Brrrrr

Dear Friends,

I promise that this isn't turning into a Freezer Meal only blog BUT I do have another update :-)


I am very pleased to say that 3 of the freezer meals I put together last week were SUCCESSFUL! I have retired my crockpot for the time being but even so, its very, very, very helpful to have a meal completely put together that I either stick in the oven or on the stove top when I get home from a long day of work!

Here are my successful recipes:

Chicken Fajitas

Stuffed Shells

Beef Enchiladas ( I combined the ideas I liked from a few recipes and let me tell you, THIS IS DELICIOUS!)

Chicken Fajitas

6 Chicken Tenders or 1 lb. Chicken Breast

1 medium onion sliced

1 medium green pepper sliced

2 cups of salsa

1 can of green chiles

1 package of fajita seasoning (old elpaso)

2 T. olive oil

Place all items in freezer bag. Toss and freeze flat. Thaw the night before you would like to cook it. When ready to cook place all ingredients in a medium sized saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. You can remove chicken from mix, shred and then add back into the mix. Serve with warm tortillas and top with salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce, sour cream and shredded cheese.

Stuffed Shells (Manicotti)

2– 15oz ricotta

-6 cups mozzarella shredded

1/2 cups Parmesan

Italian seasoning

1 eggs

Mix above together

1 – 12 oz Jumbo Shells – cook al dente

Stuff cheese into shells

Thin layer of tomato sauce( I used pasta sauce with meat in it) on bottom of Dollar Tree tins

Layer shells – then top with more sauce 

Then layer parmesan cheese

This made 3 tins( take out tins from the dollar tree) with 14 stuffed shells in each!

Day of Cooking: Defrost and cook at 350 for 30 minutes–or cook frozen for ~an hour

Beef Enchiladas

1 Tsp Vegetable Oil

1 Medium Onion Chopped

1 lb  Ground beef

1 Can Diced Tomato

1 1/2 TBS Chili Powder

1 1/2 TSP Ground Cumin

1 1/2 TSP Sugar

1 - 8oz can of Tomato Sauce

1/2 Cup Water

1 Can of Refried Beans

8-10 Medium Sized Tortillas

 LOTS of Mexiblend Cheese!

Saute the onions in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes. 

Add Ground beef to the onions and brown. 

While the beef is browning in a small sauce pan heat water and tomato sauce. 

Mix the cumin, chili powder and sugar in a small bowl then add to the tomato sauce water combo.

 Add diced tomatoes to the browned ground beef then drain.

 Return the ground beef mixture to the pan and add 1/4 of a cup of the red sauce you made to the beef and simmer on low.

 Add refried beans to the beef mixture and a handful of cheese. Mix well. 

Put just enough red sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish to coat it then start filling your tortillas with the beef mixture, roll and place in the casserole dish side by side.

 Once you have fill the pan, spoon some red sauce over the enchiladas, cover in as little or as much cheese as you want and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese on top starts to brown.

In other news, Brian got me a small deep freezer to keep our freezer meals in! I don't know if I could ever go back to just having a tiny fridge/freezer again!