Feed the freezer recipes - Page 10

[KathinJapan]

one of the best things I froze for post partum was pancakes, yummy and quick to eat but difficult to cook onehanded.

I make wheat and egg free ones...

2C. of old fashioned oats, put into blender and make oat flour
3T flax seed meal
1t. bakibg soda
1t baking powder

1 cup (or more) water or milk of your choice (soy, almond, etc.) we use goat

mix together and cook as usual, the flax can make them firm up so you need to add more liquid as you go.
freeze well and oats are good for lactation!
Kathryn

[CeciMami]

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[Dov'sMom]

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[MaddieMay]

Amys1st-can you share your chicken and dumplings recipe? (Or point me to it if it's already on here.) Thanks!

[Amys1st]

For chicken and Dumplings:

I make it w chicken breasts just for sake of easy but some use whole chickens.

I cut up the chicken into chunks, bread it w some flour(mixed w salt pepper a bit of seasonings). Then brown it in some olive oil on low to mid heat. After browning it lightly I put the chicken aside and add a cup of finely chopped onion, celery, and carrot to the pan. Add a bit more oil and fry it until the onion is slightly browned. Add 8 oz of sliced up mushrooms. Sautee them and then add a 1/2 cup of flour to the mixture. Then add 3 cups of stock or water. Mix into a nice sauce adding spices that your family will enjoy. Then add the chicken back in and cover and cook on low until chicken is cooked thru.

For dumplings- I make from scratch w flour, baking powder and milk and butter. I add some greens to it to see them in the pot.
Take a half stick or less of butter, melt in a small pot. Add 1 cup of milk.
After butter melts, add flour mixture of
2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
a samll handful of green herbs for flavor/texture
Mix into a dough, let cool a bit and roll out. Cut up dumpling and put on top of chicken mixture. Cover and let them cook. Serve after.

Remember- this recipe makes lots of dumplings! I put the greens so I make sure that my family also eats the meat and not just the dumplings!!

For freezing- I will divide the batch in half before adding the dumplings. Freeze half like it is (after cooling). When its time in a few weeks to eat the other half, defrost and make fresh dumplings (takes 5 minutes). When the chicken mixture is simmering, add the dumplings and done!

HTH!

[MamaLocs]

Newbie w/a Question

I have been invited to a 'Fill Your Freezer Party' and this is my first. I was debating what to make and I'm thinking of making Greek Meatballs, but I don't know if it will freeze well. The ingredients are meatballs (duh), potatoes, green beans, in a tomato base. What do you experts think?

[umami_mommy]

meatballs freeze best uncooked. and chunks of potatoes get mushy in the freezer...

maybe you could just do the meatballs??

[MamaLocs]

Oh, man no potatoes, hunh? I just don't know what to make. Anybody have any ideas for meals that have hamburger? We have 1/4 cow in the freezer so I'd like to use that. I'll need to prepare meals of 4 servings each for as many women participate. Maybe I could prep everything and they could add the potatoes themselves? Do green beans do ok?

[Kerry]

Anybody have any ideas for meals that have hamburger?

Meatloafs, Italian meatballs, Mexican casserole, shepards pie, or cheeseburgers.

[MamaLocs]

Originally Posted by Kerry

Meatloafs, Italian meatballs, Mexican casserole, shepards pie, or cheeseburgers.

Do the potatoes in Shepherd's pie work better since they are already mashed?

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by MamaLocs

Do the potatoes in Shepherd's pie work better since they are already mashed?

When the potatoes defrost, they separate and need to be sort of kneaded in the bag before using. We use frozen mashed potatoes all the time and they taste just great. I will do a huge batch when I can get 50# bags cheap.

When I do Shepard’s pie, to maximize space I package everything separately. So I brown the beef and that goes into a ziplock by itself. I mash the potatoes and that also goes into a ziplock alone. Then I throw in a bag of frozen corn, a bag of frozen peas, a bag of shredded cheddar, and keep a can of creamed corn in the pantry.

To assemble I mix together the beef, corn, creamed corn, and peas and spread it in a casserole dish. Then I top it with the defrosted potatoes and cheese and bake it about 45 minutes.

If you want to put it all together in a casserole dish before freezing, just keep the potatoes separate so they can be mixed before spreading.

We brought all our frozen meals down to Florida a few years ago and had Sheppard’s pie leftover when we were leaving so I gave all my ingredients to my dad who lives nearby with my instructions. He sautéed some pepper and onions to add to the mix and said that he and his wife loved it.

While I am here I will share my all time favorite freezer meal.

Scrumptious Chicken

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups chicken broth
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter over low heat. Mix in the flour making a rue. Add the broth and continue to cook until the sauce is thick. Add the cheese and melt.

To the sauce add:
4 cups of cooked cubed chicken breast, about 4 breast halves. (I think I use about 3 cups)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup sliced cooked carrots

Mix into the white sauce. Let cool, then pour into a gallon ziplock baggie and freeze flat.

Melt ¼ cup (half a stick) of butter. Add 1 cup of corn bread stuffing and mix well. Let cool and pour into a sandwich size baggie. Freeze.

Defrost. Pour into a casserole dish and top with the crumb topping. Bake 40-45 minutes.

I love this meal after it has sat in the fridge overnight. It is my all time favorite. Mmm.

[MamaLocs]

Originally Posted by Kerry

When the potatoes defrost, they separate and need to be sort of kneaded in the bag before using. We use frozen mashed potatoes all the time and they taste just great. I will do a huge batch when I can get 50# bags cheap.

When I do Shepard’s pie, to maximize space I package everything separately. So I brown the beef and that goes into a ziplock by itself. I mash the potatoes and that also goes into a ziplock alone. Then I throw in a bag of frozen corn, a bag of frozen peas, a bag of shredded cheddar, and keep a can of creamed corn in the pantry.

To assemble I mix together the beef, corn, creamed corn, and peas and spread it in a casserole dish. Then I top it with the defrosted potatoes and cheese and bake it about 45 minutes.

If you want to put it all together in a casserole dish before freezing, just keep the potatoes separate so they can be mixed before spreading.

We brought all our frozen meals down to Florida a few years ago and had Sheppard’s pie leftover when we were leaving so I gave all my ingredients to my dad who lives nearby with my instructions. He sautéed some pepper and onions to add to the mix and said that he and his wife loved it.

While I am here I will share my all time favorite freezer meal.

Scrumptious Chicken

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups chicken broth
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter over low heat. Mix in the flour making a rue. Add the broth and continue to cook until the sauce is thick. Add the cheese and melt.

To the sauce add:
4 cups of cooked cubed chicken breast, about 4 breast halves. (I think I use about 3 cups)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup sliced cooked carrots

Mix into the white sauce. Let cool, then pour into a gallon ziplock baggie and freeze flat.

Melt ¼ cup (half a stick) of butter. Add 1 cup of corn bread stuffing and mix well. Let cool and pour into a sandwich size baggie. Freeze.

Defrost. Pour into a casserole dish and top with the crumb topping. Bake 40-45 minutes.

I love this meal after it has sat in the fridge overnight. It is my all time favorite. Mmm.

This recipe is making me drool. It looks like something kids would like too! I think I could head out and get a 10lb bag of chicken to make this at Costcow (I know there's now 'w' at the end but we call it Cost-cow cuz we spend so much money when we go!) I just stuffed my crock pot with frozen chicken breasts and chicken broth this morning to make tacos later and have extra chicken for whatever! Thanks for the ideas, and please keep 'em coming!

[umami_mommy]

i'd like the recipe for the greek meatballs. TIA!!

and search the thread for hamburger, there's lots of ideas already posted.

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by Kerry

Everything you can has a specific time to cook, and as far as I know the only foods that are still considered safe to hot water bath are jams and jellies. Everything else needs to go into a pressure canner with a very specific recipe of pressure and time, depending on the amount of acid in the food.

tomatoes and relishes can be water bath canned.... anything with a high acid content. so can whole fruit and pickled veggies.

just check with your local cooperative extension. they should have plenty of info... or just do a google search, there is good info online.

(pressure canner....on my wish list!!)

[mamadege5]

MamaLocs, or anyone else too So when the recipe calls for "cooked cubed chicken" How'd do that? I see MamaLocs you said chic breast and broth are in the crockpot...do you do that, cool, cube, freeze, etc....? As I'm typing it the lightbulb is going on.

We just bought boneless skinless chic on sale buy one get one.....worked out to 2.20/lb. $1.99 is usually the cheapest price available, but it hasn't been on sale for a while.
My other fav "new" trick is to put each chic breast in a ziplock freezer bag, pound until thin, then freeze. It takes up a lot of bags but is soooo much easier to take out the # we need for dinner, depending on who's here, if DD and her BF drop by, someone eats at a friends house.....

[ozzyemm]

Has anyone tried savingdinner.com? They have a mega menu mailer that gives you recipes (and a buying guide) for a month's worth of dinners. we got the brand new vegetarian mailer. We spent around $200-220 for twenty meals. We were even able to buy some organic foods! It took me longer than they said it would to make the twenty meals (about 4 hours over two days, with a toddler underfoot or out with dad). Next time, I will divide the time better. I should have cut up and stored the veggies, etc., one day, and then prepared the meals another day. I ended up lumping everything together, which got very hairy.

Now I have twenty meals that will take very little (less than 10 min. each) prep time, and less than 20 minutes cook time (except for the crockpot meals, which will take all day, but I won't have to check on them!).

Its worth looking into, especially for those who already use the weekly menu mailers, since these menus are "favorites" and have been used in the MM before. The benefit is that they give you a shopping list of everything for the month and a way to put it all together, so you can just defrost and heat for dinner. cheaper than a prepackaged meal from the grocery store!

[MamaLocs]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

i'd like the recipe for the greek meatballs. TIA!!

and search the thread for hamburger, there's lots of ideas already posted.

Ok, I don't have an actual recipe written down because it's just a family thing, but I know I can tell ya the basics!

-Use 1 lb of hamburger to make meatballs. Use 2 slices of bread mashed with 1/3 cup buttermilk instead of bread crumbs. Be sure to include some mint, garlic, and oregano. Cook 'em up however you usually do it. (Fried or baked)

-Prepare a tomato based sauce (I'd say 4-5 cups). I like tomato paste and water, but you can use tomato sauce if you'd like. Add two sticks of cinnamon and 2tsp whole allspice to the sauce and simmer. Add oregano, basil, Greek seasoning (or seasoning salt/salt) mix, and garlic. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until you can really smell the spices.

-Add 3-4 red potates chopped into wedges and 1cup (or more) of green beans, and meatballs. Simmer until potatoes are done.

-I serve it with lemony rice-Use 1 3/4 C chicken broth or water, 1/4 c lemon juice, 2 T butter, 2 tsp dried mint as the liquid and add a cup of rice and cook as usual. It's delicious.

Fresh herbs are best in the meatballs.

I hope that's clear enough, if not, I'll have my mom dig out the recipe!

Originally Posted by mamadege5

MamaLocs, or anyone else too So when the recipe calls for "cooked cubed chicken" How'd do that? I see MamaLocs you said chic breast and broth are in the crockpot...do you do that, cool, cube, freeze, etc....? As I'm typing it the lightbulb is going on.

We just bought boneless skinless chic on sale buy one get one.....worked out to 2.20/lb. $1.99 is usually the cheapest price available, but it hasn't been on sale for a while.
My other fav "new" trick is to put each chic breast in a ziplock freezer bag, pound until thin, then freeze. It takes up a lot of bags but is soooo much easier to take out the # we need for dinner, depending on who's here, if DD and her BF drop by, someone eats at a friends house.....

I just cook the chicken from frozen and cube it afterwards. I add a box of Pacific organic chicken broth and a big huge bag of frozen chicken. Put it on low and cook it for 8-10 hours. Then I can use the meat for whatever. Pot pies, enchiladas, chicken salads. I spice the chicken separately according to the dish. The broth that's left over is great for rice or soups or whatever. HTH!

[MeganW]

does anyone know if mousaka freezes ok?

[umsami]

Originally Posted by MeganW

does anyone know if mousaka freezes ok?

I'm curious as well. I think I'd worry about the bechamel sauce... but other than that, I think it would be fine. My DH would be so happy if I freezed a few pans of moussaka before the baby comes. Knowing him, I'd check out of the hospital to find it all had been eaten.

[MamaLocs]

I agree with PP. Maybe make freeze everything but the crema and add that when you bake it?