Feed the freezer recipes - Page 30

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by straighthaircurly

I get the best results when I freeze raw meat wrapped in freezer paper (comes on rolls like aluminum foil or plastic wrap).

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for this. It sounds like it's different from parchment paper or waxed paper.

[texaspeach]

ok guys, I'm back! I've posted to this thread before and gotten great ideas. I'm looking for new ideas of stuff to freeze to prepare for baby making an appearance in August/Sept! I'm doing a trial run this summer before the kiddo arrives so hopefully we don't have any flops.

I'm trying stuff out. So far on the list:

cajun meat loaf - this recipe makes one giant meatloaf, since it's just DH and me, I split it into three. We'll eat one tonight and freeze two for meals later in the month

Beef brisket - I have a brisket left over from Easter that I need to do something with.

Lasagna roll ups from further up the thread

the spinach pasta bake from another thread is already in the freezer.


I'm trying to remember if tortillas (plain) freeze ok. I would do some tacos and freeze the tortillas separate but I can't remember if they thaw ok.

[Amys1st]

Welcome Amanda and congrats on your upcoming addition!

I so need to make my beef brisket.

Some ideas for that post baby, babymoon, and marathon nursing times:

baked mostocholli w meat or sausage.
pulled pork
chicken and dumplings
meatloaf
taco meat frozen and reheatd
lasagna

Also, should I start another thread?? This thread is literally 3 years old. We can call this part I and do a part II any ideas? Mods??

[Carlyn]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

I'm trying to remember if tortillas (plain) freeze ok. I would do some tacos and freeze the tortillas separate but I can't remember if they thaw ok.

My three little girls and I made tortillas yesterday (one of my 6yo's favourite activities!) and froze what we didn't eat for supper. They work great. I just pile them up as we fry them, and put them all in a freezer ziploc bag when they are cool. I take out what we need, and they always separate really easily for me. just heat up in a fry pan to thaw. It only takes a minute or so. You can use them in any recipe or for wraps. I would like to do a whole bunch more before the baby is born - we always eat them up so quickly!!!

My mom always freezes store-bought tortillas, and they work great as well. I just like the taste and ingredients of home-made ones better!

[amandaleigh37]

This thread is so great!!

I just got the urge to freeze a bunch of meals before the new baby comes (5 weeks or so). I checked out a few library books and spent the past 2 days cooking. My freezer is literally PACKED FULL right now, which is unfortunate because I had planned on cooking more tomorrow, with ingredients already purchased for more meals! I am debating if I should go out & buy a small chest freezer. I can definitely see myself keeping up with this, it's so nice to know there is food handy. I keep opening the freezer and looking at it all!

I made:
chicken cordon bleu (12)
herb sauce
pasta sauce
meatballs (40)
mini meatloaves (4)
cheesy chilada casserole (3)
vegetable lasagna (3)
feta & spinach lasagna rolls (32)
granola bars (48)
pizza crusts (5)
garlic mashed potatoes (4)
morroccan lentil soup (2 crock pots full)
chicken

... And I'm probably forgetting something else. I wanted to make cheese-stuffed shells, breakfast burritos, waffles, breadsticks.... yes I think I definitely need another freezer.

[AnnieMarie]

Originally Posted by Carlyn

My three little girls and I made tortillas yesterday (one of my 6yo's favourite activities!) and froze what we didn't eat for supper. They work great. I just pile them up as we fry them, and put them all in a freezer ziploc bag when they are cool. I take out what we need, and they always separate really easily for me. just heat up in a fry pan to thaw. It only takes a minute or so. You can use them in any recipe or for wraps. I would like to do a whole bunch more before the baby is born - we always eat them up so quickly!!!

My mom always freezes store-bought tortillas, and they work great as well. I just like the taste and ingredients of home-made ones better!

I have frozen store bought ones in the past, but would love to make my own. Specially since I have stone ground flour just waiting to be used :
Please can you share your recipe Carlyn

[Radish4ever]

My recent favs:

Creamy Italian Pasta (Recipe #295595 on Recipezaar)

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good (and could be made meatless, using low/no fat ingredients, whole wheat pasta, etc).... I used turkey instead of beef and added in some minced onion with the meat. This froze BEAUTIFULLY (I made it and then put leftovers in individual containers to reheat for lunches...so goooooood and I can't wait to make more!)

SERVES 6 -8

16 ounces pasta (fusilli, medium shells, elbow mac, etc)
1 lb ground beef
26 ounces pasta sauce
8 ounces tomato sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 tablespoons italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Boil pasta as directed on package and drain.
Meanwhile, brown meat with garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
Mix all very well (except mozarella) in pasta pot (or larger pot) over low heat until cream cheese melts.
Top evenly with mozarella.
Cover and let sit on low for about 15 min, or until mozarella melted.
Enjoy!



-------------------
Breakfast Casserole (Recipezaar Recipe #32445 )

SERVES 6-8

1 lb bulk sausage, like Jimmy Dean
4 cups bread, cut in pieces (day or two old is best)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
Cook and crumble sausage, drain.
Put bread in well buttered 9x13 baking dish.
Sprinkle with the cheese.
Combine the eggs, milk, and spices.
Pour over the bread and cheese.
Sprinkle sausage and mushrooms on top.
Cover and chill overnight.
Heat oven to 325*.
Bake, uncovered for 1 hour.


(Ours took about an hour and a half to make so it wasn't too runny. This can also be made right away without making it the night before. I freeze this in individual portions, too)

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[Carlyn]

Tortilla Recipe

Originally Posted by AnnieMarie

I have frozen store bought ones in the past, but would love to make my own. Specially since I have stone ground flour just waiting to be used :
Please can you share your recipe Carlyn

Corn Tortillas (I triple recipe, but it's really thick to stir together!)

Stir together in saucepan on low heat (I heat water to boiling in point, then leave on element and stir in rest of ingredients, it stays hot enough):
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. cornmeal
3 T. butter
1 t. salt

Remove from heat, cover for 5 minutes, then add until not sticky or stiff:
1 c. flour or more (I find it takes more. I use at least half whole wheat, and some white)

Take an egg-sized amount and roll on floured board until very thin. Fry both sides in hot, ungreased skillet.

***I've found that I've improved a lot making these since I first started! You start to "feel" how they should be. But they are always tasty, even if they are lopsided or you let them get a little crispy.

[umami_mommy]

you don't use masa (corn flour)?

[Carlyn]

No, this is the recipe that I use, as is. I can't say if they are "authentic" tortillas, but we love them here! I would love other recipes that you like to use to make tortillas.

[umami_mommy]

i haven't made them in a long time, but i always used a recipe like this when i did.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/t...ipe/index.html

[kellid]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

This thread is so great!!

I just got the urge to freeze a bunch of meals before the new baby comes (5 weeks or so). I checked out a few library books and spent the past 2 days cooking. My freezer is literally PACKED FULL right now, which is unfortunate because I had planned on cooking more tomorrow, with ingredients already purchased for more meals! I am debating if I should go out & buy a small chest freezer. I can definitely see myself keeping up with this, it's so nice to know there is food handy. I keep opening the freezer and looking at it all!

I made:
chicken cordon bleu (12)
herb sauce
pasta sauce
meatballs (40)
mini meatloaves (4)
cheesy chilada casserole (3)
vegetable lasagna (3)
feta & spinach lasagna rolls (32)
granola bars (48)
pizza crusts (5)
garlic mashed potatoes (4)
morroccan lentil soup (2 crock pots full)
chicken

... And I'm probably forgetting something else. I wanted to make cheese-stuffed shells, breakfast burritos, waffles, breadsticks.... yes I think I definitely need another freezer.

holy monkey!! great work! that sounds wonderfully organized and on it!

would you please share your pizza crust recipe and how you are prepping them to freeze/thaw/cook? and the veg lasagna? and the granola bars? and the morraccan soup? and the cordon bleu? and enchilada casserole? pleeeeeeeze!!!!! ::

[LilMamiBella]

I want to do something like savingdinner.com but I don't like all the recipes in the list.

Here's a list of what I'd like to make..I just don't know how I'm supposed to prepare/freeze them. Can someone help me figure it out? pretty please

Hawaiian Chicken with jasmine rice
cheese lover's manicotti
buffalo ranch chicken
honey apple pork chops
lasagna
stuffed shells
chicken enchiladas
scrumptious chicken
goat cheese filled enchiladas
chicken noodle casserole
king ranch chicken
veggie soup
sausage gravy ( to go with biscuits)
bisquick cheeseburger pie
fish w/ cilantro and lime

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

feta & spinach lasagna rolls
morroccan lentil soup

: recipes? These sound awesome.

[amandaleigh37]

holy monkey!! great work! that sounds wonderfully organized and on it!

would you please share your pizza crust recipe and how you are prepping them to freeze/thaw/cook? and the veg lasagna? and the granola bars? and the morraccan soup? and the cordon bleu? and enchilada casserole? pleeeeeeeze!!!!!

Sure thing! (I made a blog post about the cooking/freezing I did here)

The Moroccan lentil soup is a crock pot recipe you can find here.


Vegetable Lasagna (makes 4 entrees, 4-6 servings each)

Ingredients
48 Ounces cottage cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided into 2 C and 1 C.
11 cups Basic Red Sauce
24 Lasagna noodles, uncooked
4 C. assorted veggies – (I used zucchini, carrots, onions, bell peppers)
8 C. shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 lbs.)
Four 12 ½ x 6 ½ x 3 –inch foil loaf pans
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil

Assembly Directions:
Mix cottage cheese, eggs, and 2 C Parmesan in a large bowl.
Lay baking dishes out and spread ¼ C. red sauce in the bottom of each.
Assemble all four lasagnas at once in layers in the following order:
LAYER 1: 2 uncooked noodles, ¾ C red sauce, ½ C vegetables, ¾ C cottage cheese mixture, ½ C mozzarella
LAYER 2: 2 uncooked noodles, ¾ C. red sauce, ½ C. (or remaining) veg., ¾ C. cottage cheese mixture, ½ C. mozzarella
LAYER 3: 2 uncooked noodles, 1 C. red sauce, 1 c. mozzarella, ¼ C. Parmesan

Freezing Directions:
Wrap each pan entirely in plastic wrap. Top with foil, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw one entrée in the refrigerator or bake straight from freezer. Preheat oven to 375. Remove plastic wrap and foil from baking dish, and replace foil. Bake for 45 min. if thawed, 1 hour if frozen. Remove foil and continue baking until lasagna is bubbling and cheese is browned.


Pizza Dough I make this in the bread machine. One recipe makes 2 8x8 pizzas. I baked them in 8x8 pans at 325 for about 8 minutes, just until they started to brown lightly. Then cooled completely & froze in a gallon ziploc. To reheat just thaw & stick in a pan, add toppings, and bake at 325 for 30 min or so, until everything is melted & bubbly

¾ t. salt
4 C. flour
2 tsp. Yeast
1 ¼ C water
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

[amandaleigh37]

Granola Bars - makes 48 bars

1 C. vegetable oil
2 ¼ C. brown sugar
¼ C + 2 TBSP honey
1 TBSP vanilla
3 eggs
3 C. whole wheat flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 ½ t. baking powder
4 ½ C. oats
6 C. crisp rice cereal
3 C. chopped nuts or sunflower seeds
Optional: 3: raisins, chocolate chips, chopped dried fruit, etc.

In large mixer bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla & eggs. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. With large spoon, stir in oats, cereal and extras. Spray 3 9x13” pans. Press the mixture evenly into bottom of pans (I used a potato masher to get them nice & even).

For chewy bars, bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes (I'd suggest a few minutes less - otherwise they are too crumbly to cut neatly!) until lightly browned on edges. For crunchy bars, bake at 300* until the surface is golden brown all over, about 40-50 minutes. Cool completely and cut into 16 bars by slicing through the middle lengthwise, then crosswise 7 times.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (makes 12) - I made these, but haven't eaten any yet. They do look delicious though!

About 6 lbs. Boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
1 Cup flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Cups dry bread crumbs
12 slices swiss cheese
12 slices deli ham

Assembly Directions:
Rinse and trim chicken as desired.
Lay out three shallow dishes. Measure the flour into one, eggs into another, and breadcrumbs into the third.
Lay each piece of chicken, smooth side down, between two sheets of wax paper. Using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer, pound each one to ½” thick. Take one piece of chicken, coat with flour, dip in egg, and then coat with breadcrumbs.
Set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

Fold one piece of cheese into a small bundle and place in the middle of one slice of ham. Fold the sides of the ham in, enveloping the cheese. Place a ham/cheese bundle on the harrow end of chicken, roll into a packet and secure tightly by wrapping with plastic wrap. Repeat for each piece of chicken.

Freezing Directions:
Divide rolls evenly among freezer bags. Seal and freeze.


Serving Directions:
Remove desired number of chicken rolls from freezer. Discard plastic wrap while chicken is still frozen, and place rolls in greased baking dish. Place in fridge to thaw completely.

Preheat oven to 350*. Brush each chicken roll with 2 t. of melted butter and bake 45 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 170*.

[amandaleigh37]

Cheesy Chilada Bake Makes 4 entrees, 9x13 pans

About 6 lbs. Lean ground beef
4 green bell peppers, diced
4 medium onions, diced
4 cups picante sauce
4 15-oz cans tomato sauce
4 15-oz cans pinto beans
4 t. ground cumin
4 t. salt
48 corn tortillas
8 C shredded Mexican cheese (~4lb.)

Assembly Directions:
Brown beef, bell peppers, onions and garlic in large stockpot over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard fat. Stir in picante sauce, tomato sauce, beans, cumin & salt.
Spread 4 C. of meat mixture over the bottom of each baking dish. Cover the mixture with 3 corn tortillas, overlapping edges as necessary. Spread 1 C cheese over the tortillas. Repeat each layer, finishing with a cheese topping.

Freezing Directions:
Wrap each dish entirely in plastic wrap. Top with foil, label & freeze.

Serving Directions:
Completely thaw one dish in the refrigerator.
Preheat overn to 350*
Remove plastic wrap and foil from baking dish and replace foil. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is hot and edges are bubbly.


Feta & Spinach Lasagna Rolls

2 boxes lasagna noodles (15-18 noodles in each box)
12 oz. Crumbled feta cheese
16 oz. Cottage cheese (2 C)
16 oz. Ricotta cheese
½ C shredded asiago cheese (~ 2 oz)
½ C shredded Parmesan
1 t. black pepper
8 oz. Frozen chopped spinach, broken apart
4 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled

For cooking:
2 C basic red sauce, 1 C mozzarella (I measured these out in smaller bags and froze them with the rolls so I'll have it all ready to go)

Assembly Directions:
Working in batches, boil noodles until flexible enough to roll but not completely cooked. Meanwhile, mix feta, cottage cheese, ricotta, Asiago, Parmesan, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in spinach leaves.
Place partially cooked noodles on clean surface in a single layer (do not overlap).
Spread 3 TBSP filling down the length of each noodle. Roll noodle and place seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet.

Freezing Directions:
Place rolls in freezer for 30 minutes. Divide frozen rolls evenly among freezer bags. Seal and refreeze.

Serving Directions:
Place lasagna rolls in greased baking dish. Cover with foil; completely thaw in refrigerator.
Preheat over to 350*
Pour 2 C. red sauce over rolls and top with mozzarella; replace foil.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is hot and cheese is melted.

[Carlyn]

Wow, Amanda, I'm so impressed! Great job. I live several provinces away from my mom, and won't see her until after the baby is born. I would love to do a project like this with her. I do have a friend expecting a few months after me, and we're hoping to find a day to get a bunch of meals put away. I'll have to keep some of your meal ideas in mind, they look very tasty!

[JoyAnne]

I read in a magazine that cottage cheese freezes much better than ricotta.

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

Someone mentioned not freezing sour cream. So if I make stroganof to freeze do I put in sour cream or leave it out and add right before we eat it? Oh, and what about stuffed shells and lasagna with ricotta cheese? it seems like that would not work. I froze ricotta once but not in a meal and it was not pretty.

[kellid]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

Sure thing! (I made a blog post about the cooking/freezing I did here)

thank you, so much!!!!!!!!!!!