Freezer Cooking

I am falling in love with freezer or batch cooking. Including today, I've done it 3 times so far. The first time with several of my neighbors, which was a blast but gave us many meals that my family wasn't crazy about. We used all recipes from one book designed for freezer cooking so everybody missed our family favorites that month. The next time I went less intense and just made several of our family favorites over the course of 2 days while Bennett was at school & Noah was home with me. Yesterday & today, I did the same thing, except this time instead of just dinners (which I prepared for 10) I did some baking of healthy snacks. To make time for that, a few of the dinners I planned are for the crock pot and just required cooking some ground beef, chopping onions, things like that so it will be easy on the day I make it. Below are the things I made, with links to the recipes if I got them off the internet.

Snacks:

Oatmeal Muffins (recipe below)

Maple Pecan Cookies (recipe below)

Grab and Go Granola Bars from the Meal Makeover Moms

Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars from the Meal Makeover Moms

Dinners:

Mexican Casserole (recipe below) x2

White Chicken Chili (can't find the link for this one) x2

Poppyseed Chicken x2

Prep for crockpot Taco Soup, Flank Steak & Beans, Beef Tips and Mom's Chicken (all recipes from friends I haven't tried yet but I'm certain they're yummy)

I would include pictures like the pro bloggers do but I forgot to take any and all that's left now is a very messy kitchen which I would rather not share!

So that's 10 dinners and 4 sets of healthy snacks to replace store bought cereal bars, cookies, etc. One of the best tips I have is to store everything in gallon ziplock freezer bags, rather than pans. If you squish them flat, they take up very little room in the freezer. Plus if you need even more room, layer extra shelves using wire cookie cooling racks to give more shelf space. The kitchen is a mess but just this one time instead of each night. I'll throw in some taco & spaghetti nights along the way too since those are easy to do. And since Shane's out of town alot this month, that will probably cover us since the boys and I are known for having oatmeal or hotdogs for dinner sometimes when Shane's gone.

Here are some of the recipes if you're interested...

Oatmeal Muffins

2 1/4 cup oatmeal, made powdery in food processor

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup craisins

1 TBS baking powder

1/4 cup honey

1 1/4 cup milk

2 eggs

2 Tbs oil

Combine oatmeal, nuts, raisins, craisins and baking powder. Add in the honey. In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg and oil and then add to oatmeal mixture. Pour into muffin pans and bake at 425 for about 12 minutes. Makes 12

Maple Pecan Cookies

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup pecans

1/8 tsp salt

3 1/2 to 4 Tbs chilled butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tbs maple syrup

Combine flour, pecans, salt in food processor until pecans are finely ground. Add butter and pulse until resembles course meal. Slowly add syrup until combined. Shape into balls by hand and flatten onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.

Mexican Casserole

3/4 lb ground beef

9-12 oz velveeta

1 small package yellow rice

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 package taco seasoning

1 bag tortilla chips

Optional - can of corn and/or cooked fresh spinach (just to add some extra, sort of hidden veggies)

Cook yellow rice. Cook ground beef and add in taco seasoning. Combine rice, beef, rotel, and cheese and bake in 9x13 on 350 for 20 minutes. Eat with tortilla chips.

White Chicken Chili
3 Chicken Breasts, Cubed
1 Packet McCormick White Chicken Chili Seasoning
4 oz Diced Green Chilies
3 Cups Chicken Broth
24-30 oz Can of White Beans
15 oz Can of Black Beans
Medium Onion, Diced
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper
Shredded Cheese
In a large sauce pan, combine vegetable oil and diced onions. Cook until onions begin to soften. Puree 1 can white beans & add to broth. Add in diced chicken, chicken broth, McCormick seasoning, remaining navy beans, black beans and green chilies. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve with shredded cheese as a garnish.

Poppyseed Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts (uncooked if freezing)

1 can cream of chicken soup

2-3 tbs white wine (i use chicken broth)

8 oz sour cream

Combine ingredients and freeze. When ready to cook, thaw chicken. Place in baking dish and top with poppyseeds, crushed ritz crackers and a little melted butter. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes. Serve with rice (or rice-a-roni at my house).

Beef Tips & Rice (thanks Tricia)

1-2 lbs Beef Tips

1 can of golden mushroom soup

1 can of French onion soup

In crock pot with the beef tips and cook on low for 5-6 hours or so. Serve over rice.

Crock Pot Flank Steak and Beans (thanks Rachel)

1 or 1 1/2 lb. flank steak or shoulder steak

1 small onion, chopped

16 oz. jar salsa

1/2 tsp.dried oregano

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

15 oz. can corn, drained

1 green bell pepper, sliced

Trim excess fat from steak if needed. Place onions in bottom of crock pot and top with steak. Mix salsa, oregano, chili powder and s & p. Pour over meat. Top with black beans and corn. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove meat and slice into strips. Turn heat up to high, return meat and add sliced peppers. Stir. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until peppers are tender. Serve over rice.

Mom's Cock Pot Chicken (thanks again Rachel)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)

1 pkg. Good Seasons italian dressing mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup white wine (or cooking sherry)

Add chicken to crock pot. Mix other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low 8 hours. Serve over rice. **I have also used chicken broth instead of wine and it is just as good. The liquid is delicious over green vegetables, so I usually serve it with broccoli or asparagus.