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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Preparation...AKA Freezer Meals

This morning I went over to my friend Amber's house and we made freezer meals to start prepping for bed rest and general feeling of blah in terms of making dinner. In about an hour we made 6 dinners and 16 burritos for lunches. It was so fast and easy, especially since we did it together! Here are the recipes we made (didn't get to the twice baked potatoes yet):


Twice Baked Potatoes

Bake potatoes at 350 for an hour. Once your potatoes are done cooking and cooled enough to handle. Just slice them right down the middle and make some double-stuffed potatoes!  Scoop the insides out into a bowl and add some butter, softened cream cheese, milk, chives and whatever else you like. Sometimes we add crumpled bacon, shredded cheese, ranch dressing... whatever we're in the mood for.  Use a potato masher until it's all mixed in and then spoon the filling into your potato shells. I wrap these individually in plastic wrap and then put in a bag. On serving day you thaw and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until heated through.



Brown Bag Burritos

    2 lb. ground beef
    2 cans refried beans
    1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
    1/2 c. water
    1/3 c. minced onion (I use dried)
    1 Tbsp. chili powder
    1 Tbsp. garlic powder
    1 tsp. salt
    1 tsp. dried oregano
    3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
    20 flour tortillas (burrito-size)

Brown ground beef; drain.  Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (I added the cheese on top of the filling rather than cooking it in!)

Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time.  Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla. 

Roll up.  Wrap each burrito in a paper towel, then wrap in foil.

Refrigerate or freeze.  When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute.  The paper towel keeps the burritos moist.  If you don’t use a microwave, skip the paper towel and just wrap in foil.  Then heat burritos in the oven with foil.  For a sit down meal they are nice topped with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream.  If you’re eating on the run, though, just grab and go!

Teriyaki Chicken
Medium – Large bag of carrots (optional)
Red Onion into Large Chunks
2 large cans pineapple (undrained)
4 Garlic Cloves
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce

Follow directions above, and split everything into two gallon freezer bags. shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to crock pot, Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. Serve over hot rice

Lazy Day Stew
4lb cubed stewing beef
4 cups baby carrots
4 cups baby red potatoes (cut in half)
2 medium onions, chopped
10 oz package dried lima beans (optional)
2 cups celery, chopped
4 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (1/2 in each bag)
2 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar

Follow directions above, and put everything into two one gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, Eat as a soup, or serve over hot noodles or rice.

World’s Easiest Make-Ahead Marinated Chicken Recipe
    One bottle of your favorite Italian salad dressing
    6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put the chicken in a freezer bag. Pour the Italian dressing over the chicken. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal it up. Freeze.

To thaw and bake:

Quick Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer and run the freezer bag under hot water to thaw slightly. Pour all the contents of the bag into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Longer Marinating Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer, stick the bag in a bowl and let it thaw in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Pour all the contents of the bag into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Crock Pot Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer and run the freezer bag under hot water to thaw slightly. Pour all the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until thoroughly cooked through.

This is delicious served over rice with steamed vegetables on the side.



Hope you enjoy! :P


Katie

3 comments:

Heather said...

What an awesome idea! Hopefully you get a few more opportunities to really pile up your freezer for when the quads come too! Lol How long can you use freezer meals?

Katie said...

I don't know what their freezer life is for sure, but i would imagine you want to use them within a couple of months.

Emily @ablanket2keep said...

I love doing this! I always have stuff in the freezer for when I feel lazy. Google crock pot freezer meals and you can get lots of recipes to throw into bags into the freezer and when you want to make them just empty frozen contents into the crock pot. I have also made a lasagna and froze it before cooking then when we want to eat it just bake like normal just a little longer because it's frozen.