Serve by placing tortilla chips in the bottom of your bowl.  Ladel soup over the top.  Place cheese on the top and sprinkle with cilantro if desired.  You may also add sour cream if you like, we didn't think it needed it.


Yield:  8 servings

Slow Cooker Roast Chicken by Wendy

This recipe is from www.chewoutloud.com

Ingredients:
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 large (5-6 lbs.) Roasting Chicken
4 tsp. table salt
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Slow Cooker Roasting Bag Liner


Assembly:
Place chopped onion on the bottom of the slow cooker bag.  Remove giblets from chicken and towel dry it very well, both inside and out.  Using your fingers, gently pry the skin away from the chicken all around so you'll be able to season chicken underneath skin.  I made slits in 6 different slots, 2 on top and 1 on the bottom to do this.


In a small bowl, combine all the spices, from salt to pepper.  Mix well.  Use your hands to evenly spread two thirds of the spice mixture onto chicken, underneath the skin.  Be sure to include all areas of chicken (legs, back, thighs, etc).  Use remaining spice mixture to spread on top of the skin.  Place seasoned chicken on top of the chopped onion in the cooking bag.  Close and keep chilled overnight if serving the next day.  I froze mine by putting the cooking bag inside of a Ziploc bag.


Serving Day:
Thaw in your fridge for 2 days. Place bag with chicken in slow cooker.  Cook on Low 5-6 hours. Keep on warm until ready to serve.

I wanted to try to cook this from frozen on High for 5-6 hours. Let me know how it was.

Serves: 4-6
This dish is delicious over fluffy rice or potatoes.

Taco Chicken Foil Pack by Beth

adapted from:  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/foil-pack-taco-chicken-75567.aspx

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 tsp. taco seasoning mix (I made Jackie's recipe previously posted)
3 medium sized potatoes, thinly sliced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1-1/2 c. salsa
1-1/2 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese
sour cream (not included with our swap)
Assembly:
On counter, lay out six 12 inch squares of heavy duty aluminum foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray.  In center of each foil square, place potatoes (each packet will have 1/2 of a potato).  Next, layer zucchini (about 1/3 of a zucchini per packet) and then red onion.  Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning over veggies on each square.  Top each with raw chicken breast.  Sprinkle the top of each breast with another 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning (each packet will have total of 1 tsp. taco seasoning).  Top each square with 1/4 c. salsa and 1/4 c. cheese.  Fold each foil square to make a packet. Place packets in freezer bag; freeze.
Serving Day:
Place frozen foil packets on rimmed baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 1 hour and 20 min.  Once done, carefully puncture a hole in the side of each packet to drain all the juice.  Carefully open and slide onto plate. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

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**

Freezer to Table~ Italian Sausage Soup by Wendy

Adapted from Taste of Home A+ Recipes from Schools Acrossed America.


Ingredients:
1 pound Italian Turkey Sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot, (or 1 medium carrot-chopped)
1 celery rib, chopped
8 cubes, chicken bouillon
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/4 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Mix
3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta


Assembly:
Cook sausage, onion, carrot and celery over medium heat, until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain off fat.  In gallon size Ziploc bag:  Add Meat Mixture, bouillon, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic and Italian Seasoning to bag.  Close bag and let out all of the air.  In sandwich size bag, measure out pasta.  Put gallon bag and sandwich bag into another gallon bag to freeze.


Serving Day:
Remove soup from plastic storage bags.  I cut them open with scissors.  Place frozen soup in pan with 8 cups water on Medium High.  Cook until thawed and bring to a boil.  Add the Orzo pasta and cook until pasta is tender.  Serve.  This is great served with a salad and bread sticks.


Makes:  10 servings, I do not half.  I freeze 1 meal per family.

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!

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).

Rerun: Beef and Noodles by Jackie

Please leave comments on original post:  http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2013/10/beef-noodles-by-jackie.html

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef stew meat
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 bag egg noodles

Assembly:
In large bowl, mix the cans of soup together.  Add meat and mix until well coated.  Place gallon-size freezer Ziploc bag in large can.  Pour into bag. 

Freeze for 2 hours in can, so it freezes in a shape that can easily be placed into a slow cooker, while still frozen. (If you freeze longer than this, the bag may become stuck in the can.  If this happens, it can be removed by running can under hot water.)

  Remove from can and freeze solid. 

Serving Day:
Remove contents from bag.  May need to use hot water to help release bag.  Place in slow cooker.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.  If you prefer, you can thaw completely and then cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles.