{recipe of the week} 20 freezer meals for less than $150 prepped in 2 hours

My husband and I are currently living apart.  No, there isn't anything wrong with our marriage.  He was relocated for work for the next 18 months.  My daughter and I went to visit him for the past two weeks.  If your husband is like mine, he would probably be living on soup and frozen pizza when you aren't around to cook for him.  I was determined to leave there knowing he would have some hearty and easy meals to come home to after a 12 hour work day.

I strategically planned out 20 meals my husband could easily put together. 
I purchased all the ingredients for under $150.
I prepped everything and cleaned up the mess during my daughter's two hour nap.
I might give myself wife of the year... or at least the day.

Give yourself wife of the year and try these.  They are already getting high approval ratings from the husband.  Most of them are crockpot with the exception of the stromboli recipe at the end.  Its a simple freeze and bake later recipe.  I divided all the crockpot recipes in half and put them into two gallon size bags since our family is small and we eat less at one time.

Easy peezy lemon squeezy.  Let's get started.



Chicken Cacciatore
adapted from six sisters stuff

1 lb chicken breasts

1 (26 oz) jar of chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce

1 zucchini, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.

Garnish: chopped black olives, shredded Parm cheese

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. 

Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html#5WJ1seHmAJzPClpQ.99

1 lb. chicken
1 veggie style spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini
1 green pepper (I didn't use one)
1/2 onion
Chop everything.  Place all ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag (I double bag to be double safe).  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before ready to cook.  Cook in crockpot on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Serve with noodles or rice.

Mexican Style Chicken Chili
adapted from snappy gourmet
2 lbs. chicken breast
1 green pepper
2 garlic cloves
4 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans (or your favorite)
2 small jalapenos
1 lime
1/2 tsp. cumin
Chop all ingredients except lime.  Zest and juice the lime. Place all ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag (I double bag to be double safe).  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before ready to cook.  Cook in crockpot on high 4 hours or low 8 hours.  Serve.

Hearty Beef Stew
adapted from six sisters stuff
*this makes A LOT.  You might even want to divide this into 3 or 4 bags.
2 lb. beef stew cubes
8 carrots sliced
8 red potatoes
2 package dry onion soup mix
3 8oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 package frozen peas
Chop carrots and potatoes.  Place all ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag (I double bag to be double safe).  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before ready to cook.  Cook in crockpot on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Serve.

Sesame Chicken
adapted from emilylovesfood
6 chicken thighs
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 small can tomato puree
A couple good dashes of sesame seeds
2 c. broccoli florets
Chop onion and garlic cloves.  Place all ingredients except broccoli in a gallon size freezer bag (I double bag to be double safe).  Bring a sauce pan of water to boil.  Place broccoli in boiling water and steam until they are a "tender crisp".  You want them still crispy a little, NOT done.  Cool broccoli and place in quart size freezer bag.  Place quart size freezer bag and gallon size freezer bag together in freezer (I actually stuffed them both into another gallon freezer bag so they'd always be a pair).  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before ready to cook.  Cook everything except broccoli in crockpot on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Heat broccoli in microwave.  Serve the entire dish over rice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken (with corn and black beans)
adapted from six sisters stuff
1 lb. chicken breast
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch cilantro
1 bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1 can drained black beans
1 tsp. cumin
Chop cilantro. Place all ingredients in gallon size freezer bag (I double bag to be double safe).  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before ready to cook.  Cook in crockpot on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Serve with tortillas and salsa.

Freeze, and Bake Stromboli
adapted from joel and kitty
1 package of provoline
1 box of frozen chopped spinach
2 packs of turkey pepperoni
1 big bag of shredded mozzarella
4 balls of pizza dough
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
4 aluminum 8x8 pans
aluminum foil


This makes 4 strombolis.  Thaw out spinach ahead of time. Make dough into rectangles in aluminum pans.  Layer sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and spinach. Wrap it up and pinch seams shut.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Thaw in fridge fully before baking.  Place in warm oven then crank to 375 deg. F and bake until golden.  As shown above I wrote the baking directions directly onto the foil with a black sharpie.

1 lb chicken breasts

1 (26 oz) jar of chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce

1 zucchini, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.

Garnish: chopped black olives, shredded Parm cheese

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. 

Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html#5WJ1seHmAJzPClpQ.99

(recipe of the week) pot pie biscuit

I'm always trying to find ways to sneak in vegetables to my toddler's diet.  About a year ago I made a more complex version with bisquik (check out that recipe here), but all I had today on hand was Pillsbury biscuits.  So I improvised!

Anna is starting to become momma's lil helper.  She loves when I get the little stool out so she can help me make dinner.



This recipe is pretty easy for a toddler to help with.  Just make sure you have everything out and ready beforehand.  And don't get upset if some spills on the floor.  Find joy in the mess that's my new motto!

Pot Pie Biscuit
2 cans of refrigerated biscuits
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup diced cooked chicken (or leftover thanksgiving turkey!) - I used tuna
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
Add two generous handfuls of shredded cheese if desired.
Mix in the tuna, veggies, and soup.  Anna enjoyed eating the frozen veggies (my kid is crazy I know...frozen vegetables?)



Heat the oven to 375 deg. F.  Press each biscuit into muffin tins.  Make a small rim of "crust" around the sides.  I also made mini biscuits in my mini muffin tin.  Just cut the biscuit dough in half if you want to make minis.




Spoon in the vegetable mixture to each muffin cup. Don't overflow them. You might need to reshape your crust rim a little to make sure they don't seep.  They should look something like this.



Now place them in your preheated oven for 18-22 minutes. You just want to brown the biscuit. Let them cool and pop them out of the tin. TO FREEZE: After cooled to room temperature, place in freezer bag. Pop them out and microwave for a quick meal.

recipe of the week: chicken & spinach stuffed canneloni

 

Note:  I made two pans.  One for tonight and one for the freezer.  I've updated the ingredients accordingly if you'd like to do the same.

chicken and spinach canneloni

{the goods} 
1 1/2 (8-ounce) package cannelloni or manicotti shells 
4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken 
2 (8-ounce) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese 
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained 
1 1/2 cup (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese $ 
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs 
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt 
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper 
2 jars of spaghetti sauce  
Garnish: chopped fresh basil or parsley  ***I used italian seasoning mixed blend


{let's get to cookin}
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  Stir together chicken and next 6 ingredients. Cut pasta shells lengthwise through the other side. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture into each shell, gently pressing cut sides together. Place, cut sides down, in 2 lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dishes. Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over shells.  Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Freeze after baking.

{myrecipes.com}

recipe of the week: mini quiche to go

If you enjoyed the three mini dinners I made two weeks ago then you'll also love these.   They are simple to make so I went ahead and made them together.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Mini Breakfast Frittatas

{Grocery List}
Vegetable Oil
1 lb shredded/small chunks of chicken
1/2 package of frozen vegetables
2 c shredded cheese
10 eggs
pancake mix
milk
4 pieces of bacon

Mixture
Mix together 4 eggs, 1 c of milk, 1 c of pancake mix.  Set aside.  Spray muffin pans.  Spoon 1 Tbl of pancake mixture into the bottom of each cup.

For Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Cook chicken with vegetable oil in skillet.  Add one spoonful of chicken to each muffin cup.  Next add two spoonfuls of mixed frozen vegetables (I dethawed them a little)  and a small chunk of shredded cheese to each cup.  Season to taste with pepper, salt (I also added cilantro).  Spoon one spoonful of pancake mixture on top.  Bake at 350 deg. for 25 min or until slightly golden brown on top.

For Mini Breakfast Frittatas
Cook bacon and cut into chunks.  Sprinkle into each cup.  Pour one egg into each cup.  Add a small chunk of shredded cheese to each cup and season to taste.  Spoon one spoonful of pancake mixture on top.  bake at 350 deg. for 25 min or until slightly golden brown on top.

To Freeze
Cool each quiche.  Wrap in saran wrap and then aluminum foil.  I wrote on the top of each quiche what it was.  Then I plopped them all in a gallon freezer bag and labeled with date.

recipe of the week: fix and freeze "to go" dinners

My husband has recently started working the swing shift (10-8).  Which means now instead of packing him breakfast and lunch, I'm not packing him lunch and dinner.  This is a bit of a challenge.  I'm also trying to prepare my pantry and freezer for when baby gets here (8 weeks!).  I found this awesome recipe off Pinterest (what would we do without pinterest?).  They are mini "quiche" that you can bake ahead, pop individually into the freezer and then pull them out as you need them.  I made them in my giant muffin pans (the 6 muffin jumbo tin kind). I've found they are hearty enough you only need one at a time.  So far, they've been a success with the husband.

I made three different kinds thanks to Betty Crocker.

{Recipe}
Mini Thai Chicken Pies
Mini Cheeseburger Pies
Mini Chicken n Broccoli Pies

{Grocery List}
Vegetable Oil
2lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1lb lean ground beef
3 medium onion (i just used dry minced onion)
sliced green onions (i didn't use any)
Cilantro
Thai red curry paste (small jar)
Lime Juice
Worcestershire sauce
garlic salt
mini dill pickles
ketchup
dijon mustard
Frozen chopped, broccoli, thawed and drained (i used fresh)
salt
pepper
Shredded cheese (at least 3 cups)
Pancake mix
Milk
6 Eggs

Mini Thai Chicken Pies
Mixture
1 Tbl vegetable oil
1 lb. bonless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (i used dry minced onion)
1/4 c sliced green onion (optional)
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp thai red curry paste (i used a tablespoon I think)
1 Tbl lime juice
1 c shredded cheese
Step Two
In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add onion; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add green onions, cilantro, red curry paste and lime juice, stirring occasionally, until mixture is heated through. Cool 5 minutes; stir in cheese.

Mini Cheeseburger Pies
Mixture
1lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion (i used dry minced onion)
1 Tbl worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 c shredded cheese
4-6 mini dill pickles
splash of ketchup
splash of dijon mustard
Step Two
In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Cool 5 minutes; stir in Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, cheese.  ***After you add Step Three swirl a little ketchup and mustard on top.


Mini Chicken n Broccoli Pies
Mixture
1 Tbl vegetable oil
1lb bonless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (i used dry minced onion)
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained (i used fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c shredded cheese
Step Two
In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add onion; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add broccoli, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until mixture is heated through. Cool 5 minutes; stir in cheese.

{Let's Start Baking}
Step One
 Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.

Step Two
Follow specific directions underneath each recipe above.

Step Three
 In medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Top with about 1/4 cup Thai chicken mixture. Spoon 1 tablespoon baking mixture onto Thai chicken mixture in each muffin cup.


Step Four
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and tops of pies are golden brown. Ten minutes into baking, carefully open oven and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon peanuts on top of each muffin. Close oven door and finish baking. Cool 5 minutes. With thin knife, loosen sides of pies from pan; remove from pan and place top sides up on cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes longer.  

To Freeze: wrap in saran wrap and aluminum foil.  Label.  Store as many as possible in a gallon size freezer bag.