Freezer Meals For Us

February Meal Swap Menu

2012-02-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

Looks like we went with an international Menu this month. (ha-ha-ha) We've got Hawaiian, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and Swedish. Recipes will be posted soon.

Beef
Dr. Pepper Spaghetti
Swedish Meatballs
Cheeseburger Pie
Mexican Beef

Chicken
Chicken Brocolli Alfredo
Sweet and Savory Chicken Stir Fry
Creamy Tomatillo Enchiladas

Other
Hawaiian Kielbasa Sandwiches

Swap Participants are:
Maggie
Amanda
Mariana
Amity

Candy Bar Frozen Dessert by Maggie

2012-02-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

(this photo shows the dessert using vanilla pudding instead of chocolate pudding and butter pecan icecream instead of chocolate chip ice cream) from Allrecipes.com

Makes 4 deep 8x8 pans

6 c. graham crackers, crushed
3 c. saltines, crushed
1 1/2 c. butter, melted
6 c. cold milk
6 (3.4 oz) pkgs instant chocolate pudding mix
12 c. chocolate chip icecream, softened
3 (8 oz) cartons frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 (2.1 oz) bars NESTLE Butterfinger candy bar, chopped

Combine butter, and crackers. Pat 3/4 of the mixture into a deep ungreased 8x8 pan. Refrigerate.
In a bowl, whisk the milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Stir in icecream until blended. Spread over crust.. Spoon whipped topping over pudding layer; spread evenly over top.
Combine the chopped candy bar and the remaining cracker mixture. Sprinkle over the whipped topping. Cover and freeze at least 2 hours.

ORIGINAL QUANTITY FOR 1- 9X13 PAN.

2 c. graham crackers, crushed
1 c. saltines, crushed
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 c. cold milk
2 (3.4 oz) pkgs instant chocolate pudding mix
4 c. chocolate chip icecream, softened
1 (8 oz) cartons frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (2.1 oz) bar NESTLE Butterfinger candy bar, chopped

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

2012-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

This picture is just a sample, your carrots will be cut much thinner and the sweet peas will be cut diagnally.

Serves 6. Following recipe will make 4 meals.

6 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 c. Apricot Preserves
3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
6 Tbsp. ginger, grated
2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
16 med. carrots cut in very thin strips
8 c. snow peas, halved diagnally lengthwise
4 c. frozen brocolli

Mix preserves, vinegar, ginger, pepper and 1 Tbsp. water. Place mix into a snack sized or quart sized Ziploc bag labeled "Stir Fry Sauce".
Cut chicken into strips 1/4 in. thick. Put into a quart sized bag labeled "Chicken".
Place veggies into gallon sized bag and add other 2 bags and Seal.
Label gallon bag:

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry

Cook Chicken in oil till no longer pink. Transfer to a plate. Add veggies to oil, tossing, about 2 minutes. Return chicken to skillet, add apricot sauce. Cook 2-3 minutes more. Serve over rice.

****Shortcut: I put 1 1/2 lb. of chicken into each of the 4 quart bags without cutting into strips. I wrote on each bag that the chicken should thaw in the fridge, but when icy to cut into 1/4 inch wide strips."

Mexican Beef Tips by Mariana

2012-02-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is the recipe written for 4 families, serves 6 each.

Spice Mixture
6 Tbsp Ground Cumin
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
3 Tbsp Dried Oregano
6 tsp. Garlic Powder
3 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Pepper

Meat Mix
6 lb. beef stew meat
4 large onions, chopped coarsely
2 green bell peppers, cut in strips
6 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1 1/2 tsp jarred minced garlic)
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
Masa Harina or all-purpose flour

Label gallon sized bags "Mexican Beef Tips. Thaw. Crockpot on high 3-4 hours. Serve with rice."
Blend spices together in a container. In separate bowl combine beef and coat with flour. Just enough flour to lightly coat. Evenly divide meat between bags. Add 5 Tbsp. of seasoning mix to each bag. Equally to each bag add onions, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. Seal and Freeze.

Dr. Pepper Spaghetti by Amity

2012-02-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

2 pounds ground beef – brown and drain 1 package (16 oz) spaghetti – cook and drain
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 can Dr. Pepper
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:Stir onions and seasonings into meat, browning in skillet. Add Dr. Pepper, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce into meat mixture and cook 5 mins, stirring often. Cook spaghetti noodles while doing above, cooking until al dente. Drain and stir in 1 1/2 cups mozzarella. Combine all ingredients into two gallon sized ziplocs.

Cooking day: Place in refrigerator in the morning to thaw. At suppertime, preheat oven 350 degrees, then bake for 50 minutes in a 9x13 pan. Serve! Makes great leftovers for lunch

Serves 12

Hawaiian Kielbasa

2012-02-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

this recipe is scaled for 4 meals- 6 servings each

8 lb. smoked Kielbasa or Polish Sausage, cut into 3-in pieces or 1/2 inch pieces
4 bottles (12 oz.) chili sauce
3 can (20 oz.) pineapple tidbits, undrained
1/2 -1 c. packed brown sugar

Label 4 gallon sized Ziploc bags "Hawaiian Kielbasa. Thaw overnight. Crockpot on LOW about 4 hours till heated through. Serve on buns or with rice."
Cut sausage and place into bags. In a large bowl combine chili sauce, pineapple with juice, and brown sugar. Evenly divide amoungst bags. Freeze.

Here is the recipe scaled for TWO families of 2 adults and 4 children:
Ingredients

•3 pounds smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 3-inch pieces
•2 bottles (12 ounces each) chili sauce
•1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits, undrained
•1/4 cup packed brown sugar
•12 hoagie buns, split (opt. or serve with rice instead)

Directions
•Place kielbasa in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine the chili sauce, pineapple and brown sugar; pour over kielbasa. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. Serve on buns. Yield: 12 servings.

Nutritional Facts
1 sandwich equals 663 calories, 35 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 76 mg cholesterol, 2,532 mg sodium, 64 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 23 g protein.

2 Versions: Cheeseburger Pie by Amity and Cassie

2012-02-11T01:01:00.000-08:00

Amity’s Cheeseburger Pie (bakes in a pie plate)
1lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs

1.Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2.In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3.In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4.Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

CASSIE'S VERSION (bakes in a 9x13 pan)

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion diced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 c. Shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. homemade bisquick mix
2 c. water
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and place thawed cooked hamburger on the bottom. Top with cheese. Pour thawed bisquick mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. My husband likes to place ketchup on top to make it taste more like a cheeseburger.

IKEA Swedish Meatballs by Maggie

2012-02-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

THIS RECIPE IS STILL IN CONSTRUCTION. THE INGREDIENT AMOUNTS WILL BE ALTERED SHORTLY. WHEN FIXED, THIS MESSAGE WILL DISAPPEAR.- MAGGIE

Serves 5 families- about 45 meatballs per family (from an IKEA website)

2 pt. cream or half and half (4 quarts)
1 1/4 pt. beef stock/broth (3 quarts)
4 Tbsp. white flour
4 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
salt
pepper
4- 32 oz. pkg. swedish or homestyle meatballs (do not use Italian meatballs)
2-3 c. sour cream (optional, for a richer flavor)

You will need a LARGE stock pot to make this recipe as written. Bring beef broth to a boil. Add the cream. In a small bowl combine flour with cool water. Blend well to make a creamy consistency. Add to the pot. Add seasonings. Simmer until sauce thickens. If you are going to add sour cream then do it now. Add meatballs (this recipe is for about 225 meatballs). Simmer meatballs till heated through and sauce has thickened somewhat. It will thicken upon standing. Serve over mashed potatoes (to be like the IKEA cafeteria), rice or egg noodles. For freezing ladle about 45 meatballs into each of the 5 gallon sized bag FIRST. Then go back and ladle about 6 1 cup scoops of sauce into each bag. Let cool and then freeze flat.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
On 5 gallon sized freezer bags write:
Swedish Meatballs
Thaw. Reheat. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles.

Recipe for one family:
1 quart half and half cream
1/2 quart beef stock
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp white flour
1 Tbsp cool water
salt
pepper
32 oz. package Swedish Meatballs or Homestyle Meatballs.

**Prepare as described above***

Chicken Brocolli Alfredo by Ann

2012-02-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

[Ingredients]
8 oz Fettuccine Noodles
1 bag Broccoli Florets, 12-16 oz
1/4 cup Butter
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 bottle Alfredo sauce, 16 oz
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/8 tsp Pepper

To prepare for freezing
Cube chicken, then cook in butter. When cooked, add Alfredo sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. Let simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Then let cool and pour into gallon sized bag. Freeze flat.
When you swap give each person a bag of sauce, frozen broccoli and box of dry fettuccine noodles.
To cook after freezing
Defrost chicken and sauce. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Heat sauce in separate pan. I steam my broccoli in the microwave then add it to the sauce. When the noodles are done, I mix it altogether.
Serves 6.

Most blog readers do Freezer Meals on their own!

2012-02-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

The first poll on this blog came to a close this morning. The amount of participation was wonderful! We had 209 votes total and the results were really interesting. See the poll results below:

Regarding Freezer Meal Cooking what are you?

Going at it alone- 132 votes, 63%

Just Curious- 37 votes, 17%
Wanting to start a meal group- 22 votes, 10%
Part of a meal group- 18 votes, 8%
(209 Votes total)

This tells me that the majority of You (my blog readers) are cooks who prepare freezer meals for yourself and loved ones without the help of a group. You may be doing this because it's just easier to not have to work with different families tastes and other's schedules. This may be your choice because you don't know others who are interested or how to find others who would like to do this type of meal preparation. Whatever your reason, I am SUPER happy that you have found this blog and are using the recipes from it. Please post your comments when you make a recipe from this blog. I love to hear from you.

I love that many readers are new to my blog discovering it for the first time. Curious cooks are great! To those who are wanting to start a group- Welcome! I know that you will be able to find something beneficial to help you organize your new group. I have quite a few articles about different ways to organize your meal group. From cooking together to cooking alone and swapping a week later. For you experienced ladies already in a meal group, I would guess that you are using this blog as a resource for recipes. Please do! If you make anything from this blog, please leave a comment so that we can learn from each other. If any of you would like to share your freezer cooking experience please email me and I'd love to have you as a guest cook. (soyprincesa2@hotmail.com)

Guest Cook's Recipe: Pulled Pork

2012-02-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

February's Guest Cook: Gina Zarate

My sister-in-law, Gina is a wonderful cook who loves to experiment and try new foods. She is a very busy mom, but is always looking for recipes that expand her family's eating experiences but also appeal to a couple of very picky eaters. Gina comes from a large family where the women are good cooks and everyone likes to get together often for meals. Her six siblings and their families make for large gatherings! They often meet at her parent's home where the number of children is at least 2 or 3 times the number of adults, thus a goodly amount of kid friendly meals are needed. Her husband (my brother John) and their four children have all loved this recipe for pulled pork that Gina prepares and freezes for later use in several different dishes including tacos, fried rice and mixed with coleslaw it makes a yummy sandwich.

Gina's Favorites

Movie: Suspenseful ones!!

Dessert: Pumpkin Rolls

Vacation Spot: Southern California beach

Hobby: Corraling kids

Her claim to fame: The best chicken herder in Nevada (or so her kids think!)

If I got to spend 1 month on a beautiful tropical island all by myself, what 3 things would I take with me:

I'd take crushed red pepper, scriptures, it's a toss up between my pillow and red vines.

Pulled Pork

2 boneless pork shoulder roasts (about 5 lbs. each), cut into 1-inch chunks and excess fat discarded

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lemon, zest

1 lime, zest

Salt and pepper

1 c. chicken broth (may add more)

1.Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450°. Place all of the pork in a large roasting pan. Mix garlic, lemon zest, 1 tbsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. pepper in a mixing bowl. Add roast chunks and mix well, massaging the garlic and zest into the meat. Transfer half of the pork to a large rimmed baking sheet and place both the roasting pan and the baking sheet in the oven. Roast until the meat is browned on top, about 40 minutes. Turn the pork chunks over and roast to brown the other side, 15 minutes. Remove both pans from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 325°.

2.Using tongs, transfer the pork from the baking sheet to the pork in the roasting pan. Pour the pan juices from the baking sheet over the pork and add the broth. Tightly cover the pan with foil. Continue roasting the pork until nicely tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes.

3.Let the pork cool for at least 15 minutes, then, using 2 forks, shred it a few pieces at a time. As you work, transfer the shredded pork to the clean baking sheet and let cool completely. Pour the juices into a bowl to cool. Skim and discard the fat.

Serves 15

FREEZE IT!

Divide the pork into 2-cup portions and transfer to resealable plastic sandwich bags. Pour a little pork juice into each, squeeze out the air and flatten. Seal and store flat in 2-gallon freezer bags.

USE IT!
Thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour, or pop into the fridge in the morning and let thaw all day. Heat on stovetop.

4 WAYS TO CHANGE IT UP!

Add some oregano or rosemary to the rub.
Marinate the pork in lime juice, soy sauce and ginger for 1 hour before roasting.
Toss the pork with adobo sauce, orange juice and chicken broth in Step 2.
Toss the pork with some BBQ sauce in the last 10 minutes.

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie by Stephanie

2012-02-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

Recipe originally published on this blog March 6, 2008.

This meal is Turkey or Chicken Pot pie filling. You can give everyone the bagged filling (frozen flat) and a frozen pie crust for them to make their own pie when they are ready to eat it. Or you can go ahead and pour it into the pie crust in the pie tin. As shown below when Stephanie made it for our group she gave it to us in a Ziploc bag along with a tube of Pillsbury biscuits. It was a delicious chicken dumpling dinner. You put the cold soup on the stovetop to simmer in a larger pot. Then top with cooked biscuits and cover with a lid as it simmers about 5 minutes. The bottoms of the biscuits get soggy like real chicken dumplings. Oh it is really really good.

Reader Email: Help! I am orgazining 12 ladies to Swap!

2012-02-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

I was asked by a reader how to go about organizing a swap for a group of 12 co-workers/friends. My first bit of advice would be to split the group in half this first time as it most likely will be very overwhelming for most beginners. Ask another person to head up the other group and the two leaders can assist one another with their meal group. If you absolutely are determined to try it with 12 then GO FOR IT! :)

Sample Menu and photo from a 12 person Meal Swap I was involved in two years ago:

Here is a photo and list of meals from my meal swap with the Nellis Manor ward ladies. There are 12 ladies in that group and each chose one meal and made 12 of it to feed 6 at $7. per meal. We swapped in the organizer's garage on long church tables. All of us brought our meals in coolers to help keep them frozen as it takes awhile to get all 12 gals there ON TIME. We got there at about 9:30 and were all heading home by 10:15. Some ladies brought extras to accompany their meals like a bag of chips, a box of spaghetti, a jar of alfredo sauce, or a tub of sour cream.

Beef Meals

Taco Soup

Lasagna

Dr. Pepper Spaghetti

Beef and Bean Burritos

Skillet Nacho Chili

Pasta Pizza Casserole

Chicken Meals
Chicken and Broccoli
Cream Cheese Chicken

Sonora Chicken

Chicken Chilaquiles

Apricot Chicken

Other Meals
Ham and Cheese Braid

Steps to Making a Successful Meal Group of 12

First make sure that there are no participants who have a family member with any severe allergies. It's best not to have to worry about a peanut allergy, onion allergy or anything else like that. Once you know you this can set down the guidelines and really get to meal planning.

Email each lady the ground rules and basic freezing directions. Remind them to write on the foil or the Ziploc with a Sharpie BEFORE the food is placed on/in it. (Ex.BEEF ENCHILADAS date prepared: 2/4/12, Thaw overnight, Bake at 375 for 1 hr.30 min)
Make sure that there is a group consensus as to amount of servings per dish. Most recipes feed 4-6.
Each person picks the recipe they want to assemble for that month, they shop for the ingredients for that recipe (trying to come in around $5-$7 per individual meal price incl. foil pan or Ziploc baggie). To make 12 bags of beef stroganoff including a bag of egg noodles would come out to about $72. total.
Keep record of what each person has said they will be making and ask them to email you a copy of the recipe.
Make sure to have a good variety of beef, chicken, port/turkey, and meatless. If you are chicken heavy and people are okay with that then don't worry about it, you know your group.
Have everyone meet together with coolers to swap the frozen meals.
Email everyone an attachment that includes all the recipes from the swap. Include instructions for the preparation of each meal.
Keep in touch with each participant to see if they want to swap again the following month. There may be a few who don't want to swap again, you can adjust your swap as the group changes.

Call for Guest Contributers

2012-01-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Freezer Meals For Us readers,
    I know that there are cooks reading this blog who have some great freezer meal recipes to share. Each month I would like to highlight ONE of you by including a few of your recipes (like 3-6) during that month. If you would like to be a guest contributer on this blog please send me an email and tell me about yourself and mention a few of the recipes you want to share. I would also like to include your photo with your first recipe of the month. It can be a formal portrait, a family photo, or of you doing something you enjoy. my email- soyprincesa2@hotmail.com
          Hope to hear from you,
                Maggie

Hawaiian Haystacks

2012-01-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

2 ½ lbs. of chicken breast
1 cup diced carrots
1 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 T. parsley
½ t. basil
1 quart water

Cut chicken into chunks. Add chicken to water and other ingredients. Boil until chicken and carrots are tender. Pour all but 1 ½ c. water out.

Additional Items:
3 Cans, Cream of Chicken Soup
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2-3 cup Long grain rice, cooked

Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes and mix in 3 cans of cream of chicken soup. Let simmer until warm. Add additional seasonings if desired.
If freezing, at this point let cool then bag into a ziploc gallon bag labeled "Chicken Gravy". Freeze flat.
To eat NOW: Put warm chicken gravy over rice and add the following:

Toppings:
mandarin oranges
cheese
dry chow mein noodles
green pepper
coconut
pineapple
tomatoes
raisins
green onion

Maggie's Tips:
*This recipe freezes very well. Double the amount of the chicken gravy and place in freezer for later. For a meal group: make the gravy and include a can of pineapple tidbits or mandarin oranges, a baggie of chow mein noodles, baggie of onion and tomato. Write additional topping suggestions on baggie for each family to finish getting toppings.

**I have also been in a rush and cooked my chicken in a Crockpot until tender. Then I just placed it in the gravy mixture. Both ways taste great. Keep this meal simple because it’s a delicious recipe and very easy!

This recipe came from Deals to Meals
http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2010/05/hawaiian-haystacks.html

Beef Stroganoff by Kim

2011-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

1 lb ground beef
1 diced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (may be a little more or less to your liking)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery or chicken soup
¾ cup milk
1 pint sour cream
opt. 1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained (see how many families like them.... a lot of kids don't)
Brown ground beef and onions in skillet. Drain any fat. Sprinkle meat with garlic powder and coat evenly. Add soups, Worcestershire sauce, (if adding canned sliced mushrooms, add now) and milk. Stir until well blended then simmer 10 minutes. Add sour cream and simmer 2 minutes.
For freezing: Let cool. Pour into Ziploc gallon sized freezer bag. Freeze flat. When ready to eat pull out the day before to thaw in fridge. This thaws fairly quickly on defrost mode in the microwave. Simmer a few minutes on stovetop. Serve over cooked egg noodles.
Serves 6

Ham and Pineapple Sauce by Kim

2011-04-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ham, fully cooked (slice before freezing)

Sauce: feeds around 12, I think
¾ cup water divided
1 cup brown sugar
4 ½ tsp soy sauce
4 ½ tsp ketchup
1 ½ tsp ground mustard
1 1/2 cups undrained crushed pineapple
2 T plus 1 tsp. cornstarch

In saucepan combine ¼ cup water, brown sugar soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, and pineapple. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 min. Combine cornstarch and remaining water until smooth. Stir into pineapple sauce, bring to a boil cook and stir for 2 min. or until thick. Cool and freeze sauce in a quart sized freezer bag. When ready to eat, put some thawed sauce on bottom of baking dish and layer slightly thawed ham or fresh sliced ham on top. Top with rest of sauce. Bake until ham is nice and hot.
***For a little decoration you can top with a pineapple ring. Just a thought :)

Slow Cooker Swiss Steak by Ann

2011-04-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

[Fresh Ingredients to keep in fridge]
1 lb Baby carrots

Combine following items into a gallon sized bag and freeze:
1 1/2 lbs Swiss Steak, cut into serving size pieces
1 package Onion soup mix
8 oz Tomato sauce
1/2 cup Water
(opt) 1/2 sliced yellow onion

[Instruction]
Put carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Place meat on top of carrots. Mix together soup, seasoning, tomato sauce and water. Pour over meat. Cook 8-10 hours on low heat. If frozen, increase cooking time, or thaw before cooking.
Serves 6.

Sabrina Nelson's Mac and Cheese with Tomato by Maggie

2011-04-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

(Sabrina made this for another meal group and my family loved it. It reminded me of a pasta that my Mexican aunt would make for me all the time while living in Mexico)
1/2 lb. macaroni
3 T. butter
1 sm. onion chopped
2 T. flour
2 c. milk
2 c. chedder cheese
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1(14.5) can diced tomato's w/ juice
1/4 c. bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 pan. Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile melt 2T. butter. of the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook stirring occasionally, until softened. about 5 min. Add flour; cook stirring constantly about 1 min. Gradually whisk in the milk. Increase heat and cook whisking constantly until slightly thickened. 3-4 min. Then whisk in both cheeses, salt and pepper. Cook and whisk about 1 min. until cheese melts.

3. Remove from heat, stir in macaroni and tomato's with juice. Put in 9x13 pan. Melt last Tbsp. butter in skillet, add bread crumbs and cook until evenly coated, about 1 min. sprinkle over dish and bake 25 min. until bubbly and golden brown.

IF FREEZING: Wait a few minutes after pouring items into pan BEFORE topping with bread crumbs. Top with breadcrumbs when pasta has cooled slightly. Then cover with foil and freeze. Pull out meal the night before or the morning of the day you will eat this for dinner. If it's partially thawed bake covered on a cookie sheet for 1 1/2 hours. If it's totally frozen bake for about 2 hours covered. Take foil off last 10 minutes of baking.

April Meal Swap

2011-03-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Swapping Tuesday, April 12th at 9:30 at Maggie's house.

Chicken
Chicken Brocolli Alfredo
Chicken Pot Pie
Southwest Chicken Soup
Mexican Pizza (like Enchiladas)
Cream Cheese Chicken

Beef
Cassie's Lasagna
Beef Stroganoff

Other
Pepperoni Cheese Braid
Creamy Potato Vegetable Soup
Ham with Pineapple sauce
Mac and Cheese with Tomato
Turkey Meatloaf

Beef and Bean Burrito Pie by Maggie

2011-03-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

(this recipe is for 2 9x13 pans)
1 or 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion (or 1 TBSP dehydrated chopped onion)
6 c. refried beans (I made my own and seasoned them)
abt. 3 c. grated cheddar cheese
4 c. cooked rice
package of burrito sized tortillas (largest ones you can find)

Brown the hamburger with onion. When only a little pink remains sprinkle some cumin, or a little taco seasoning. Not too much. Just to give a hint of flavor. In a separate pan add refried beans to a little oil and cook long enough to get that 'refried' flavor/texture. I made mine from scratch by soaking about 5-6 cups of pinto beans overnight in my crockpot. The next morning the beans had more than doubled in size and I transferred them to a large pot on my stove and boiled them for about 3 hours. I added some cumin, onion salt and garlic powder to the water as it boiled and it gave it such a delicious rich flavor. Then using a potato masher I mashed the beans and let them simmer about another 20 minutes. They were so yummy! You can use canned beans, but they sure don't have the same yummy authentic flavor.
Spray 2 pans with Pam then cut tortillas in half and place the end of one of the tortillas in the middle of the pan and then drape it off the side of the pan. Cover the entire bottom with tortillas with tortilla draped along sides to be folded over the mixuture. Pour half the meat mixture into each pan, Spread around evenly. Then do the same with the beans. Then top with half the rice mixture and finally top with shredded cheddar cheese. Fold the rest of the tortilla over the exposed mixture.
Cover with foil.
Write on foil:
Giant Beef and Bean Burrito
Thaw 24 hours in advance of eating. Bake thawed covered at 350 for 1 hour and a half. Then take off foil and top with a little more cheese.(if desired) or just eat!
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on top or on the side. Eat with a side salad and chips and salsa.

Honey Glazed Pork Chops by Cassie

2011-03-09T16:29:00.001-08:00

2 TBS Brown Sugar
3 TBS Honey
Dash of Salt and Pepper
6 Pork Chops

In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, honey, and salt and pepper. Place mixture in a labeled snack baggie and keep in the fridge if you plan to eat within the next few weeks. If longer... keep separate from pork chops and freeze. Place pork chops in a freezer bag. Freeze. Day before you are ready to eat, thaw completely in fridge overnight. Then place pork chops in a large skillet, and paint the honey glaze on each side of the chops. Cook over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the chops are no longer pink in the middle.

Ham and Cheese Quiche by Rosie

2011-03-09T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
one 9" deep dish crust pie shell, unbaked
5 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbs butter, softened
salt & pepper
Dash of Parsley or Oregano
1/2 lb ham, cooked and chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar or other sharp cheese

Make Ahead Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread softened butter on the bottom of the pie shell.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Add the cream, salt & pepper and nutmeg and beat until combined.
Pile the ham into the pie shell. Top with the shredded cheese. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the top.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Quiche can also be tightly wrapped in tin foil and refrigerated for several days or frozen for up to four weeks.

Last Minute Assembly:Refrigerated quiche can be heated in a 350 oven for approximately 15 minutes, or individual slices can be micro waved for approximately 60 seconds.

Frozen quiche should be baked in a 350 oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Egg Noodles by Rosie

2011-03-09T16:13:00.001-08:00

3 cup uncooked Egg Noodles
3 Chicken breast
1 clove Garlic
1 can Cream of celery
1 can Cream of chicken
1 can Mushrooms
Salt and pepper
Cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cook noodles.
2. Bake chicken then chop.
3. Mix all ingredients in a baking pan.
4. Top with cheese. Cover with foil and freeze at this point.
5. Day or two before you want to eat this meal, pull it out of freezer to thaw in fridge. Bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes.

Creamy Potato and vegetable soup by Maggie

2011-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Once again... here is another potato soup invention. I just love to experiment. This time the soup is without meat and with added vegetables. Because I was inventing as I went along I can only say what the ingredients are. The amount below makes one large stock pot of soup- enough for 3 families about 9 cups per family.

12 peeled and diced whole potatoes
3 med. onion, diced
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 c. carrots, chopped
3 cans evaporated milk
(add slowly and taste- to your liking) chicken bouillon
2 c. cheddar cheese
optional- instant potato flakes if it's too runny or you need to stretch the meal some more

In a pot boil potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion together till soft . Don't do too much water... just enough to boil veggies without all water evaporating. (the point is that you want them to soften, but you don't want so much water that there is no flavor to the liquid because there is just too much water. If you have to drain too much you lose much of the nutrients and the diced onion. The starchy water also adds to the consistency)
When finished boiling I smash some of the potatoes. Then add the corn and evaporated milk and bouillon. If it's too runny I add some instant potato flakes. I continue to simmer about 10 more minutes adding a cup or two of cheddar cheese.
Soup can be put into a bag when cooled somewhat. Freeze flat. When ready to eat just Thaw and reheat.