Freezer Cooking Round 8

Are you sick of these posts yet?  I have received a lot less input and feedback on them lately so perhaps you are all off and running with your own freezer recipes!  If so share with me!  I'm always looking for new good ideas!  Here are my last freezer meals.

We had a little cooler weather the last week so you know what that means...SOUP!  Oh how I love soup!  Not the creepy, nasty canned stuff but the real deal homemade soup!  I can't wait to try a few new recipes this winter!  

Basil, Chicken, & Orzo soup from Gimme Some Oven

I prepared this all the way but didn't add the orzo or basil until we had it for dinner.  I cooked the orzo in a separate pot of water and it still absorbed a ton of the broth.  Next time I will make it more soupy or let the orzo absorb more water.  If you forget the basil this is a tasty chicken noodle soup :)  I made 2 dinners worth and froze in bags.

Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

This stuff is delish...like super delish.  I do not add the gnocchi until the day we eat it and I cook them in a pot of water and add them to the soup when they are done.  I double the spinach and still think more could be added.  Also made 2 bags of this.

Salisbury Steak from Mommy's Kitchen

If you like salisbury steak this is delish.  It won't make the regular rotation at our house because the husband thought it was too much like Navy food ;)  I made the patties and froze them.  When it was time to cook them I forgot to brown them first.  They turned out tasty still but I am sure there was far more fat in the gravy than if I would have cooked some out ahead of time.

The Best Burger Ever from Little Miss Momma

This made an appearance on our meal plan for the second time.  These burgers are delish!  I prepare the patties ahead so when we are having them for dinner I just have to let them thaw and toss them on the grill!  If you haven't tried these yet you are missing out.  

Crock pot Teriyaki Chicken from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

This is the first time I have tried this recipe as a freezer meal!  We haven't tried it yet so I'll keep you posted but see no reason why it won't come out perfectly.  I have had and enjoyed this made as a regular meal though.  I mixed all the ingredients and poured it along with the chicken into a bag.  

Italian Lasagna from Amanda's Cookin

This is on our menu again for it's second appearance.  I do add a container of cottage cheese but otherwise I follow the recipe exactly.  I know cottage cheese is a cardinal sin in this case but we like it!  It adds a little extra nutrition and keeps everything a little more moist.  I prepare these all the way and freeze before baking.  I made 2 of them.

Pepperoncini Sandwiches from Our Best Bites

Yes, again!  My husband loves these things and so do the kids!  It's a rarity that I find a dish everyone will eat.  I dump the jar of pepperoncinis in the bag and freeze.  It really isn't necessary to do so but since I buy a 2 pack of roast I have to freeze them in bags anyways I thought I'd try and it works so hey why not.  I do not brown the meat ahead of time and think it tastes great.  We shred the meat and have shredded beef tacos the next night.  One crock pot freezer meal that equals 2 no cook dinners?? WINNER in my book!  

Alfredo Chicken Roll Ups by MMM Cafe

I hadn't planned to make these but had a little left over shredded chicken that was too much to toss and not enough to do a whole lot with.  We haven't eaten these yet but the alfredo sauce was delish the day I made it.  It wouldn't be super regular at our house because heller it's super fattening but if it's tasty it's a good way to use up a little chicken.  I'll keep you posted on the results.

Lemon Garlic Chicken from Six Sisters Stuff

Haven't tried this one but I'll keep ya posted.  It does have you brown the chicken ahead of time and for once I did as it directed.  That extra step for me means more work and dishes so it better be good or it won't make the cut as a freezer meal ;)

and lastly 

Apple Dump Chicken from When the Dinner Bell Rings

They don't have a picture for me to steal borrow and I haven't cooked this one yet.  I'll update once I do!

Spicy Sausage Pasta from Kevin & Amanda

I didn't make this as a freezer meal but it was too tasty not to share!  Oh so delish!  It doesn't take very long to make and only uses one pan.  Of course my lazy side is going to try to make this a freezer meal soon :)  If you are looking for a quick and easy meal this one is worth trying!

There you have it 14 freezer meals in my freezer!  Happy momma here!  I also picked up a pack of chicken for pot pies but haven't gotten to it yet.  That should make at least 3 and maybe once other meal...I am thinking soup or enchiladas ;)

To see all previous freezer meal posts go here.

All recipes that have been deemed "tried and true" by myself are pinned here in case you are wanting to pin them quickly or are on your phone!

*all pictures property of the blogs they are linked to.  Thank you to the fabulous cooks out there sharing these for people like me that can't think up recipes from scratch! 

Freezer Cooking Round 7

Freezer Cooking Round SEVEN!

I made these 3 weeks ago and have learned that I should blog them earlier because I forget a few things in that much time....like I may have forgotten one of the recipes I made because I swear I made more than this haha!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

We've had these a few times and really enjoy them.  This was my first time freezing them and additionally instead of the jumbo shells I used a large shell pasta so it was more of a casserole or pasta dish.  I am not wild about stuffing the jumbo shells with the filling and I thought it would freeze better as a dish instead of the stuffed shells alone.  It was tasty but I think the pasta to filling ratio was a little off.  I'll up my sauce next time.  I also am curious how this will do with lasagna noodles instead.  Either way, it was tasty as usual I'll just tweak it a little next time.  I made 2 servings of these each dinner frozen in a ziploc bag (remember to undercook your noodles!).  Defrost, dump in 8x8 pan and bake until hot. 

No Peek Beef Tips

I am on the fence with these.  They were really, really tasty BUT they do use a can of cream of soup, and 2 packages of envelope mix.  That's a lot of mystery ingredients that I prefer to stay away from.  I am hoping I can recreate this healthier because it was really good.  When I question these types of recipes I do remind myself that my family also consumes restaurant and fast food from time to time and really I am pretty sure those are just as bad as the creepy envelope cream of foods. Sooooo if you are ok with less than clean ingredients from time to time make this!  If not, keep scrolling or feel free to clean it up and tell me how it goes so I can too :)  I cubed the roast, mixed all ingredients and froze in a ziploc.  Thaw and cook as directed.

Best Burger Ever (from Little Miss Momma)

Seriously this is the best burger ever.  I am not sure if it was because it was my first fatty food after super strict dieting or if it really is THE BEST but everyone LOVED this burger so I'm going with option 2.  I premade the patties and froze with wax paper in between them.  I sort of flash froze them in a single layer first and then stacked them and froze in a ziploc.  I completely thawed and we made ours on the bbq.  Do not skip the sauce.  It totally seals the deal!  So tasty.  These are going on the next meal plan as well.  

Spinach & Artichoke Baked Pasta

Mixed everything up only cooking the noodles about halfway.  Put it in a ziploc flat to freeze.  We haven't eaten this one yet but I promise to come back and update when we do!  

That's it for new recipes this round!  I also made 2 dinners of the cilantro lime pesto chicken tacos, pepperoncini dip sandwiches and shredded beef tacos.  For those recipes and all previous freezer posts click here.

Freezer Cooking Round 5

You can see all of my freezer cooking posts HERE.

I recently posted my most recent freezer cooking on my Inner Hooker facebook page.  

A lot of you had questions, wanted more info, and requested links to recipes....so this is for you!

This round was more prepping than cooking but will still save me lots of time later and money!  I can buy bulk meat and not just split it up into smaller portions but take one more step to prep it for that dinner.  This is also a great way to get started freezer cooking because it isn't too overwhelming.  

I started by purchasing my meat at Sam's Club (we don't have Costco :( sad!  and local meat is just not in my budget right now...double sad) .  I bought 2 packs of boneless skinless breasts (total about 11-12 lbs) , 1 pack of boneless skinless thighs (6 lbs), and a pack of ground beef (5-6 lbs).  From that I made 9 meals for the freezer, 1 for dinner that night, and froze 1 lb of ground beef and 1.5 C plain shredded chicken so that's really 11 meals...not too shabby for about $50 in meat and a few hours of my time.  It could have went much faster if I didn't have the boys running wild.  

Recipes I used: 

Meatloaf (x2):  my recipe:  I have been cutting back on the sugar and ketchup topping and it's still good.

Fajitas (x2):  I just slice the breasts into strips, add onions to the bag. One I poured in marinade, one I left plain.

Enchilada filling: used this recipe and had it for dinner but wasn't in love with it.  You can freeze the enchiladas all rolled up but I prefer them fresh.  Just thaw your filling and then make the enchiladas as normal.

Chicken soft taco filling:  this recipe looks delish but I have a hard time with cream of soups so I just did 2 C shredded chicken and salsa mixed up and frozen.  I do love the way the original recipe looks so I may try it one of these times.

Man Pleasing Chicken: put chicken thighs in bag, add ingredients and freeze.

Russian Chicken :  put thighs in freezer bag, dump in the ingredients and freeze.

Chicken Sandwiches:  put chicken breast and pineapple rings in the bag, dump marinade in.  I keep a little marinade in the bottle to baste with when bbq'ing later.

This is a pretty brief rundown but I promise there isn't much to these!  The are pretty simple (inexpensive/not too many ingredients) recipes.  If you have any questions just let me know!

Freezer Cooking Take 2

Freezer Cooking Round 2!!

Back again with a few more tried and true freezer meals!  I am really enjoying this style of cooking and know I appreciate when someone has actually frozen and then cooked and eaten the recipe.  Some things just don't save as well as others.  Luckily, so far I have had great success with the recipes I have chosen.  Here's my last batch.  They've been frozen for a few weeks, prepared, and enjoyed!

First up, Chicken Pot Pie.  

This is actually my recipe.  I was freezer cooking before I even knew there was such a thing!  My family LOVES this meal.  I use pre-made pie crusts but you could make it from scratch if that floats your boat.  I prepare the filling, I get 3-4 pies depending on how closely I follow the recipe vs. doing it from memory.  I make one that night and freeze the other fillings in a ziploc.  Put the ziploc in the fridge the day you will use it, I warm it up in a pot and usually need to add a little milk (it gets thicker in the freezer).  While thats warming I cook the bottom pie crust a little to keep from getting soggy, dump in the filling, second crust and cook!  Yum, yum, yum.  

Next up, Pioneer Woman's Dr. Pepper Pork.  

click pic for credit

This was also delish.  The meat was a little fattier than I thought but once it cooled I just scraped it off and tossed it.  We ate this with tortillas, guacamole and salsa.

Third....I used the PW Dr. Pepper Pork for filling for tamales.  

click pic for credit

This was only the second time I have made tamales.  They are pretty time consuming but really tasty.  I love that when I make them myself I can control the amount of meat vs. masa.  Not like those parking lots tamalas that are mostly masa with a tiny it of meat!  I use this recipe/tutorial for tamales.  These are also something I have frozen many times and they keep great.

and lastly I also made breakfast burritos.  I didn't snap a picture but they were a huge hit.  

I hope this inspires you to give freezer cooking a try!  So far so good here!  I made more today, I'll be back in a few weeks with a follow up on them!

Freezer Cooking Take 1

“What’s for dinner” 

oh lawdy do I hate this question!! It makes me feel like a crazy ready to rage woman. Enter freezer cooking. In an effort to avoid this internal meltdown and have better odds of my children surviving into adulthood I thought I would give this notion a go. There are some seriously hard core people out there that literally cook once a month and make/prep most of their meals. Well, I’ll never be that girl but I wouldn’t mind having 2 dozen or so meals prepped in the freezer.

There are countless websites, blogs, and cookbooks dedicated to this. I just want to share a few recipes that are tried and true. It’s a little nerve wracking making things that you don’t know how they’ll save and taste later! I knew I should start small just in case it wasn’t my thing we hadn’t invested too much time or money into it! I chose to make 2-3 meals of 3 different dinners. At this point I have used these frozen meals and they all passed the test! Well, one wasn’t a favorite here only because Chris hates tomatoes….oops {I knew he hated them but thought they were small enough he wouldn’t mind. Next time I will throw them in the food processor along with the onion and bell peppers I hid in this dish}

My meatloaf recipe. Do not cook ahead or mix the sauce. Do that as you would when cooking. I prepped it all and put it in a disposable pan to freeze. Eventually I think I’d like pyrex for them all. I also saw something were they lined the pan with saran wrap, froze it solid and then took it out and put it in a bag. Takes up much less space in the freezer and budget friendly. Maybe I’ll try this next time!

Baked Ziti from Annie’s Eats. I did cook the turkey ahead and I also cooked the noodles a little more than half done. This one I prepped all the way to the cooking stage and froze (again in disposable pans) instead of baked. This one is awesome!  

Creole Jambalaya from Keeping Life Creative. Cooked the chicken and the sausage. Cooked the rice about halfway. I also put the veggies in the food processor in hopes of hiding it from the kids. This dish turned out to be a little too spicy for them anyways. I thought it was delish but considering I was the only one that ate it , it won’t make it into rotation. I do have another frozen bag of it I guess I’ll be eating alone. I poured this into 2 large Ziploc freezer bags and layed perfectly flat to freeze. Once they were frozen solid I could stand them up and they took up next to no room. Loved it.

I also put one large pack of chicken in the crock pot and shredded that into separate bags to freeze. Sliced another one into fajita strips, poured in the marinade and froze. We typically have shredded meat in the freeze.  When I make it for dinner I am sure to make enough extra for another meal...we love shredded meats! They are so easy to cook and tasty! Plus you can use them for lots of things! My go to recipe is this one from Make It and Love It. 

 We’ve made it dozens and dozens of times always perfect!

That's about it!  Wish I had tons more to share but like I said, these are ones that I have not only frozen but already tasted after the big freeze.  I'll keep you posted on more.  If you are feeling even a teensy bit tempted I really recommend trying a few meals!  It has made a few of my evenings much easier not to mention saving time and money!

Wanna Make it Wednesday 03/24

Ok, so I look like a knocked up starving chick posting food now instead of crafts but seriously...SERIOUSLY how delicious does this look!!

Brown Sugar Banana Ice Cream....yummmmm

Recipe can be found at David Lebovitz

and more food

Green Enchilada Sauce. It's no secret I love LOVE Mexican food. In fact I think I may have been a little old Mexican lady in a past life! I am always looking for tasty new mexi recipes and I can't wait to try this one!

Recipe can be found at Our Best Bites

Also from Our Best Bites. Silk Dyed Easter Eggs. Pretty gorgeous right! I can't wait to hit up Goodwill for some silk ties. Hello Tylerites...don't go stealing them all before I do!

Directions can be found her on Our Best Bites.

Now...what do you Wanna Make???