Freezer Meal Tips

At the end of February my mom came to town, and what did I want to do with her? Make freezer meals. They weren't exactly whole meals, but things that make dinners SOOO much easier during the week. We made and froze grilled chicken pieces, diced peppers and onions, shredded cheese, taco meat, and spaghetti sauce.

Meal Preparation is so much easier and less time consuming! It's so nice to take out a bag of spaghetti sauce in the morning and throw together a lasagna. Whenever I need chicken for a stir fry or veggies for a pizza, they're ready to go!!

I spent around $80 to fill my freezer, and then just reduced the amount I spent on our weekly frocery trips to account for the freezer meals.

This monthly task is wonderful for us!

Andes Layered Frozen Mousse Pie

Andes Layered Frozen Mousse Pie:
(Recipe found on the back of the Andes baking chips)

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1 ready-to-use chocolate wafer crumb crust (6 oz. or 9-inch)
1-1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
2 cups Andes Crème de Menthe Chips
2 egg yolks

Directions:
Stir 1/2 cup of Andes Crème de Menthe chips into ice cream. Spread onto bottom of crust; freeze.

Melt remaining Andes chips with 1/2 cup whipping cream in saucepan over low heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in egg yolks. Continue heating over medium-low heat 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Do not allow to boil.


Whip remaining 1 cup whipping cream until stiff peaks form; fold into Crème de Menthe mixture. Spoon over ice cream in crust. Freeze 4 hours or overnight.


Note: Allow pie to stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.

This is a recipe I came across that I want to try when I have a bit more time.

A future endeavor...egg rolls!

I saw this recipe and really want to try it. One of these days when my life slows down a bit.

Chicken Broccoli Bake

Today was our first day trying a recipe from the 5 meals in 1 hour experiment. I didn't take a picture of the final product, but it was beautiful and quite delicious. I'm a sucker for anything chicken and broccoli anyway, so I was bound to love it. I normally use fresh broccoli, but to be honest I was being lazy and wanted to just throw this meal together quickly so I used a small package of frozen broccoli. My almost 8 month old little girl even liked the broccoli...pureed of course in her KidCo Food Mill she got for Christmas.

Once small frozen package broccoli
3 cups cooked diced chicken
1 can cream of broccoli (we used cream of celery)
1/3 C milk
1/2 C cheddar cheese
1 T melted butter
2 T Panko

-Heat oven to 400. Spray 9X13 pan and pour in the broccoli and chicken. In a small bowl mix together the soup, milk, and cheese and pour over broccoli and chicken. Mix together melted butter and Panko and dot over the casserole. I added a bit more Panko and a bit more cheddar on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!!

Meal Plan 3/5-3/11

I tried something new this week, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I went to 5dinners1hour.blogspot.com and signed up for one week of free meal plans. The idea is to use what you've got and then only shop for the things you don't have, set aside one hour to put everything together, and there you have it! I also have meals in the freezer too! In 40 minutes I had ALL 5 dinners put together, and it feels great. If we like them enough, we may pay the $15 for 3 months worth of dinner menus!

Friday we're headed to Southern Utah right when I get home from work, so I'm not sure we'll be making dinner on that night. Most likely the Chicken Caesar Sandwiches.

Freezer Spaghetti and garlic bread
Crispy Pork Chops
Chicken and Broccoli Bake with Cracked Wheat Rolls
Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Tacos
Mini Honey Mustard Meat Loaves

Extras: Shepard's Pie and Ham and Cheese Omelets with Hashbrowns

Homemade mixes

Go HERE to get recipes for homemade ranch dressing, italian dressing, and taco seasonings.

Meal Plan 2/26-3/4

Oven Baked french bread sub sandwiches
Beef fajitas with re-fried beans
BBQ chicken pizza
Creamy Rigatoni pasta bake with toasted garlic cheese bagels
Grilled Cheese and Soup
Baked BBQ chicken pizza with rice
Bean and Cheese Burritos with Mexican Rice