Southwest Chipotle Pork Roast by Jackie

Ingredients:
1 4-pound boneless pork loin roast
Tones Southwest Chipotle Seasoning (I buy this in a big bottle at Sam's Club.)

Assembly:
Pat pork dry with paper towel. Rub seasoning onto all surfaces of the pork roast. Place in Ziploc freezer bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely (this will take at least 24 hours).

Option 1: Place roast in slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. This is my preferred method because the meat comes out so tender. Don't be intimidated by not adding any liquid. The meat and condensation provide plenty of liquid.

Option 2: Place roast in a shallow pan and roast in a 350 degrees F. oven for about 1.5 hours (18-20 minutes per pound), until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 150 degrees F. Remove roast from oven; let rest until temperature reaches 160 degrees F., about 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

***Important*** Do not baste the meat with the juice unless you want it VERY spicy. The juice is HOT!

Note:
This made a TON of meat! I shredded the leftovers to use as taco meat in another meal.

3 Cheese Lasagna by Andrea

Ingredients:
8 oz. lasagna noodles
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 T. butter
1 can cream of chicken
1/3 c. milk
1 6oz. can mushrooms, drained
1/4 c. pimento, chopped
1/2 t. basil
1 1/2 c. cottage cheese, creamed
3 c. shredded chicken
2 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Assembly:
Saute onion and pepper in butter. Stir in soup, milk, mushrooms, pimentos, and basil.

Layer noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, chicken, cheddar. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or cover with foil and freeze.

Serving day:
Defrost and bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes.

Quick Sweet and Sour Pork by Wendy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork loin
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium green and/or red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges (I only used 1/4 of an onion)
1 - 15 1/4 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or regular vinegar)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Hot cooked rice

To make and eat same day:
Partially freeze pork. Cut across the grain into 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 inch strips; set aside. Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Stir-fry pepper and onion in hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Add more oil, if necessary. Add pork; stir-fry until browned. Keep warm.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a small saucepan, combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Return peppers and onion to wok. Stir in pineapple and thickened pineapple juice mixture. Cook and stir until heated through. Serve with rice, if desired.

To freeze and eat later:
Cut across the grain into 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 inch strips; set aside. Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Add pork; stir-fry until browned. Let cool and place in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a quart size Ziploc bag, add cut peppers and onions and pineapple chunks. No need to cook. Place bag in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

In a small saucepan, combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Let cool and pour into Ziploc sandwich bag. Place bag in 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

To eat from frozen:
Thaw all bags completely. Combine all bags in skillet or wok and heat until warmed. Serve over rice.

Serves 6.

For other dishes that cook in less than 30 minutes, visit TheOtherWhiteMeat.com/PorkRecipes .

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Pasta by Debbie

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
Italian dressing
1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 recipe Pesto (see recipe below)

Pesto
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup firmly packed parsley springs with stems removed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds
1 large clove garlic, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/4 cup milk

Assembly:
Combine the chicken breasts and Italian dressing. Let this marinate for several hours, or freeze at this point.

To prepare the pesto, combine all ingredients, except the oil and milk, in a food processor or blender. 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. Cover and set aside, or freeze at this point.

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).

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. When the chicken is cooked, slice the breasts into strips and place on top of the pasta.

Note: When making my pesto, I use Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and olive oil. The pesto recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book. Our family LOVES pesto - I hope your family enjoys it too!

Meatloaf by Andrea

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce (divided)
1 c. Ritz crackers, crushed
1 egg
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 c. water
2T. each brown sugar, vinegar, & yellow mustard

Assembly:
Mix meat and onion with 4 oz. tomato sauce, bread crumbs, egg, S&P. Form in loaf shape and place in greased loaf pan. For sauce, mix remaining 4 oz. tomato sauce with remaining ingredients. Mix well with whisk or fork. Pour over meatloaf. (Can be frozen here.) Bake uncovered at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours.

To prepare frozen:
Defrost both meatloaf and sauce. Remove loaf from alum. pan and place in a larger loaf pan. Pour sauce over top and bake uncovered 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Breaded Ranch Chicken (resubmitted by Mel)

See earlier post by Debbie for recipe:
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/search?q=Breaded+Ranch+Chicken

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups by Jen

This was a repeat from May 2008. Hope you enjoy again!

Here is the link for the recipe: http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicken-lasagna-roll-ups-by-jen.html

Basic instructions:
Thaw, Preheat to 375 and Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Cheesy Salsa Chicken & Pasta by Katie

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. mini penne pasta
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 jar Thick & Chunky Salsa-we use med/hot, but I made this with mild for the faint of heart :)
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 large green pepper , cut into short strips
1 c. Mexican style shredded cheese

Assembly:
Cook pasta as directed on package. (If freezing, only cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain and freeze in Ziploc freezer bag.)
Heat nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on med-high heat. Cook chicken. Stir in salsa, corn and pepper. (If freezing, spoon into Ziploc freezer bag.) Freeze. If not freezing, follow directions below.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Bring chicken mixture to a boil. Simmer on med-low heat 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Drain pasta. (or warm up frozen pasta) Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from heat; cover. Let stand 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!

Fiesta Spaghetti by Susan

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz) spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef (I used 90%)
1/4 cup sugar
1 package (1 oz) Taco seasoning mix
1 can (28 oz) Crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 jar (4.5 oz) Sliced mushrooms, drained
Grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Assembly:
1. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove from skillet. Add beef to same skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

2. Add onion and bell pepper to beef; mix well. Stir in sugar, taco seasoning mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn and mushrooms. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When sauce is complete, allow it to cool and transfer to a Ziploc Freezer Bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw sauce and heat. While heating sauce, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Serve sauce over spaghetti and top with Parmesan Cheese.

This recipe is from : http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/sassy-fiesta-spaghetti

Rerun of Marinated Mustard Chicken Breasts by Jackie

I made these last year too. You can find the recipe here:
http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2008/04/marinated-mustard-chicken-breasts-by.html Enjoy!

Cannelloni Pie by Mags

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 pkg. Pierino frozen cannelloni (or equivelent)
• 1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 bag shredded parmesan cheese

Assembly:

1. Brown ground beef - Drain.
2. In a bowl, mix ground beef, 1/2 the jar of spaghetti sauce, 1/2 a bag of mozarella cheese, and 1/2 a bag of parmesan cheese.
3. Press mixture into bottom of greased 9x13" pan.
4. Boil frozen cannelloni for 2 minutes.
5. Lay cannelloni on top of mixture.
6. Pour rest of spaghetti sauce on top of cannelloni.
7. Spread rest of mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top too.

Same-Day Cooking:

1. Bake in preheated 450 oven for 25-30 minutes.
2. You'll want to cover it with foil so your cheese doesn't burn.

To Freeze and Eat Later:

1. Cover tightly with foil (or plastic wrap and foil). Freeze.
2. On Cooking Day, thaw and REMOVE the plastic wrap (if you used it).
3. Follow "Same-Day" Cooking instructions above.

--> Alternate Idea: Use all of the spaghetti sauce for the "pie bottom," and then pour 1 jar of Alfredo sauce over the top with the rest of the cheese.

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Quick Lasagna by Mel

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 small onion
24-30 ounces tomato sauce (2 cans)
1 1/2 c. water
lasagna noodles
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs. cottage cheese
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese(sliced or shredded)

Assembly:
Put meat, spices and onion in skillet and cook on medium until meat is browned. Add tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently about 20 minutes.
Don't cook lasagna noodles. Assemble with uncooked noodles. (If eating on assembly day: While meat is cooking, cook noodles as directed on package. Drain.) In 9x13 pan, arrange layers starting with beef, noodles, Parmesan cheese and cottage cheese, lastly beef. Repeat layers. (I usually do 3 layers, using about 9 pieces of lasagna noodles)

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbling. Cover lasagna with mozzarella an bake 5 more minutes until melted.

Chicken Casserole by Mel

Ingredients:
4 c. cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 c. uncooked macaroni
2 c. milk
salt/pepper to taste

Assembly:
Mix as above. Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely and cook as directed. Bake in 9x13 pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Lipton Onion Burgers by Debbie

*Recipe taken from the Lipton Onion Soup package.*

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 envelope onion soup mix

Assembly:
Combine all of the above ingredients and mix well. Shape into 8 patties. You may freeze the patties at this point, or cook them.

Serving Day:
Thaw the burgers completely. Grill or broil until done. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas by Missy

Ingredients:
8 flour tortillas
2 cups chopped/shredded cooked chicken
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk (from your soup can)
1 cup sour cream
1 small can diced green chilies

Assembly to Eat Same Day:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Split your wet ingredients in half.
Spoon 1/4 of the wet ingredients on the bottom of you baking dish. Fill the tortillas individually with 1/2 of the mixture. Spread the remaining 1/4 on top of the rolled and ready to bake tortillas. Bake @350 for 45 min. Enjoy!

Assembly for Freezing:
I combined the chicken, cheese, soup, milk, sour cream, and chilies and placed them in a freezer safe bag. I counted out the flour tortillas and placed them in a separate freezer safe bag. To keep everything together, I placed the wet ingredients bag inside the tortilla bag...all done!

Serving Day:
Thaw all ingredients, assemble as directed, and ENJOY!!

Chicken Potato Bake (a variation of pork chop potato bake)-submitted by Tish

Ladies,
I apologize for my lack of creativity this month. It has been quite stressful the last two weeks for my family and I haven't really had time to put everything into Freezer Friendz this month. This is a variation of Pork Chop Potato Bake from the past. Check the archives for the specifics. The only difference is that I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of pork chops. I seasoned and breaded and browned them just the same. In the past, people have really enjoyed this recipe so I hope you like this too. I promise to be more creative next month.

Pork Chops Hawaiian by Susan

Ingredients:
6 bone-in pork chops
1 Tbsp oil
2 c. beef broth
1 can (15 1/2 oz) pineapple
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 ketchup
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
6 servings of rice

Assembly Day:
- In skillet brown pork chops on each side in oil (just to avoid sticking if needed).
-Pour off fat.
-Combine remaining ingredients - except cornstarch- in bowl, stir, and pour into skillet.
-Cover and Simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring now and then.
-Depending upon Minute Rice or White Rice cook so it is ready in 45 minutes.
-Mix water and cornstarch. Pour into skillet and stir until thickened.

To Serve Immediately: Serve pork chops with rice, we like the sauce over the rice as well.

To Freeze: Allow pork chops and sauce to cool. Place in freezer bag and store in freezer until ready to use. I chose to freeze the green peppers separately and add it to the mix when reheating.

Serving Day: Allow to thaw completely. Add green peppers. Stir and reheat. Serve with rice.

-If you don't like mushy green peppers I would suggest adding them during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake by Wendy

Ingredients:
Pasta Mixture:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 jar (16 oz.) white Alfredo Pasta Sauce
1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated cheese-filled regular or spinach tortellini
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Assembly Day:
1. Chop onion. Heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas, black pepper and basil.
2. Pour into gallon size Ziploc bag and freeze.
3. Melt butter in microwave 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese; mix well. Spoon into sandwich size freezer bag.

Serving Day: Thaw mixture and topping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spoon pasta mixture into 8x8 pan, sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per servings: Calories 550, Total Fat 24g, Saturated Fat 12g, Cholesterol 110mg, Carbohydrate 54g, Protein 28g, Sodium 1150mg, Fiber 4g.
Cooks Tips:
Alfredo sauce in a jar can be found in the pasta sauce section of the supermarket. Do not substitute refrigerated Alfredo sauce; it may separate and curdle during baking.
To quickly snip basil leaves, stack the leaves and roll them up into a tight cylinder. Using a knife, slice the roll crosswise into thin strips. Then cut them using scissors.

Crunchy Onion Pork Chops by Mags

Original Recipe found HERE.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups (2 oz.) FRENCH'S® Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions
• 4 (1/2 inch thick) bone-in or boneless pork chops
• 1 egg, beaten

PROCEDURE:

PLACE French Fried Onions into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin. Transfer to shallow dish.

DIP pork chops into beaten egg; then toss in crushed onions. Place pork chops into disposable foil pan.


TO EAT TODAY:

For GRILL COOKING, prepare grill for indirect cooking over medium-high heat (400°F). Cook pork chops in covered grill 20 to 25 min. or until no longer pink in center.

For OVEN COOKING, place on cookie sheet and cook at 400°F for 20-30 minutes (until done)


TO FREEZE & EAT LATER:
Slide coated pork chops into freezer bag and press out all air. Seal and freeze.
On serving day, thaw completely and follow cooking instructions above.


VARIATIONS:
This can also be done with chicken - and with either, you can add 2TBSP of flour to the crushed onions as part of your coating. Use the Cheddar French Fried Onions for a cheesy alternative.

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Easy Pizza Pasta Casserole by Jackie

From Once A Month Cooking
Ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef
½ large onion, chopped
½ clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. crushed Italian seasoning
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces sliced pepperoni

Assembly:
Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and seasoning in oil. Drain. Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 1 1/2 c. cheese. Place mixture in greased 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Top with pepperoni. Cover and freeze up to 3 months.

To cook now: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.

Serving Day: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until hot.

After making this meal, I kind of wish I would have mixed more pepperoni in throughout the casserole to add flavor throughout. Just a thought you may want to try.