Background

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Freezer Cooking - Chicken Recipes - Day 2

See day 1 post here for shopping list and prep

Chop the following:
5 Onions
1 Red Onion
3 Bell Peppers
2 Zucchini
10 Carrots
6 Celery Stalks
7 Potatoes
1 Bunch of Cilantro
I used my fabulous chopper I bought for myself at Christmas time off QVC, this made things so easy.
I chopped one vegetable at a time, and added each into the marked baggies as I went. To me the chopping was the biggest job so I was glad to have this all done, and by having the bags pre labeled with the ingredients there was no confusion. The store was out of green bell pepper so I bought 1 each yellow, red orange...makes it prettier anyway. :)


For the pot pies I added everything in the pan and let it cook as I filled all the baggies up.

Gallon Bag Meals – Fill gallon sized freezer bags with each meals ingredient, toss and mix around to cover chicken in their sauce, push all the air out, seal the bag and lay flat in your freezer.

BBQ Chicken
Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve with Rice
  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Bell Pepper
  • 1 Zucchini, Chopped
  • 3 Potatoes
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1 Onion, Chopped
  • 1/2 TBL Quick Cooking Tapioca
  • 1 cup BBQ Sauce
  • 1 TBL Brown Sugar
  • 1 TBL Worcestershire
  • 1 TBL Mustard
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

Teriyaki Chicken
Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve with Rice
  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • 4 Carrots, Chopped
  • 1 20oz Pineapple Chunks, Undrained
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1/2 Red Onion, Chopped
  • 1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce

Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve with Stuffing 
  • 2 pounds Chicken
  • 1/4 cup Minced Onion
  • 16oz Jellied Cranberry Sauce
  • 1 cup BBQ Sauce

Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve over Rice 
  • 1-1/2 pounds Chicken
  • 1 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp Garlic Salt
  • 1/2 Onion, Chopped
Low for 4-6 hours
Serve over Fettuccine Noodles 
  • 1-1/2 pounds Chicken
  • 1 16oz Frozen Broccoli Florets
  • 2 16oz Jars Alfredo Sauce
  • 1 Bell Pepper, Chopped
Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve over Spaghetti Noodles
  • 1 pound Chicken
  • 1 26oz Jar Vegetable Style Spaghetti Sauce
  • 1 Zucchini, Chopped
  • 1 Bell Pepper, Chopped
  • 1 Onion, Chopped

Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve with Vegetables 
  • 1-1/2 pounds Chicken
  • 1 cup Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
  • 2 TBL Red Wine Vinegar
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste
Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve with tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and cheese 
  • 1-1/2 pounds Chicken
  • Juice from 2 Limes
  • 1 bunch of Cilantro, Chopped
  • 1 16oz bag of Frozen Corn
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1/2 Red Onion, Chopped
  • 1 Can Black Beans, Drained
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste
Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours
Serve over Rice
  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 cup Honey
  • ½ cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Onion, Chopped
  • ¼ cup Ketchup
  • 2 TBL Vegetable Oil
  • 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

The following meals will bake in the pans.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Mix together 16oz Catalina Salad Dressing, 12oz Jar Apricot Preserves and1 pkg Dried Onion Soup Mix. Add in 8 Chicken Breasts and put in your pan. Wrap pan in foil and label
Sweet and Sour Chicken
350 Degrees for 45 Minutes
Serve with Rice

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
Pour about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of your pan.
Take your marinated chicken from the previous day and mix with 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture putting rolled enchiladas in the pan as you go. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with 1 cup of heavy cream and pour over the enchiladas, sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Wrap pan in foil and label
Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
350 Degrees for 30 Minutes
Serve with Beans and Spanish Rice




 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Freezer Cooking - Chicken Recipes Day 1

After a week of "what do you want for dinner tonight" and no easy answer, I decided it was time to get the freezer stocked back up. I decided to keep it simple and did only chicken recipes this weekend. I shopped on Saturday, that way I would have all of Sunday to prepare the meals. Before I could do all of this I first gathered the recipes I wanted to try, made my shopping list and created the labels to put on the bags.

Day 1

Go shopping…I will include all ingredients needed, but you may have most of the spices/condiments on hand already.

5 Onions
1 Red Onion
3 Bell Peppers
2 Zucchini
10 Carrots
6 Celery Stalks
7 Potatoes
1 Bunch of Cilantro
Lime Juice

Minced Garlic
Minced Onion
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Quick Cooking Tapioca
Brown Sugar

Honey
BBQ Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Dijon Mustard
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Maple Syrup
Red Wine Vinegar
20oz Can of Pineapple Chunks
16oz Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Can Black Beans, Drained
2 16oz Jars Alfredo Sauce
26oz Jar Vegetable Style Spaghetti Sauce
16oz Catalina Salad Dressing
12oz Jar Apricot Preserves
Dried Onion Soup Mix
1 Pound Monterey Jack Cheese
2 16oz Cans Green Enchilada Sauce
Heavy Cream
3 14.5oz Cans of Chicken Broth
3 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Cans Peas

16oz bag of Frozen Corn
16oz Frozen Broccoli Florets
2 Deep Dish Frozen Pie Crusts Sets

Flour Tortillas ( I bought burrito size 8 pack)

20 Pounds of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 Tin Baking Pans
Gallon Size Freezer Bags

For side dishes or to complete a meal:
Rice
Veggies (like the steam fresh veggies)
Fettuccine Noodles
Spaghetti Noodles
Stuffing



That night, boil 10 chicken breasts until done, about 30 minutes. Shred or cube 6 breasts and put in the fridge to use tomorrow.

In a gallon sized baggie add the following:
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Shred or cube your remaining 4 chicken breasts and put in the honey marinade baggie, mix up and put in the fridge until tomorrow.

Make labels to put on each meal

Stay tuned...the next post will show what I made.

Monday, May 20, 2013

New Tenant

We hung up a second birdhouse when we kept finding one persistent birds nest blown out almost every day. (this years has been the windiest year ever)
We were hoping they would move in, either she finally has, or there is a new mama birdie on the block.

 

This nest hangs out on our front porch, and I took pictures from inside the house.

Hope she enjoys her new digs!

We plan to build some houses this year and have more hung up for next spring...wonder how many we will have move in next year. :)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Loving Spring

To me the best part of Spring is the baby birds. Last Christmas my grandson picked out this adorable owl bird house, and surprisingly it doesn't scare the birds. So we have a family nested all snuggly inside....yesterday I noticed the first baby peeping out.
 

Eyes not even open yet, tiny tuft of hair and a big huge beak....cutest baby bird I've ever seen!!! ;)
 
This hangs outside my kitchen window so I love that I can watch without disturbing them. There looks to be 3 babies in there, can tell more when they get bigger.

What is your favorite thing about Spring?



Monday, May 13, 2013

Meatless Monday - Bean and Cheese Burritos

I am always looking for something easy to make ahead for my work lunches, and I decided bean burritos would be a quick and easy meal.
I bought a can of pinto beans and a can of black beans. I put them in my food processor along with half a can of green chili's, salsa and some onions leftover from BBQ night.

 

I mixed it all up...

...and put in tortillas along with some cheese.

I then wrapped them in foil, then put into a freezer Ziploc and into the freezer. Now I can just grab one out the night before and take to lunch. I will warm up in the microwave and then toast a bit in the toaster oven. If I was home I would probably put in the oven around 350-400 for about 10 minutes.

For around $5 I made 7 burros. Now next time I think I will switch it up by only blending half of each of the beans, and use the remaining half as whole beans in the mix...and also I hope to remember to add the can of corn I had also bought and left sitting unopened on the counter.