Back To School Freezer Cooking

After my Facebook post about my freezer cooking project Saturday, I had many people ask for my recipes. A few also asked about what kind of containers I used. I hope to answer all of your questions in this post, but if I leave anything out, please send me a message! Please understand that I am not Betty Crocker. I am not Martha Stewart. I am not Superwoman. I do my best to be intentional about planning ahead in different areas of my life, so I can spend as much quality time I can with the amazing family that God has blessed me with.

To begin, I chose several meals that I have cooked before for my family that I know we all like and will all eat more than once without anyone complaining that “we are having that AGAIN for supper?!”. I made a shopping list and headed to Wal-Mart to get everything in one trip (I should probably disclose here that I did NOT do any comparison pricing, nor did I use any coupons-I realize that is seriously hard for some of you to believe, but it is true. I have realized that sometimes my time and energy are worth more to me than money. Shocker, but true). :-) I did my grocery run the day before I actually did my cooking—mainly because I’m a morning person (once I’ve had my coffee) and I wanted to get started as soon as I got up and got going. By the time I was finished, I had spent about 6 hours, around $200, and had made about 22 meals for my family. For all you non-math teachers, this comes out to around $9.00 per meal. ;-) I will mix other meals in throughout the week (like spaghetti and meatballs, sloppy joe casserole), plus we eat supper at church on Wednesday nights and have pizza every Friday night. So, these 22 meals will last me about 6-8 weeks.

As far as how the process went, the night before I took my list and prepared the gallon-size freezer bags. I wrote the name of the meal and if necessary, the cooking instructions. A few of the meals wouldn’t work in the freezer bags, so I made them in throw-away aluminum pans {*note-be sure you know what kind of containers you need when you go to Wal-Mart so you don’t have to make another trip!}. I use the freezer bags as much as possible for organizational purposes. I lay them flat to freeze in the freezer and then stack them right side up in my freezer (kind of like books on a bookshelf).

The meals I made for this freezer cooking project were:

Slow Cooker Beef Tips- I will serve with rice, green beans, crescent rolls, and fruit. I have no idea where I found this recipe, but I’m sure it was online somewhere. For the record, I did not come up with this on my own.

Recipe:

• 1 pkg of beef tips (I buy the small pkg of super trim. If you have more than 4 people to feed or have members of your family that eat a lot –thinking teenage boys- you will want to double the recipe or buy the large pkg of beef tips.If you go with the large pkg. of beef tips, double the soup)
• 1 can French Onion soup
• 1 can Golden Mushroom soup
• Dump everything into a gallon freezer bag. Seal (really well) and then squish together. Freeze flat.
• When you are ready to cook, dump into a slow cooker (I use slow cooker liners for easy clean up!) and cook on low for 6 hours.
• Note: These have great flavor, but Ryan and I always add a little Tony’s on ours before we eat. I don’t add it during the cooking b/c I don’t want it too spicy for the kids.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin (Slow Cooker)-I will serve with either baked potatoes or angel hair pasta, broccoli, and fruit. I found this recipe online, but I couldn’t find it again. I did not come up with this on my own!

Recipe:

• 1 pkg. pork tenderloins (the kind that has 2 tenderloins in 1 pkg)
• 1 pkg. bacon
• 1 bottle of Italian dressing
• Wrap each pork tenderloin with bacon. Put in a freezer bag and freeze.
• When you are ready to cook, put in a slow cooker and pour about 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
• Note: I cook one at a time and it is plenty for my family of 4, with leftovers.

Baked Chicken Fajitas- I will serve with all the usual fajita toppings, chips and salsa, and fruit. These are SO easy to throw together and make a very quick and yummy meal!!! I dumped all ingredients into a freezer bag and thaw in the refrigerator the night before I get ready to cook these.

I found the recipe for these here: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/baked-chicken-fajitas-recipe.html

Lasagna Roll Ups-I will serve these with a green salad and garlic bread. The recipe makes 12 and we usually eat 8 for supper. The other 4 get eaten for lunch the next day. :-) These are kind of messy to make, so I put wax paper on my counter and then just roll it up and throw it away when I’m done. I put the roll ups in an aluminum pan for freezing.

I found the recipe for these here: http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/02/lasagna-roll-ups/

Spaghetti Casserole-I will serve this with corn and breadsticks. I made this in aluminum pans and I doubled the recipe so I would have 2! It was very easy to make.

I found the recipe for this here:  http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/scooters-spaghetti

Chicken Taquitos-These are SO good! I doubled the recipe so we could have these twice. I will serve these with sour cream, chips & salsa, and fruit. I’m sure they would be great with guacamole, too. I flash-freeze them and then put them in a freezer bag.

I found the recipe for these here:

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/02/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/

Taco Meat-I think this is pretty self-explanatory. I brown ground meat (deer at our house) and add in the taco seasoning. Let it cool and then put in quart size freezer bags (1 lb in each). I like to have this on hand for crazy nights when I forget to lay something out in the morning. It thaws quickly and can be used for tacos, nachos, taco salad, etc.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork-I will serve on buns with chips and fruit. I just dump a pork shoulder roast into a gallon freezer bag and dump in a bottle of BBQ sauce. When I get ready to cook, I dump it all into a slower cooker and pour on a can of Coke. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Easy peasy!

Chicken Pot Pie-Again, I have no idea when I found this recipe, but I know that I did not come up with it on my own. I have been  making it for years-it is my go-to meal for taking to families when we do meals at church. I make it in an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 aluminum pan to freeze (whichever one I can find that day). Thaw before cooking.

Recipe:

• 1 pkg. frozen veggies
• 1/3 c margarine
• 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 14 oz. chicken broth
• 2/3 c milk
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts (the roll out kind, not the frozen kind-by the crescent rolls & biscuits)
• 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up (I sometimes use leftover rotisserie chicken)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Melt margarine in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. {Note-sometimes mine gets really lumpy here. When that happens, I go ahead and add a little chicken broth to smooth it out. } Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and veggies; remove from heat. Put 1 pie crust in the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan. Push against the sides. Pour mixture in and cover with second crust. Flute edges. Pierce the top with a fork before baking for 35 minutes. {I always bake mine on a cookie sheet just in case it bubbles over!}

Erin’s Pasta-One of my favorite pasta dishes in the whole world! My friend Erin brought this to me when Anna was born and  it immediately made the McKnight Monthly Menu short list! It makes quite a bit, so I can usually get 2 meals out of one recipe. I make it all in one skillet, but please note-you will need a very large skillet by the time you get it all together!

Recipe:

• 2-3 chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2” strips
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil spray
• 3 c uncooked pasta (I usually use penne or rotini), cooked according to package
• 2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 c frozen green peas
• 1/2 c sliced green onions
• 2 c half & half
• 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c mozzarella cheese
• salt & pepper
• Saute chicken with garlic and green onions in skillet sprayed with oil  until done. Add mushrooms and peas and saute a few more minutes. Add half and half, cheeses, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium or low heat until sauce thickens. Add cooked pasta and toss. Add additional cheese to garnish.

Wow! I think that about wraps it up! I can’t wait for cooler weather when I can make my soups, stews, gumbo, and red beans & rice!