Tina's Extreme Menu Planning

I have a super busy month in August! Actually, my first two weeks of August are jam packed. In order, to ease my stress I have been busy planning like crazy today. I've calendared the family events, made a copy for hubby and made a menu plan. This took me about an hour and I was getting pretty fried at the end!

I found a great little tool that I thought I would share - Menu Planning Template

Tina's Menu (warning it's in Xcell)

Also, let's hope this works and you can actually SEE my menu and swipe what you'd like for yourselves. I need help with planning snacks - I really don't want to spend a lot of $$ on store bought snacks, so something simple would be great - leave a comment with your suggestions!

from Tina

Menu Planning Help!

One of the quick ways I have found to generate ideas for menu planning is looking into free services. There are several out there, but this one I have had great results on getting real family friendly food and not any spam!

Monday

• Taco Mac Salad
• Yogurt With Berries

Tuesday

• Chicken Ham and Rice Casserole
• Broccoli Salad
• Fruit of Your Choice

Wednesday

• Homemade Pesto with Angel Hair Pasta
• Salad
• Garlic Bread

Thursday

• Easy Feta Chicken Bake
• Zucchini Herb Casserole
• Italian Bread dipped in Olive Oil with Pesto sauce

Friday

• Hawaiian Pizza
• Salad
• Snow Cones

Another fun feature is that they will give you a grocery list and link to the recipes on the site. You can sign up for this to be sent to your inbox to help generate ideas!

Enjoy!

-tina

Fun Cooking Site

Hi Fellow Freezer Chicks!

I found this new recipe site that's a lot of fun and people friendly (kind of like kaboodle for recipes). I am using this version of mexican lasagna this month. It's close to the original recipe I used to make years ago. I found this recipe originally in a friend's church cookbook from Montana! As you can guess, I can't find the friend or remember the church in Montana! But this is close.

FYI - I will substitute regular lasagna noodles for the tortillas - this is a preference as well as making it freezer friendly. Tortillas are a total mystery when it comes to freezing in a casserole like this.

Join the site and feel free to add queenbusick to your friends!

Mexican Lasagna

Congrats to the Robertson Family....

The Robertson Family of Robertson Rantings, is the winner of our Dog Days of Summer Giveaway. They won a year's subscription to Rachael Ray's Everyday with RR magazine!

Thank you to everyone who left us a comment & posted one of their family's favorite recipes! We are excited to try some of these delicious recipes! Check back & visit our blog often, we will be posting some recipes, secrets to OAMC and our experience with OAMC!

Again-congratulations to the Robertson Family!

Not Your "Everyday" Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway

The Freezer Chicks are joining in on the fun! We are joining the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway hosted by Rocks in My Dryer!

To be entered in the drawing, leave a single comment (duplicates will be deleted) below. You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. US & Canada participants only, sorry! Comments will close at 12:01 a.m. this coming Friday morning, July 27, and we will draw a random winner from the list. We will announce the winner sometime on Friday.

I know you are wondering what these chicks are giving away....a year subscription to one of our favorite chefs....Rachael Ray...yes, we are giving one lucky winner a subscription to her magazine....Everyday with Rachael Ray!

Good luck to everyone.

Make sure you check out more giveaways at Rocks in my Dryer! And check back Friday for our lucky winner!

When you leave a comment, we would love it if you would leave us the recipe to one of your favorite recipes!

Misti's Monday Menu Planning (7.23.06)

Monday: (soccer practice) Tuna Tortellini Gratin from last week. We had so many leftovers that we ate on from Thursday to Sunday.

Tuesday: Sweet & Sour Chicken and Rice

Wednesday: (soccer meeting/practice) Roast in the crockpot with veggies.

Thursday: (dance meeting-boys home-hubby will cook) T-Bone Steaks on the grill, potatoes & salad.

Friday: Sloppy Joe's (using Where's the Beef? Beef otherwise know as Magic Meat.

Not sure about Saturday and Sunday-CWH has Show-Me State soccer games.

-misti

Ziplock Chicken

Someone requested the recipe. I got it from http://www.30daygourmet.com/. This is a great site for freezer recipes and information.

Ziplock Chicken

I used drumsticks, honey bbq sauce, and beer for our recipe!

--janet

Yum-O!

Just wanted to share with you how the Italian Mac n Cheese looks after baked! It is one of the yummiest meals that we have! The Italian sausage, the cheese, the tomatoes....you get the picture! You must try this recipe! It's one of those great comfort foods...this is one of my family's favorite meals! You don't need anything else to make this meal...I'm serving it with a salad & bread.

-misti

Summer Cooking with Ziplock Chicken

I am really enjoying the fresh veggies from the garden-not my garden but from a friend's garden. And grilling...

This evening I grilled the Ziploc Chicken-basically it's a BBQ sauce & a bottle of beer, poured into a ziploc bag with the chicken legs. Thaw & grill or bake in oven or crockpot. My orginal plan was to cook it in the crockpot but with it being summer, I thought it would be much better on the grill! I served it with fresh from the garden potatoes, zucchini & onions and the cucumber, onion & tomato salad. We have acquired lots of cucumbers & I made cucumbers & onions

I sauteed the new potatoes in olive oil & added the zucchini & onions after the potatoes started to crisp up on one side. They were really yummy and went great with the chicken.

The awesome thing about the freezer meals is that you can cook healthy and without much preparation-no need to eat out! It has be a life saver for my family & our food budget!

-misti

Janet's Menu Plan Monday ~07-16~

WOW! I'm so blessed! Between Angel Food Ministries and Freezer Chicks, my freezer is stuffed so full I had to use two sheets to do an inventory. I sorted the freezer today. I have 3 freezers; 2 fridge/freezers & one small deep freeze. One of my struggles has been that I can NEVER find anything. I have tried organizing to make it easier but stuff still gets all mixed up and I can't remember what's in what freezer. So when I did the inventory, I color-coded it, so I know what freezer it is in. (ok so I'm uber-geeky LOL)

I have a goal for the rest of the month to NOT eat out and to try to just eat out of our panty or freezer. I think I can do this with just 15 days left to go.

Monday: Inside-out burgers & french fries

Tuesday: Sweet 'n Sour Chicken, Veggies, Rice

Wednesday: Mexican Meatloaf, Mashed potatoes, Salad

Thursday: Tuna Helper, peas, fruit

Friday: Sweet 'n Sour Kielbasa, rice, veggies

Saturday: Calzones, Salad

Sunday: Bruschetta Chicken, Salad, green beans

Visit http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com for more information on menu plan Monday.

Monday Menu Planning-Misti's Week of 7-16-06

I thought I would share with you how my family uses the freezer meals each week. I join in with Organizing Junkie's Monday Menu Planning. Here's what we are having this week with a link to the recipes from our blog (if posted).

Monday- Ziploc Chicken in the crockpot, zucchini & salad

Tuesday- Italian Mac n Cheese,, salad & bread

Wednesday- Honey-Pecan Chicken, Rice, Peas & Salad.

Thursday- Creamy Burritos, Mexican styled-rice & salad.

Friday- Sausage Calzones, Corn on the Cob & Salad

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Tuna Tortellini Gratin, Green Beans & Salad.

Check out more menu plans with I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Tuna Tortellini

WOW - an amazing dinner!

I have to confess I have been fighting the group on any dish that contains tuna - HOT tuna!

Oh and did I mention that I don't like hot tuna?

The results of this dish were fabulous! It froze really well (Ok it was only frozen for a week) and the flavor was perfect!

Heck, not only did I discover I like the hot tuna, but that I actually broiled something and it didn't burn!

The funny was I decided again that I wasn't going to inform the family it was a tuna dish. The kids came running in the kitchen and screaming 'what's for dinner?' I replied 'cheesy ravioli noodles' 'COOL!' So out they fly to the table outside - which we have been eating outside most of this summer - so if you haven't cleaned that table off to use, go for it!

I waited breathlessly for everyone to try it.

Cole DS10 - 'I love it - thumbs up!'
Rebekah DD9 - 'It's good, I don't really like the sauce and the meat, but I will eat it and I love the noodles!'
Quinten DS3 - 'Fumbs up mommy!'

As the meal progressed, the conversation turned to how Cole went fishing and they caught trout. He thought the trout was ok, but he likes salmon better. Rebekah declares loudly 'I hate fish!'

Larry immediately says 'Don't even say it' I look at him and say 'I wasn't going to, it's part of my new dinner program.'

I've decided my natives don't really have to know it all - they can eat what is on the table, since I started this program, they eat and they really don't ask what's in it. I always just offered the information - hello!!!! I am part of the problem again - ughhhh, so unless they ask for ingredients they aren't going to know!

from Tina's house

Black Bean Lasagna Meal

One planning meeting we made the suggestion to include Black Bean Lasagna for one of our freezer meals the next month. It was voted down real fast. About 6 months later, one of the members (L) wasn't going to return the following month & she was one of them that voted it down so we decided to make 1 pan of it and give it a try. In the meantime, L decided to stay with the group. Well, she loved it! We all love it!

Here is the recipe:

9 lasagna noodles
2- 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed & drained
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2- 15 oz can low-sodium tomato sauce or tomato sauce with seasonings
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1- 12 oz container low-fat cottage cheese
1- 8 oz package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1/4 cup light dairy sour cream
Tomato slices (optional)
Fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Mash one can of beans; set aside. (I used the no cook noodles.)

2. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray: add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat until tender but not brown. Add mashed beans; unmashed beans, tomato sauce, and snipped cilantro; heat through.

3. In a large bowl combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream; set aside. Spray a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick coating. Arrange 3 of the noodles in the dish. Top with one-third of the bean mixture. Spread with one-third of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice; ending with the bean mixture. Reserved the remaining cheese mixture. If freezing, dollop with reserved cheese mixture and garnish with tomato slices and cilantro, if desired.

4. Thaw. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

It is very filling. We had it for dinner this evening along with a fresh cucumbers, tomatoes & onions salad. What was even better is that it didn't take me any time to prepare dinner after a long day working in the garage!

-misti

Chicken Bruschetta

Reading this blog, you may think we have it all together. Let me take you into the kitchens and a little fun group history.

Starting out, you have to know that just like cooking at home, you will have recipes that are real 'stinkers'. As a group, we evaluate the meals and try to determine if it was the recipe, was it preparation - did the meal not need to be pre-cooked or cooked before freezing. At the end of the evaluation, we generally just say 'that was a stinker!'

And so it was with Chicken Bruschetta. J made this recipe almost a year ago and it got classified as a stinker. It was such a stinker that it got the label at my house as dogfood! If a recipe got labeled dogfood at our house, our second serving was cooked for our dog Lucy to eat. Larry, my DH, determined to never put that on the menu again!

We had another J join our group, who tried to convince us that is was really good recipe. After a couple of sessions of cooking with us, we let her put it on the menu. We discovered from J that you cannot pre-cook the meal. It is a meal that needs to be assembled and frozen with the meat uncooked.

Last night I thought I would pull the formerly notorious stinker meal from the freezer. I pulled it out and it smelled so good. I could smell the garlic coming through the foil. That is always a good sign. I did not tell Larry what it was until after he tried a few bites.

He declared it good. He called it really good! I announced it was Chicken Bruschetta - he stopped chewing and said 'no way'. Then he asked - who cooked it and made it better? Luckily, my DH is a great cook as well and will discuss food prep with me quite often.

I served this with zucchini fresh from my brother-in-laws' garden. The zucchini ws simply sauteed in butter with onions, season all, salt & pepper. Before I sat down to eat , what I thought was WOW what a great picture! It was nice to sit outside and eat a beautiful dinner.

from Tina's house

Stromboli

1 loaf frozen bread dough
Sliced mozzarella cheese
Sliced pepperoni
Sliced ham
Sliced hard salami
Bottled Italian salad dressing
1 egg
1 envelope dry zesty Italian salad dressing
Prepared marinara sauce

Grease a baking sheet, and roll the dough out to fit the shape of the pan. Layer the center one-third of the dough with the cheese & meats. Sprinkle with bottled Italian dressing, to taste. Using a pizza cutter, cut the sides of the dough diagonally, about every inch. Starting at the top edge of the filling and working your way down each side "braid" the sides by folding strips over the top of the filing, alternating left-right, left right. Be sure to seal the ends of the loaf by tucking the ends up under the "braid."

Beat together the egg and dry Italian dressing. Brush over the top of the stromboli.

To cook: Bake the stromboli at 350 degrees 15 minutes, just until the loaf begins to brown. Cool completely, wrap and freeze.

To serve: Thaw and finish cooking at 250 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown and the cheese is melted.

Variations: Use broccoli and onion; broccoli, ham and cheddar cheese, or sausage and pepperoni.

Serves 1 loaf serves 4.

Mediterranean Chicken Pie

1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup, plus 2 T powdered sugar
1 t cinnamon
1 T olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
1 t ground coriander
2 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
5 cups chicken, shredded and cooked
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
16 sheets phyllo dough
6 T melted butter

In a food processor, process the almonds, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and cinnamon for 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook five minutes, or until softened. Add coriander, cook one minute. Stir in carrots and 3/4 cup of broth. Cook two minutes until carrots are softened. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in chicken, raisins, salt & pepper.

Transfer thawed phyllo dough to a countertop and cover with a dampened towel while you work.

Place 2 sheets of phyllo in a round 8 inch cake pan, with dough overhanging sides. Brush dough inside pan with butter. Place two more sheets in the pan, placing them like the spokes of a wheel, butter the phyllo and continue the process until 8 sheets of phyllo have been used.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the almond mixture over the phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan. Spoon half the chicken mixture on top, sprinkle with another 1/4 cup of almond mixture and pour 1/4 cup of broth over the chicken. Fold overhanging dough over the filling, buttering between sheets.

Repeat the process with the remaining pie.

To freeze: Wrap each pie tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.

To cook: Thaw the pie overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat the over to 425 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.

Quick tip: Use a 10-ounce bag of pre-shredded carrots.

Makes: 2 pies, each pie serves 6.

Italian Mac-n-Cheese

Recipe Courtesy of Rachael Ray.

1 pound ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi

1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

2 or 4 cloves chopped garlic

12 crimini mushrooms, sliced

salt & pepper

2 T flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 10 oz sack (2 1/2 cups) shredded Italian 4 cheese blend

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 t hot sauce, optional

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

For sauce:

In a nonstick skillet, brown & crumble sausage. Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add EVOO, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season with salt & pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.

To mushrooms, add flour & stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce, if desired.

Cool and freeze in freezer bags.

Serving day:

Thaw sauce, combine with cooked pasta, transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler.

Yum-Oh!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 t dried basil leaves
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes with their liquid in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.

Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish; sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with the stuffing mixture.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Recipe from The Kraft Food & Family Magazine.

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

2 pounds polska kielbasa
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup spicy mustard
1/2 cup onions

Put all in the crock pot on low for 2 hours. The recipe can be modified to save time by making the sauce and cutting up the sausage & put them both in the freezer bag.

To reheat, place in a skillet for 15 mintues until heated through. Serve with rice or eat solo!

Magic Meat Meal #1

I had a bag of unfrozen magic meat left over from my OAMC session. The problem for me with OAMC is that I really don't want to cook dinner for a few days.

What to do?

I had a few leftover peppers and magic meat..hey why not? It's not in our freezer book as an option for stuffed peppers..so hey a new idea!

I added a can of black beans (Bush's beans of course) - drain & rinse the beans and add the mix.

I cut peppers in half length wise vs just popping the tops off. I did this to make it easier for kids to eat. Also, I added mozzarella cheese on the top and wanted to cover the meat topping completely.

For peppers - use 1 lb magic meat, 1 can black beans, 3 peppers in half & cheese to your delight. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I left mine uncovered, but I think this can go either way. Add cheese after 30 minutes until melted.

Kid rating: both of my kids ate these up! DD ate the pepper & meat (she's such an unpredictable eater), then DS ate all the beans and a few peppers.

post from tina's house

Big-Batch Beef Sauce

We have 2 recipes for the meat sauce. This recipe is the one that Tina used for the July exchange. It can be used to make lasagna, chili, tacos, sloppy joes, as well:

4 pounds ground beef
4 medium onions, chopped
5 celery ribs, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (28 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
2 jars (4.5 ounce) slice mushrooms, drained, optional
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 T salt
2 t dried oregano
2 t dried basil
1 t pepper
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes

In a stock pot over medium heat, cook beef, onions, celery and garlic until meat is no longer pink & vegetables are tender: drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool. Transfer to a freezer bags or containers, about 2 cups each. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Yields about 15 cups total.

Recipes for Lasagna, Sloppy Joes & Taco can be found HERE.

Where's the Beef? Beef Sauce

Otherwise know as....MAGIC MEAT. Why? Because this meat filling can be adapted for three different meals.

Meat Filling:

Serving size: this amount of recipe makes enough for 3 recipes. The sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 gloves garlic, minced
3 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Add, beef and cook 5-7 minutes, until browned all over, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce & bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low & simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat & set aside. Cool & freeze.


Sloppy Joes:

1 1/2 cups of beef sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T chili powder
2 t dried basil
1/8 t cayenne pepper
4 Kaiser rolls, halved

Spoon meat sauce into a large saucepan. Add corn, green pepper, ketchup, Dijon, chili powder, basil & cayenne pepper & bring mixture to a simmer. Cook 5-7 minutes, until green pepper is soft & mixture is heated through. Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.


Beef Taco with Mango Salsa

2 cups meat sauce
2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
2 cups diced fresh mango
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 T minced red onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 T fresh lime juice
Salt & pepper
8 Taco shells
1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cups sour cream

Spoon meat sauce into a large skillet and add chili powder & cumin. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine mango, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season, to taste, with salt & pepper.

Can substitute you own salsa.

Lasagna:

4 cups ricotta cheese
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta, half of the mozzarella, egg and black pepper. Mix well.

Pour 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 lasagna pan. Arrange 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce, overlapping noodles slightly to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top second layer of noodles with remaining cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top noodles with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until top is golden & bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller.

Treasurer's Report for July Exchange!

I'm proud to report that our average was $134.00! Pretty good for all that food!


Download my average calculator here. You will need MS Excel to use this calculator. ;) With it, you can enter in each person's total for their OAMC purchases and it figures out who is owed money and who needs to payout money. Very handy! :)


--janet

Farmer's Casserole

3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (24 oz bag)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (3-4 oz)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (3-4 oz)
1 cup diced ham or Canadian-style bacon
(5 oz)1 4.5 oz can mild green chiles (optional)
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 beaten eggs (or 1 cup frozen egg product)
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t salt

Cooking day instructions:

Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles, and green onions. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. (If not freezing, cover and chill several house or overnight, then follow serving day suggestions.) Freeze.

Serving day instructions:

Thaw completely. Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. If you prefer extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Recipe from Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer by Martinez, Howell & Gracia.

Honey-Pecan Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 t fresh thyme, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Honey cream sauce:
2 T butter
1 T shallots, minced
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup whiskey
1 cup whipping cream
2 T honey
1 T cider vinegar
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Serving Day:
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup flour
Olive oil

Cooking day instructions:

For the chicken: Mix olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken breasts in freezer bags (I use a Foodsaver- for items like this-see button on side for ordering info), then pour olive oil mixture over chicken breasts. Freeze (lay them flat in freezer so they freezer flat)

For the sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Saute shallots in butter until tender. Add orange juice and whiskey over medium heat, and continue cooking until liquid is reduced by one half. Add cream. Continue cooking until slightly thickened. Add honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cool. Freeze separately. Using freezer bag method.

Serving day instructions:
Thaw chicken breast and cream sauce. Mix chopped pecans and flour together. Dredge chicken breast in flour mixture. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large skillet. Pan fry chicken breast until golden brown and cooked through. Heat sauce over low heat until warm; do not boil.To serve, place chicken on individual serving dishes and pour cream sauce over chicken breasts.

Recipe from Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer by Martinez, Howell& Garcia.

August Meals

Misti-

1. Pork Chops with Apricots
2. Meatloaf
3. Manicotti

Tina-

1. Mediterranean Chicken Pie
2. Mexican Lasagna
3. Parsley Parmesan Chicken

Janet-

1. Stromboli
2. BBQ Fillets (8 patties per family-no mushrooms for Jen)
3. Shredded Chicken

Jennifer-

1. White Castle Burgers
2. Chicken Kabobs
3. Rouladon Beef

Recipes will be posted later this week.

-misti

Tina's BBQ Jerk

This is the basic sauce recipe:

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
3 T frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 t Caribbean jerk seasoning

Add the above sauce to 4-6 chicken breasts and freeze.

You can do the following options with the chicken:

Kabobs:
2 c pineapple chunks
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion

Cut the above into chunks and place on skewers. Grill for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, brush with remaining sauce at end.

Bake or Crock Pot:

Add the above ingredients, cook on low for 4-6 hours or 350 degrees for one hour. Serve over rice.

Caribbean Jerk Style

3 medium size white potatoes
1 or 2 medium size sweet potatoes/yams
1 large sweet or yellow onion
2-3 green onions
4 medium size carrots
jerk seasoning to taste
seas salt or white table salt, to taste
garlic pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh frozen sweet yellow corn
1 medium size lime
1 t of ground ginger
3 T of EVOO
1 T peanut butter
3 cups jasmine white rice
cashews or peanuts for garnish

Dice up potatoes, yams, and carrots into hearty size pieces set aside in cold water. Dice up all onions. Add 3 T EVOO into a 5 quart pot, add chicken pieces. Cook over a medium heat. when half way done, add onions & green onions. Saute' until golden brown. Add in 3-4 cups of water, yams, potatoes, carrots and corn. Additional jerk-curry powder may be added, to you own taste.

Season with salt, garlic powder, ginger and lime juice. After 30 minutes, stir in peanut butter, mixing well. Allow to cook another 10-15 minutes, until all vegetables are done. Prepare white rice; serve jerk-curry over rice.

July Exchange

Here is what was exchanged for our July meeting:

1. 2- 9x13 pans of Tuna Tortellini Gratin:

To prepare:

Thaw at room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Cover the dish with aluminum foil & bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until bubbly. Remove the foil and slide the dish under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.


2. 2- Honey-Pecan Chicken-you have 2 bags with 6 pieces of chicken in an olive oil & herb marinade, 2 bags of honey glaze & 2 bags of pecans.

To prepare:

You need 1/4 cup flour and olive oil.

Thaw chicken breast and cream sauce. Mix chopped pecans and flour together. Dredge chicken breast in flour mixture. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large skillet. Pan fry chicken breasts until golden brown & cooked through. Heat sauce over low heat until warm; do not boil.

To serve, place chicken on individual serving dishes and pour cream sauce over chicken breasts.

3. 2- bags of Inside-out Burgers.

To prepare:

Thaw & grill. Top with cheese, if desired.

4. 2- 8x8 pans of Brushetta Chicken

To prepare:

Thaw and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. 2- 9x13 pans of Farmer's Casserole

To prepare:

Thaw and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

6. 2- bags of brisket

To prepare:

Thaw and warm to desired temperature.

7. 4 bags- 1 pound and 1 bag of 2 pounds of Where's the Beef Sauce or Magic Meat

To prepare:

Can be used for lasagna, sloppy joes or tacos. Will post complete recipe.

8. 2- bags of Tina's BBQ Jerk Chicken. You have 6 pieces of chicken in each bag.

To prepare:

Can be prepare as kabobs or as a Caribbean Jerk Style. Will post complete recipe.

9. 2 bags of Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

To prepare:

Thaw and serve over rice or eat by itself.

10. 2 bags of Sausage Calzones. 8 per bag.

To prepare:

Thaw and reheat in OVEN. Dip in pizza or spaghetti sauce.

11. 2 bags of Ziplock BBQ Chicken

To prepare:

Thaw. Grill or slow cook in crockpot.

12. 2 bags of Italian Mac & Cheese.

To prepare:

Thaw. Add 1/2 or 1 pound of pasta. Top with mozzarella cheese.

-misti

Welcome to the Freezer Chick's Blog....

Here's to the adventures of the Freezer Chicks...

Here we will post our monthly menus & how to prepare the meals. What our families thought of the meals.