Freezer Cooking - Step one...Make a List of Recipes

First things first......

 

That dreaded blank page!

Where do you start?

I have a binder and notebook of recipes that I have collected that usually stay on "rotation".  Pinterest has been a welcome addition to finding great recipes (who doesn't salivate over some of those pictures).  There are alo a lot of online place you can look for recipes such as allrecipes.com , sparkpeoplerecipes.com, kraftfoods.com, etc. 

Some of the recipes I use weren't necessarily developed for freezer cooking, but they were adaptable.






So, what I did for this go round cooking marathon was:

• Search thru my treasure trove of recipes, picking those that are tried and true and some new ones as well.
• Made sure that all recipes would be able to freeze well.
• Picked out 15 that could easily be doubled (or tripled if you like)
• Write all 15 meals out on a sheet of paper
• Write beside each meal if it was a meal that goes in the oven, or one that goes in a crockpot

This is what my list looked like when I was finished:

                                                          Wow!  That is REALLY Fuzzy!
                                                         What?  You say you can't read it?

Below is what is on my list (recipes, links, and shopping lists will be in another post):

1. Cheeseburger Sliders                                  (Oven)
2. Chicken N Dressing                                    (Crockpot)
3. Chicken Pot Pie                                           (Oven)
4. Tuna Burgers                                               (Oven)
5. Refried Ben Soup                                        (Crockpot) - Vegetarian
6. Mushroom Round Steak                              (Crockpot)
7. Tortelleni Soup                                            (Crockpot)
8. Chicken Parmesan Casserole                       (Oven)
9. Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak                      (Crockpot)
10. Barbeque Brisket Sandwiches                     (Crockpot)
11. Firehouse Chili                                            (Crockpot)
12. Ravioli Casserole                                         (Oven)
13. Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches             (refrigerated - yay! no cooking)
14. Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili       (Crockpot)
15. Lasagna (cheating)                                       Store bought (oven)

Tomorrow, I will post a shopping list for ALL of the above.  So if you want to join in (in your own kitchen, of course) this weekend's cooking marathon, you will be well on your way!

**UPDATE** I wasn't able to get my shopping list posted in the time frame I was hoping.  I'm going to try and get it posted in the next few days.....sorry for the delay.

Please post any questions or comments!!!!

 











 

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Mmmmm.....!!!!

This pumpkin chocolate chip bread smells and tastes like fall for me. 

This is one of the nine loaves of bread that I baked a few weeks back and have stored in the freezer.  I am hoping that maybe we will be able to eat more than a couple of slices this time.
**Hint hint.....do not leave the bread on the counter (even wrapped in foil) if you have a dog is that is
    tall enough to pull it off the counter.  Not mentioning any names.....Otis.

Anyway......

This is an easy bread to make and will make your house smell A M A Z I N G!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

 

Makes 2 loaves

 

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3 cups sugar

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup oil

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

 

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, water and oil.

Stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into two greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 70-75 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

 

If you want to freeze for later, make sure you cool completely.  Double wrap in aluminum foil.  Write the date and contents on outside of wrapper.  To use, take out of freezer and thaw completely.

 

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
 

 

 





Rotel Cups

 

Fall is almost here, my favorite time of the year.  Air is crisper, leaves are turning beautiful colors and the outdoors just seem to beg for your company.  For many, it means the start of football season as is the case with my husband.  I'm not a BIG football fan, but I do TRY and get into a game or two when my husband is watching it on T.V. 

With football comes tailgating and get togethers at home with friends.  What party is not complete with some Rotel cheese dip and chips.  It is usually the staple at all parties because it is delicious AND super easy and you can change it around anyway you want to suit your taste.  But,  it can be messy.

These little rotel cups are a perfect alternative to traditional rotel cheese dip.  You get the same great flavors along with it still being super easy to make AND it's not messy.  You and your guests will LOVE the individual servings.

I made these recently for my husband one weekend (sometimes instead of a big meal, we will just have appetizer foods) and he LOVED these little babies.  We agreed that this will be a great addition to our list of party/appetizer foods and cannot wait to serve them at our annual chili and bonfire in November.

I hope you enjoy them too!



Makes: 45 cups

Ingredients:
1 Can rotel tomatoes, drained (almost all the way)
1 bag bacon pieces
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Walmart's Mexican Fiesta)

1 cup Mayo
3 pkg. phyllo pastry cups – thawed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the first 4 ingredients and scoop evenly into the cups.  Place on baking sheet and cook at 350 for 15 min.

 

 

You can make these your own by substituting or adding ingredients....

Instead of using bacon, try sausage or diced chicken.

Cheese - use whatever cheese you want.  The original recipe called for Swiss, which I didn't have on hand.  These would be good with Monterey Jack too.

 

You can even freeze these guys and bake later.  Just make sure to thaw out completely before baking.

 

 

 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

My husband loves to look at recipes just as much as I do. Very frequently he will bring home a recipe that he has found during the day that he wants to try. I love the fact that he is always up for trying something new which means we are never stuck in a rut with the same ole food week to week.

Anything that has "BACON" in the recipe is always a big hit with hubby and when he brought home this recipe, which had no listed amounts of ingredients, I decided to use our friends that were going to be visiting from Michigan as guinea pigs.

Needless to say...it was AWESOME. This recipe also works well as a freezer recipe. Once you have everything made up, put it in the freezer BEFORE you cook.

Additional freezer instructions are below the recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

  

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts, thawed and cut into thirds
12 Thick cut bacon slices
2 or more cups of Brown Sugar
2-3 Tbsp garlic powder
2-3 Tbsp Chili Power (more if you like it a little more spicy)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil.

 Put olive oil in oven proof 13 X 9 pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, or preheat grill.

 Mix garlic powder, chili powder and 1/2 cup of brown sugar together in small bowl. Sprinkle your cut chicken with mixture, toss to make sure it is coated well on all sides.  Put remaining brown sugar in a shallow dish.

Wrap each piece of chicken in the bacon strip then roll in brown sugar. Place in pan. Do the same with each piece of chicken. If you run out of brown sugar in your shallow dish, just add more.

Once you have all pieces of chicken wrapped and in pan, you will either bake or freeze for later.

If cooking now, place pan in oven and cook at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes..making sure all juices run clear and bacon is done.

 You will LOVE the aroma of your kitchen while this is cooking!!! 

If you are freezing, to enjoy later, double wrap your pan in aluminum foil. Thaw completely before baking, bake uncovered using the oven setting and cooking time above.

 **I have two pans in my freezer right now**

 This is a great recipe that can be adjusted to whatever amounts you need.