Chicken Tetrazzini by Amy

Adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) package of thin spaghetti
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. of butter or olive oil

1 (8 0z.) package of sliced Bella mushrooms

1 cup diced onions

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 oz.) jar of Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup of Marsala cooking wine
1/4 tsp. of pepper


Assembly:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions and mushrooms in 2 Tbsp. of butter or olive oil for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Stir together chicken, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and onion/mushroom mixture.
4. Stir together last 5 ingredients into the chicken mixture.
5. Stir in pasta.
6. Spoon mixture into 9x13 slightly greased baking dish.
7. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly.


*If freezing, place mixture in a slightly greased 9x13 foil pan. Cool completely and then place plastic wrap and then foil on top. Seal tightly. When you are ready to eat the tetrazzini, thaw dish completely and then top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly.


Serving size: 6 servings

Easy Beef Stroganoff by Wendy

Make-Ahead Ground Beef
1 med. onion
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 garlic clove, pressed

1. Chop onions.
2. Place onions, beef and garlic into a 12" skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 15-18 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles.

Prepare and Freeze:
To ground beef, add:
8oz. Sliced mushrooms
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. ground paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to three months.

Defrost
Microwave packet on Defrost (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into 10" Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in 10"Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat).

Finish and Serve

• Stir 8 oz. sour cream into beef mixture.
• Cook 1 lb. egg noodles; drain. Toss with 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley and 2 tbsp melted butter.(Optional)
• Spoon stroganoff over noodles and sprinkle wit additional paprika and parsley, if desired.

Yield: 6 Servings

Nutrients per serving (excluding optional ingredients): Calories 400, Total Fat 22 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 110 mg, Carbohydrate 27 g, Sodium 660 mg, Fiber 2 g.
This is a Pampered Chef Recipe.

Pesto Chicken Pasta by Andrea

This is a freezer recipe from TOH Simple & Delicious. The recipe makes 2 casseroles so I made an extra recipe and split it among all 4 families to make sure there was enough for each family.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (16 ounces) pasta
• 6 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 jar (15 ounces) Alfredo sauce
• 1 jar (10 ounces) prepared pesto
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, cheese blend, spinach, tomatoes, Alfredo sauce, pesto and milk. Drain pasta and add to chicken mixture; toss to coat.
• To bake immediately: Pour into 2 greased 8" pans. Mix bread crumbs, Parm. cheese with oil and sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake the casserole at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.
• To freeze: Transfer to 2 ziplock bags. In a small baggie, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil, mix.
• To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Pour into well greased pan. Sprinkle with topping mixtures. Cover and bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

Stubb's Chicken - by Mags

My husband chose our chicken marinade this month: Stubb's Chicken Marinade - "a special blend of citrus, herbs, and sesame." Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 bottle Stubb's Chicken Marinade

Preparation:

• Poke holes in your chicken breasts and place 6 in a Zip-Loc Freezer Bag.
• Pour in 1/2 a bottle of the marinade.
• Squeeze out the air, seal the bag, and squoosh around so the chicken breasts are coated.
• Freeze Flat.
• If you are eating this on the same day as you prepared it, make sure your chicken breasts sit in the marinade for 2-6 hours.
  

Cooking Day:

• Thaw and cook, bake, or grill to your liking.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, FREEZER FRIENDZ!

How is it possible that our little group has been exchanging meals for 2 YEARS?!! Wow!!



We'd LOVE to hear from YOU...

Do you have a favorite recipe from the last two years?
Have you and your friends started your own freezer group?

Post a comment with your favorite overall dish - either the title or link.
Your favorite may be something we need to make again!!

:)

Baked Potato Soup

This is one I've made before and posted in October 2008. It was such a big hit, I thought I would repeat this one again. Please reply to original post.
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/10/baked-potatoe-soup-by-wendy.html

Slow Cooker Pizza Chicken by Jen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, sliced
2 medium bell peppers, cut into strips
2 cups tomato pasta sauce (from 26 oz jar)
1 package (16 oz) rotini pasta
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Assembly:
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, place chicken. Top with onion and bell peppers. Add pasta sauce.

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours.

3. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Place pasta on platter. Top with chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Freezer Friends:
Option 1: If you decide to thaw, cook on low heat setting 4-6 hours. Our crock pot cooks very fast, so it only took 3 hours for our meal.

Option 2: Cook from frozen. Remove plastic bag from frozen meal. Place meal in crock pot. Cook on low 6-10 hours. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.

Teriyaki Beef by Andrea

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. flank steak

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. white wine

1 T. sesame or olive oil

1/2 c. soy sauce

6 T. sugar

1/2 t. pepper

1 green onion, chopped

1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables

rice

Assembly:

Cut thin strips of steak against the grain. Mix all other ingredients in gallon bag. Add meat and marinate for 1 hour or freeze.

Serving Day:

Defrost meat and vegetables. Discard marinade. Stir fry 2-4 min in hot wok or skillet turning to brown on each side. This works best if you do a few pieces at a time. Next stir fry veggies to desired doneness, then return meat to pan to mix and heat through. Serve over rice.

Tish's 3 Bean Chili

**This is NOT Cincinnati style chili - sorry to all of those of you are big fans. I hope you will like this one for a change of pace:)**

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1 whole medium onion, chopped finely
salt, pepper,chili powder (I use dark chili powder), and garlic powder to taste. (I never measure the amounts, so I will give you my best estimate: 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper, 3 TBSP. chili powder, and 1 to 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder).
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of red beans
1 can of navy beans
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
another 2-3 TBSP of chili powder
6 oz. of beer (you can use non-alcoholic or all water if you prefer)
6 oz. water
1 tbsp brown sugar

Assembly/Cooking/Freezing Directions:
Season beef with salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Add onions and brown. Then drain of any excess liquid. In a crock pot or large stock pot, add all the beans, tomatoes, additional chili powder,beer, water and brown sugar. Then simmer till hot. Cool and pour into freezer bags, then freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely then reheat. Or you can put it in frozen into a crock pot and heat till hot.

***We serve ours with cornbread and salad**
Enjoy!

Stromboli (Jackie's recipe...but better!)

This is Jackie's wonderful recipe and I increased it by 1/2, for the most part. I had a terrible time "braiding" the dough...forgive me for the interesting way your stromboli may look.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 loaf frozen bread dough
3 egg yolks, save whites
2 T. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 T. oil
1 3/4 cup Italian pork sausage
35ish pepperoni slices
8 oz. Mozzarella or Pizza cheese
Italian seasoning

Assembly Day:
Thaw dough according to directions. Mix everything except meat and mozzarella. Roll dough out onto greased surface. Spread spice mixture on top, being careful to leave one inch of dough all the way around with no mixture on it. If the dough has wet mixture it on it, it will not seal. Cover with meat and cheese. Pull sides up, twisting to seal dough. Put on jelly roll stone or baking pan. Seal ends and wrap underneath. Beat egg whites. Brush on top. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. The Freezer Chicks have an awesome tutorial on how to make Stromboli at this link: http://freezerchicks.blogspot.com/2009/10/stromboli-step-by-step.html

To Freeze:
Bake in 350 oven 15 minutes or just until barely golden. Cool completely on cooling rack. Double wrap in Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil. Freeze flat.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake in 350 oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese is melted. If the top is browning too quickly and the inside is not finished, just lay a piece of foil over the Stromboli for the remainder of the baking time. Let cool 10 minutes. Slice in 1 inch slices. Dip in pizza sauce.

ENJOY!!!

So You Forgot to Defrost! by Jackie

The original recipe is from Fix-it and Forget-It Cookbook and was written by Mary Seislstad. I have made slight adjustments for freezing.

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (original recipe calls for frozen chicken)
2 10 3/4oz. cans cream of chicken soup
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, or 1/2c. sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Assembly:
Place chicken in gallon Ziploc bag. Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl and pour over chicken. Freeze standing up, so it will fit in the crock pot when you are ready to cook.

Serving Day:
Cook from frozen. Remove plastic bag from frozen meal. Place meal in crock pot. Cook on low 10-12 hours. Serve over rice.

Freezer Friendz: I included cooked rice for you. Just add a little water and microwave to reheat.

Pesto Minestrone Soup with Tortellini by Susan

Ingredients:
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 C Chopped Onion
4 1/2 C Water
2 bags frozen Vegetables- I used a regular mixed veggie and one that contained Zucchini
1 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
4 cloves of Garlic
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
2 14.5 oz cans of Vegetable or Chicken Broth (I used Chicken.)
4 Tbsp Commercially Prepared Pesto
18 oz Cheese Tortellini, cooked

Assembly:
Heat Olive Oil in a large Dutch Oven (5 Qt). Add Onion and saute 4 min, or until tender. Add water and next seven ingredients, through broth. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add Pesto and Tortellini. Cover and simmer until heated, just a few minutes. At this point you can serve or allow it to cool and freeze.

On Serving Day:
Thaw, Reheat and enjoy. (We ate ours with Corn Bread.)

Adjustments:
The original recipe was half of the above. I received this amount from another freezer group and it fed my family of 6. The original recipe called for 2 diced zucchini and one bag of frozen vegetables. However I was able to find a vegetable variety that included zucchini and chose to use two bags of frozen vegetables instead. The original recipe also called for the tortellini to be uncooked and simmer in the broth after the vegetables are tender, but on the advice of my friend who gave it to us I chose to precook the tortellini. She has made this often and found she was consistently having to add additional broth after the tortellini was cooked to have enough liquid.

Southwestern Pot Roast by Katie

Ingredients:
3 lb. roast
8 small red potatoes, halved
1 lb. bag baby carrots
1 jar (16 oz) salsa

Directions:
Place potatoes in the bottom of a slow cooker. Coat roast with flour and place on top of potatoes. Place carrots around the roast. Pour salsa over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve or freeze in freezer bag.

Serving day:
Thaw. It's already fully cooked so just reheat in microwave, oven, or even back in the slow cooker (this might be best to keep from drying out). Tear apart roast with fork and enjoy!

Baked Chicken with Gravy

Ingredients:
6 uncooked chicken breasts
3 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 full can of milk

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine the 3 cans of soup and milk. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking dish. Lay uncooked chicken breasts into soup. I like to wiggle them down into the soup and cover with the mixture. Bake at 350 for 2 1/2 hrs.

Freezing Instructions:
I combined soup and milk and stirred till smooth and added the uncooked chicken breasts then poured into a Ziploc freezer bag. Place into freezer.

Serving Day:
Thaw bag of soup/chicken and pour into a 9x13 pan. Bake @350 x 2 1/2hrs. I gave each of you a box of mashed potatoes to serve with the meal. It is also wonderful over rice.

ENJOY!!

Baked Shells Casserole by Debbie

Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped, divided
1 small carrot, grated
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed by pressing under flat of your knife
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 - 28 ounce cans Italian crushed tomatoes
1 pound medium shell pasta (not the large stuffing shells)
2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

Preparation
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 3/4 of finely chopped onion, and the carrot. Season with salt and pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and thyme. Gently saute 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine and reduce a minute. Add stock and tomatoes. Bring sauce up to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer sauce about 45 minutes.

After sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta for 5 minutes.

While the pasta water comes to a boil, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and onion and saute to soften, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, pulling it apart and separating it as you add it to the pan. Stir to combine well and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Turn off heat.

Drain undercooked pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add spinach mixture to the pot along with ricotta and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Add eggs and stir.

Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 greased casserole dish. Top with the pasta mixture. Add a thin layer of tomato sauce to the top. You can either freeze at this point, or bake for 30 minutes.

To Use After Frozen
Thaw casserole completely. Place in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Can serve with extra tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.
(This recipe is taken from Rachael Ray.)

Party Pasta Bowl by Mel

This is a repeat of one of our favorites. You'll find the recipe under my name from last year. Enjoy!

Fried Rice with Ham by Andrea

Ingredients:

1/4 c. oil

6 c. cooked short grain rice (sticky or sushi rice)

1/3 + c. soy sauce

4 eggs, slightly scrambled

salt & pepper mixed into eggs, to taste

1 1/2 c. diced ham

12 oz. frozen diced vegetables

Directions:

Heat oil over med. high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add in rice, breaking up any clumps. Once warmed, drizzle soy sauce over and mix in. Scrape bottom of pan frequently to rice from sticking. Make a hole in rice and pour eggs in center, allowing them to set before mixing into rice. Add in ham and vegetables and allow them to heat. Eat immediately or spread on a cookie sheet to allow to cool some before spooning into freezer bag.

Reheating Directions:

This is completely cooked, so it may simply be defrosted in the microwave in the freezer bag to keep it from drying out. Cook until defrosted, breaking the rice up some after every few minutes. You may eat it straight from the microwave or toss it in a hot skillet for a few minutes after microwaving. When I tested it out, I preferred it stir-fried 3-4 minutes in the skillet.

Chicken Stuffed Shells by Wendy

Ingredients:
1 box Large Shells (for stuffing)
1 box Stove Top Stuffing
1 Stalk Celery Chopped
2 cups Chicken chopped or 1 large can of chicken
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Water
1 cup Parmesan Cheese

Assembly:
Cook shells according to directions on box. Prepare Stuffing Mix according to directions on box. Add celery, chicken and mayo to prepared Stuffing Mix. Mix well. Fill shells with the Stuffing Mix using a Medium Scoop (2 Tbsp size). Put stuffed shells into a 9x13 pan (approx. 34 shells).

To make Soup Mix, pour soup and water into a bowl and mix with a whisk. Pour soup mix over Stuffed Shells. Top with the Parmesan Cheese. Cover with foil and freeze.

To Serve: Thaw completely. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

This recipe makes enough for 1-1/5 servings. I only make this recipe 5 times to get 6 dinners.

Chicken and Veggie Fold Over by Debbie K

This is a variation of a standby at my house.

1 loaf bread dough rolled out onto a cookie sheet.

Spread 1/2 a can of Mushroom soup across 3/4 of the length of bread.

Top with cooked chicken and veggies ( I used corn, peas and carrots).

Fold over and pinch edges. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

Cook for 25 minutes in a 375 oven.

To reheat- leave in foil. Thaw and cook at 375 for about 35 minutes to heat through. Remove foil and cook an additional 10 minutes to crisp the crust.

I made the bread dough from scratch- but store bought from the freezer section will work.

Chicken Macaroni Bake by Jackie

Morrow Ladies,
I thought this recipe sounded yummy and it got good reviews from the other group, so I am stealing this one from Jackie!
you can get all the details on how to make and freeze/cook by going to Jackie's name and it is her recipe from Dec 2009!
Hope you enjoy!
Tish