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!

Pork Chops by Wendy

Ingredients:
6 pork chops
1 med onion
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup catsup
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 (10oz.) can Cream of Mushroom

Assembly:
Fry pork chops in skillet until browned on both sides. Let cool and put in gallon size Ziploc.
2. Mix catsup, water, Worcestershire, vinegar, salt and pepper and soup in bowl and pour in Ziploc bag with pork chops.  Add sliced onions and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Pour into covered dish and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours or until tender. You may also put this in a crock pot on high 4-6 hours.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Spiced Pork Chops by Beth

Ingredients:
1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 t. garlic powder
1-1/2 t. ground mustard
1-1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. celery salt
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. dried basil
1/8 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. salt
pinch of pepper
4-6 pork loin chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1-2 T. cooking oil
1 c. ketchup
1 c. water
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Assembly:
In a shallow dish, combine the first 10 ingredients; dredge chops on both sides.  Lay in single layer in a gallon freezer bag.  Combine ketchup, water, and brown sugar; stir until combined; pour into sandwich size bag (double bag).  Lay both chops and sauce flat in freezer.

Day of Serving:
Completely thaw chops and sauce bags in refrigerator.  In a skillet, brown chops in oil on both sides (do not fully cook, just brown).  Place pork chops in greased 9x13 pan.  Pour sauce over chops.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for one hour or until tender.

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.

Cilantro Lime Chicken by Jackie

*Adapted from http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2011/11/18/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken.html

Ingredients:
One 24-ounce jar medium or mild salsa

Juice from one lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
*3/4 tsp. chili powder
*1/4 tsp. garlic powder
*1/4 tsp. onion powder
*1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
*1/4 tsp. oregano
*1/2 tsp. paprika
*1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
*1 tsp. sea salt
*1/4 tsp. black pepper
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed of fat

                                                   

Assembly:
Mix all ingredients, except chicken, in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag.  Add chicken and coat well.  Freeze flat. 

Serving Day:
Thaw completely.  Place in slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6 hours. 

Serving Options:
1. Serve as is.
2. Shred and serve over rice.
3. Shred and serve as taco meat.
4. Serve with tortilla chips.

Variations:
1. You can substitute a 16 oz. jar of salsa and 8 oz. can of tomato sauce for 24 oz. salsa.
2. You can substitute one packet of taco seasoning for all spices (marked with *).  I used the spices listed in recipe for swap because it is healthier than prepackaged taco seasoning.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup by Jen

Ingredients
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
20 oz. frozen broccoli
3-4 cups of fine egg noodles
2 T butter 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
4 T Milk Salt & Pepper to taste

Assembly
Bring to boil chopped onions, water and chicken cubes. Add frozen broccoli bring back to boil. Add noodles. Cook until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Add butter, cheese, milk, salt/pepper Soup will thicken as it cools. If making this soup to freeze, let soup cool before putting in large Ziploc bags to go into your freezer. Fills a gallon Ziploc bag full. I would double bag the soup in the freezer.

Serving Day
Thaw, Heat and Serve.

Note: Made this recipe 1.5 times for 10-12 cups of soup serving 6 adults. If you go by the recipe it makes 6 small bowls. Kids ignore the broccoli because of the yummy noodles. :-) 

BBQ Chicken Cordon Bleu by Beth

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
BBQ sauce of choice
12 slices of ham
6 slices of Swiss cheese

Assembly:
Put chicken breasts in gallon freezer bag; pour in BBQ sauce to cover.  Lay flat in freezer.

Day of Serving:
Thaw chicken; dump contents of bag in greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr 15 min, or until chicken is done.  Remove from oven; cover each piece of chicken with 2 slices of ham and then 1 slice of cheese.  Return to oven, uncovered, and bake until cheese melts.

Beef & Noodles by Jackie

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. (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.

Mexican Manicotti by Beth

**Take note this recipe requires a little assembly and THEN sitting in fridge overnight**

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, raw
16 oz. can refried beans
1 t. chili powder
1-1/2 t. oregano
8 oz. pkg. manicotti shells, uncooked
2-1/2 c. water
16 oz. jar salsa
16 oz. tub sour cream
1 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese

Assembly:
In a bowl, combine the raw meat, refried beans, and seasonings.  Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells.  Arrange in tray from box and place in gallon freezer bag. 

Day BEFORE serving:
Thaw salsa and cheese baggies.  Do not thaw manicotti.  In bowl, combine water and salsa.  Arrange frozen manicotti in 9x13 pan.; pour salsa/water over shells.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Day OF serving:  Remove pan from refrigerator 30 min. before baking.  Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hr.  Uncover; spoon sour cream over the top.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake 5-10 min. longer or until the cheese is melted.

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Bow Ties by Jackie

This recipe was slightly adapted from the recipe originally made by Debbie in 2010.  You can find her recipe at this link:  http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2009/09/grilled-chicken-with-pesto-pasta-by.html

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Italian dressing
1 box bow tie pasta
1 recipe Pesto (see recipe below)

Pesto (from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup firmly packed parsley springs with stems removed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup walnuts
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup milk

Assembly:
Combine the chicken breasts and Italian dressing in gallon-size freezer bag.  Freeze flat.

Prepare pesto:  Combine all ingredients, except the oil and milk, in a food processor. Cover and process until a paste forms. Gradually add the oil and process until the consistency is like soft butter. Transfer the pesto to a mixing dish and whisk in about a quarter cup of milk. Freeze in pint size Ziploc freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw chicken breasts and pesto in the refrigerator. Leave the pesto covered until you are ready to use it, or lightly coat it with olive oil (this keeps the pesto from turning brown).

Grill the chicken breasts (or bake in the oven).  Slice the breasts into strips. 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is done, drain and return to the cooking pot. Add the pesto directly to the pasta and stir until the pasta is completely coated. Place chicken on top of the pasta.

Monterey Burgers by Wendy

Ingredients:
1 med onion
2 lbs. ground round
4 Tbsp. (or 1/4 cup) barbecue sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 lb. (or 2 cups) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
8 hamburger buns

Assembly:
Finely chop onion. Combine onion, ground round, barbecue sauce, cheese, salt and pepper in bowl; mix well. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions. Form each portion into a flat patty.
Place 2 levels of 4 patties each on freezer paper or wax paper. Place in gallon size plastic resealable freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer to freeze.

Serving Day:
Heat in pan or on grill over medium-high heat, turning once, until done: 5 minutes per side for well done. Serve on hamburger buns.

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.

Sesame Teriyaki Chicken by Jen

Ingredients:
24 oz. bottle of Sesame Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade
3 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6-7 halves)

Assembly:
Mix marinade and chicken breasts in large Ziploc freezer bag.
Place in freezer until ready to grill. Or thaw chicken, then refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

Serving Day:
When chicken is thawed, heat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken 7 min.; turn over. Grill another 6 to 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF)

Re-Run: Ravioli Bake by Jen

http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2011/04/ravioli-cheese-bake-by-jen_06.html

**I updated a few ingredient quantities from the last time I made this recipe to serve the needs of our growing families.

Ingredients:
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce (You may need more sauce depending on your taste.)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 lb. ground beef, browned
24 oz. refrigerated or frozen cheese-filled ravioli
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Assembly:
Brown ground beef. Combine first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add ravioli; toss to coat. Cover with one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely, Heat oven to 375°F. Brown ground beef then combine first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add ravioli; toss to coat. Cover. Bake 50 min. or until ravioli is tender. Top with cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted

Cheesy Ranch Quarter Pounders by Jackie

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean ground beef
4 tbsp. dry Ranch dressing mix
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
8 hamburger buns

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. 

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

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.

Creamy Chicken & Noodles by Beth

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c. onion, chopped
3 c. chicken broth
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
4 c. egg noodles, uncooked
14 oz. jar Alfredo sauce
5 oz. (1/2 of 10 oz. pkg) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed

Assembly:
You will need 4 quart size freezer bags.  In bag #1, place uncooked chicken and onion.  In bag #2, pour in broth and tomato paste (mixing is not necessary).  In bag #3, place noodles.  In bag #4, pour Alfredo sauce and spinach.  Place all 4 bags in gallon size freezer bag; freeze.

Day of Serving:
Thaw all contents of gallon bag.  Spray large skillet or stockpot with nonstick cooking spray.  Add bag #1 and heat over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink, approximately 5 min.  Add bag #2 and stir until tomato paste is dispersed.  Add bag #3.  Bring to boil; simmer on low heat for 10-12 min or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.  Add bag #4.  Mix well and heat until mixture is hot.  It will thicken the longer it simmers.  Serve and enjoy....goes good with buttered bread!

Re-Run: So You Forgot to Defrost Chicken! by Jen

* 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 egg noodles for you.

Re-Run, Please post here: http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/search?q=so+you+forgot

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.

Smoked Kielbasa Primavera from Jackie

*adapted from Taste of Home recipe Smoked Sausage Primavera http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Smoked-Sausage-Primavera

Ingredients
8oz. uncooked spaghetti
3 cups frozen broccoli cuts
1/2 cup sweet red pepper sliced into strips
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper sliced into strips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 (14oz.) smoked polska kielbasa ropes cut into 1/2" slices
1/2 cup water
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Assembly
Bring onion, water and sausage to a boil in a large skillet.  Reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 7-8 minutes.  Add milk, seasoning and butter to skillet.  Cook and stir until butter is melted.  Cool completely.  Pour into gallon size Ziploc freezer bag.  Add broccoli and peppers into a separate quart size Ziploc freezer bag.  Add Parmesan cheese into a pint size Ziploc freezer bag. 

Serving Day
Thaw kielbasa mixture and cheese bags only.  In large pot, cook spaghetti according to package directions, adding frozen broccoli and peppers during the last 4 minutes of cooking time.  While pasta is cooking, heat kielbasa mixture in microwave until hot.  Drain spaghetti and vegetables.  Return to pot.  Add sausage mixture and cheese to spaghetti.  Toss to coat all noodles.  Serve hot.