Prepping for School Freezer Style

"What's for dinner?"

The dreaded question.

Last year I participated in a freezer meal swap group and I loved it! There were eight of us in the group. We would decide on meals ahead of time, then go home and make one recipe x8 and put them in freezer bags. The next month we would swap meals and go home with 8 different meals for the month. That is two meals a week, and I really enjoyed the freedom of not having to think about what was for dinner. If I knew we were going to have a busy day, I would pull a meal out of the freezer either the night before or in the morning, then bake it and add a side. Voila! Dinner is served!

I won't be in a freezer swap group this year, so for the past few weeks I have been preparing for the school year by stocking my freezer little by little. On days when I have had a little more motivation, I looked around my pantry to see what I could make into a freezer meal. Other days I purposefully made a double batch of dinner in order to freeze one for later.

Some weeks chicken was on sale so I made some for dinner and then made up several different freezer chicken meals, either cooked or raw with a marinade. Other weeks hamburger was on sale so I froze taco meat and meatloaf. One day I didn't have any meat on hand, but I had noodles, cream cheese, and other ingredients, so I made homemade macaroni and cheese to freeze. Another time we had leftover diced ham, so I made a ham casserole to add to the freezer. Of course I've also made lots of rhubarb berry freezer jam, strawberry freezer jam, and strawberry syrup. Yum!

I love the ingredient search option on allrecipes.com. Type in a few ingredients you have on hand, and even a few you don't, and see what options you might have on hand to make into a meal!

Some days are whirlwind-like, but knowing I have a good dinner in the freezer ahead of time can save me from asking Ted to stop for some take-out on the way home. It saves money and is more healthy, too!

What kind of freezer meals do you like to make ahead? I have some recipes here you might like to try, but I am always looking for more ideas. Please share! :-)

Simple Strawberry Syrup

I've already made a bunch of strawberry freezer jam, and this year I also wanted to make some strawberry syrup! We love having pancakes on the weekend, and I love flavored syrups. This recipe also freezes well so you can make a bunch now and have warm strawberry syrup anytime!

First, cut up your strawberries.Mash them until you have 1 1/2 cups of mashed, unsweetened strawberries.

Boil 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.Add the mashed strawberries and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.You can stop here if you like your syrup to be chunky. I used my hand blender to puree it a bit in the pot, making it mostly smooth with a few chunks.

Pour into containers and enjoy fresh or freeze for later.

Freezer Cooking: Lazy Edition!

I love being able to pull a meal out of the freezer at the last minute, but the idea of spending all day cooking so far has not appealed to me.

But this kind of freezer cooking works for me! It took me less than 10 minutes to put together several meals worth of chicken entrees. Fresh chicken breasts were on sale, so I bought about 7 pounds. When I got home from grocery shopping, I took the raw chicken breasts and divided them up into labeled freezer bags. I dumped in some marinade sauces (BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, and Sweet and Sour sauce), sealed them up, and threw them in the freezer!

I made a big batch of BBQ chicken, which I will put frozen into the crockpot on low for several hours, and then shred for shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches. I made smaller batches of Italian chicken and sweet and sour chicken. Those I will likely either thaw overnight and cook on the stove or throw in the oven to bake. Serve them with veggies or a salad and rice or pasta and you've got dinner on the table with minimal effort!

What do you make for easy freezer meals? I'm looking for more recipes that are quick and easy (read "minimal prep"),
so PLEASE email me or leave a comment!
(Don't make me beg!)

Freezer Cooking

I bought some extra groceries this week to be able to put some things in the freezer to make life a little easier after baby is born. I spent less than 2 hours, and this is what I accomplished:I browned 1 lb of italian sausage for lasagna, I have 2 lbs of BBQ pork ribs to be made in the crockpot into shredded BBQ pork, and I have a meal of sweet and sour chicken and a meal of BBQ chicken. I also made a BUNCH of purees.

Our family likes to add about 1/2 cup carrot or sweet potato puree to our pancake or waffle mix. It adds some vitamins and doesn't change the flavor at all (at least we can't tell, and I have picky kids!). I also add a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. YUM! So I make a bunch of purees at once, divide them into snack bags which I freeze flat and then put into gallon freezer bags. I did 3 lbs of carrots and 3 lbs of sweet potatoes, so hopefully this will last us awhile! (they are layered in the picture, so there's more than you can see.) When it's time for pancakes, I grab a frozen bag and can usually get the puree out frozen into the bowl, which I then microwave for a minute to soften, and then I add the other ingredients. Easy!

Crockpot Chicken Stock

The following is a guest post from Angela who blogs at The Suburban Jungle.

Whenever I make a whole chicken, I save the bones and skin to make chicken stock (or broth...I think the two are basically the same). It's so easy. This is what you do. Take all your bones, fat, skin, drippings, any meat pieces you didn't want to eat and throw them in the crock pot. At this point, you can also chop up a couple of carrots, 1-2 celery, and 1 onion and throw them in the crockpot. Don't get fancy with it because you are going to eventually throw them out. Or you can blend them up and have a thicker stock, but I like a clear looking chicken noodle soup and don't save the veggies. With all the ingredients in the pot, I add one bay leaf, 3-4 peppercorns, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and fill the pot with just enough water to cover it all.

Turn the crockpot on low and leave it for 10-12 hours. I almost always start the crockpot right after dinner and leave it until morning, and it always turns out great (except for the one time my old crockpot died in the middle of the night....but barring that, it works great).

It will simmer all the good, tasty flavors and minerals right out of the bones and skin (and veggies). I usually have plenty of veggies on hand and happily throw them in, but in this example I was out of veggies and just went with the carcass and skin. I add lemon juice to increase the extraction of collagen and calcium from the bones.

Once you turn off the crockpot, let it sit and cool while you gather your supplies. All you need next are a large bowl and a strainer. You can use a cool $20 strainer or you can go cheapo like me with a $1 screen from the dollar store. This has been, by far, my best dollar store purchase. Strain out the chicken bones, skin, and veggies and throw them away. If you left any meat in there, it will have lost most of it's flavor to the stock. You can eat it if you want, or share it with your pet, but it really won't be the best.

The fat will immediately start floating to the top, and you can skim it off at this point or put the bowl in the refrigerator for an hour or so, and skim it once the fat has hardened. It's easier this way, and I'm sure you could find a way to occupy your time while you wait. A word of caution...when you make homemade chicken stock, it will be gelatinous when it gets cold, so be careful that you don't scoop out all the solid material in the bowl, just the top/creamy/whitish layer. It looks a little like chicken jello, and it sets like that because of all the healthy collagen in your stock. Most commercial stocks take it out...and sell it as gelatin, but you miss out on the healthy proteins and calcium from the collagen that way.

After you've skimmed the fat, feel free to use it in a soup recipe or package it up and freeze for later. I like to freeze it in 1 cup packets, so I can easily use it for rice recipes without measuring. If I'm saving it for soup, I freeze it in one big gallon bag.

You may have noticed that I didn't add any salt to my chicken stock. I actually like it without any salt, and I recommend that you don't add any until you taste it in your final recipe and decide how much you need at that time. If you add salt during the stock making, you run the risk of concentrating it as the water boils off and making your dishes too salty.

Chicken a la King

This recipe is from my mother-in-law and is a family favorite! When I went to visit my parents, I helped them make a big batch to put in the freezer (in smaller portions) so they could pull something out of the freezer quickly and easily for dinner.

Chicken a la King
1/3 c mushrooms (2 oz can) (opt.)
1/4 c chopped green pepper
1/4 c chopped carrot (opt.)
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c chicken broth
1 c half and half (or milk)
1 c diced cooked chicken
1/4 c chopped pimento (opt.)
1/4 c chopped bacon (opt.)

Saute mushrooms, green pepper, and carrots in butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and slowly stir in broth and cream/milk. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Add chicken, pimento, and bacon and cook until heated through. Serve with rice, noodles, or biscuits, OR put in labeled freezer bag with instructions to heat and serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pasta Bake

My Freezer Recipes post was a hit with many of you. It seems at least a few of you like to cook this way, making a big batch to freeze for later. Several people shared some YUMMY sounding recipes in the comments, so if you are looking for some freezer-friendly inspiration, check those out by scrolling down here. In the meantime, here's another freezer recipe for you to try!

Chicken Pasta Bake
1/4 cup onions, chopped
2 Tbls butter or margarine
1/4 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups chicken (or turkey or ham), cooked and cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 oz. pasta, any varieties
1/8 cup buttered bread crumbs

Prepare pasta according to directions. Brown onion in butter. Stir in soup, chicken, milk, and 3/4 cups cheese, heat until cheese melts. Blend sauce with cooked noodles (this is when I put it in a labeled freezer bag). Pour into buttered baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs and place on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until hot.

Camp Chicken

I got this recipe from Tracy when she made it for us after G was born. It's SO good!

Camp Chicken

• Cook 2 lbs. chicken in onion, salt, and pepper (cover raw chicken with water, boil until no longer pink). Cool and cut into chunks.
• Mix 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of light sour cream, and 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth (from cooking the chicken). Mix in chicken.
• Put into labeled freezer bag with these instructions: Thaw and place into casserole dish. Cover with one tube of crushed ritz crackers, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 1 Tbls of poppy seeds (opt.). Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve over rice.
  

Freezer Recipes

I'm looking for more freezer-friendly recipes to add to my repertoire. I can't bring myself to go all-the-way with Once A Month Cooking (OAMC), but as a busy mom, it's nice to be able to make a double or triple batch of something and freeze some for later, either for our family or to share with a friend. Here are a few things I like to freeze:

Tamale Pie - This recipe makes a double batch, one for now and one for later!

Crescent Ham Bundles - You can also use other "fillings". I pre-bake mine, then freeze, so they are just heat and eat, but it can be done both ways.

Black Bean Soup - A meatless meal, and SO easy!

Other family favorites to freeze include Chicken a la King, Chili, and Camp Chicken. I'll post those recipes soon. I know others freeze lasagna, though I don't have a good freezer recipe for that--anyone want to share?

I also brown up a bunch of ground beef and cooked chicken and portion them into freezer bags to be thrown into a casserole or pasta dish at the last minute and that cuts down on prep time. I do the same when I chop onions and peppers, putting extra in the freezer to quickly add to recipes. I hate chopping onions, and this way I only have to do it once in awhile!

Another thing I like to freeze is veggie purees. I freeze them in 1/2 cup portions to "sneak" into meals. I do sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and carrot most often, and I usually use pumpkin from the can. See more on "Undercover Nutrition" here. I routinely "sneak" sweet potatoes, carrot, or pumpkin into our weekend pancakes along with some vanilla and cinnamon--this makes them really yummy! I use the cauliflower in white shells, chicken a la king, or other dishes that have a white sauce. I also add carrot puree to macaroni and cheese.

When freezing a meal for later, an easy way to store them is in freezer bags. Label the bag with a permanent marker before you fill it, including the name of the dish, date, and any instructions you'll need for later. No hunting for a recipe when you pull it out next month! After you fill the bag, spread it out flat before freezing. After things are frozen, this makes storage much easier. Even if you only have a small freezer, you'd be able to store several meals this way.

What kinds of things do you freeze ahead?
I'd LOVE some new recipes to add to my freezer!