I have about 18meals in the freezer already and can't think of another single thing! (I'd like at least 30) I've been browsing through OAMC sites for the last month (on my incredibly slow modem mind you) but nothing is sounding all that great.
But anyway.. if you are freezing meals or if you are planning to freeze meals- can you tell me what you are freezing?? Please? I'm desperate LOL.
Location: Stuck in the neverending cycle of cleaning
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Oh, don't forget muffins for those busy mornings. Bread can freeze well, too for limited times. Cupcakes unfrosted if any birthdays are coming up when you will be busy.
How about enchilatas? Super-easy: put cream cheese, shredded cheese, cooked chicken (are you veggie or not? could do tofu) in tortilla, roll up, cover with enchilata sauce, cook until ALMOST done, then make up some mexican rice and beans, put it all in one container, freeze, and you've got a meal.
chili
spaghetti
lasagna
chicken cooked for either chicken and dumplins or bbq chicken sandwiches
meatballs
potatoes
Hamburger meat seasoned for mexican
meatloaf
Sounds kind of boring but truly easy meals when I'm low on time.
If you do baked goods like banana bread and zuchinni bread make sure to air tight wrap them (plastic wrap or the like) while still hot/warm so that all the moisture doesn't evaporate and you end up with dry bread later.
Here are some of my freezer meal favorites:
Sarah's Amazing Banana Bread
makes 3 loaves, WW 22pts per loaf
7 ripe bananas
1.5c sugar
3 eggs
3c flour
1tsp each salt and baking soda
Preheat oven to 325deg, grease 3 loaf pans
Mix bananas, sugar and eggs with pastry blender. Add flour, salt and soda- mix
until just moistened. Pour evenly in 3 pans, bake 50minutes.
Do not allow steam to evaporate during cooling, cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Wrap in plastic wrap while still warm and freeze immediately if you want moist bread later from the freezer.
Sarah's Oatmeal Cranberrie Cookies (........or raisin....or Chocolate Chip)
Preheat oven to 325deg and spray cookie sheets with oil.
Whisk together:
3/4cup flour
1cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp ground nutmeg
Separate bowl, beat on medium speed:
1/2lb butter, softened
1 1/2cup packed brown sugar
1/4cup sugar
2Large eggs
2 1/2tsp vanilla
Stir flour mixture into butter mixture bit by bit until well blended
Stir in:
1c dried cranberries
3 1/2cup rolled oats (oatmeal)
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake 6-9minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before removing to cooling rack (about 2minutes).
TRY TO SHARE BEFORE YOU EAT THEM ALL!
Zuchinni Cookies
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. shredded zucchini w/ 1 tsp. baking soda added
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. nuts (optional)
1 c. raisins (optional)
cream margarine, sugar, and egg together. add zucchini and soda mixture. combine dry ingredients and add to zucchini mixture. mix well. add nuts and raisins. drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes or until brown.
**Spaghetti Sauce
1 small diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4c olive oil
1 lg can chopped tomatoes
3TBSP chopped parsley
1t sweet basil
6oz can tomato paste
1TBSP sugar
1lb lean ground meat (opt)
1/4 italian bread crumbs
1/8c milk
1 beaten egg
3TBSP parmesan cheese
Cook onion and garlic in oil in saucepan. Add canned tomatoes, 1TBSP parsley, basil, salt and pepper, tomato paste, and sugar. Simmer. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, bread crumbs, milk, egg, 3TBSP parm cheese, 2TBSP parsley, salt and pepper. Brown meat mixture in some oil. Add tomato sauce. Simmer 20minutes.
----> side note: I add large quantities of grated vegetables (such as zuchinni) to this recipe and it goes farther and is yummy
**Veggie & Sausage Soup
*warning these are very rough estimates*
Chop and place in slow cooker:
carrots (about 3c?)
celery (about 1/2 of a bunch?)
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
Add:
2 large cans of seasoned chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
4 chicken/apple sausages (or other favorite flavor- chopped small)
1-2c TVP
Stir and cook in crockpot for about 6 hours and add water as needed.
Serve over rice. Makes 8-10 1c servings, for us thats about 2 dinners
**Smothered Lentils
2C. dry lentils (rinsed and sorted)
1 md onion chopped
1/2c celery
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1c cooked ham (chopped)
1/2c chopped carrots
1c diced tomatoes
1tsp dried marjoram
1tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
3c water
-combine all ingredients in slow cooker
-cover. cook on low 8hours
- add water as needed
**Beef and Lentils
1md onion
3 whole cloves
5c water
1lb lentils
1tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1lb (or less) ground beef (or turkey), browned and drained
1/2c ketchup
1/4c molasses
2Tbsp brown sugar
1tsp dry mustard
1/4tsp Worcestershire sauce
1onion, finely chopped
-stick cloves into whole onion and set aside
-in large saucepan, combine water, lentils, salt, bay leaf, and whole
onion with cloves. Simmer 30min
-Meanwhile combine all remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Stir in
simmered ingredients from saucepan. Add additional water if mixture
seems dry.
-Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours (check to see if lentils are tender)
*top with sour cream and/or salsa when serving
I have lots more but I couldn't find them on the puter. Let me know if you want my freezer recipes for lasagna, enchiladas, taco soup, greek style meatballs, crustless quiche, zuchinni bread, shepherd's pie, lunch bean burritos....... I love having a full freezer during the last days of pregnancy and postpartum. I always have at least some for regular stash too though.
HTH,
Sarah
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Mommy to Elias (6/5/00), Hannah (9/23/01), and Barnabeas (4/21/05)
happy wife to Eddie
So far I have just frozen thing that will make food prep easier. Raw ground beef in meal sized portions. Chicken broth. Cooked Wheat (I add to chili or beans to stretch it further) Shredded cooked beef, for tacos, enchiladas etc. Blanched corn on the cob. I need to add more to it though.
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Crissy
Mama to Anthony, James, and Donovan
Well, many of my meals I don't really have recipes for! I just wing it like I have ever since I started cooking! LOL!
The spaghetti sauce was something that I canned this summer/fall from our harvested tomatoes. I just cooked up some hamburger, threw in a jar of my sauce, and stuck it in the freezer.
Chicken casserole
1 6oz pkg long grain and wild rice. prepare then add ingredients to this. (I use whatever rice I have on hand)
4 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 3/4 cup green beans
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 can cream chicken and brocoli soup (never buy this so I use one family size can of mushroom soup instead)
1 can drained mushrooms
2/3cup onion
2/3cup green pepper
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4 cup shredded colby cheese (sprinkle on top)
2/3cup french fried onions - I rarely buy these, instead I use crushed cereal.
(This is supposed to make 2 casserole sized meals. One to prepare, one to freeze. However, it is only one meal for our family, so I prepare it in a 9x13 pan and double the ingredients to make 2.)
Bake at 350 25-30minutes covered. Uncover and sprinkle on onion crunchies and bake 5minutes longer til golden. Frozen casserole takes 60-65minutes to bake.
Chicken pot pie
1 large can cream of chicken soup (or could use mushroom)
2 cups chopped chicken (or could use turkey)
1 large can veg-all
1 cup bisquik
1/2cup milk
1 egg
combine vegetables, soup and chicken in 9x9 square pan or 9 inch pie plate. stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken mixture in pan. bake about 30minutes or until golden brown at 400. I double this recipe to make 2, but bake both completely before freezing one.
Enchiladas
2lbs ground beef
1 jar salsa (my special home made version LOL)
2 tsp chili powder (although my salsa is hot enough without adding this)
flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (approx)
Brown the ground beef, then add the salsa, chili powder, and about 1 cup of the cheese. I then roll the meat mixture inside of the tortillas and place in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle cheese over the top. And bake for about 20minutes on 325 or until hot.To freeze I just roll the meat mixture inside the tortillas and freeze in a bag.
For the enchilada pie, it's made pretty much the same- only the tortillas, meat mixture, and cheese is layered in a pan like a lasagna would be. Bake at 350 until hot all the way through. Does not need to be baked before being frozen though.
cheeseburger pie
1lb ground beef
one large onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bisquik
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Heat oven to 400. brown beef and onion, drain. stir in salt. spread in pie plate, sprinkle with cheese. in bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. pour into pie plate. bake about 25minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
this recipe probably only serves 4. I double it for our family and bake it in a 9x13 pan. I times everything by 4 to make enough to be able to freeze one. This needs to be baked completely before being frozen.
chili
My secret family recipe. LOL. Actually I just dump- but lately I've really liked using a jar of my salsa as the secret ingredient. Makes it nice and spicy and clears out nasal passages. LOL.
chicken noodle soup
same thing.. basically. I just wing it. Boil the chicken until cooked through, adding a couple chicken boullion cubes to the water. Cube the cooked chicken, then add noodles, cut up carrots, salt and pepper to taste to the water that just boiled the chicken. Simmer all ingredients until noodles and carrots are tender. Could add celery, onions, etc as well.
Right before one of the hurricanes (think it was the 2nd one) I cooked all the meat we had in meals, then froze it so we hopefully we wouldn't loose as much food. And hopefully we wouldn't need to use as much canned food - yuck!
I made:
Beef stew (no potatoes in it - they don't freeze well)
split pea soup
cooked and froze meal sized portions of rice and pasta (just throw in hot water and drain to heat up)
browned all the ground beef to use in the pasta sauce
I need to do the same thing closer to my due date. I hate cooking, and so does dh!
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Allison mama to:
DH (lol), Chrissy 15, Mikhail 12, Kiera 10, Kivett 8, Aislinn 6, Alannah 3, and fresh from the oven Kian Oliver-Bell 11/15/07
1 lb hamburger (or can use stew meat or something similar)
1 c chopped onions
3 c water
2tsp salt
1tsp bottled brown bouquest sauce (never used this LOL)
1 c diced carrots
1/4 tsp pepper
1c diced celery
1/8tsp dried basil
1cup diced potato
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
(I tend to use a large can of veg-all instead of using fresh veggies)
Brown hamburger in large skillet, I usually add a little garlic and pepper while browning. Put rest of the ingredients in large pot, add drained hamburger, and stir. heat to boiling, reduce heat. simmer one hour. (this recipe tastes best the next day!)
pizza
I just use the pizza mixes that you buy in the store. When I'm freezing one, I bake the crust about half-way before adding the toppings. (otherwise I don't bake the crust) I've also used the bisquik bisquit recipe, cut it in half, and used that for part of the pizza crust. Adds a great flavor. Then I just add the toppings I want and freeze! Easy easy.
baked taco sandwhich
Baked Taco Sandwich
Who says tacos have to be served in a taco shell? These tacos are like open-face sandwiches you eat with a fork. And you probably have all the ingredients you need on hand!
1pound lean ground beef
1envelope (1.25 ounces) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix
1cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/3cup cold water
3/4cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
Sour cream, if desired
Shredded lettuce, if desired
Chopped tomato, if desired
1. Heat oven to 450ºF. Grease square pan, 8x8x2 inches. Cook beef and taco seasoning mix as directed on envelope of seasoning mix.
2.Mix Bisquick mix and cold water until soft dough forms; spread in pan. Spread beef mixture over dough.
3. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with remaining ingredients. (must be baked completely before frozen)
(I double this recipe for our family)
meatballs
2 cups kethcup
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup onion
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (?? never used LOL)
1/2tsp garlic
Pour over browned meatballs (I usually make about 2lbs of meatballs at a time) and bake at 350 for 1 hour.
hobo casserole
This recipe makes 4 casseroles! I only make half, eat one and freeze one.
10 lbs potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 lbs ground beef
6-8 medium carrots, diced
1 (10 ounces) bottle Worcestershire sauce (approx. 1 1/4 cups) (my family likes this better w/out this)
1 large onions, chopped
1 head garlic, peeled and choped fine
3 (26 ounces) cans undiluted cream of mushroom soup
4 cups milk
salt, to taste (I use approximately 1 tablespoon)
pepper, to taste (I use approximately1 teaspoon)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
2. Spray 4 9-inch by 13-inch baking pans with non-stick cooking spray (such as Pam); set aside.
3. Combine ground beef,onion, and garlic in large skillet.
4. Cook over medium-high heat until ground beef is browned.
5. Drain.
6. Add worchestershire sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and milk.
7. Stir until sauce is fairly smooth.
8. Mix in potatoes and carrots.
9. Divide mixture evenly between the 4 baking pans.
10. To bake: Cover baking pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Remove foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
12. To freeze: Allow mixture to cool in baking pan.
13. Cover and label; Freeze.
14. To use frozen casserole: Allow casserole to thaw overnight in fridge.
15. Bake as directed above (may take an additional 15 minutes to bake if placed in the oven directly from fridge).
16. **Ihave to mix this recipe in thirds since I don't have a large enough skillet or bowl to mix it all at once**.
Bread can freeze well, too for limited times. Cupcakes unfrosted if any birthdays are coming up when you will be busy.
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