Sour Cream and Blueberry Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2  teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whole milk
3 eggs
8 tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 cup blueberries

Preheat your waffle iron on medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream, and then whisk in the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just until combined. Fold in the butter, and then the blueberries, stirring minimally.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter per waffle onto the iron and cook until the waffles are a light golden brown. 

Serve waffles with maple syrup and a dollop of sour cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Serving Day: Take frozen waffle from bag and put into toaster. Serve with syrup. Enjoy! 

August Swap Details

Back to basics. We're swapping this month at 10 a.m. at The Gathering Place. We are missing a few people and need to find subs (or permanent replacements) if you know anyone interested. 


Category Assignments:
Beef: Casey 
Beef with Pasta:  *
Soup/Grill: *
Chicken:  *Allison
Chicken with Pasta: Melanie 
Breakfast: Elisha
Other:  Josie 
Grill: Elizabeth


*Subs needed

Juicy Cookout Burgers

This recipe is from a cookbook I received last year at Christmastime, Once-A-Month Cooking: Family Favorites by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg. It's taken me about 6 months to open the book, so beware... there will likely be more to come from here in the near future!

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 oz envelope dry onion mushroom soup mix

In a large bowl, combine ingredients and mix gently. Shape the mixture into 6 patties. Freeze.

On serving day throw them on the grill. That easy. Hope they're yummy!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

These are a family favorite adapted for freezer cooking....Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. -2 lbs. ground turkey
1 T. and 1 1/2 t. cooking oil
2 T. minced dried onion
3 cloves garlic minced
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. Asian Chile Pepper Sauce (Wal-Mart sells Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce--it's our favorite!)
2 T. Rice Wine Vinegar
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 T. Asian (dark) sesame oil
1 c. Shredded Carrots (we used matchstick carrots already shredded!)

Serving Day--Also Need:

Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles (provided)
Chili Sauce
1-2 heads of lettuce. (Bibb lettuce works well, but so does iceberg)

Directions:

Brown turkey in cooking oil and drain and set aside. In same skillet, brown onion. Add remaining ingredients. Add turkey back to other ingredients. Continue cooking until green onions just start to wilt (about 2 min.)

To Serve: 


Tear off lettuce in large pieces. Have each person take a lettuce leaf and add a spoonful of the meat mixture to top. Add Ramen Noodles if desired. Serve with Chili Sauce. Roll up mixture in lettuce like a burrito and Enjoy!

Serving Day Instructions from Freezer: 

Thaw meat mixture and heat up just until the green onions begin to wilt (not long!). Follow serving instructions above. Easy-peasy!

• 
  

Pigs in a Blanket

With the summer season in full swing, I thought a quick dinner that can be taken to the drive in, swimming pool, park, or baseball park might be nice to have on hand.

Ingredients:

Hot dogs (I used Kahn's bun size franks made with Pork & Turkey)

Cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
2 envelopes yeast

4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter diced, and allowed to warm to room temperature
1 large egg

1. Let hot dogs warm to room temperature.

2. Add yeast to warm (105 110 F) water and milk with a pinch of sugar. Stir with a fork to dissolve and let stand five minutes.

3. Add flour, sugar, and salt to mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

4. Dice butter and add to beaten egg in a bowl.

5. Turn on mixer. Add butter and egg. Add yeast mixture. Knead a few minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for several minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

6. Cut a portion of the dough and roll thin. Cut into strips and pieces with a pizza cutter. Wrap around hot dogs. Wet finger to help seal edges. Roll between palms of hand to even wrapped hot dogs.

7. Repeat with all dough and hot dogs. Let rise on cookie sheets about an hour in a warm place.

8. Bake at 400 F about 13-15 minutes until done.

On serving day, just reheat and serve!

The original recipe can be found here.

July Swap

This month's swap will be held at The Gathering Place. We'll swap on July 14th at 10:00 a.m. Any questions, please let us know! Please be sure to clearly label any zip-locs with permanent marker so it is easily identifiable in the freezer...THANKS!

Category Assignments:
Beef:  *
Beef with Pasta: Suzanne
Soup/Grill: *Allison
Chicken:  Melanie
Chicken with Pasta: Elisha
Breakfast: Josie
Other:  Elizabeth 
Grill: Casey

Lemonade Chicken By Katie

from Freezer Friendz (click the link to go to the recipe)

Grill, Bake or Broil--your choice.
Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Meat Loaf:
-1 small onion
-1 clove garlic
-1 and 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
-3/4 cup milk
-2 eggs
-1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-3/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs

Topping:
-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1/4 cup ketchup

Assembly instructions: Saute onion and garlic. Mix together with remaining meatloaf ingredients. Shape mixture into loaf and place in pan. Mix brown sugar and ketchup; place in baggie for freezing separately.

Cooking instructions: Thaw completely in fridge. Brush or drizzle sauce on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

***Alternate cooking instructions! - If you do not want to heat up the house with your oven, a meatloaf can be cooked in your crockpot. Thaw meatloaf completely. Slide it out of the pan and into your crockpot. Brush or drizzle sauce on top. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meat loaf registers 165 degrees. It should take 6-7 hours. Carefully remove meat loaf from slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. I have never tried this (the instructions are from my slow cooker cookbook), but with 90 degree weather, we may not want to turn on our ovens!

June Swap Details

This month's swap will be held at The Gathering Place. We'll swap on June 9th at 10:00 a.m. Any questions, please let us know!

Category Assignments:
Beef:  Suzanne
Beef with Pasta: *Allison
Soup/Grill: Melanie   
Chicken:  Elisha
Chicken with Pasta: Josie 
Breakfast: Elizabeth 
Other:  Casey
Grill: *


*substitute

Baked Ziti by Amanda

Baked Ziti

Preheat oven to 350
bake 30-45 minutes if thawed

Recipe:

4 Cups uncooked noodles
2 jars spaghetti sauce
12oz mozzerella cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cottage cheese

Butter a 9 x 13 pan
Boil noodles.
Mix sour cream and cottage cheese until blended
Layer Sauce, noodles, cream mixture, & cheese 2 times ending with the remaining mozzerrella cheese

Pollo Polo Pasta Salad

The sunshine made me feel a little creative,so I came up with this salad. With the arrival of warmer weather and grilling in the near future, I thought that pasta salad would be a good choice. The pasta salad dressing is from a recipe I love called Marco Polo Pasta Salad, combined with Italian marinated chicken (my twist), hence the name Pollo Polo. I hope that you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pasta (I provided Radiatore)

1/4 lb Swiss cheese (or Jarlsberg)

1/8-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 multi-colored peppers, sliced julienne

3/4 lb chicken breasts, marinated over night in Italian dressing (cooked in slow cooker on low for several hours)

1/2 T garlic powder

1/2 T garlic salt

1/2 T basil

1/2 T oregano

1/4 tsp course ground black pepper

1/4 tsp parsley

On Serving Day:

Boil the pasta until al dente. Rinse under cool water and allow to cool completely.

Mix contents of seasoning packet with 3/8 cup (or a little less than 1/2 cup) olive oil and 1/8 cup vinegar.

Combine cooled pasta with peppers & cheese (You could also add black olives, cherry tomatoes, or any other pasta salad favorites at this point) then mix well with sauce. Add chicken and toss gently. Serve chilled.

Marinated Flank Steak-Repeat

Celebrating Summer's impending return with this Marinated Flank Steak repeat from last year. Enjoy--and bring on the summer!
Thaw completely and remove from bag. Rub the salt and pepper seasoning packet contents on both sides of the steak. Put on grill. See previous directions for cooking time and cutting directions.

Alison's Island Chicken Marinade

* This recipe will marinate up to 3 lbs of chicken.

1/2 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup water

2 T minced onion

2 T sesame seeds

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp red pepper

Blend all ingredients. Pour over whatever cuts of chicken you prefer. Marinate for 1-2 hours. Grill.

Ham Fried Rice

Sorry I've been lazy about posting my recipes. Here is April's Ham Fried Rice. I've never frozen rice before. I hope it works out ok! I took the recipe from Freezerfriendz. Here is the link:

http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2010/02/fried-rice-with-ham.html

Ingredients:
1/4 c. oil
6 c. cooked short grain rice (sticky or sushi rice)
1/3 + c. soy sauce
4 eggs, slightly scrambled
salt & pepper mixed into eggs, to taste
1 1/2 c. diced ham
12 oz. frozen diced vegetables

Directions:
Heat oil over med. high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add in rice, breaking up any clumps. Once warmed, drizzle soy sauce over and mix in. Scrape bottom of pan frequently to rice from sticking. Make a hole in rice and pour eggs in center, allowing them to set before mixing into rice. Add in ham and vegetables and allow them to heat. Eat immediately or spread on a cookie sheet to allow to cool some before spooning into freezer bag.

Reheating Directions:
This is completely cooked, so it may simply be defrosted in the microwave in the freezer bag to keep it from drying out. Cook until defrosted, breaking the rice up some after every few minutes. You may eat it straight from the microwave or toss it in a hot skillet for a few minutes after microwaving. When I (freezer friendz person) tested it out, I preferred it stir-fried 3-4 minutes in the skillet.

Chicken Tacos

This recipe is from Once A Month Mom. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced or diced
• 1.25 ounces taco seasoning mix
• 3 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 small round, tortillas
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Mix taco seasoning mix, lime juice, and vegetable oil and pour over sliced chicken. Cook chicken in a skillet for about 10-15 minutes or until done through. Serve chicken in warmed tortillas with cheese and fresh toppings of your choice.

From Frozen:

Thaw. The prepare as above. Add lettuce, tomatoes, and anything else you like on your tacos. Enjoy!

Beef Enchilada Casserole

Pg. 81 ~ 29 Minutes to Dinner The Pampered Chef®

1 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp Southwestern Seasoning Mix
¼ tsp salt
1 can enchilada sauce
¼ cup water
½ cup medium thick and chucky salsa
12 yellow corn tortillas
¼ cup snipped fresh cilantro divided
1 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blended, divided

Preparation Directions: 

1.Combine beef, seasoning mix and salt in skillet. Cook over medium – high heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles. Add enchilada sauce, water and salsa to skillet. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
2.As beef mixture cooks, place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1 inch pieces using Pizza Cutter. Snip cilantro using Kitchen Shears
3.Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over bottom of Deep Dish Baker; top with half of the beef mixture and half of the cheese. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of the cilantro over cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.


Cooking Day: Thaw casserole the night before. Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until hot completely through. Ole'!

April Swap Details

This month's swap will be held at The Gathering Place. We'll swap at 10:00 a.m. Any questions, please let us know!

Category Assignments:
Beef: Melanie
Beef with Pasta: Elisha
Soup/Grill:Josie 
Chicken: Elizabeth
Chicken with Pasta: Casey
Breakfast: Chastity
Other: Suzanne
Grill: Marti

Letter Soup

I am not sure of the original source of this recipe. It is comfort food numero uno at our house and has been in high demand this winter with numerous sick kids. It solves bads days at school, tummy aches, sore throats, and soccer games with no goals. Yes... it's the cure (at our house, anyway).

Ingredients:

3 Cans Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

1 Can Condensed Tomato Soup

1 small onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef or turkey (I used Turkey this time)

4 cups water

To prepare:

Brown the meat with the chopped onion. Drain the excess grease from the meat. Combine the rest of the ingredients and simmer until warm through.

On Serving Day:

It's all ready to go. Simply thaw, heat, and serve. Yummy with crackers, cornbread, or ham & cheese sandwiches.

Maid Rite Sandwiches

This is a family favorite--a copycat recipe of the famous Maid Rite in Greenville, Oh. Just be careful--you might have a sudden urge to stick gum on a wall! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger
1 T. sugar
2 T. yellow mustard
1 1/2 t. black pepper
1 med. onion chopped finely
1 t. salt

Directions: Cook in a double boiler for 1 hour. Use less pepper if you do not like the hot taste.

Serving Day:
Thaw and reheat. To be like the Maid Rite... serve on hamburger buns with chopped onions, yellow mustard and dill pickle chips.

Enjoy!

March Freezer Swap Details

March....In like a lion, out like a lamb? Only time will tell! We'll be swapping on Thursday, March 10th at 10 a.m. at The Gathering Place. Can't wait to see you all there! 


Category Assignments:
Beef: ElishaBeef with Pasta: Josie   
Soup: Elizabeth 
Chicken: Casey  
Chicken with Pasta: Chastity  
Breakfast: Suzanne  
Other: Marti 
Soup/Crock Pot: Melanie  

Taco Filled Shells, Take 2!

I heard that this was yummy when Josie made it a few months ago, but didn't get to have it with my family. I decided to give it another whirl. You can view Josie's original post here.

I used Mexican blend cheese, and salsa only (like Josie did). I also used reduced fat cream cheese in an effort to reduce the fat content a little.

To serve:

Thaw, remove foil, bag of cheese, and plastic wrap. Recover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover, top with cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Hot Beef Hoagie's with Dipping Sauce

This recipe is adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining.

Cooking Day Directions:
Put the chuck roast, bag of spices, 1 c. of water in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Drain the broth but save for dipping sauce. Shred the meat. Serve on Hoagie Buns provided and dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
3 lb. beef chuck roast
1 lg. onion chopped
1/4 c. vinegar
2 t. minced garlic
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper

February Swap Details

This month's swap will be held at The Gathering Place--since that seemed to work well for everyone! Welcome back to Casey! We'll swap at 10:00 a.m. Any questions, please let us know!

Category Assignments:
Beef: Josie 
Beef with Pasta: Elizabeth 
Soup: Casey
Chicken: Chastity 
Chicken with Pasta: Suzanne 
Breakfast: Marti 
Other: Melanie 
Soup/Crock Pot: Elisha

Poppyseed Chicken

Ingredients:

-1 pound chicken, cubed and cooked
-16 oz. sour cream
-2 cans cream of chicken soup
-1-2 tsp. poppyseeds
-1 sleeve Ritz crackers
-4-8 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions: Cook chicken. Mix sour cream, soup, poppyseeds and chicken. Place in freezer bags.

From freezer: Thaw. Spread mixture in greased 9x13 dish. Crush crackers and mix with melted butter. Spread over top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Crackers will brown and edges may bubble. Serve over rice or noodles. (We like ours over rice.)

Melanie's Overnight Caramel French Toast

Ingredients:

-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup butter
-2 tbsp. light corn syrup
-12 slices bread
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tsp. cinnamon, divided
-6 eggs
-1 and 1/2 cups milk
-1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: In saucepan on medium heat, bring brown sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Top with 6 bread slices. Combine sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle half over bread. Place remaining bread on top and sprinkle remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture on top. In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and remaining tsp. cinnamon. Pour over bread. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes.

From freezer: Take your best guess! I'm assuming we can thaw it and follow the same baking instructions.

**This recipe came from Amish Friends Cookbook by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Mel says everything in this book is good!

Marinated Mini Ham & Cheese Sandwiches

In the spirit of game day appetizers I decided to try something new! I found the original recipe here and adapted it to be a freezer recipe. Hope you enjoy and may the best team win!

Ingredients:

Marinade:

6 T butter

1/8 cup sweet onion, minced

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoons yellow mustard

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/2 Tablespoon chopped parsley

Sandwiches:

12 (about 2 x 2-Inches each) small dinner rolls

mayonnaise

12 (about 1/3 lb.) thin slices of deli ham

12 (about 1/4 pound) thin slices of Swiss cheese

Preparation:

To prepare marinade, saute minced sweet onion in butter over low heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add poppy seeds, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar is melted into the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Set marinade aside to cool while you assemble the buns.

Slice the buns in half. Spread bottoms of buns with a thin layer of mayonnaise. Fold ham slices to fit the bottom of each bun. Repeat with Swiss cheese slices, folding to fit buns. Replace bun tops. Place ham and cheese buns onto foil. Pour marinade evenly over buns. Cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate overnight or freeze.

Serving Day: DO NOT THAW! Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake marinated buns covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Company's Coming Beef by Alison

Here is the recipe that I used for the beef. I multiplied it by four then divided to make 8 family portions. I used my roaster oven and cooked it at 250 degrees for 8 hours.

3 lbs lean roast, cut into cubes (I used bottom round)

1 package onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used Campbell's Healthy Request)

1/2 C. beef broth (I used lower sodium)

1 can sliced mushrooms (optional)

Cut up meat and place in crockpot. Pour in the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cook for 8-10 hours on low. Serve over noodles. (I broke up the meat at the end.)

On Serving Day: Thaw and reheat the beef, cook noodles according package instructions and serve the beef over the noodles.

Baked Tamale Pie

This is a winter family favorite. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, but if I figure it out, I'll let you know! Below is the original recipe if you make it all yourself and then the adaptations for the freezer.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (12 oz.) corn, drained

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix (1 egg and 1/3 cup milk to add to the mix)

1/2 cup shredded cheese (we use Mexican or Taco blend)

To prepare:

In an oven safe skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion until cooked through. Drain the excess grease. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, chili powder, and cumin to the skillet and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes. Mix the cornbread batter and pour over the meat mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cornbread is done. Immediately top with cheese. Serve in wedges.

From freezer:

Meat mixture was frozen after the 10 minutes of simmering. Thaw meat mixture and pour into an 8x8 or round baking dish. Mix the cornbread batter and spread on top of the meat mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cornbread is done. Immediately top with cheese.

Yummy served with black beans on the side!

January Swap

Happy New Year! Our January swap snuck up on me! We will be swapping meals next week at The Gathering Place at 10:00 a.m. Park in the back of the building and we'll go inside where it's a little warmer to make the trade! :) We'd like to welcome a friend of Elizabeth's, Allison, this month, to our group. Allison is subbing for Casey since she's just welcomed baby Jazmin (and she's PRECIOUS!) into their family and is settling into life again.

Happy cooking!

The categories for January are....

Beef: Elizabeth

Beef with Pasta: Allison

Soup: Chastity

Chicken: Suzanne

Chicken with Pasta: Marti

Breakfast: Melanie

Other: Elisha

Soup/Crock Pot: Josie