I've had this several at time at cooking shows for Pampered chef. It's always a hit! What's so great is that they have a section for their recipes. Of course, I often have to modify their recipes. Not only are many things microwaved, but they also call for their own pantry products. But they can still be used pretty easily!
Find the recipe here. I actually BAKE my potatoes in the oven, and cook on the stove. My recipe card says to microwave everything. Do what works for you!
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Southwestern Chicken-Pasta Bake
This is delicious! Found it in All You magazine. I think I may add more peppers. It serves 10, so you can freeze half or split it up into 3 meals. Find it here.
Chili Mac Skillet
12 oz ground beef
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I used dry beans that I've cooked and frozen in bags)
1 can green chilies
3/4 cup dried elbow macaroni
2 tsp chili powder
1 cup water
1.2 cup shredder cheddar cheese
Brown meat and drain
Stir in corn, undrained tomatoes, beans, chilies, uncooked macaroni, chili powder and water
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 12-15 minutes or until pasta is tender
Top with cheese, cover and let stand 5 minutes
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I used dry beans that I've cooked and frozen in bags)
1 can green chilies
3/4 cup dried elbow macaroni
2 tsp chili powder
1 cup water
1.2 cup shredder cheddar cheese
Brown meat and drain
Stir in corn, undrained tomatoes, beans, chilies, uncooked macaroni, chili powder and water
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 12-15 minutes or until pasta is tender
Top with cheese, cover and let stand 5 minutes
Olive Garden Toscana Soup
Another Olive Garden favorite! My husband always orders this soup. We eat it so much, that the restaurant version now tastes different to me. But both are still delicious! Find the recipe here.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Enchilada Casserole
I really suck at making enchiladas.... they always fall apart! My sister-in-law has informed me that it's because I don't fry my tortillas before rolling them. Too much pressure! I found this casserole style dish via facebook friends.
1 lb ground beef
1 dozen corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 can olives
1 10 oz can cream of chicken (I usually do homemade version, recipe here)
1 chopped onion
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can diced green chilies
2 10 oz cans enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350
Brown ground beef
Mix together soup, enchilada sauce, olives, onions and chilies
Add beef, tortillas and half of the cheese
Transfer to casserole dish and bake 45-60 min
Garnish with sour cream and guacamole
Note: I hardly ever have condensed soup, because they're so high in sodium. Plus, homemade is SO delicious! I can eat it by itself! I usually make the creamed chicken, and then add all the ingredients to the pot to mix it up. Brown the beef in a separate pan. The creamed chicken recipe makes more than this recipe requires. So you can measure out what you need and freeze the rest. Or you can cut the recipe down to what you need.
1 lb ground beef
1 dozen corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 can olives
1 10 oz can cream of chicken (I usually do homemade version, recipe here)
1 chopped onion
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can diced green chilies
2 10 oz cans enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350
Brown ground beef
Mix together soup, enchilada sauce, olives, onions and chilies
Add beef, tortillas and half of the cheese
Transfer to casserole dish and bake 45-60 min
Garnish with sour cream and guacamole
Note: I hardly ever have condensed soup, because they're so high in sodium. Plus, homemade is SO delicious! I can eat it by itself! I usually make the creamed chicken, and then add all the ingredients to the pot to mix it up. Brown the beef in a separate pan. The creamed chicken recipe makes more than this recipe requires. So you can measure out what you need and freeze the rest. Or you can cut the recipe down to what you need.
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Since we've tried to eat more real food, many canned items have disappeared from our pantry. Not only is the homemade version better in calories, ingredients and processing... it's delicious! I usually make half of this recipe. Sometimes the recipe I am preparing for only needs yet another half of that. So I can freeze some of it. I guess if you were to logically measure that out, you should be able to get the equivalent of 4 cans of condensed soup out of this recipe. You can always measure 10 oz and freeze them in bags so they're ready to go!
Whenever I make a chicken, I remove all the meat, chop it up and freeze it. Then I use the bones to make chicken stock. For this recipe, I pull out some chicken from the freezer. You can poach some chicken or use leftovers from a rotisserie or something too!
Prepare or have ready 2 cups of chopped/shredded chicken
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
Fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat
Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly
Add broth and whisk until smooth
Add milk and increase heat to bring to a simmer, whisking constantly
Cook for 1 minute then add chicken
Bring to simmer and cook 1 minute more
Remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt and pepper and ground nutmeg to taste.
Whenever I make a chicken, I remove all the meat, chop it up and freeze it. Then I use the bones to make chicken stock. For this recipe, I pull out some chicken from the freezer. You can poach some chicken or use leftovers from a rotisserie or something too!
Prepare or have ready 2 cups of chopped/shredded chicken
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
Fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat
Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly
Add broth and whisk until smooth
Add milk and increase heat to bring to a simmer, whisking constantly
Cook for 1 minute then add chicken
Bring to simmer and cook 1 minute more
Remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt and pepper and ground nutmeg to taste.
Cheeseburger Chili Mac & Cheese
This feeds an army! It's a recipe from Rachael Ray. I like mine with mucho beef broth since I freeze it.
Qdoba chicken marinade
Once I discovered Qdoba, I fell in love! Their chicken marinade is amazing. Here is an at-home version.
Mother-in-Law's Crock Pot Taco Soup
Got this recipe from my favorite (and only!) mother-in-law. It's delicious every time! I usually modify the ingredients a little bit to what I have on hand (like regular beans instead of texas ranch style, or a can of chiles and a can of tomatoes instead of Rotel, or ground turkey if I have it). I recently substituted one of the cans of diced tomatoes for crushed, and one can of corn for creamed corn. This makes it a little soupier. But I will post her recipe and you can do with it what you wish!
Combine and do not drain:
2 lbs browned ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can rotel
Add:
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 package dry taco seasoning
Throw into a crock pot and simmer 4-6 hours. Garnish with cheese, sour cream (or greek yogurt is our favorite!), tortilla chips, etc.
For a freezer meal, I will split the ingredients in half between a gallon freezer bag and the crock pot.
Combine and do not drain:
2 lbs browned ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can rotel
Add:
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 package dry taco seasoning
Throw into a crock pot and simmer 4-6 hours. Garnish with cheese, sour cream (or greek yogurt is our favorite!), tortilla chips, etc.
For a freezer meal, I will split the ingredients in half between a gallon freezer bag and the crock pot.
Freezer Meals from The Pioneer Woman
I love the Pioneer Woman on food network! She did a segment on freezer meals so I thought I'd link some of them here. Along with some of her other recipes that I enjoy and also freeze well! She has a lot more freezer meals and tips, check her out!
Beef stew with root vegetables
Homemade chicken and noodle
Sloppy joes
Sour cream noodle bake
Chicken pot pie
Beef stew with root vegetables
Homemade chicken and noodle
Sloppy joes
Sour cream noodle bake
Chicken pot pie
Monday, September 24, 2012
Freezer Meals
I have lots of friends that ask how to freeze meals. I have been doing this for about 4 years, when I was getting ready to deliver my first baby. I knew that friends, family and people from my church would bring some meals over, and I could send my husband out to pick up take out. But I thought, I'd better have some food in the freezer that I can just pop in the oven so I won't have to worry about cooking post-labor. Even my husband could do that for me!
When I browsed the freezer section at the store, I couldn't believe how much a frozen lasagna was! Not only is it known that cooking meals at home is good for the budget, but it's also good for you! That's when I decided to make meals and freeze a family dinner portion of it.
At the time, I was cooking for just my husband and me. Most recipes feed 4-8 servings. I typically would half a recipe, so I wouldn't have a huge amount of left overs. When I started freezing meals, I would make the entire recipe, keep half of it to eat that evening, and then freeze the other half. Even with 2 young children, about a half a recipe still feeds us pretty well. Of course, we've changed our eating habits over the years. More veggie sides, less entree.
Most recipes that I freeze are able to be warmed in the oven or on the stove. I make a lot of casseroles, pastas, soups, mashed potatoes, and lasagna. Some recipes found here.
I also make/freeze things that I use often but can spoil if not used quickly, such as; ground turkey, turkey sausage, steak, cooked beans, cheese, sauces and homemade chicken stock. Some of these items I buy in bulk and can't possible use in a timely manner. Like 5 pounds of ground turkey! Buying in bulk can be economical, so I try to portion things into sizes that I typically use.
Ground meats, I measure (on a food weight or scale) a half a pound (8 ounces) and put into a sandwich size Ziploc bag. I like these bags because they won't leak, and they're easy to pop the meat in. I flatten it slightly so it lays easily on a plate when I go to thaw it. You can also put into freezer paper (this is too much work for me, though I do use it with steaks and turkey sausage links), or you can wrap it in plastic wrap.
Glad makes cling wrap that doesn't have plasticizers. I use this for wrapping cheese! I buy a 2.5 pound block, cut into usable size chunks, wrap in cling wrap and freeze in a gallon bag marked with the type of cheese it is. I freeze gouda, cheddar and parmesan this way. My Sams club doesn't sell mozzarella in blocks anymore, only shredded. Which I don't like as much, because they have that powder on them... but it works. I measure 2 cups of shredded cheese in a sandwich bag and freeze.
Freezer meals have become a huge part of my meal planning. I make many meals with intent to freeze some of it, and use freezer meals through the month. Freezing meals is easy and convenient!
When I browsed the freezer section at the store, I couldn't believe how much a frozen lasagna was! Not only is it known that cooking meals at home is good for the budget, but it's also good for you! That's when I decided to make meals and freeze a family dinner portion of it.
At the time, I was cooking for just my husband and me. Most recipes feed 4-8 servings. I typically would half a recipe, so I wouldn't have a huge amount of left overs. When I started freezing meals, I would make the entire recipe, keep half of it to eat that evening, and then freeze the other half. Even with 2 young children, about a half a recipe still feeds us pretty well. Of course, we've changed our eating habits over the years. More veggie sides, less entree.
Most recipes that I freeze are able to be warmed in the oven or on the stove. I make a lot of casseroles, pastas, soups, mashed potatoes, and lasagna. Some recipes found here.
I like to freeze food in Ziploc gallon size freezer bags. I personally choose Ziploc brand because they don't have any plasticizers. I get them at Sams (or Costco) and they're a better price in bulk. If you like to coupon, you may be able to get them cheap! I have a pretty good idea of the amount our family eats for a meal, so I load the bag up with enough food for our family for one meal. Most recipes, I am able to freeze half of it. Larger recipes I can get about 3 or even 4 dinners. One family dinner portion goes into the dish and in the oven (or onto the table) and I portion the rest of the meal into bags. I like to freeze them flat, because they thaw quicker! I pull them out of the freezer the night before, place on a plate and keep in the fridge to thaw. Warm in the oven (or for soups, warm on the stove) and dinner is ready! And you didn't even have to cook!
Ground meats, I measure (on a food weight or scale) a half a pound (8 ounces) and put into a sandwich size Ziploc bag. I like these bags because they won't leak, and they're easy to pop the meat in. I flatten it slightly so it lays easily on a plate when I go to thaw it. You can also put into freezer paper (this is too much work for me, though I do use it with steaks and turkey sausage links), or you can wrap it in plastic wrap.
Glad makes cling wrap that doesn't have plasticizers. I use this for wrapping cheese! I buy a 2.5 pound block, cut into usable size chunks, wrap in cling wrap and freeze in a gallon bag marked with the type of cheese it is. I freeze gouda, cheddar and parmesan this way. My Sams club doesn't sell mozzarella in blocks anymore, only shredded. Which I don't like as much, because they have that powder on them... but it works. I measure 2 cups of shredded cheese in a sandwich bag and freeze.
Freezer meals have become a huge part of my meal planning. I make many meals with intent to freeze some of it, and use freezer meals through the month. Freezing meals is easy and convenient!
Disclaimer!
My husband is Serv-Safe certified, and informed me that some of the ways I buy, cook and freeze may not follow the rules of food safety. For example, you shouldn't re-freeze food that's already been thawed. I don't do that with raw meat. And sometimes meat from the store is in the raw meat section, but it was frozen when it came to the store. You may have to check with the store about whether it's arrived fresh or frozen. Or if it was prepare fresh at the store.
Sometimes I will use thawed meat in a recipe, cook it and then freeze the meal. I think I may be breaking the rules here! We've never gotten sick, but I think it's possible that if food hasn't been handled properly in these processes, that food borne illnesses are possible. So cook and prepare with care!
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