Freezer Meals

[Mama Sandy]

Ok ladies, Farah can't get on MH at the moment but she needs your help. As we know she's getting new ta-tas ( . Y . ) and while she's recovering she'd like to have some freezer meals prepared for the boys.

Let's help her and the twins out during the recovery process and offer up our breast (heh heh) recipes that she can prepare in advance and freeze! :D

As much as she'd like to, she is unable to cook up the chicken cutlets she's been using to stuff her bra! :hehe:

[Caitlin]

:lol:


One of my favorites is the stuffed shells recipe on the back of the Rigatoni Jumbo Shells box. It's so easy and so yummy! You can add meat and spinach to up the protein value too.


Chicken Divan casserole is a good one too. Allrecipes.com has a couple variations.


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[yvonne]

Stuffed shells, manicotti, lasagna, chicken and rice, enchiladas, any type of already cooked chicken or turkey... a lot of dishes freeze well. :)

[AmsterDamsel]

Here's a link with a ton of recipes. I've tried quite a few of this girl's recipes out and so far I really like them.

http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html

[Farah]

So pasta's a good freeze meal. Hmmmmm. What do I freeze it in (ie casserle dish or ziploc bag) my freezer is tiny!

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[NathanielsMomma]

So pasta's a good freeze meal. Hmmmmm. What do I freeze it in (ie casserle dish or ziploc bag) my freezer is tiny!

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I bought ziplock containers and they fit my freezer perfectly and I can stack a LOT of them in a tiny freezer.

[NathanielsMomma]

We also make spaghetti sauce and freeze it flat in ziplock bags then we stack them on their side. Then all we have to do is boil some pasta and viola! LOL OH! And when we make the sauce, we go ahead and add the meat so it's already in there too!!

[yvonne]

Yep, I use the plastic ziploc containers with lids. For some pastas like Spaghetti I cook the noodles the day I want them and use the leftover/frozen sauce (like Nada, I usually have meat sauce in the freezer). I don't freeze Spaghetti. Every pasta dish I put in the oven I freeze though. I don't think it affects the noodles as much.

[Jojo]

small ziploc bags then put them into one large one. That works well for us.

[ShelbysMommy]

Tell me what kind of dishes you like. I've got a whole cookbook of make-ahead meals, called Freezer Pleasers. It tells how to prepare it, freeze it, and how long it is good for. I can send you some recipes. There is some mini-meatloaf, pasta, pork chops, mashed potatos, everything you can think of, even desserts! The ones I really liked were chicken burritos (easy to pop in the oven), and I made these little snack pizzas out of English muffins for Shelby, for quick in-between meal snacks.

[Farah]

Ooooh give me the chicken burrito recipe. Tonight I'm making chicken kiev and meatloaf to freeze.

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[Mommax3]

mexican stuffed shells is something that we freeze often. the kids love them and they freeze and then thaw decent

[Farah]

Robin, how do you make that??

[Meshell]

I just did a ton of freezer *cooking*. All I did though was prep a bunch of chicken & steaks in marinade and then put them in Ziploc bags. I wrote on them what they were and how to cook them and what type of marinade (i.e. beef fajitas, grill & slice, or backyard brew chicken drummies, grill). Then I just keep a lot of frozen veggies or fresh veggies & fruit on hand. Nothing simpler than some grilled steaks & corn on the cob!

[Mommax3]

Robin, how do you make that??

18-20 of the jumbo shells
1-2 pounds of meat of your choice (shredded chicken is awesome)
8oz pack cream cheese
half can refried beans
taco sauce
pack of taco seasoning
fixins of your choice.

Boil noodles, brown ground meat( or cook shredded)
add cream cheese pack to meat while warm, then mix in some refried beans and a pack of the taco seasoning. Stuff shells with meat mixture top with taco sauce and shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes.

We make these all the time, the kids eat every last one. We top with green onions, more taco sauce, sour cream etc once we get them on our plate. They are awesome!!!!!

[yvonne]

I've never heard of Mexican style stuffed shells before... I will have to give them a try! Thanks for the recipe, Robin! :)

[Mommax3]

I've never heard of Mexican style stuffed shells before... I will have to give them a try! Thanks for the recipe, Robin! :)

They are yummy! And super easy and quick to make. My kids are picky eaters, but they love these, that is why I keep a batch frozen at all times.

[ShelbysMommy]

Make-Ahead Burritos

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (or beef)
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, drained
1 envelope burrito seasoning
1/2 cup water
16 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
16 oz Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 5 x 1/2 inch strips (or you could use shredded)

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, combine meat, salsa, beans, chilies, seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered, for 5 minutes or until heated through.
2. Spoon about 1/3 cup off-center on each tortilla; top with a cheese strip. Fold edge of tortilla nearest filling over to cover. Fold ends of tortilla over filling and roll up. Wrap individually in foil and put in a large ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.

To use frozen burritos: Place foil packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until heated through. If thawed, bake for 25-30 minutes.

Here are some others that I really liked. Let me know if you want the recipes:

Cheddar Beef Enchiladas
Honey Dijon Chicken
Pasta Crab Casserole
Apple Coffee Cake
Stuffed Sourdough Sandwiches
Breakfast Wraps
French Toast Sticks

[Farah]

I just made meatloaf and chicken kiev (although that will be finished tomorrow..the chicken needs to be refrigerated for 2 hrs).

Tomorrow I will make the burritos and the mexican shells.

Give me more recipes and I'll make more and more! I'm so excited :hehe:

[Carmen]

I'm terrible at making freezer meals but these have been good suggestions. I never know if you're supposed to cook something and then freeze it or leave it uncooked to take out of the freezer and the bake.

I know my MIL freezes cooked hamburger, rice, and tomato sauce together (insides of stuffed peppers) and then pulls it out and stuffs the peppers and bakes.

[Ashley]

I am not good at this, but there's a blog who does once a month cooking and a whole bunch of people link up to it- I bet there are some good tips there. Let me hunt it down..

[Ashley]

Here's her site, she's once a month mom- a ton of recipes! http://onceamonthmom.com/

[Farah]

I'm terrible at making freezer meals but these have been good suggestions. I never know if you're supposed to cook something and then freeze it or leave it uncooked to take out of the freezer and the bake.

I know my MIL freezes cooked hamburger, rice, and tomato sauce together (insides of stuffed peppers) and then pulls it out and stuffs the peppers and bakes.

Ohhhh great idea for stuffed peppers!

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[Farah]

Here's her site, she's once a month mom- a ton of recipes! http://onceamonthmom.com/

Thanks!!!


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