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• I would suggest you go online and search out Super Suppers, Dream Dinners, My Girl friends kitchen and many more. The corporate office will post a monthly menu and you can see for yourself all the different ideas to make ahead and freeze.As a rule of thumb, we would guarantee everything in a freezer for at least 2 months. If you use freezer bags, just double bag and you have over 3 months worth of time. You can use regular weight bags but always double bag those.We always got our meat in frozen and had to thaw hamburger and flank steak in order to rebag it for the customer. This is perfectly fine as long as you only do it one time. So, store to freezer, to thaw, to make up, to freezer, to thaw and cook. That is allowed by the health dept. as long as you thaw in the fridge.
• Meatloaf is easy to make in mass quantities. You can make meatloaf balls, meatloaf in into muffin tins, meatloaf in loaf pans. We would 30lbs of meat in a dish tub and just mix it with our hands (in gloves). This is something the kids would love to do.
• Bag cheap red meat with a marinade and freeze. It will marinade as it thaws and be delicious. It can be served with a potato or sliced on a salad. Or used in a stir fry.
• All chicken meals were done with frozen chicken, just add them on top of a casserole. Rice was always precooked and mixed in or frozen in a baggie to be microwaved.
• Raw potatoes can be frozen but our meals only used them in the crockpot but that means you could pre-mix stew and have a child throw it into the crockpot. Just let thaw in the fridge over night (check the bag seals to make sure they are closed.)
• Egg casseroles were packaged with the egg mixture in a baggie, to be thawed and poured at the time of cooking.
• Premake pizza or calzones...let thaw and rise before baking.
• Anything calling for cream sauce will be using a combination of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup.
• Keep in mind that things like spaghetti sauce can be made by just dumping the ingredients into bags, mashing with your fingers and freezing. For example, ravioli with tomato cream sauce would be packaged as a bag of ravioli, a bag that had sour cream, tomato sauce, red wine or broth, Italian spices. That is it. You fry the ravioli, thaw the sauce and warm up.. Easy, served with parmesan cheese and a salad.
• Shrimp scampi is just shrimp frozen in a bag with white wine or chicken broth, garlic, salt and butter. You sauté it from frozen and boil the noodles. Easy.
• Make egg burritos and freeze in wax paper for a microwave breakfast.
• When making something like chili, if you use canned beans just dump in a bag with the tomato sauce and spices. Brown meat before adding and than seal. Or, make up a big batch of ground meat and freeze in qt. baggies.. Than you just have meat to use for anything.
• If there is a sale on canned apples buy them! Put in baggies with cinnamon and sugar and freeze. Heat in crock pot for a hot applesauce or serve over ice cream. Use the apples to make cobbler or pie ( uncooked pies freeze great!)
• I do not think there is anything we did not freeze at my store.. That was the beauty in it. Freeze cinnamon rolls, punch, cookie batter, veggies, fruit.
• We told everyone that you can cook from frozen, just add 30min for every 6 servings and check before serving.

This recipe will make 22 qts. (yes, you read correctly) of the most AWESOME chili EVER! You can either feed a crowd OR freeze what you don't need OR cut the recipe accordingly. After all, I usually eye-ball the amounts anyway. Everything is "to taste"!

• 2 -2 1/2 lbs. ground beef (cooked )
• 4-6 cups onion soup (I make a HUGE batch of crockpot French onion soup the night before and then add it accordingly to the chili another night - makes for a cheap meal and saves $$ on canned onion soup, which is overpriced, in my opinion)
• 4-8 tbsp. chili powder
• 4-8 tbsp. cumin
• 2-4 tbsp. pepper
• 6 tbsp. cocoa
• 2 small bags black beans (cooked)
• 2 small bags red/kidney beans (cooked)
• 2 small bags pinto beans (cooked)
• 2 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 6 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 3 46 oz. can V-8 (store brand) juice
• 4 cups of homemade stewed tomatoes (canned can be substituted)
• Green, red and jalepeno peppers to taste (we like it hot, so we add lots)

Brown beef into tiny pieces. Place onion soup and half of the ground beef in food processor/blender and puree until it resembles cement mortar. Place with unblended beef into large crock pot/roaster oven. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer until flavors are blended. I use bags of beans to save money. I also use homemade peppers and stewed tomatoes that I freeze from our summer crop, as this saves money, as well. I am a big "estimator" in the kitchen. I throw things in until they taste good, so these are general estimates, although pretty close to what I actually use. Taste test and adjust ingredients (mainly spices) until you're happy with the results!

These 22 qt. Roasters (which can be used just like crock pots) were only $39 at Sam's Club!

Click here for GREAT FlyLady menu planner pages! Cool!

Lisa

• 2 summer squash (yellow squash)
• 2 zucchini
• 1 large onion
• 2 T. butter
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional

Wash squash and slice into thin slices. Slice onion into thin slices. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add squash and onions. Sprinkle in pecans, if desired. Saute until squash is tender and onion is caramelized (turns sweet and brown).

You take a can of refrigerator biscuits...you know the kind that POP open when
you pull the paper, mini marshmallows, butter and cinnamon/sugar mix.

You pat out the biscuit fairly flat and lay a marshmallow in the middle. The
marshmallow is Jesus after the crucifixion and you place him in the "tomb" which
is the biscuit. You place a little butter and cinnamon sugar on the
marshmallow. These represent the myrrh and aloes Nicodemus put on Jesus when
he wrapped him. Then you fold the biscuit over the marshmallow which is closing
the tomb. You bake them in the oven according to basic directions on
package...just watch them. Let them cool slightly and then you open the tomb
and VIOLA! Jesus is gone! because the marshmallow melted.

My students were always impressed how Jesus rose from the dead when they got
to see this happen "in person" so to speak.

Again, from the Above Rubies Yahoo Group!

~ Lisa

No Time to Cook Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the cream of
chicken soup and cream of celery soup until smooth Pour over the chicken,
making sure it is well coated. Cover, and cook on Low heat for 7 to 8 hours.
Stir in the sour cream about 1/2 hour before serving.

I add green onions and peppers too....must cook in crock pot until they are cooked though. :) ~ Lisa Metzger

Maple Glazed Carrots

1 & 1/2 cups cooked baby carrots or sliced carrots
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped pecans

After cooking carrots, drain. Stir in butter, maple syrup and pecans over very low heat until the butter is melted.

2 servings

No-Fuss Snack Mix Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 cups Pretzel Snack Mix (see recipe) or purchased snack mix, crushed*
• 5 to 5-1/2 lb. meaty chicken pieces**or 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2-1/2 lb.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, set aside. Place melted butter in shallow dish or pie plate. In another shallow dish or on waxed paper place crushed snack mix. Remove skin from meaty chicken pieces. Dip chicken in butter to coat; then dip in snack mix to coat evenly. Place chicken in prepared pan.

2. Bake until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F for breasts; 180 degrees F for thighs and drumsticks). Allow 50 to 60 minutes for meaty chicken pieces or 30 minutes for skinless boneless breast halves.

3. In a self-sealing storage bag or storage container with tight-fitting lid reserve 2 breast halves or 4 legs or thighs for Zesty Lemon-Chicken Salad Sandwiches; refrigerate up to 2 days. Makes 4 servings plus enough for Zesty Lemon-Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

4. *TEST KITCHEN TIP: To crush snack mix, place in self-sealing plastic bag. Remove excess air and close bag. Roll a rolling pin over snack mix in bag. (Or place snack mix in food processor bowl; cover and process until crushed.)

5. **TEST KITCHEN TIP: When purchasing meaty chicken pieces, figure 1 breast or 2 legs or thighs per serving. A regular serving of chicken is about 4 ounces of boneless.