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.

Chicken Crescents by Mel

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 soup can of milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can 8 piece crescent rolls
pepper

Assembly:
Stew chicken, pull apart (or chop) and divide into 8 sections. Lay out each crescent, fill with chicken, sprinkle with cheese and seasonings (I used pepper), and roll up. Place in 9x13 pan. Mix soup and milk and pour over crescents. Sprinkle liberally with cheese. Can be baked immediately or frozen for a later date.

Serving Day:
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. I poke the crescent to be sure it is cooked.

Comment from Mel:
This is the original recipe, but for you ladies I added 2 extra crescents to be sure you each got enough. You can judge for your own family if 8 crescents would have been enough if you want to make this in the future. If you make it with 10 crescents, just increase the chicken. The other ingredients can all remain the same.

Beef & Parmesan Pasta by Mags

Beef & Parmesan Pasta Recipe from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 cups sliced zucchini, (1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Same-Day Cooking and Eating Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium/high heat, brown the ground beef until no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4 inch pieces. Remove beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour off the drippings.
2. Return the skillet to the heat and add the beef broth, tomatoes, and pasta. Stir to coat all of the pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
3. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add zucchini and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until pasta is tender.
4. Return beef to the skillet and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese; heat through. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over each serving.

Preparation & Freezing to Eat at a Later Date:

1. In a large skillet over medium/high heat, brown the ground beef until no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4 inch pieces. Remove beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour off the drippings.
2. In a gallon-sized freezer bag, pour in can of broth, can of diced tomatoes, cooked ground beef and UNcooked pasta. Press out air and seal bag.
3. In a separate baggie, place your sliced zucchini.
4. In another baggie, place your 3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese.
5. Freeze baggies.
6. On cooking day, thaw out all pieces. Pour contents of large baggie into your skillet. Add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add in zucchini and simmer for 5 more minutes. Sprinkle cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

:) Mags

Kansas City Steak Soup - by Tish

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef (browned and drained of excess fat)
1.5 cups of chopped onion
4.5 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
3 - 3 1/2 cups of water
1.5 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, UNdrained (I also cut mine into bite size pieces)
1.5 cups of thinly sliced celery
2 beef bouillon cubes
1.5 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste (if desired)
I also used Tastefully Simple "Garlic Garlic" to add a little more flavor
1.5 cans of beef broth
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Assembly:
Brown beef and onion in the bottom of your stock pot, and drain of any excess fat. Add veggies, water, tomatoes WITH liquid, celery, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and garlic powder,if desired.
Bring to a boil. Whisk together flour and beef broth in a separate bowl till smooth. Add to beef mixture, stirring constantly. Return to a boil, then drop heat to low and simmer 15-45minutes, stirring frequently. Let cool completely and ladle into Freezer bags and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw and then re-heat in large saucepan, or you could take the frozen soup out of the freezer bag and put it into a slow cooker on low and let it thaw and re-heat that way.
**If the soup seems too thin after it is defrosted, just whisk some more flour into some warm water and stir it into the hot soup till it reaches the consistency you like.**

Yields : 6 servings

Chee-z Ham and Potato Bake by Missy

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 2lb. bag hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 stick of butter
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4tsp onion powder
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 sleeve Ritz crackers and 2 tbs melted butter
for a crunchy topping

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine soup, sour cream, melted butter, cheese, pepper, and onion powder. Stir in cubed ham and hash brown potatoes. Pour into Ziploc freezer bag or aluminum pan, cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. I did not freeze the crackers. =)

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. If in a Ziploc bag, pour into 9"x13" pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 35 min. Crumble Ritz crackers and melt butter...mix together and sprinkle over top casserole and bake for another 10-15 min (until bubbly and golden). Your total baking time will be 45-55 min depending on how thawed it was going in and how quickly it bubbles and heats throughout...I am finding some of the meals take a little longer to bake than the directions say (including my own frozen and thawed meals)...this may be one of those?!?!?!

!!!ENJOY!!!

Parmesan Chicken Olivia by Jackie

*Recipe from www.FreezerSmarts.com
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup mayonnaise

Assembly:
Brush each piece of chicken with mayonnaise. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan in a work bowl or zipper storage bag. Coat each chicken breast with the crumb mixture. Lay pieces of chicken flat in the bag. This will help it freeze faster, take up less room in your freezer AND will prevent the coating from slipping off. It also prevents having a big pile of chicken pieces stuck to each other when you go to cook them. Remove excess air from bag and seal tightly.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Transfer to baking dish & bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until chicken is done (165F).

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Beef Fajita Burgers by Debbie

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground sirloin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
Several drops of hot sauce, like Tabasco

Assembly:
In a large bowl, combine the meat, Worcestershire, spices, thyme, hot sauce, and grill seasoning. Score and divide the meat into 4 sections. Make 2 patties, 1 inch thick, from each section. At this point you can either wrap and freeze, or send them off to the grill.

Serving Day:
Thaw burgers completely. Drizzle them with olive oil. Cook on either a large skillet or grill pan on the stove, or on an outdoor grill. Serve on a large flour tortilla or hamburger bun.

This recipe was taken from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals cookbook. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Freezer Friendz!

A year ago, in March, a small group of four friends got together to trade freezer dinner once a month. After a couple of months of writing down recipes, copying them, and passing around the recipe cards, we finally realized that this would be SO much easier on a blog - and thus FreezerFriendz at Blogspot was born!

Now, our small group has expanded into two Teams, making dinners across 6 categories, and managing a blog that gets approximately 2000 hits per month! That's a fabulous birthday gift in and of itself!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

FREEZER FRIENDS!

Many happy returns!

Party Pasta Bowl by Mel

Ingredients:
1 pkg. uncooked ziti
1 c. chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef
2-3 garlic cloves
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar (48 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 egg
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 c. fresh parsley (I use dried)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided

Assembly:
Cook pasta according to package. Cook onion, beef and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes, then drain. Add seasonings, sauce and tomatoes. In small bowl, mix egg, ricotta, 1 c. mozzarella, 1/4 c. Parmesan, parsley and pepper. To assemble, place pasta in 9x13 baking dish (or slightly larger), add 6 cups of meat sauce and mix well. Spread cheese mixture evenly over pasta. Top with remaining sauce.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1 hour. Top with remaining cheeses. Continue baking 10 minutes or until bubbly. (Yields 12 servings)

White Sloppy Joe by Katie

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 T. milk
4 T. sour cream
1tsp. liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste
* American Cheese Slices (optional)

Assembly:
Brown meat. Stir in soup, milk and liquid smoke and reduce to a low heat. Stir in sour cream and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Pour in skillet and reheat. Serve on hamburger bun with American Cheese slice (if desired)