Pumpkin Spice Cookies

These are so simple and yummy! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 pkg. of Spice Cake Mix

1 15oz. can of solid pack pumpkin

Cream Cheese Icing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, stir together cake mix and pumpkin until well blended. Use a scoop to drop rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake 18-20 min. Allow to cool for 5 min. before removing to wire cooling rack. Cool completely and then ice with cream cheese icing.

Christmas Morning Scramble

This is a favorite of our family--we often heat it up while we open presents Christmas morning. It's very easy to make and freezes well.
Merry Christmas!

Great Brunch Scramble

3 cups soft bread cubes, no crusts

2 1/2 c. milk

12 eggs, beaten

1 t. salt

1 t. seasoning salt

3/4 lb. cheese grated (used colby)

12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

Soak bread cubes in milk for 5 min. then drain the unabsorbed milk into the beaten eggs. Set bread aside. Add salt and seasonings to egg mixture and scramble over med. heat until half cooked. Stir in bread cubes. Place mixture in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with crumbled bacon. Bake in preheated oven (400 degrees) for 20 min.

Cranberry Hootycreeks Mix

Add: 2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. white sugar
Cream: 2/3 1 c. butter/margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Combine with:1c. plus 4T. all-purpose flour
1 c. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c c. dried cranberries
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. pecans

Preheat oven to 350 . In l;are bowl, cream together eggs and vanilla. Add sugars. Add dry ingredients. Mix by hand till well blended. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes till edges start to brown. YUM!!

Josie's quick and easy bar cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 T. water
2 eggs
chocolate chips to your taste

Mix together. Will be very stick. Will need to pat into 9 x 13 cake pan. Cook will brown on top.

Peanut Butter Pork

From: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking

Ingredients:

1 med onion sliced in rings

1.5-2 lbs pork tenderloin (I used pork loin)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp white wine vinegar

3 Tbsp water

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup natural peanut butter, creamy

To prepare:

Place pork roast in a gallon size freezer bag. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, and garlic to make the sauce and pour over the meat. Then, dump peanut butter into bag. Top with sliced onions. Seal and freeze.

On serving day:

Thaw roast in fridge overnight. Dump into Crockpot, making sure that the onions go to the bottom of the pot. Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. Flip the pork over 1 hour before serving.

Optional: Garnish the roast with lime or chopped peanuts.

For the cookie swap, I made the Amish Ginger Snaps. They were so yummy last year, that I couldn't wait to make them again. Click here to go to last year's post if you'd like to look at the recipe. In the old post, I didn't mention that the recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Brownie Bites

-4 sqares Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
-3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter
-2 cups sugar
-3 eggs
-1 tsp. vanilla
-2 cups flour

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on High 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. (Scoop into balls and freeze or refrigerate 15 minutes, scoop and proceed to baking instructions.)

Baking instructions: Place balls on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 8-10 minutes, or just until set. Gently press several M&M's into cookies immediately after they come out of the oven. If you want some variety, you can also press half a walnut, half a caramel, or some chopped candy canes into the top of these cookies.

Cranberry Chicken remix

I have to apologize! I forgot that we put a soup in between our beef and chicken meals. So, we have an extra chicken meal this month. I am a big dork. So sorry!

Anyway, I've made this one before, but it's been a while. This time I'm using Ziploc bags instead of tins, and I'm using a bit less French dressing. Hence, I'm reposting the recipe.

-2 pounds chicken breasts
-1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
-1 can whole berry cranberrry sauce
-1 cup French dressing (I used light French dressing.)

Freezing instructions: Place chicken in Ziploc bags. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken. Freeze.

Baking instructions: Thaw completely. Pour into a 9x13 pan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice.

Swedish Meatballs

I promised Elizabeth I would post this! It was the meal I made in October.

-36 meatballs
-1 can cream of onion soup
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1/2 cup water
-3 tbsp. worchestershire sauce
-8 oz. sour cream

Freezing instructions: Place meatballs in Ziploc bag. Mix rest of ingredients and pour into bag.

Cooking instructions: Thaw. Dump into crockpot. Cook on low 2-3 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

December Swap

Celebrating the Yuletide Season and the hustle and bustle this month, it sure will be handy to have meals in the freezer! We're also going to try to swap cookie dough. If you're interested in cookie dough swap simply bring dough to make 2 doz. cookies x the number of people who are participating. (i.e. 6 people participate x 2 doz. cookies frozen dough= 6 dough's) Email me or let Josie know if you're interested. It's a great way to cut down on the holiday baking and try new cookies too! We'll let you know soon how many are participating for you to gauge how much dough to bring to the swap.

The swap this month will be held at Josie's house at 10 a.m. on December 9, 2010. Happy cooking!

The categories for December are....

Beef: Casey

Beef with Pasta: Chastity

Soup: Suzanne

Chicken: Marti

Chicken with Pasta: Melanie

Breakfast: Elisha

Other: Josie

Soup/Crock Pot: Elizabeth

Lonnie's Winning Chili

Marti's husband Lonnie shares his recipe for this month's chili. The volleyball team he coaches at Lehman High School just won the state championships last weekend!

Congrats to Lonnie and the LHS girls volleyball team!

So last week among celebrations, playoff games and team dinners, he managed to make his chili for their first swap!

He writes, "The Chili I made was a recipe from Madonna Cohee, Russia, Ohio. It is sweet and typically pretty good.......... "

Ingredients for a full crock pot:
2 pounds sage sausage
51 oz can of Van De Camps pork and beans
small can of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of red chili beans
1 can of black chili beans
about a half cup of brown sugar (to taste)
1 package of chili seasoning powder
half an onion diced up
1 green pepper

Drain the pork and beans and chili beans (black and red), add in all of the other ingredients and brown the sausage and add to the crock pot. Let it cook until nice and hot. When serving it is good with shredded cheese added on top.

New person to the group

Thanks to Elisha for inviting me to your group. My husband Lonnie made the chili for this month. I did forget to provide the cheese that you can add on top of it. Sorry! We have been so busy with volleyball that we haven't had a chance to pick up our food from Elisha, but we are sure that we will love it.

Thanks again.
Marti

Classic Baked Mac & Cheese, Take 2!

This month, I decided to do a repeat. From what I heard, everyone enjoyed the Mac & Cheese that I made in March, so I thought we would re-run something that we know works. This is a staple at our house. It's yummy all by itself, or is also good served with pigs in a blanket, barbecue, or a green salad. The original post can be found at http://dinnersinthefreezer.blogspot.com/2010/03/classic-baked-mac-cheese.html.

On serving day: thaw then transfer to a baking dish (8x8 or 9x13 will do), top with provided bread crumbs, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Potato Oven Omelet by Wendy

Ingredients:
1lb 12 oz. bag Potatoes O'Brien
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. cubed ham
8 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

To freeze: Prepare a 9" x 13" foil pan. Pour bag of potatoes in bottom of pan. Spread cheddar cheese over potatoes. Spread ham evenly over cheese. In 2 qt, bowl, whisk eggs, milk, flour salt and pepper (I use my mixer). Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese. Cover with foil and freeze.

To serve: Thaw completely. Bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. May spread a tomato over omlete at this time. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut and serve.

Spicy Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups

This recipe is one that I found at Kraft Foods (a favorite site of mine!). I tweeked it just a little for us...but it sure looks tasty! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken

1 cups KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 egg beaten

6 lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX first 3 ingredients; combine 1/4 jar of sauce with chicken, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and egg. Spread 1/4 cup onto each noodle; roll up.

SPREAD 1/2 of the remaining sauce onto bottom of 9x9-inch baking dish; cover with lasagna rolls (seam-sides down), remaining sauce mixture and mozzarella.

SERVING DAY: Remove from freezer...no need to thaw. Bake 1 hour covered with foil.

November Swap Details

November Swap will be held at Melanie's House on 11/11/10 at 10 a.m.

*Update* We have a brave new adventurer this month! I'm happy to introduce Marti from Covington! I met Marti at the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class we've been taking on Sunday night's and shared with her my zeal for our freezer swap and she was anxious to try it out! So welcome, Marti! We hope you love swapping as much as we do! :) (Thanks to JoNell for being flexible and allowing us to fill her spot this month! We love you JoNell!)

The categories for November are....

Beef: Chastity

Beef with Pasta: Suzanne

Soup: Marti

Chicken: Melanie

Chicken with Pasta: Elisha

Breakfast: Josie

Other: Elizabeth

Soup/Crock Pot: Casey S.

Please note: For variety purposes we've made one soup/crock pot category--to give those cooking the option of doing either/or.

Chicken Macaroni Casserole by Josie

3 c. cubed cooked chicken
3 c. cooked macaroni
2 c. (8 oz) grated Swiss cheese (I used motz.)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. milk
1/8 t. pepper

Place chicken and cheese in greased 2 quart casserole. Combine milk and pepper; mix well. Add to chicken mixture. Bake 400 degrees 30-40 minutes or until heated through. Makes 6 servings. Very good reheated. May want to cover the dish when you cook it so the macaroni does not get hard. Also, everything is precooked, so only need to warm through.

6 Week Bran Muffins

This is not a freezer recipe, however it is something yummy that will last in the fridge for 6-8 weeks so that you can enjoy fresh muffins whenever you like!

Ingredients:
6 c. Raisin Bran cereal
3 c. sugar
5 c. plain flour
5 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 c. oil
1 qt. Buttermilk
2 tsp. Cinnamon Plus (Cinnamon, Cloves, & Nutmeg)

Blend well and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 6-8 weeks. Makes approximately 60 muffins.

When you're ready to serve, fill your desired number of muffin cups about 1/2 full and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until done.

Give these muffins an extra kick by adding some chopped apples before baking!

Beef and Noodle Casserole

2 lbs. g. beef 1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. diced onions 1 1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. diced green peppers 1 (8oz) pkg egg noodle
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

In medium saute pan, brown beef. Drain off fat. Add onions and peppers and continue to saute until just tender. Stir in tomato sauce and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Set aside. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until slightly undercooked/ Drain and rinse in cold water. In a lightly greased 2-quart casserole dish, layer half the noodles, half the cheese mixture and half the meat mixture. Repeat layers. Top with Swiss cheese. Cover and freeze. (I did not layer half and half. I just layered noodles, then cheese mixture then meat.)

To prepare : Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375. Cover and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove covering for final 10 to 15 minutes of baking time.

Sweet Asian Chicken

Adapted from this cookbook...an all time FAVORITE freezer cookbook.

3 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/8 c. lime juice
1/4 t. curry powder
1 1/2 T garlic minced
1 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
2 t. peanut oil

Prepare for Freezing:
Combine brown sugar, soy, lime juice and curry in bowl. Pour over chicken in freezer bag.
Pour minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes into the bag and mix well.
Seal and freeze.

For Cooking:
Grill or On stovetop...cook (use peanut oil for skillet) until chicken reads 170 F. Discard marinade.
Suggested serving with ramen noodles or rice and sweet Asian slaw.

October Swap Details--Updated!

October swap details below. We are going to be making the swap on Thursday, October 14th. Josie's House. The categories for October are....

Beef: Suzanne

Beef with Pasta: JoNell

Soup: Melanie

Chicken: Elisha

Chicken with Pasta: Josie

Breakfast: Elizabeth

Other: Casey S.

Grill: Chastity

Please note: In light of some of us not being able to admit that we're in a new season (fall!), we've only changed the grill category to soup once this month. Next month we will have no choice but to admit that we are definitely heading into the cooler seasons and soup will be appropriate once again! So grill, grill, grill while you can still stand to be outside--cause we know it's headed this way. (sorry, Chastity! :) )

Teriyaki Chicken Legs and Thighs

-Chicken legs and thighs
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 tbsp. honey
-2 tsp. grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
-1 clove garlic minced

Grill chicken until no longer pink! You can garnish it with green onions, if you like. :)

Chicken Lelani

From the cookbook: Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer (p. 90)

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, cooked

2 cans cream of celery soup

2 cups evaporated milk

2 cups minced celery

2 tsp minced onion

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup blanched, slivered almonds

2 cups Chinese Chow Mein Noodles (crunchy)

Preparation Instructions:

Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Blend soup & milk together then add celery, onions, Worcestershire sauce, & 3/4 cup of almonds. Stir together.

Layer Chinese noodles & chicken alternately in a baking dish. Pour sauce over layers. make a ring around the top of casserole with remainder of almonds. Freeze

Serving Day:

Thaw completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with white rice, pineapple, or anything else you like with a yummy Polynesian meal.

Pepsi Pot Roast

Ingredients:
(1) 2-3 lb. roast
(1) pkg of dry onion soup/dip mix
(2) cans of cream of mushroom soup
(16oz) of regular or diet Coke/Pepsi/generic cola

Assembly/Cooking/Freezing Directions:
Mix soup/dip mix, both cans of soup, and cola together in a large mixing bowl. Place roast in slow cooker/crock pot and pour soup mixture over top. Cover and cook on high 6 hours till it is falling apart. Then cool completely and place roast and its gravy into freezer bag, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely and re-heat. It is already fully cooked so just reheat in microwave, oven, or even back in the slow cooker (this might be best to keep from drying out). Serve with mashed potatoes, veggies, and/or a salad. Or you can easily shred the beef for sandwiches.

Salsa Rosa Burgers

This is a recipe that I got from e-mealz (LOVE it!) and decided to adapt to freezer cooking methods. We ate it for dinner last week and the family declared it a Gold Record, immediately. The burgers are grill or broil ready and then you add a little pizazz to the top--making them absolutely delish and low carb (which is an experiment in our neck of the woods).

Salsa Rosa Burgers

Burgers:

1-2 lbs ground beef

1 t garlic salt

¼ c parmesan cheese, per lb of meat

Snack Size Bag:

Pesto

Sandwich Size Bag:

1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained

2 t olive oil

2 t Italian seasonings

1 t minced garlic

6-Mozzarella cheese slices (I used Provolone)

For the freezer:

Mix ground beef, parmesean cheese and garlic salt together well. Form into 6 patties. Place in zip-loc for freezing.

Cooking Day:

Thaw burgers. Heat oven to 350 (if broiling!). Grill, broil or fry to desired doneness, turning

once to preserve juice and flavor! To make Salsa Rosa (already prepared in sandwich bag): Mix drained tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, dash of salt and Italian seasonings.

Spread pesto (snack size bag) on top of patty; cover with mozzarella slices. Melt under broiler. Top with 2 T salsa. Serve over lettuce leaves.

September Swap Details--Switching the Order!

**Swap: 9/9/10 at Suzanne's House 10:00 a.m. Email Suzanne if you need directions. See you then! :)

We decided to split up the two Grill/Soup Categories in the rotation so that no one has to make this category two months in a row. We still need a host for this month, if you'd like to host, please Email to let me know! We'll see you on the 9th of September at 10...somewhere! :)

Beef: JoNell

Beef with Pasta: Melanie

Grill: Elisha

Chicken: Josie

Chicken with Pasta:Elizabeth

Breakfast: Casey S.

Other: Chastity

Grill: Suzanne

Taco Filled Shells

Josie's recipe this month....

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
Taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
12 jumbo pasta shells
1/4 c. butter melted
1/2 c. salsa
1/2 c. taco sauce
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese


Directions:
Cook beef and drain. Add taco seasoning. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir 5 minutes until melted. Chill for 1 hour.
Cook shells and drain. Toss with butter. Fill with chilled meat mixture. Mix salsa and taco sauce into pan.

Cooking Day:
Thaw and bake covered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Then uncover, add cheese and bake 15 minutes more.

*I used salsa only, no taco sauce and only cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Caribbean Jerk Chicken-SUPER EASY :)

1 bottle of Kroger Caribbean Jerk Marinade

6 chicken breasts

Cooking directions:

Thaw in fridge overnight. Choice of cooking method--grill, stove top or oven..up to you!
Enjoy!

Cordon Bleu Roll

* The original recipe can be found at http://www.food.com/recipe/cordon-bleu-roll-oamc-123101

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten lightly

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tsp chicken bouillon powder

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of pepper

1 1/2 lbs lean ground chicken

(Kroger only had 8 lbs of ground chicken when I purchased my ingredients, so I mixed in 4 lbs ground turkey to make up the difference)

6 slices swiss cheese

6 slices ham

To Prepare:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except swiss cheese and ham. Mix well.

Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and then spread meat mixture into a rectangle approx. 8x10 inches.

On top of rectangle, lay out slices of swiss cheese

Spread slices of ham on top of cheese.

Starting with the short side of the rectangle, roll up.

Press ends together and wrap in plastic wrap then place in freezer bag for freezing.

On Serving Day:

Let roll thaw completely.

Lay on a baking sheet, seam side down

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes, until roll is golden brown and chicken is cooked through.

Teriyaki Burgers

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 t. vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 sm minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 T. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 t. ground ginger

2 T. Teriyaki Sauce
1 pound lean ground beef

Mix 2T.teriyaki sauce into ground beef; form four patties. Freeze patties in a gallon freezer bag. Grill or fry meat to desired pinkness.

The original recipe is from a Once-A-Month cookbook. In that recipe, you use the Teriyaki Sauce as marinade for chicken, saving out two Tablespoons of sauce for burgers and pouring the rest over chicken in a gallon bag.. This recipe stretched for 11 pounds of ground chuck.

August Swap Details

This month we'll meet at Elisha's house at 10 a.m. for the swap. Email if you need directions! See you then!

Beef: Melanie

Beef with Pasta: Josie

Chicken: Elizabeth

Chicken with Pasta: Casey S.

Breakfast: Chastity

Other: Suzanne

Grill: Elisha

Grill: JoNell

Maid Rite Sandwich Meat

I found a recipe that is supposed to be very similar to the real deal from the Greenville shop. You can view the recipe by visiting here

The cooking is all finished. On serving day, thaw the meat and heat it up. Serve on buns and top with cheese, onion, and mustard... or anything else you like on your Maid Rite! Enjoy!

Ready-To-Go-Beef-Kabobs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless sirloin

1/2 c. ketchup

1 t. salt

2 T A-1 steak sauce

2 T granulated sugar

2 T cider vinegar

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. water

2 T. oil

Serving Day additional Ingredients if desired:

onions

mushrooms

peppers

pineapple

cherry tomatoes

Cooking Day:

Cut sirloin into cubes and place in freezer bag. Boil all the remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pour cooled marinade over meat. Seal securely. Freeze in freezer bag.

Serving Day:

Thaw meat completely. Place meat on skewers with onions, mushrooms, green and red peppers, pineapple and cherry tomatoes. Grill to desired meat temperature.

*Soak the provided wood skewers in water for 10-15 minutes before skewering meat and veggies. This will keep the wood from burning.

Serving suggestion: serve with wild rice and hot bread.

Herbed Fish and Vegetable Packets

Fillets of cod or haddock are placed on heavy foil, and sprinkled with thyme, marjoram, and lemon juice. Frozen vegetables, topped with green onion and margarine complete the packet, which is then oven baked or grilled.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees or grill to medium high. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until fish is flaky, or grill them for 16 to 20 minutes in covered grill.

July Swap Details

This month we'll meet at Elisha's house at 10 a.m. for the swap. Email if you need directions! See you then!

Beef: Josie

Beef with Pasta: Elizabeth

Chicken: Casey S.

Chicken with Pasta: Laura J.

Breakfast: Suzanne

Other: Elisha

Grill: JoNell

Grill: Melanie

Baked Chicken Ziti with Queso Sauce

-2 cups shredded chicken (cooked)
-2 cans cream of chicken soup
-1 can mild Ro-tel tomatoes
-2 inches Velveeta "cheese"
-2 cups shredded cheese
-1 box Ziti noodles (I know. I used rotini. Couldn't find ziti.)

Directions: Cook chicken and shred. Cook ziti as directed on the box and drain. melt the Velveeta cheese in the microwave. mix cans of soup, Rotel, and melted Velveeta cheese together. Stir all ingredients together and place in Ziploc bag.

From freezer: Thaw. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbling. You can top it with extra cheese or salsa.

This recipe is from http://www.freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/ Click on chicken and pasta for the original recipe. Enjoy!

Fruity Breakfast Burritos

This recipe is slightly adapted from http://onceamonthmom.com/fruity-breakfast-burritos/

Ingredients:

* 10 small flour tortillas

* 1.25 cups vanilla (or fruit flavored) yogurt

* 16 oz frozen berries (could use fresh, I used blackberries, blueberries, & raspberries)

* .5 cups sugar

* 1 Tbsp cinnamon

* Spray butter

Directions

* In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon well. Set aside.

* Spray one side of the tortillas with butter then lay the tortilla (butter side down) in the sugar mixture to coat

* Lay the tortilla sugar side down on a plate

* Spread about a tablespoon or a little more of yogurt on the tortilla a little left of center

* Spread fruit across the yogurt

* Roll tortilla and lay on cookie sheet

* Flash freeze on cookie sheet for about 15 minutes

* Transfer frozen rolls to a bag for storage

Eat frozen or let them thaw for a few minutes. They will get soggy if you let them thaw for too long. This is a yummy treat for breakfast, or like we're doing this week... a yummy, cool treat to eat on the beach!

Pizza In A Crescent

Prep Time: 15 Min
Total Time: 30 Min
Makes: 4 sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 package pepperoni slices (3 1/2 oz)
4 tablespoons spaghetti or pizza sauce
1 package (6 oz) mozzarella cheese slices

DIRECTIONS:
1.Heat oven to 375°F.
2.If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll into four 7x5-inch rectangles.
3.Arrange 9 pepperoni slices in center third of each rectangle. Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over pepperoni.
4.Fold each slice of cheese in half; place over pepperoni. Fold short sides of dough to almost meet in center; securely pinch edges together, leaving middle open. Tuck 4 or 5 pepperoni slices into middle opening. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
5.Bake 13 to 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Super Easy and Tasty A1 Burgers

Super easy burgers for the summertime grill, comin' your way!

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck

1/2 c. A1 steak sauce

1. Add A1 to burger and mix well.

2. Shape into 1/4 lb. patties

To cook--throw on the grill, fry in a pan or broil in the oven....up to you! Enjoy!

June Swap Details

This month snuck up on me, how about you? :) It's time again to swap--yippee!

We're going to meet at Suzanne's house at 10 a.m.

Beef: Elizabeth

Beef with Pasta: Casey S.

Chicken: Laura J.

Chicken with Pasta: Suzanne

Breakfast: Elisha

Other: JoNell

Grill: Melanie

Grill: Josie

Grilled BBQ Bacon Burgers

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
5-6 slices of bacon
BBQ sauce

I hope you enjoy this simple burger to throw on the grill. I mixed the hamburger with crumbled bacon. Baste with BBQ sauce when grilling. Would be extra yummy topped with a slice of cheddar cheese and any other toppings. (I did not season the meat, so you may want to add salt & pepper or your favorite seasonings before grilling.)

Bring on summer, let the grilling commence!

Sausage Rollups

1 (16-ounce) package spicy pork sausage
1/2 of medium-sized red pepper, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced (I used minced onions)
2 (8-ounce) packages refridgerated crescent rolls

1. Unroll one package of crescent rolls and press seams together to form one large rectangle; repeat with second package of crescent rolls.
2. Spread half of the sausage evenly over each rectangle. Spread red peppers and scallions over the sauage.
3. Starting with the narrow end, roll up jelly-roll style. Cut each roll into 8 equal slices and place cut-side down on a baking sheet.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until sausage is no longer pink and crust is golden. Serve warm.

On your packages, I said to bake 35-40 minutes. Please check after 25 minutes. I was able to take these rolls from freezer straight to oven, and they cooked well. Enjoyo!

Chicken Salsa Mac N Cheese

This has become a freezer staple at our house--my kids love it! It's a repeat from a while ago, but the recipe didn't make the blog, so I'll post it. Enjoy!

Chicken Salsa Mac N Cheese

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 c. salsa

1 can of chicken breast chunked, drained

1. Cook Mac and Cheese according to directions on box.

2. Add salsa and chicken and mix

3. Pour into Freezer Bag, seal and freeze.

Serving Directions:

1. Thaw completely

2. Pour contents into 9x9 baker

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until warmed completely through.

4. Top with 1/2 c. cheddar cheese if desired (optional)

May Swap Details

May Freezer Swap! Thursday, May 13, 2010 at Melanie's House. at 10 a.m..

Categories this month are:

Beef: Laura B.

Beef with Pasta: Laura J.

Chicken: Suzanne

Chicken with Pasta: Elisha

Breakfast: JoNell

Other: Melanie

Grill: Josie

Grill: Elizabeth

Taco Lasagna

-2 lbs. ground beef
-2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
-4 cloves pressed garlic
-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
-1 and 1/2 cups water
-1 tbsp. cornmeal
-2 pkg. corn tortillas (10-12 each)
-1 (24 oz.) jar salsa
-16 oz. sour cream mixed with 1 tbsp. chili powder
-3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In large saucepan, cook beef until brown and drain well. Add taco seasoning, garlic, cayenne pepper, and water. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Set aside. Sprinkle cornmeal in bottom of 9x13 pan. Place 6 tortillas in bottom of pan, overlapping and extending up edges slightly.

Layer in the following order:
-1 cup salsa
-1/2 meat mixture
-1 cup sour cream mixture
-2 cups combined cheeses
Repeat, starting again with 6 tortillas, salsa, meat, sour cream, and 2 cups of cheese. Place 6 tortillas and remaining salsa on top.

Cooking instructions: Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

**When I make this for my family, the 9x13 is nearly overflowing, so I gave each family 1/2 a recipe.

**I omitted the cayenne pepper.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

I found this fabulous recipe at simply recipes and couldn't wait to try it! I thought it would be a great way to have a grill ready meal from the freezer with a change from the run-of-the mill fare (hot dogs and burgers, at our place!). Enjoy!

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Marinade Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
Spice Bag: Kosher salt and Freshly ground pepper

Cooking Day Directions:

1. Thaw the flank steak completely. Set aside spice bag for step 3.
2. Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.
3. Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks. How do you know if the steak is done? The best way to tell is to poke it with your finger tips. While the steak is still raw, test it with your fingers; it will be quite squishy. That's what a very rare steak feels like. As the steak cooks the muscles contract and firm up. Touch the tip of your nose and that's what a very well done steak feels like. Here's a visual guide from Men's Health magazine.
4. Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak.

Serves 6.

April Swap Details

Our April swap will be held on April 8th at 10:00 a.m. at Josie's. We've changed out the soup categories to Grill in hopes that the spring weather is going to stick around and our grills are gonna be busy, busy! :) The category assignments are:

Beef: Laura
Beef w/Pasta: Suzanne

Chicken: Elisha

Chicken w/pasta: Jo Nell

Breakfast: Melanie

Other: Josie

Grill: Elizabeth

Grill: Paula

Italian Beef Hoagies

I found this recipe here: www.freezerfriendz.blogspot.com
Look under beef, no pasta.

-1 and 1/2 pounds ground beef
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 garlic clove, pressed

Cook ground beef, onion and garlic together in a large skillet. Add the following ingredients and mix well:

-1/4 cup water
-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-1 packet (1 oz.) onion soup mix
-1 tbsp. Italian seasoning mix

After freezing: Thaw completely. (You can defrost the bag in the microwave.) Pour into 10 inch skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Spoon mixture into hoagie rolls or buns. Top with a slice of Provolone or Mozarella cheese.

**I thought this turned out very strong! If I tried it again, I think I would use 1 onion soup mix per TWO recipes. Also, the original recipe calls for red and green peppers to be added with the seasoning. I left them out, because my kids are not big pepper fans.

Classic Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

12 oz. (about 2 cups, uncooked) macaroni noodles

6 Tbsp butter

6 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cream or half & half

3/4 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp minced onion flakes

3/4 tsp dry mustard

3 cups cheese (I used half Sharp cheddar & half Mexican blend this time)

3/4 cup bread crumbs

Preparation

* Boil noodles according to package instructions, set aside

* In a sauce pan on medium heat, melt butter

* In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, & pepper

* Add flour mixture to melted butter in pan and mix well with a whisk

* Gradually pour in milk & cream, mixing well

* Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes

* When it starts to boil, add in the minced onion & dry mustard

* Turn down heat and cook, stirring continuously for about 7 minutes

* Slowly add in cheese, mixing well until all cheese is added and melted

* Allow to simmer for a few minutes then stir in the macaroni noodles

* Bag & Freeze or pour into baking dish

* Top mac & cheese with dry bread crumbs

* Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown

Enjoy!

Italian Chicken Rolls

6 skinless chicken breasts
3 slices provolone cheese (21/2 ounces) cut in half
6 thin slices deli ham (6 ounces)
1/2 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 T finely chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup milk

Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/4 inch thickness between plastic wrap or waxed paper. Place 1 piece provolone cheese and 1 slice deli ham on each chicken piece. Fold long sides of each chicken piece over deli ham. Roll up chicken from short side; secure with toothpick.

Mix bread crumbs, cheese and parsley. Dip chicken rolls into milk; coat evenly with bread crumb mixture. Place seam sides down in pan.

To serve now, heat oven to 425 o. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

To Store: Freeze unbaked chicken rolls uncovered about 1 hour or until firm. Wrap tightly and label. Freeze no longer than 2 months.

To Cook From Freezer: Bake uncovered about 50 minutes for 375 o or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

To cook thawed: Completely thaw in the refrigerator. Place on a greased baking sheet. Spritz with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425 o for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear.

(I found the large pieces needed extra cooking time.)

Orange Beef Stir Fry

Marinade Bag:
2 lbs. flank steak sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 t. red pepper flakes

Vegetables Bag:
4 c. Chinese Vegetables

Sauce:
2 t. red pepper flakes
3 ½ T. teriyaki sauce
2 t. minced garlic
1 t. cornstarch
1 T. brown sugar
½ c. beef broth
2 T. orange jam.

1 ½ c. white rice (minute rice)

Additional Cooking Day Ingredients:

3T oil
3 c. water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a pot, bring the rice and 3 c. of water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. Heat the 2 T. of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the contents from the marinade bag to skillet. Cook and stir the beef in the skillet 10 minutes, until evenly brown. Reserving pan drippings, transfer the cooked beef to a bowl.
3. Heat 1 T. of oil in a skillet. Pour vegetables into skillet. Cook 3-6 minutes, until tender but still crisp.
4. Heat the remaining pan drippings in the skillet over medium heat. Add the contents of the sauce packet. Cook 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the beef to coat.
5. Toss the vegetables with the beef. Serve the beef and vegetables, along with some of the skillet juices, over the cooked rice.

March Swap Details

Our March swap will be held on March 11th at 10:00 a.m. at Suzanne's. Welcome to our newest swapper, Elisha's friend, Paula! We're glad you're joining us!
The category assignments are:

Beef: Suzanne
Beef w/Pasta: Elisha
Chicken: Jo Nell
Chicken w/pasta: Melanie
Breakfast: Josie
Other: Elizabeth
Soup: Paula
Soup: Laura J.


Looking forward to it! :)

Ham and Hash Brown Roll Ups

This breakfast was a big hit at our house last month. So much that it was requested as my breakfast contribution for the swap. So... Look at the post from last month. The adaptation that I made this month is that I used ham and Mexican blend cheese instead of Canadian Bacon and Pepperjack cheese. Wrap in a paper towel and microwave!

Laura's Taco Chili

-1 can kidney beans
-1 can pinto beans
-1 taco seasoning packet
-1 buttermilk ranch seasoning packet
-3 tbsp. minced, dried onion
-1 tsp. chili powder
-1/4 tsp. ground cumin
-1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
-16 oz. tomato sauce
-1 lb. ground beef

Directions: Simmer on stove top and serve.

Crockpot Corn Chowder

-2 medium-size carrots, finely chopped
-1 stalk celery, finely chopped
-1 large Idaho potato (about 1 lb.) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 bay leaf
-3/4 tsp. dried thyme
-1/8 tsp. paprika
-3/4 tsp. salt
-2 cups milk
-(4 cups frozen corn kernels)

Directions from freezer: Thaw gallon size bag (with above ingredients), and thaw small bag of bacon. Dump gallon size bag into crockpot. Add the bag of frozen corn. Cook 6-8 hours on low. If you like a thicker soup, you can mash up the potatoes. You can also mix 2-3 tbsp. of cornstarch and 2 tbsp. of liquid from the soup. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the soup and cook an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with bacon.

I'm loving my crockpot! Hope that's ok with everyone! :)

Thai Thighs

For my "other" category this month, I thought I'd go out on a limb and try something new....this recipe is adapted from the Fix, Freeze, Feast cookbook that I just LOVE! So, we'll try a little Thai!

Ingredients:

1 Tray of Chicken Thighs on the bone-skin removed (about 7 lbs)

6 green onions, chopped

3/4 c. hoisin sauce

1/2 c. natural peanut butter

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. toasted sesame oil

1/4 c. lemon juice

6 t. minced garlic

6 t. ginger paste (produce section of market)

1 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

3 one-gallon zip loc bags labeled

Directions:

1. Rinse and divide chicken evenly among the bags

2. Whisk together the scallions, hoisin, peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and lemon juice in a med. bowl; divide the sauce evenly over the chicken. Into each bag measure 2 t. garlic, 2t. ginger. Add 1/2 t. read pepper to each bag, if desired.

3. Seal and freeze

To Cook One Entree:

1. Completely thaw in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 375.

3. Place the chicken in a lightly greased baking dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 180 degrees.

February Swap Details

Our February swap will be held on February 11th at 10:00 a.m. at Melanie's house. The category assignments are:

Beef: Lana
Beef w/Pasta: Jo Nell
Chicken: Melanie
Chicken w/pasta: Josie
Breakfast: Elizabeth
Other: Elisha
Soup: Laura J.
Soup: Suzanne


Looking forward to it! :)

Suzanne's Crockpot Chicken Chili

-1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1 and 1/2 cups water
-2 cans (15 oz.) white kidney or cannelini beans, drained and rinsed (Mash one.)
-1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
-1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilis
-2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
-1 tsp. cumin
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1/2 tsp. sage
-1 tsp. chili powder

Instructions: Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours. Shred chicken and serve.

Note: You only need to thaw this enough to slide it into the crockpot. Also, please note that the chicken is not pre-cooked.

Jo Nell's 15 Minute Stroganoff

-1 pound round steak
-2/3 cup water
-3 ounces canned mushrooms (optional)
-1 envelope onion soup mix
-1 cup sour cream
-2 tablespoons flour

Instructions: Cut meat into thin strips; brown in shortening. Add water and mushrooms. Stir in onion soup mix; heat to boiling. Blend sour cream and flour and add to hot mixture. Let thicken. Serve over noodles.

NOTE: To make ahead, prepare completely; let cool and freeze. On serving day, make fresh noodles and heat sauce. S auce will separate somewhat, but vigorous stirring brings it right back!

Lana's Williamsburg Inn Turkey Soup

-3 onions, chopped
-4 stalks celery, chopped
-4 carrots, grated
- 1/3 cup long-grained rice, uncooked
-1 cup butter
-1 and 1/2 cups flour
-1 pint half & half
-3 qts. turkey broth
-3 cups turkey (or chicken)
-1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Combine onions, celery, carrots, and rice. Cook in 1 quart of broth for 20 minutes. Melt butter; blend in flour and heat until bubbly. Add half & half and 2 quarts broth and cook until bubbly. Add vegetables, turkey and seasonings. Heat slowly.

Melanie's Goulash

-1 pound hamburger
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 and 1/2 qts. tomato juice (I used 2 small tomato sauces, then filled the cans both up with water one time)
-1/2 - 1 tsp. chili powder
-1 and 1/4 cups uncooked macaroni
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup ketchup
-1/2 tbsp. prepared mustard
-1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/8 tsp. pepper
-2 - 3 (1/4 inch) slices Velveeta cheese

Instructions: Brown hamburger and onion in large skillet. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cheese and cook until melted. Stir and serve. Makes a quick and easy meal!

Bacon Hash Brown Roll Ups

Found this recipe on this site
Looked good, so I thought I'd give it a try! It was super easy and the kids ate them this morning for breakfast and gave them a hearty thumbs up!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 slices Canadian bacon, cut into small pieces (I used regular bacon this time!)
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed and drained
8 eggs
1/2 cup salsa
16 (6") flour tortillas (I used 8" tortillas by mistake! :) )
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Preparation:

In large skillet, heat olive oil and brown bacon and hash browns. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs and salsa; beat well until combined. Pour into skillet with bacon and potatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set. Spoon egg mixture into flour tortillas, sprinkle with cheese, and roll up. Place roll-ups in freezer bags and freeze.
When ready to serve, place burrito in microwave, covered with a microwave-safe paper towel, and heat for about 1-2 minutes on high power for each burrito. You may have to adjust heating time for your microwave. 16 servings

Chicken Parmigiana

From Once A Month Mom, http://onceamonthmom.com/chicken-parmigiana/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Chicken Breasts (approx. 6)

2 eggs

1 tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp. Pepper

3/4 c Dry Bread Crumbs, fine

1/2 c Oil

Large can (29-32 oz). Tomato Sauce

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 c Parmesan Cheese

8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese, sliced or shredded

Preparation Instructions:

* Place chicken breasts on cutting board, pound lightly until 1/4 inch think.

* Combine lightly beaten eggs, salt, & pepper in one bowl. Pour bread crumbs in a separate bowl.

* Dip chicken in egg and then in bread crumbs to coat.

* Heat oil in skillet until hot, quickly brown chicken on both sides, remove to shallow baking dish.

* Add tomato sauce and garlic powder to the leftovers in the skillet, stir well and bring to a boil. Then, simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens a little.

* Add butter to the sauce and stir in until melted.

* Pour sauce over chicken (Freeze Here)

On Serving Day:

* Thaw completely, pour into baking dish.

* Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, cover with mozzarella cheese.

* Cover with foil.

* Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti noodles and use the excess sauce over the noodles. Delicious!

January Swap Details

Our January swap will be held on Jan. 14th at 10:00 a.m. at Josie's house. Welcome to our newest member, Lana! Glad to have you! This month you will be cooking 8 meals--and the category assignments are:

Beef: Jo Nell
Beef w/Pasta: Melanie
Chicken: Josie
Chicken w/pasta: Elizabeth
Breakfast: Elisha
Other: Laura J.
Soup: Suzanne
Soup: Lana