ISO: Freezer or OAMC recipes

[jennycherie]

HI! I am looking for freezer or OAMC (once a month cooking recipes). I am going to be teaching a class on freezer cooking for our ladies group at church this month. I have many recipes (and will post some here) but am also looking for new ideas!

[cat lover]

jennycherie, are you looking for any particular type of foods--- main dishes, desserts or side dishes? Here is a main dish for now.

Chicken Neapolitan

8 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) each condensed tomato bisque soup, undiluted
3/4 cup beef broth
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Hot cooked noodles

Sprinkle chicken with pepper. In large skillet heat oil and cook chicken for about 8 minutes. Turn chicken and add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook 8minutes longer or till juices run clear. Remove four chicken breast halves and half of the vegetables to a greased 2 1/2 qt. baking dish. Cool. In a bowl whisk together soup, broth, basil, and oregano and pour over chicken in skillet. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or till heated. Serve over noodles. Pour remaining soup mixture over chicken in baking dish. Cover and freeze up to 3 months. To use frozen chicken Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or till heated. Serve over noodles. 8 servings

[jennycherie]

Really any type of recipe. I suppose I am more focused on main dishes right now, but anything that freezes well would be great! The chicken neopolitan looks yummy!

Here is one of our family favorites:

Cheese Grits:

Bring to boil 6 cups water and 1/2 cup butter. then stir in 1 1/2 cups grits. Stir and cook until thick. Then add 1 pound velveeta light (cut up) and 3 eggs (beaten). Stir until melted. At this point, you can pour into a casserole dish and bake at 250 for 1 1/2 hours OR stick in the crockpot on low (which is usually about 250 degrees) for 1 1/2 hours OR freeze (then thaw and cook later). You can also bake first, then cool and freeze. It's great to freeze leftovers of this after a big family dinner. This is very easy and my kids always eat it.

[cat lover]

This isn't really a recipe so to say, but a great "freezer" tip to pass along! To save time on breakfast prepare ahead of time a big batch of pancakes and stack them with wax paper in between and put them in freezer bags. Then on busy mornings everyone can have a hot breakfast by microwaveing their own pancakes. Much more cost efficient than the store bought frozen pancakes! This works well with waffles also!

[jennycherie]

Here's another family favorite of ours - tater tot casserole.

Brown 1-2 pounds hamburger (depending on how carnivorous your family is) with onion and pepper (if it suits you!). Drain/rinse to get rid of the grease. Pour browned hambuger/onions/peppers into a 9x13 pan and spread out so it covers the bottom of the pan evenly.

Mix 1 can FF cream of mushroom soup with 1 can of skim milk and pour over.

Sprinkle with cheese (about 6 oz.) and then top with tater tots. At this point you can choose to freeze or bake (about 30 minutes at 400 degrees or roughly similar to the directions for the tater tots). This is an easy recipe to "assembly line". Increase the ingredients (I do enough for 5- 6 at a time) for the amount you want, line up the ingredients and fill your pans.I have a 5 or 6 pound bag of tater tots in my freezer that is soon to become 5 or 6 tater tot casseroles.

[cat lover]

Oh, that really sounds good!

[jennycherie]

To save time on breakfast prepare ahead of time a big batch of pancakes and stack them with wax paper in between and put them in freezer bags.

oh yes! :D If I'm going to the trouble of making pancakes or waffles, I want more than just one meal for all that mess! I just did pancakes last week but it's time for me to do waffles again. A while back, I noticed that my kids were getting pretty finicky (in a very bratty way :mad:) about breakfast cereal. At the same time, the price for cereal at our favorite discount store went up. I made a huge batch of waffles to use for breakfasts until we could get past the picky-ness and we seem to be doing better now (as in, no more grouching over cheerios and rice crispies or insisting that all cereal must include marshmallows).

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Jenny, when I am not up here in school, this is all I do (freezer and OAMC). I cook casseroles, but I make double and freeze one. I freeze them right in the casserole. Then, on those extrememly busy days, all I have to do it take it out of the freezer and heat. Here are some of my faves:

Bran Freezer Rolls (http://www.momsmenu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18) (these are great for making ahead. Then take out the amount you need, let rise, and bake. These are to die for too.
Chilis Rellenos Casserole (http://www.momsmenu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116) (these can also be cooked ahead of time and cut into serving size, wrapped, and frozen).
Fake Baked Ziti (http://www.momsmenu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349)
Tuna Casserole (http://www.momsmenu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=366)
Chicken Tetrazinni (http://www.momsmenu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115)

One other thing I try to do is do the work once and make enough for several meals. Good luck!

[jennycherie]

thanks for the recipes DeBora - they look great!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Let me know you need any more info. My bran rolls are the most requested.

[cat lover]

Southwestern Casserole

1 pkg. ( 7 oz) elbow macaroni
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can ( 16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, drained
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups monterey jack cheese
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped

Cook macaroni according to pkg. directions. In large saucepan cook beef, and drain when cooked. Stir in tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Drain macaroni and stir into beef mixture. Transfer to twp greased 2 qt. casseroles. Top with cheese and jalapenos. Cover & bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover amd bake 10 minutes more or till bubbly. Cool the second casserole and freeze up to 3 months.
To use frozen casserole[B]Thaw in refrigerator for 8 hours. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or till heated. Each casserole makes 6 servings

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Looks yummy! I like anything with green chilies.

[cat lover]

Freezer Slaw


1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard
1 medium head cabbage (4 or 5 cups shredded)
1 carrot, shredded
1 tbsp salt

Bring vinegar,water, sugar, celery seed and mustard to a boil. Boil 1 minute and cool. While the vinegar mixture is cooling shred cabbage (4 or 5 cups) and carrot. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 1 hour. Squeeze out all liquid. Cover shredded cabbage and carrots with vinegar mixture and freeze. This will keep 6 months or longer at zero degrees in your freezer. After thawing it will keep sevral days in your refrigerator.