1. Monterey Chicken Tenders---one of our quick-as-a-flash chicken breast recipes. Get the boneless, skinless tenders, and tenderize/season as desired. (We have a sprinkled seasoning we use.) Stick in fridge while you do something else for a while to let them marinate. Grill them on the grill or broil under the broiler until just done. (Do not overcook.) Cool. Wrap each piece with a cooked bacon slice or two, then wrap with a slice of Monterey-jack cheese (or spinkle shredded on them in the pan you will be freezing them/baking them). Freeze. Thaw. Heat.*
2. Parmesan Pasta—we made our “white spaghetti and shrimp” pasta without the shrimp that we make at Christmas time when we watch the movie White Christmas. (Not sure how it started, but it’s a tradition now to have shrimp alfredo and watch White Christmas as a family in early December.) Anyway, it is a simple pasta dish in which we boil the noodles, drain, gently fold in pieces of cream cheese until melted, add garlic, pepper, and half and half until it’s yummy! 
3. Potato Casseroles—one of my all time favorite freezer recipes with hash browns, cottage cheese, Velveeta, and half and half. I hate cottage cheese, but love this dish, so don’t worry about your kids not liking it because of the cottage cheese. (I even have a rhyme, “I do not like that cottage cheese, I will not eat it if you please; I will not eat it in the trees; I will not eat it on my knees, etc. etc.—well, you get the idea.) For recipe (in bulk—I just improvised for a couple of small pans for this little family), go to  www.homeschoolblogger.com/relationalhomeschool/586099/
4. Chicken Enchilada Casserole—again, we went simple on this—used canned enchilada sauce—mixed the sauce w/ precooked chicken breasts (we just zapped a few pounds of chicken breast in the micro and cubed the chicken) then layered the meat mixture, torn up flour tortillas, and mixed orange cheeses (fiesta or Mexican mix). Put salsa and sour cream with it to add later.
5. Spanish Rice—rice cooker to the rescue! We precooked long grain rice in the rice cooker, then mixed taco seasoning mix, salsa, small amount of tomato sauce, onion, and stirred this mixture into the pre-cooked rice.
6. BBQ Chicken Thighs—simple! We baked chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on) with bbq sauce on them until they were cooked. Then we drained them (vital as they are oily), and grilled them with bbq sauce added again at the time of grilling.
7. Loaded Baked Potatoes—Simple for two! We baked a few potatoes, opened them, and loaded them with shredded cheese and bacon. (We didn’t add sour cream since they would be reheated.)
8. Soft beef tacos—we made taco meat and added all of the trimmings for them to have on hand.
9. Parsleyed Potatoes—boiled (in that cute little sauce pan!) red potatoes that we cleaned and cut ribbons of peeling off the middle, then tossed hot potatoes with butter and parlsey. (This was for a non-freezer meal that they would eat within a day or two. I have never frozen this.)
10. Sloppy joes—one of my favorite freezer entrees! Check out the entire recipe (for a crowd) at my blog www.homeschoolblogger.com/relationalhomeschool/586106/
11. Mashed Potatoes—again, we used that darling little saucepan and ended up with two meals of mashed potatoes for two adults (and a two year old)! Amazing!! I have started freezing mashed potatoes (experimenting, anyway). When I began freezer cooking eighteen years ago this summer, there were lists of taboo items—potatoes (except twice baked and dishes using hash browns), mayo, Miracle Whip, sour cream, noodles (except lasagna), spaghetti, etc. etc. I did some trial and error back then and did find that when I made stew with potatoes and carrots already in it or veggie soup with potatoes, the potatoes would disintegrate. To this day, I freeze both of those as “starters”—all of the beef, gravy, and seasonings for stew and some juice, beef, and seasonings for the soup. However, the 30 Day Gourmet (www.30daygourmet.com/) has convinced me to try some formerly-taboo frozen foods, so I am experimenting again. Haven’t quite perfected this mashed potato thing, but you can check out what we’re trying now at my www.homeschoolblogger.com/relationalhomeschool/586108/

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Mashed Potatoes--freezer side dish

20 lbs russet or Idaho potatoes      2 cups cream or ½ and ½

4 sticks butter                                   4 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

1.    Boil peeled potatoes until tender.

2.    Mash potatoes in big mixer with white beater in 5 lb increments—first add butter, salt, and pepper to each load, then gradually add in warm cream or ½ and ½.

3.    Freeze in 5 lb increments.

4.    Label:

Thaw. Reheat in micro or carefully on stove top, using wire whisk and warm cream or milk to soften and cream.

Serves 8-12 people.

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SLOPPY JOES--freezer entrees

8 lbs ground beef                                           2 tsp chili powder

3 onions or 6 TBSP minced                           32 oz tomato sauce

8 TBSP vinegar                                              8 TBSP brown sugar

8 TBSP mustard                                             8 TBSP lemon juice

5 TBSP sugar                                                 8 TBSP worc sauce

4 tsp salt                                                         ¾ cup water

3 one-gallon size Ziploc brand freezer bags (no storage; no generic; no zippers)

1. Brown meat.

2. Combine all ingredients and simmer until right consistency.

3. May add more sweeteners to suit. Be sure to simmer for hour or so on medium so that it becomes dried out---not liquidy.

4. Cool. Freeze in one gallon bags as follows flat.

5. Label bags as follows (Label 3 one-gallon sized bags as indicated above):

          SLOPPY JOES                          Serves 10   6/12/04

          (Fully cooked)

          Thaw bag in bowl or sink          . Transfer to micro dish and heat

          through. 

6. Yield: 3 one-gallon sized bags to feed at least ten each. May divide into 6 half-gallon bags or 12 quart sized bags for smaller crowds.

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Creamy Potato Casserole

6  bags of 32 oz. hash browns (or 2 bags of 3 pounds each)
6  stick butter
12  cups half and half
3 1/2  pounds  Velveeta
4 24 oz containers of  cottage cheese (small curd)

1. Pour hash browns in six, greased 9 x 13 pans.
2. Melt butter, half and half, and Velveeta on stove.
3. Dissolve cottage cheese in hot mixture (heat off).
4. Pour over hash browns evenly. (Three  cups for each pan, then in 1/2 cup
increments until mixture is gone to be sure each gets the same amount.)
5. Let sit at least one hour or overnight in fridge.
6. Bake uncovered for an hour to hour and half at 350.
7. For freezing: Cover tightly with foil and label as in point 8 below.
Freeze unstacked until thoroughly frozen.
8. Labels: Date/Creamy Potato Casserole---Thaw. Bake uncovered for one to one
and a half hour at 350'. Let sit before serving for ten minutes.

9. Yields six pans that serve 8-10 each.

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The post below is from four years ago (from our e newsletter at www.tfths.com). However, we have been using this method more and more to insure that we have ready foods available to cut down on "take out" and more expensive but quick foods--with the rising grocery prices. I thought maybe others could benefit from this approach as well.

*Children Help in “Cooking Ahead” (Summer 2004)

This summer I really got serious and began typing up simple recipes and steps for even my third grade son to be able to follow directions to “take a cooking night.” We have done “mega cooking” around here for fourteen years now, but in the past few years, my freezers have gone from always having between one hundred and two hundred entrees in them to being filled with frozen pizzas and pot pies! Thus, it was time to get serious about teaching the younger children to cook.

One of the first things I did to “take back my kitchen”—which is still somewhat surrendered to Sam’s  Club freezer section---is to teach everyone to at least get three basic meats into a useable form. This meant cooking large quantities of meat and freezing it to be ready to use in entrees. Anyone (even a third grader!) can do this, and it makes a big difference in mealtime preparation. The remainder of this section will detail how we do that.

Ground Beef

1. Defrost up to twenty pounds of ground beef.
2. Get two huge skillets (and I do mean huge!) filled with some of this meat.
3. Fry each skilletful until browned completely.
4. Drain the meat in colander, while starting another load in each skillet.
5. While next batch is frying, bag partially cooled meat in colander into freezer bags you have labeled: Pre Fried Ground Beef; 2 pounds (5 cups); date.
6. Continue until all meat is fried, drained, bagged, and ready to freeze.
7. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
8. Clean up your mess! J

Beef Roasts

1. Defrost up to twelve pounds of beef roasts. (We usually use three of four 3-pound roasts.)
2. Get out the following ingredients: coffee (any unflavored type), fresh garlic, minced onion, beef base (or use beefy onion soup in place of minced onion and beef base), huge oven cooking bags, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
3. Rub each roast on both sides with all seasonings (including coffee) except bay leaves; use 1 tsp of peppercorn and garlic; use 1 TBSP of onion and beef base or 1 packet of beefy onion soup per each roast, depending on size. (I usually help them with the seasonings.)
4. Place roasts in however many oven cooking bags it takes and either poor one huge can of cream of mushroom soup or ½ cup of beef broth per roast into the bags. Drop three or four bay leaves into each bag.
5. Tie bags, place them in foil roasting pans, and make four or five slits in the top of each bag.
6. Bake in preheated 200’ convection (250’ regular) oven for six hours or so, until done but still tender.
7. When beef is cooled, freeze three pounds or so (along with its “gravy” or “juices”) in one gallon freezer bag, labeled as follows: Pre Cooked Beef Roasts; 3 pounds; date.
8. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
9. Clean up your mess! J

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Pieces

1. Defrost up to twenty pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs (or one or the other, depending on what we have on hand).
2. Get out the following ingredients: fresh garlic, minced onion, chicken base (or use boulion), huge oven cooking bags, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
3. Rub chicken pieces with all seasonings except bay leaves; for each three pounds of meat use 1 tsp of peppercorn and garlic, and use 1 TBSP of onion and chicken base. (I usually help them with the seasonings.)
4. Place chicken pieces in however many oven cooking bags it takes and either poor one huge can of cream of chicken soup or ½ cup of chicken broth per every three pounds into the bags. Drop three or four bay leaves into each bag.
5. Tie bags, place them in foil roasting pans, and make four or five slits in the top of each bag.
6. Bake in preheated 200’ convection (250’ regular) oven for six hours or so, until done but still tender.
7. When chicken is cooled, freeze around three pounds (along with its “gravy” or “juices”) in one gallon freezer bag, labeled as follows: Pre Cooked Chicken; 3 pounds; date.
8. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
9. Clean up your mess! J

Uses for Pre-Cooked Meats

The uses for these meats are endless. I will enumerate a few below, but I’m sure you have ideas of your own!

*Ground beef ideas:

1. Tacos, taco salads, nacho supremes, beef enchiladas, beef burritos, beef and bean burritos, etc.
2. Spaghetti with meat sauce (one of our quickest favorites)
3. Layered casseroles, such as tator tot casserole, spaghetti casseroles, shipwreck casserole
4. Lasagna, Mexican lasagna, etc.
5. Chili soup
6. Hamburger stew
7. Sloppy joes or other sandwich fillings
8. Pizza and mini pizza topping
9. Mexican pizzas, "biscuit pizzas," and sub fillings
10. Dips for carrying in---layered Mexican dip, Hot Mexican dip, etc.
11. Hamburger stroganoff (or variations of Hamburger Helpers)
12. Hamburger gravy

*Beef Roast ideas (some use juices; some separate juices and do not use them):

1.     Beef and noodles or dumplings with beef

2.     Vegetable beef soup

3.     Beef stew

4.     Mexican dishes like shredded beef tacos, Mexican beef casseroles, shredded beef burritos, etc.

5.     Beef pot pies

6.     BBQ beef

7.     Serve as is with gravy, rice, noodles, etc.

8.     Beef stroganoff

*Chicken ideas:

1. Chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings
2. Soups: white bean, chicken noodle soup, chicken rice, chicken tortilla
3. Chicken stew
4. Mexican dishes like in beef roast ideas
5. Chicken pot pies
6. BBQ chicken sandwich filling
7. Serve as is with gravy, rice, noodles, etc.
8. Chicken a la king
9. Chicken Mexican casseroles
10. Chicken lasagna
11. Hot chicken sandwiches

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  Note: I try to put all of my recipes into the format given below, so my children can cook independent of me. Don't be offended that I give "step by step" instructions!
      
                          Hot Chicken (or Turkey) Sandwiches

This recipe is a delicious way to use up leftover turkey after the holidays. It makes boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs go much further than just having plain chicken sandwiches. And it is simple! May be reduced as needed. We make it up, then serve it in a crock pot on "warm." May need to add more broth to keep it from getting dried out if it is in a crock pot for a long period of time . Believe it or not, I got this recipe from my high school cafeteria lady many, many years ago. They actually served it for school lunch.

8 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs (May use turkey instead, but be sure it is nearly eight pounds  after it is  deboned, not before.)

12 pieces of toast, broken into bite-sized pieces

12 eggs

6 to 8 cups of concentrated broth (make it stronger by adding base or bouilion)

2 TBSP poultry seasoning

1 TBSP pepper

1 TBSP parsley flakes

1.     Cook thighs and breasts until fully cooked (in crock pot or microwave).

2.     Shred thighs and breasts into bite sized pieces.

3.     Whisk eggs until well whisked.

4.     Stir all ingredients together; should have a soupy, gloppy mixture.

5.     Put in hot oven, uncovered, at 300’ for one to two hours, stirring every fifteen to thirty minutes until liquid is all evaporated and mixture is sandwich ready (flavorful, but not too wet and liquidy).

6.     Use as sandwich filling.

7.     Makes at least fifty large sandwiches.

8.     Recipe may be reduced as needed or leftovers may be stored in fridge and reheated in micro.

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