Freezer Meals Continued

Pizza Pockets

1 French Bread Recipe

Pizza Sauce

4 cups Mozzerella Cheese

Favorite Pizza Toppings

1 egg, beaten

Garlic Salt

Parmesan Cheese

Make French bread dough according to directions. Let rise for 1 hour. Form dough into 16 even balls. (I like to roll dough out, then use pizza cutter to cut dough into even sections, then roll into a ball.) Using rolling pin, roll each portion of dough into rounds. Place about a tablespoon of pizza sauce on half of the dough. Cover with a small handful of cheese, then desired pizza toppings, then more cheese. Fold dough in half with pizza toppings inside dough. Use fork to crimp edges together. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Let rise for 15-20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-14 minutes.

Freezing Directions: After cooking pizza pockets, place in gallon size freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Heat in microwave for 2 minutes.

Here is the french bread recipe in case you missed it from the previous post.

Basic french bread recipe:

1 ½ cups warmish hot water

1 Tbsp (one pkg) active dry yeast

1to 1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour (you can substitute 1-2 cups wheat flour for the white but you might want to add some gluten if you have it)

Mixing up the dough:

Food Processor (use a big 7 cup one):

In a small bowl pour ½ cup of your water and sprinkle the yeast over it. If you are adding sugar you can sprinkle a little of that in as well. Stir to get rid of clumps and let sit for 5 minutes or so while you get the other ingredients ready.

In your food processor add your flour (measure the flour carefully, 4 cups is the max) salt and, if needed for your recipe, oil and/or sugar and turn on. While it is going pour in the water/yeast mixture and the other 1 cup of water. Keep mixing till a dough ball is formed, if it doesn’t form you can add a tablespoon more water. It should make a nice smooth dough ball after mixing 30 seconds or so. 

 

The Rise:

 Place dough in a greased bowl turning it over once to grease top. Cover and rise till doubled (about 1 hour).

 

Gently deflate dough and form it into a long roll by grabbing the back of the dough and folding it over the front over and over till you have a pretty firm long roll. Place on a cookie or jelly roll sheet and slice slits into the top with a sharp knife (this helps it rise).Cover loosely with the plastic wrap you used before and let rise till double (about 45 min.). Preheat oven to 400 then after that second rise place cookie sheet with bread in the oven and cook 25 minutes or until nicely brown. Immediately take it off the pan and cool it on a rack or towel. 

****This is a favorite recipe in our house. They are super yummy. We make them every couple of weeks.****

 

 

Shredded Beef Burritos

2-3 lbs. Beef roast

1 onion, chopped

1 (10 oz) can chopped green chilies

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 T chili powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

8 flour tortillas

refried beans

cheese

Place roast in slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours until it will shred easily. (This is perfect to let slow cook all night.) Add remaining Ingredients. Cook on low 2-3 hours. Spread meat filling on a tortilla. Add refried beans, grated cheese, and whatever toppings you prefer. If freezing, see directions below. Otherwise, wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Freezing Directions: Wrap each burrito in plastic wrap. Place several burritos in a gallon-size freezer bag. To prepare, remove individually and microwave for 2 minutes (still in plastic wrap). Or thaw, wrap in foil, and bake according to directions.

**This recipe makes about 20-25 burritos. I like having them in the freezer for a quick lunch.

 

Chicken and Bean Burritos

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 pkg. Taco seasoning

1 cup water

1 pkg. New Orleans style beans and rice mix

1 (30 Count) pkg. Flour tortillas

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place chicken and taco seasoning along with 1 cup of water in slow cooker. Cook until chicken shreds, about 4 hours. Shred and keep warm. Cook beans and rice mix according to package directions. Layer each tortilla with shredded chicken, beans, rice, and cheese. Roll up. If freezing, see directions below. Otherwise, microwave until cheese is melted and serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Freezing Directions: wrap each burrito in plastic wrap. Place several in gallon-size freezer bags. To reheat, leave in plastic and heat in microwave for 2 minutes. This recipe will make enough for 3 family meals.

 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 lb. Extra lean ground beef

2 T dehydrated onion

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup bread crumbs

Sauce

¾ cup packed brown sugar

3 T flour

1 ½ cups water or pineapple juice

¼ cup white vinegar

3 T soy sauce

1. In a medium bowl, combine meatball ingredients. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet lines with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place under the broiler in your over for 5 – 7 minutes or until the meatballs begin to brown.

2. In a large saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs and reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Tip: Using a cookie scoop is a great way to get meatballs that are all approximately the same size.

Slow Cooker Instructions: After bringing the sauce mixture to a boil, transfer it to a slow cooker and add the meatballs. Cook on law for 3-4 hours.

Freezer Instructions: Follow the directions as written through adding the meatballs to the sauce. Rather than placing the meatballs in the pan with the sauce, place them in a freezer-safe container and pour the sauce over them. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, invert the container into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

***I have never actually eaten these, so I can not attest to how they taste, but they were easy to make and from the "Our Best Bites" cookbook. I have never tried a recipe from that cookbook that I didn't like.

 

Turkey Tex Mex Soup

1 lb ground turkey

½ cup onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups milk

2 10 ¾ oz cans of cream of chicken soup

1 14 oz can of whole kernel corn

1 med-large tomato

2-3 carrots, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1 4 oz can of diced green chilis

4 T. of fresh cilantro or parsley or 4 tsp. Dried parsley

½ tsp. Crushed red pepper

2 cups (8 oz) monterey jack cheese

any other vegetables that you think would taste good in the soup.

Brown ground turkey in large pot with onion and garlic, Drain water and add other ingredients except cheese. Heat to a boil then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cheese and heat till just melted in. Serve. Feeds around 8-10 people. *NOTE* if you are adding carrots or other vegetables you might want to boil them in water while you are getting the other things ready so they have time to get soft. 

Freezer Directions: We browned the turkey with the onion and garlic. Then added corn, carrots, celery, chilies, and cilantro. This recipe makes a lot so we split it into 2 bags for a small family. When you cook it. Place ingredients in slow cooker. When vegetables are soft, add milk, cream of chicken soup, and tomato. Add cheese right before ready to eat. 

 

Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

½ Cup Butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. Tomatoes, quartered and seeded

¼ cup white cooking wine (can substitute with more broth)

¼ cup chicken broth

2/3 cup fresh basil, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb cooked spaghetti noodles

grated parmesan cheese

Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Add garlic and tomatoes, cook 5 minutes or till tomatoes are soft. Add wine and cook on high heat for 4 minutes. Add broth and cook 2 more minutes. Add basil, salt and pepper and take off the heat. Put the sauce through a food mill to strain out seeds, skin, etc. Then add sauce to cooked noodles and toss together. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. ***Note*** if you don't have a food mill you can just blend the ingredients together.

Freezing Directions: Cook sauce as directed above. Place in Gallon size freezer bags. When ready to eat, Cook spaghetti noodles. Heat sauce in pan. Add sauce to pasta. I added 1/2 pound browned sausage because my husband doesn't believe it is dinner without meat. It was yummy.

 

Lasagna

16 oz lasagna noodles

1 lb Mozzerella Cheese

1 lb Hamburger, browned

16 oz tub cottage cheese

1large jar spaghetti sauce

Cook noodles. Divide ingredients in half, then add in layers: half each of noodles, cheese, hambruger, cottage cheese, sauce, repeat with the other half. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.

Freezing Directions: Make lasagna as directed above. Put in an aluminum pan with lid. Freeze for up to 3 months. To cook, add 20 minutes to cooking time.

***So there you have it. These are the meals that I made this past week for my sister and mom. We quadrupled most recipes to have several of each meal. My sister and mom both have 2 or 3 people to eat each meal, so we split a lot of the recipes into 2 meals. I had intended on finding a lot of crock pot meals that we could just put all ingredients in a bag until ready to cook, but I couldn't find very many recipes I liked. So I decided to go with recipes that I knew. If anyone has any suggestions of recipes that freeze well, I would love to hear them.

 

Freezer Meals

I have had several people ask me for the recipes that I used to make freezer meals this last week. So I decided to post the recipes here so everyone can get them. I pretty much just used recipes that I already use regularly that I thought would freeze well. I also found a few recipes from the "Our Best Bites" cookbook that had instructions for freezing. I think there were only three recipes that we made, that we had never tried before, Chicken and Bean burritos, sweet and sour meatballs, and breakfast taquitos (which I have now tried and LOVED). So here goes.

This first recipe is a recipe that I make quite often. It is super yummy and is nice to make when you have some already cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer. I haven't tried the ones that we froze yet, but it worked really well to put them in an aluminum pan. One batch makes about 18 pinwheels.

Chicken Broccoli Pinwheels

1 recipe French Roll Dough, or your choice of dough will work too
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli
2 cups cheese (Use your favorite, anything works.  I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
3/4 cup finely chopped green onions

Follow the recipe for your roll dough until the dough has risen. Punch down the dough and roll the dough out into a large rectangle (approximately 13×20 inches).

In a small bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Spread the rolled out dough with the butter/cream cheese mixture. Top with each of your fillings.

Roll the dough up, like you would a batch of cinnamon rolls. Slice the roll into about 1-inch segments.
Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

Let the rolls rise until nearly doubled and bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.  Enjoy with a nice salad and great friends!

***These freeze beautifully.  After slicing the pinwheels, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once frozen, wrap the pinwheels, label and return to the freezer.  On the day you want to serve them, set them on a cookie sheet lightly covered.  They will raise as the they thaw.  Place in the oven and bake as directed above.

I use a really easy french bread dough recipe that I got from my sister, Debbie for the dough. 

 

Basic french bread recipe:

1 ½ cups warmish hot water

1 Tbsp (one pkg) active dry yeast

1to 1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour (you can substitute 1-2 cups wheat flour for the white but you might want to add some gluten if you have it)

Mixing up the dough:

Food Processor (use a big 7 cup one):

In a small bowl pour ½ cup of your water and sprinkle the yeast over it. If you are adding sugar you can sprinkle a little of that in as well. Stir to get rid of clumps and let sit for 5 minutes or so while you get the other ingredients ready.

In your food processor add your flour (measure the flour carefully, 4 cups is the max) salt and, if needed for your recipe, oil and/or sugar and turn on. While it is going pour in the water/yeast mixture and the other 1 cup of water. Keep mixing till a dough ball is formed, if it doesn’t form you can add a tablespoon more water. It should make a nice smooth dough ball after mixing 30 seconds or so. 

 

The Rise:

 Place dough in a greased bowl turning it over once to grease top. Cover and rise till doubled (about 1 hour).

 

Gently deflate dough and form it into a long roll by grabbing the back of the dough and folding it over the front over and over till you have a pretty firm long roll. Place on a cookie or jelly roll sheet and slice slits into the top with a sharp knife (this helps it rise).Cover loosely with the plastic wrap you used before and let rise till double (about 45 min.). Preheat oven to 400 then after that second rise place cookie sheet with bread in the oven and cook 25 minutes or until nicely brown. Immediately take it off the pan and cool it on a rack or towel. 

This next recipe is a recipe that I made up using several other similar recipes to make it how I like it. 

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 small finely chopped onion

1 Cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 can corn, drained

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

3 15 oz cans chicken broth

1 can rotel (diced tomatoes and green chillies)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 packet taco seasoning

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 lbs chicken, diced

10 corn tortillas

Add everything to slow cooker (it makes a lot, mine is pretty full with all the ingredients). Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. During the last hour before serving soup, add 10 corn tortillas ripped up into 2” pieces. Garnish with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips. 

Freezer Instructions:

This recipe makes a lot, so we split it into two meals for a smaller family. We used cooked chicken for the freezer meal. But when I make it the day we are planning to eat it, I usually use raw chicken. Just put it into a gallon size freezer zip lock bag. When ready to eat, place soup in crock pot on high for 3-4 hours. Add the tortillas a half hour before eating.

Creamy Crock-pot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 10oz can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz can cheddar soup
1 14 oz can chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic salt seasoning

1 cup sour cream
6 cups broccoli florets, just fork tender (I cooked it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Place soups, chicken broth, salt, and garlic seasoning into a crock-pot over low heat. Whisk until smooth. Place chicken in, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours

2. When chicken is cooked, use 2 forks to shred into bite size pieces. Stir in sour cream and broccoli.

3. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese.  4-6 servings

Freezer Instructions:

Again, this meal makes a lot. So we split it into two meals when making it for a small family. I used cooked, shredded chicken for the freezer meal. We added the broccoli, but not the sour cream. When ready to eat, heat in crock pot for a few hours. Add the sour cream about a half hour before eating. Serve over rice.

Crispy Baked Breakfast Taquitos with Lime-Chipotle Dip Recipe by Our Best Bites
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
12 large eggs
1/2 C Breakstone’s Sour Cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 C grated pepperjack cheese
1/4 C chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/4 C sliced green onions
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp hot sauce
16 6″ flour tortillas
cooking spray or olive oil
Dipping Sauce:
1 1/2 C Breakstone’s Sour Cream
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up.  Spray with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Crack eggs into large mixing bowl.  Whisk in 1/2 C sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  When skillet is hot, add egg mixture to pan.  Using a rubber spatula, gently scrape bottom of pan and fold eggs over to scramble.  Remove from heat when slightly undercooked.  Add cheese, roasted red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and hot sauce to taste.  Gently fold to combine.
Warm tortillas in microwave to ease rolling process.  Working with a few tortillas at a time, place a scant 1/4 C egg mixture into the center of each one and roll up into a cylinder.  Place rolled tortillas on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down, so they are not touching each other.  When all tortillas are rolled and filled, lightly spray tops with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and crisp.
While taquitos are baking, coming 1 1/2 C sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chili powder and kosher salt.  Stir to combine and store in fridge.  Remove taquitos from oven , let cool for 5 minutes, and then serve with dipping sauce.
Make Ahead Prep: The egg mixture can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to use.  You can also prepare the taquitos and instead of baking right away, cover tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight, or freeze for later use.  To prepare frozen taquitos, place (un-thawed) directly on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Follow original baking instructions, increasing time by 5 minutes or until taquitos are golden brown.

*we placed these in an aluminum pan with lid. I like to make these using the uncooked flour tortillas rather than the tortillas the recipe calls for. I used my frozen taguitos that we made this morning and they were super yummy! We were also going to add sausage to this recipe, but then ended up forgetting to add it. I'm sure that would have been really yummy too.


I got this recipe from Our Best Bites
 

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

12 uncooked flour tortillas (you can use cooked tortillas too, but the uncooked ones are super yummy!)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip ‘em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole,
Makes 12-16
Freezer Instructions: Prepare the taquitos through rolling them out and placing them on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 and place the taquitos on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

White Chicken Chili

Recipe by Our Best Bites

I call this a chili, but it’s really a soup consistency.
If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth.

1 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 3.5 oz can green chilies
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime
1/2 C chopped cilantro

1 32oz box chicken broth Condiments: (in addition to measurements above)
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Pepperjack or Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Tortilla Chips or make your own tortilla strips
In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans and rinse with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there’s no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes.
Then add green chills- along with all of the juices in the can. Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the 1/2 C chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream. Serve with condiments. If you don’t have all those condiments- at least have sour cream! But honestly, it’s best with everything :)
Makes about 8 cups of soup.
*Oh, and this freezes well. Sometimes I make a batch and when it cools I put single servings into zip-locks and pop them in the freezer. Makes a great quick lunch.

*We used cooked chicken for this recipe. We didn't actually heat up anything, just threw all the ingredients in a gallon zip lock freezer bag.

This is maybe half of the recipes that we made this week. I will get the rest on here soon.

 

 

Zoo 2011

I try to take the boys to the zoo at least once every summer. The other day, I realized that I hadn't taken them yet this year. I wanted to take them but I was a little nervous to go in the heat, and walk all over when I am almost 8 months pregnant. Anymore, it seems like I lose all my energy after doing something for more than an hour. But I wanted them to be able to go, especially since there is a dinosaur exhibit there right now. So we loaded up the new van, and took off yesterday. Most of these picture probably look about the same as every other year because we always go on the train and the carousel. So sorry if they look familiar. I did survive the zoo, and I am glad I got to take my boys! I was amazed at how many pregnant women I saw there. I bet at least a third of the women that I saw were pregnant! So I guess it wasn't that big a deal that I braved the heat and the hills seeing as everyone else did too.

Bear Lake/Camping

I have been horrible at taking pictures lately. Well for about the last two or three years. Tim noticed that we have a ton of pictures of Chase when he was a baby but hardly any of Kamron. So my new goal is to get that camera out again and take lots and lots of pictures. I made that goal after our last camping trip so there really isn't that many pictures here. But this last camping trip was the dirtiest camping trip we have ever been on. Now don't get me wrong, my boys are REALLY good at getting dirty, but this trip they were especially dirty. I gave them baths every night but ten minutes after they went outside again, this is what they looked like. I also gave them several wipey baths during the day.

One of the days we were camping, we decided to go to Bear Lake because we weren't too far away. I thought the water would be too cold for the boys to play in, so we didn't go very prepared. But for the 20 minutes that we were at the lake, the boys all really enjoyed it. Matt was at his mom's that weekend, so that is why he is not in any of the pictures.

Shoshone Falls

My family took a trip to Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho. We found a cute little campground just a few minutes away from the falls, that had cabins, tent sites, and rv sites for pretty good rates. The falls were beautiful and it was a fun few days spent with family!

Halloween

These are all the pictures I have from Halloween. Kinda sad. Matt was at his mom's house for Halloween this year so I didn't get any pictures of him in his costume. We went to the Ward trunk or treat this year for the first time. It started raining right about the time the party started so everyone ran inside the church. There was a ton of people there, so we handed out what candy we had and took off. We spent the rest of the night at home out of the rain. Kinda lame I know, but the kids still seemed to have fun!

Kamron is 2!

My little guy is two years old already! I can't believe how fast these two years have flown by. Kamron had a fun birthday. We celebrated a few days early this year because Matt was going to be at his mom's house on Kamron's actual birthday and we wanted him there to help celebrate. Plus with Halloween being on Sunday this year, we celebrated halloween on Saturday, Kamron's birthday, and we didn't want to do both on the same day. Grandma and Grandpa Cardon, and Aunt Becca came and had pizza, cake and ice cream with us. It was a fun night!

Kamron has definately hit the terrible two's. He can be a stinker, but he is also a sweetheart and still always has a smile on his face. He is a little miniature version of his daddy as you can see from these pictures. He just decided that he is big enough to go potty in the toilet, so he has been wearing big boy underwear and pullups now. He does pretty good! We love our little guy!