Wednesday, July 13, 2011

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.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

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