Do you need a few new recipes to add to your family menu? Below I have included a few new recipes that we love, and a list of food dishes that can be frozen for convenience. Enjoy!
Foods that can be prepared and then frozen:
Chicken Spaghetti (recipe below)
Spaghetti
Chili
Chicken Soup
Taco Meat
Lime Chicken Taco (meat) (recipe below)
Lasagna
Meatloaf
Tater Tot Casserole (recipe below)
Chicken Spaghetti:
I use a whole chicken to prepare this meal. I boil the chicken for a few hours to make sure it is cooked all the way through. Once the chicken is completely cooked, I remove it from the pot. KEEP THE BROTH IN THE POT. ***This is also a great dish to hide lots of veggies in if your little ones are picky eaters. Just chop them up really small, or take time to puree them to hide in the sauce part.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (get the biggest one you can)
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes (you can use the store brand if they carry it, and I usually use the MILD)
2-3 carrots
1 Large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 26oz can of Cream of Chicken or Mushroom soup (you can use cream of celery soup as well, or use one 10oz can of cr. of chicken and one 10oz can of cream of mushroom, or swap out one for cr. of celery. You can really make this your own recipe)
1 lb of spaghetti noodles (you’ll want to break them up into 1in pieces, and in reality I guess you could use any noodle you’d like)
Salt and Pepper, or you can use a seasoning salt to taste
2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese divided (1 Cup will be used in the spaghetti and then 1 Cup on top)
Directions:
Put chicken breast side down in a big pot and cover chicken with cold water. Add whatever seasonings you like most. I use oregano, salt, pepper and sometimes rosemary. For a salt free broth, eliminate the salt all together. Bring chicken to a boil for a few hours. I usually boil mine for about 3 hours. Once done, remove chicken from pot, making sure not save the broth. You will use this for the recipe and you can freeze the rest for future use…it is homemade chicken broth!
While the chicken is boiling, chop up the carrots, onion and celery. I usually chop them up very small, so that hopefully Sofia doesn’t realize there are carrots in the dish.
Take all the meat off of the chicken and shred it with two forks, or chop it up in small cubes. While you are doing this, boil your pasta in the chicken broth left in the pot. Boil until it is almost done, but not quite.
In a large bowl, mix together the cubed/shredded chicken, Rotel tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, can/cans of soup, 1 cup of shredded cheese and add enough of the chicken broth to moisten the mixture. I use about 1 Cup. Add pasta and stir until everything is mixed together well. Put the chicken spaghetti mixture into a 9x13 pan top with the remaining shredded cheese and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes.
NOTE: If you would like to pre-make this meal and freeze it there are two ways I do this. I either put it in a freezer zip lock bag, making sure to get all of the air out before sealing it, or I put it in a 9x13 aluminum pan and wrap with clear plastic wrap first and then with aluminum foil. When it is time to prepare this meal, I thaw the freeze bag out in the fridge over night, and then transfer to a 9x13 pan to bake. The aluminum pan I pop out of the freezer, remove the plastic wrap and recover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for an hour to an hour and a half, or until it is heated all the way through.
***You can also make two 13x9 pans of this using the same amount of chicken. Just add one can of the cream of (fill in the blank) soup, and chop up a few more carrots and celery and another onion. This is definitely a meal that you can make stretch to accommodate lots of people, and you can make it your own using a little creativity.
Lime Chicken Tacos (Taste of Home Magazine, p.85)
Yields 12 Tacos
1-1 ½ lbs boneless chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Cup Frozen Corn
1 Cup Chunky Salsa
12 Flour (or whole wheat) Tortillas (6 Inch)
Sour Cream, Shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce, optional
1. Place the chicken in a 3qt. slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
2. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Stir in corn and salsa.
3. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sourcream, cheese and lettuce if desired.
To freeze this, once it is all prepared, you can put the chicken mixture into a ziplock freezer bag being mindful to get as much of the air out as possible, and then freeze! You can place it in the fridge the night before you plan to make the tacos and warm up in a pot or skillet on the stove. Viola!
Here is another recipe that you can’t really freeze, but is simple and yummy!
Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (I use ground turkey because it is cheaper and doesn’t have any hormones or antibiotics in it)
1 onion (optional)
1 10oz can of cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery
Small bag of tater tots (I get the store brand because they are cheaper)
1-2 cups of frozen corn (or any frozen veggie you’d like. I have used broccoli before and it was great)
Shredded Cheese (enough to cover the top of the casserole)
Directions:
Brown meat, adding the onion if you’d like. Once the meat is brown, drain and rinse, then return to skillet, add the soup, mix well. Grease a 3qt baking dish, pour meat mixture into the bottom of the pan, cover with frozen corn (or other veggie), then cover with tater tots and then cheese. Bake in a 425° oven for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. You can prepare this whole meal in an aluminum pan and then cover tightly with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil and freeze! To prepare; place in fridge the night before and bake according to directions above.
***A variation of this would be a pizza tater tot casserole. Instead of using a cream of (fill in the blank) soup, you would use your favorite 1 15 ounce jar or can of pizza sauce; add a chopped bell pepper, some mushrooms and basil. Put this in the bottom of the pan; add mozzarella cheese, then the tater tots then cheddar cheese. Bake according to directions above.
Peppy Parmesan Pasta (Taste of Home Magazine, p.75)
Yields 4 Servings
8oz angel hair pasta
1 Large tomato (I used cherry tomatoes and just cut them in half)
1 package (3 ounces) sliced pepperoni (to make it go farther and easier for Charlotte to put in her mouth and eat, I cut this in quarters)
2 small cans sliced black olives, drained
¼ cup grated parmesan (I think I used more because we love parmesan)
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ tsp salt or salt-free seasoning blend
¼ tsp garlic powder
Cook pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a serving bowl, combine tomato, pepperoni, olives, Parmesan cheese, oil, salt, and garlic powder. Drain pasta; add to the mixture and toss to coat. VIOLA! This is done in a jiffy and so yummy! My family gobbles this up! And you can serve it cold or warm. Malachi loves this for lunch the next day cold.
You can freeze just about any casserole dish you make. If you have a great recipe for a chicken pot pie, or any kind of pot pie recipe, you can freeze it! Just put it in an aluminum pie pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, then tightly with aluminum, making sure most of the air is out, and then freeze! When it is time to prepare, you can put it in the fridge the night before to thaw out, or just pop it in the oven at 350° for an hour or until heated through and the top is golden brown.
Easy Appetizer (Taste of Food Magazine, p.83)
1 tube of refrigerated breadsticks
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup pizza sauce
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
Directions:
1. Unroll breadstick dough; cut each piece in half widthwise and separate. In large resealable plastic bag, combine parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Add dough pieces a few at a time, and shake bag to coat.
2. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375° for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile place pizza sauce in a microwaveable bowl and warm up until bubbly. You can add mozzarella cheese on top, or some parmesan cheese. Serve with breadsticks.
These were easy and yummy!
Taste of Home Magazine: TASTEOFHOME.COM
Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <>< (SAHM)
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