It's Freezing!

Cold weather here, snowy and such. So, I thought I'd do a post on some handy resources I've found for freezing food. I'm a big proponent of premaking and freezing meals. I'm no expert by any means, but I do know a bit and what I don't know , I can put a link up for you.

Now, I've never tried OAMC (once a month cooking) as I think I would become overwhelmed. But there are a ton of great recipes out there.

Here's a few things I freeze on a regular basis:

*Onions and Green Peppers, sliced and diced. We make Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and fajitas with the slices, as well as use them as a tasy side dish. I use the chopped in soups, taco meat, meatloafs and casseroles. Just chop and slice and store in freezer bags, make sure they are dry as frost can develop if their is moisture on the veggies.

*Cheese and butter or margarine. DO NOT freeze sour cream. I have heard you can freeze milk but only if you use it for cooking. Likewise, I would say yogurt and cottage cheese wouldn't be good either.

*As far as meal prep goes, when ground beef is on sale, I try to put up the following:

Meatloaf: uncooked, just shaped and wrapped in freezer paper and then put in a freezer storage bag.

Taco Meat: I don't buy seasoning packs at the store, I just add onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and chilli powder till I get a good flavor. Just cook and cool (as steam in the bag can cause frost in the bag) and bag.

Soups: I have had success with lots of soups (chilli, veggie, chicken stock) but not potato soup or chowders or anything with noodles in it.

Spaghetti Sauce: Prepare and cool, put in bags, lay flat when you freeze as this maximizes the space in your freezer.

*Bread: Loaf bread, rolls, muffins, cupcakes without icing, cinnamon rolls, pretty much any kind of bread.

Now, for some links:

What Not To Freeze

Freezer Basics

Dinner in the Freezer

Moms Budget Site Freezer Recipes and Printables

Organized Home Freezer Recipes

Freezer Meals Recipes

What to Do with 12 lbs of Ground Beef

By the Way... One of My Fave Cooking Sites is Cooking During Stolen Moments...you must check it out if you haven't.

Okay, there are also countless cooking blogs that I love that all dabble in freezer cooking. As I come across them, I will post. Have a blessed day!

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

Get in the kitchen? Just a short post to share some of the recipes I've used to beat the heat and give the kiddos a treat during these dog days of summer.

First, pudding pops. I love pudding pops. Kraft has an excellant recipe.
Chocolate Pudding pops.

Lemonade, fresh, non powdered lemonade. Can't beat it and it's got a wang to it that satisfies when you've got a hankering for refreshment.
Lemonade

Have not tried this one yet, but plan on it.
Water melon Lemonade

These were sooooooo good! And if money is tight, I just used cheap vanilla ice cream, softened a bit and generic crunchy chocolate chip cookies.
Ice Cream Sandwiches

More Cluck for Your Buck...

Okay, I am soooooo excited. I found a recipe the other day for cream of chicken soup MIX. I use cream of chicken a whole lot and it is getting sooooo expensive and the generic is okay but Campbells is the best and (as fate would have it) the most expensive. So I searched in hopes of finding a recipe for a substititute that tasted as good. Well, I found it. Made from scratch cream of chicken soup mix that won't break the bank...

Cream of Chicken Soup Mix

2 cups powdered milk

3/4 cups cornstarch

1/4 cups chicken bouillon granules

2 tsp dried minced onions

Throw into large ziploc and shake, shake, shake it! Get crazy! OH, sorry, got a little side tracked. That's all there is to it.

Now, to make 1 can equivalent: Take 1/3 cup mix and 1 cup water. Stir together until dissolved. Heat over Medium High-Medium heat and stir pretty frequently, reducing heat if it starts to stick a little. Cook until thickened and use as you would the canned version. Now, it's not exactly to the tee like Campbells, but it is soooooo good in it's own right and I will be sticking with this cheaper and worthy substitution. If you're a cream of chicken junkie, you need to try this. By the way, if you like cream of mushroom, you can substitute the 1/4 cup chicken bouillon granules for beef granules. I haven't tried this yet, but if you do, let me know.

Davis Family Tested...Davis Family Approved!

I have been scouring the internet for some good recipes to add to our meal rotation here. Seems we've found ourselves in a bit of a cooking rut these days. So, I have found some that have been real hits and thought I'd share them.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Taco Chilli
Chicken Spaghetti
Paula Deen's Cornbread Salad
Enchilada Chicken Soup
Crockpot Meatloaf
Baked Potato Salad

Oven Fried Chicken Legs

This is so simple it will make you feel...well...simple, I suppose. Melt a stick of butter in a sauce pan. Add pepper and season salt (any seasoning you like is good , too. Go wild!) Dip Chicken legs in and lay on baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees until done. While cooking, I like to pour the remaining butter over the top. This makes a yummy crispy crust for your chicken.

Sticky Pecan Sticks

Once again, I am bringing you a recipe using a Jiffy brand mix as the jumping off point. For value and quality, you just can't beat Jiffy in my opinion. Today, we'll be using the Pizza crust mix. No measuring here, folks. Just do what feels right.

Ingredients
2 Pkgs Jiffy pizza crust mix
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Pecans
Melted Butter
Cinnamon
(Just a side note, apple pie filling , store bought or homemade would be really good as well)

Mix crust according to package, let rise 5 minutes. Get a 13x9 baking pan and put some oil in the bottom. Oil up your hands, grab your dough and knead a few times. Press into the bottom of the pan, coming up a little on the sides if you want. Next, spread melted butter on top . Next ,apples if you decided to go all the way. If not, toss on the sugars and the pecans. Be generous. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. While you're waiting, brew up a pot of coffee and reflect back on how much pleasure one can find in the simple things.

Crockpot Beef and Noodles

This is one of those comfort foods we love at my house. It's simple and utilizes that most wonderful invention, the Crockpot. Without it , I would be lost in the kitchen...
Now, a note on the meat. You can use pre-cut stew meat, or you can buy a cheap roast and cut it up yourself. Me...I buy a box of beef cubes at my local Dollar General Mkt for $5. It has five pouches of cubes and I usually can get two meals out of one box. You could even use deer meat cubes or other alternative red meats.

Crockpot Beef and Noodles
Okay, no measuring here. Dump in your meat, dump in a can of cream of onion, a can of cream of mushroom, a jar of mushrooms (unless the thought of fungus sends your family heading to your in laws house to eat.) You could even dump in some leftover brown gravy or beef gravy...go wild! Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook on low 8 hours or high 5 hours until done. Serve over egg noodles with a nice bread.

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread

Here's a great quick bread recipe that is super yummy and very moist. I had a big chunk this morning with my coffee. Would be really good with apple butter, I'd venture to say. I plan on making loaves of this for goody baskets for Christmas. Enjoy!

Moist Pumpkin Bread
1 c. walnuts

3 1/2 c. self-rising flour ( If using all purpose flour, use 2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt.)

2 c. Brown Sugar

1 c. White Sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. oil

2/3 cup coconut milk

1/2 c. coconut

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Stir flour and other dry ingredients together.

*Add pumpkin, oil, coconut milk to dry ingredients and mix well.

*Fold in coconut and walnuts.

*Bake 1 hour 15 minute. Remove and cover with foil and a dishtowel to let steam for 15 minutes. Let cool completely.