Next Meals

Now that school is off to a good start I figured it was time we dived back into those freezer meals. It looks like most people want to do meals once a month. For those of you who don't, you can do two meals and meet with us every other month. I think we can all be flexible with what works for you. My vote is to meet the 2nd Friday of every month at 10:00 to swap meals. Does that work for everyone? In regards to the actual meals, I think we should try new things and see what works since we've done 2 rounds of meals we liked. If you already have an idea of what you want to make then share your idea on the blog. I'm thinking of making Taco Pie. It's Garth's favorite dinner!!

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Lemon Glazed Chicken Breast

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup flour
1 tsp pepper
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup honey
½ cup lemon juice
2 T. soy sauce

Pound chicken breasts to ½ inch thickness. Mix flour and pepper together. Dredge chicken through flour mixture. Set aside. Mix together butter, honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Place chicken in greases baking dish and pour glaze over chicken breasts. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Glaze will thicken as it cools.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/3 cups BBQ sauce
1 pizza crust
6 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

Yields 1 large pizza

Marinate chicken in 2/3 cup BBQ sauce for 4 hours or up to overnight. Place chicken and marinade in small baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until done). Remove from oven. Roll out pizza dough; you may want to use a round cardboard covered with plastic wrap for this step.

Spread remaining 2/3 BBQ sauce over crust. Sprinkle cheese evenly over crust, leaving 1/2 inch border. Shred chicken and arrange over cheese, topping with onion. Freeze, covering pizza and cardboard with plastic wrap followed by heavy duty foil.

Serving day instructions:
Preheat oven 10 45o degrees. Bake frozen pizza (remove cardboard) for 10- 15 minutes.

*NOTE* I used Boboli pizza crust for this recipe, but I think it would taste better with an uncooked crust.

Cranberry Chicken

8 oz Catalina dressing
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 1-lb can whole berry cranberry sauce
4 boned chicken breasts

Yields 4 servings

Mix together dressing, onion soup mix, and cranberry sauce. Place chicken and mixture together in a freezer bag.

Thaw completely. Place chicken and cranberry sauce in greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve over rice.

Baked Ziti

1 (16 oz.) box ziti macaroni (or any desired noodle)
1 lb. ground hamburger or sausage
½ onion, chopped
1 lg. jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 egg
8 oz. grated Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
Dash of salt
Olive oil

Boil macaroni according to directions on box, drain, and cool. If planning to freeze before baking, cook the noodles al dente. Brown the meat and onion in olive oil. Add oregano, garlic powder, salt, and spaghetti sauce. Set aside a little bit of the grated cheese for the top. Mix cottage cheese, egg, and mozzarella cheese together and add to meat mixture. Mix the noodles in lasts and put in 9X13 oblong baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes at 350° or until very bubbly. Bake uncovered for the last 5 or 10 minutes.

Teryiaki Chicken

1 onion, chopped
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. ketchup
½ c. sugar
1 c. water
2 T. cornstarch
2 c. cooked boneless, skinless chicken

Sauté onion in butter. In a bowl mix the soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, water, and cornstarch. Pour into skillet with the onions. Add the cooked chicken and stir on medium. Heat until it thickens. Serve over rice.

**This meal is prepared differently as a freezer meal.

Preparing as a freezer meal:
Do not cook the chicken. Place the raw chicken in a freezer bag. Combine all ingredients except the corn starch and pour over the chicken.

Serving Day Instructions:
Thaw completely. Place both chicken and sauce in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Serve over rice.

*Optional: If you like your sauce a little thicker then try the following. After the chicken is completely cooked, separate the sauce from the chicken. Put the sauce in a frying pan and add 2T. corn starch. (Tip: To prevent lumpy sauce, mix the corn starch with a little bit of cold water before you add it to the sauce.) Cook and stir sauce until thickened. I cut up the chicken and put it back in the frying pan with the sauce. It’s easier for my kids to eat it that way. Enjoy.

Curry Chicken

1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
½ cup honey
1 tsp salt
¼ cup melted margarine (use less if desired)
¼ cup prepared mustard
1 tsp curry powder

Cut chicken into desired sizes and place in 9 X 13 pan. Melt margarine and stir remaining ingredients. Pour sauce over chicken turning to coat and bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Turn the chicken at least once while baking. Serve over rice.

Preparing as a freezer meal:
Place chicken in freezer bag. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Place chicken with sauce into a pan and bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Turn the chicken at least once while baking. Serve over rice.

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1-2 c. salsa to taste
8-16 oz. sour cream to taste
2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
Flour tortillas
Grated cheese

Combine all ingredients except tortillas and some of the cheese to put on top. Spoon sauce into tortillas and roll them up. Place in a greased 9X13 pan with the seam side down. Spread leftover sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with the leftover grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven until cheese is melted. (If you like it crunchier then cook without foil.)

Zucchini Muffins

3 cups shredded Zucchini
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 t. Vanilla
4 eggs
3 Cups Whole wheat flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. baking powder

Mix all the above ingredients together.

To freeze:
- Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill each muffin cup 2/3rds full.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Once the raw batter is completely frozen, remove from pan and store in large ziplock bag.

To bake:
- Spray muffin tin with cooking spray or line cups with muffin papers.
- Place frozen batter into each cup.
- Bake @ 350* for 20 - 25 minutes.

if you want to just make and bake : 350 degrees for 15 min. (bread 50-60 min.)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Serves 4

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ lb. shaved or thinly sliced ham
8 thin slices Swiss cheese
½ cup flour
1 T. Paprika
1 beaten egg
½ cup plain breadcrumbs

Béchamel sauce
2 T. butter
1 ½ cups milk
2 T. flour
2 slices Swiss cheese

Cooking Day:
Béchamel sauce: warm butter and milk in saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Wisk in flour. Add cheese, stirring until cheese melts and sauce thickens.

Pound chicken breasts to uniform thickness (approx. ¼ inch think). Top each breast with 1-2 slices of ham, two thin slices of Swiss cheese, and a dollop of béchamel sauce. Roll up each chicken breast, securing with a toothpick if necessary. In a bowl, mix together flour and paprika. Place beaten egg and breadcrumbs in two additional bowls. Dip each breast first in the flour mixture, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs, rolling to cover well. Brown the rolled chicken on all sides in an oiled skillet for about three minutes. Wrap cooked chicken breasts individually in plastic wrap, then place in freezer bag and freeze. Freeze extra béchamel sauce in a separate bag.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake thawed chicken breasts in a 375 degree oven, approximately 20-30 minutes. Pour thawed béchamel sauce over chicken breasts for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Hint:
For less mess and easy clean up, place each chicken breast inside a large freezer bag before pounding breast to desired thickness using the flat side of a meat mallet or rolling pin.

By: Don’t panic More Dinner’s in the Freezer

Potato Casserole

8 medium potatoes
1 onion
1/2 cube butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. shredded cheese
1 c. diced ham (optional)

Topping:
2 c. cornflakes crunched up
1/2 cube of butter melted

Wash and dice potatoes. Boil in water for about 10 minutes until done, but not mushy. While that's boiling, dice up onion and saute. In a large bowl mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cheese, butter, and ham.

When onions are done, add to mixture. Drain water from potatoes and add to mixture while hot. Stir until butter and cheese are melted and everything is thoroughly mixed. Pour into a casserole baking dish.

Crunch up cornflakes, melt butter and pour into cornflakes. Mix thoroughly and then sprinkle on top of potato mixture in the casserole baking dish.

Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Italian Crock-pot Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 pkg Italian Seasoning Pwdr
1 cube of butter (I use 1/2 cube)

Sauce:
1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water

Place chicken breasts in crock-pot. Sprinkle Italian Seasoning packet over chicken. Put in 1 cube of butter (I use 1/2 cube) . Cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is done and can shred easily.

Blend together cream cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and water. Pour over shredded chicken in crock-pot. Warm through. (To speed up this process I heat this mixture in the microwave for 1 minute before pouring it into the crock-pot.)

Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

Chicken Roll-ups

Filling Mixture:
1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese
3 green onions (cut up)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
3 pkg (8 count each) crescents

Dipping Stuff:
1 cube melted butter
Italian breadcrumbs (breading not stuffing)

Sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. milk
1/2-1 c. shredded cheese

Mix cream cheese, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, & shredded chicken in a bowl. Put a "blob" of this mixture in the middle of the crescent roll dough (widest end) and roll up.

Dip the crescent rolls in melted butter and then in breadcrumbs and place on a baking sheet. Follow the cooking temperature and time for crescent rolls. While rolls are cooking, mix the sauce together in a saucepan and heat the first three ingredients stirring constantly as this can scorch easily. Once heated through, stir in the cheese until melted.

Serve chicken roll-ups on top of rice, and drizzle sauce over the top of both. Makes 24 roll-ups.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 qt. water
2-4 C. diced potatoes
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 c. diced onion
20 oz. frozen broccoli or 1 bunch fresh broccoli chopped

Add at the end:
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. shredded cheese

Put water, potatoes, bouillon, onion, and broccoli in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down a bit. Cook until done, about 10-15 minutes. Add soup and cheese, stirring constantly. Heat through and serve.

(We like this with either garlic or cheese toast.)