Freezer Meals (esp. for Sara), really long post...

As promised to Sara, I am sharing my freezer meals for this month! I do also have 2 meals worth of breakfast food that I can't wait to make for dinner!

Chili: I made enough for 3 ? meals, so I pretty much doubled this. I used 1 can of tomato juice, 2 of tomato sauce, 2 kidney beans and 2 diced tomatos with 3 lbs of ground beef.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice

1/2 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans

1 can diced tomatos

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper (optional)

1 small jalape?o, sliced with seeds removed

2-4 slices of bacon, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions

Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.

In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, diced tomatos, kidney beans, onions, bell pepper, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

Parmesan-Turkey Meatloaf (Weight Watchers):  I also added chopped green pepper just because I had it and it seemed like a good idea.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 1/4 lbs. ground, skinless turkey

4 slides whole-wheat bread, made into fine crumbs (I use Italian bread crumbs for this)

1/2 C, fat-free milk

1 egg white, lightly beaten (I used the whole egg because I wasn?t trying to make is SUPER skinny)

3 T ketchup

2  T grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray an 8x5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. (I used olive oil to coat because I ran out of spray) IN a small non-stick skillet, heat the oil.  Saute the onion until tender, 4-5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the onion, turkey, bread crumbs, milk, egg white, ketchup, cheeses, garlic powder, basil, thyme, and pepper; blend well.  Shape into a loaf and transfer to the pan.  Bake until browned and cooked through, 50-60 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Servings:  8   Points: About 4 per serving

Ground Beef Meatloaf: I just googled a few different recipes. Ground beef, bread crumbs (don?t ask, I didn?t measure? I kept going till it felt right), minced onion & garlic, salt and pepper and baked it as instructed above for the Turkey meatloaf. I did serve this with a can of tomato sauce, unseasoned. In my opinion, this is MUCH better than ketchup.  I made 2 of these.

Spaghetti Sauce: I got 3 servings of spaghetti sauce with ground beef. I will do noodles the day of.

Chicken Enchiladas: Best Recipe Ever!!! http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/02/15/chicken-enchiladas/ I used super-hot peppers we had on hand and used olive oil instead of canola oil. H is really excited for these. He ate one, smoking hot, out of the oven and can?t wait!

Zesty Chicken Noodle Casserole (Weight Watchers): I will not be doing this one again. It was not very flavorful but it was easy. I will probably go with a noodles & cream of mushroom next time. http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Zesty-Chicken-Noodle-Casserole/24661/  This isn?t the exact recipe I used but I didn?t think it was worth the effort. J

Steak Fajitas: This was a pre-packaged meal for us. I used sliced beef strips, added the green peppers (lots of them), onion, a few cloves of garlic to a Ziploc bag and will just toss the whole thing in the pan with olive oil when we are ready and season to taste. (Since we are having it tonight, I threw together a quick salsa last night.)

Orange Chicken with Brocolli: This was another pre-packaged meal. I chunked chicken breasts (1lb for each package) and added the peppers (green, red, orange, and yellow), onion slices, garlic cloves, and broccoli to the Ziploc. I lightly seasoned and will add everything to the crock pot when we are ready. I loosely followed this recipe:

IN THE BAG- 2 cups carrots, 2 cups bell peppers, 1 lb cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3 cloves garlic, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 8 oz. orange juice concentrate (orange pineapple will work as well)

TO COOK- Cook on low in crock pot, 4 to 6 hours

TO SERVE- Garnish with clementine slices (use 4 clementines) or mandarin oranges (two cans) and green onions (two, chopped). Serve on rice. Stir fried veggies make a great side.

Beef Roast: Another pre-packed meal? I did 2 beef roasts and added the onions, chunked potatoes, and carrots to the bags. I am following this Pinterest recipe for one:  http://pinterest.com/pin/264445809340482669/ and, for the other, I am just going to season and add a package of dry onion soup mix.

Tacos/Nachos: This is a favorite of ours! I did everything together with just a Taco Bell taco kit (I used 2 and bought additional seasoning packets). I also season my taco meat with Tastefully Simple?s Fiesta Party Dip Mix. If you don?t already, I suggest ordering from them. The Fiesta Party DM, Onion Onion, Garlic Garlic, and Seasoned Salt are staples in almost all of my cooking. Super simple but awesome.

Shrimp Pasta: I did NOT pre-cook or pre-package this. I just broke down the frozen shrimp in smaller bags. I usually just do garlic, maybe some butter, & olive oil with whatever noodle I have on hand. . Simple and delicious.

Lasagna: I would die happy with a veggie lasagna but H requires meat. I used a roll of Italian sausage and browned it, added a large jar of pasta sauce (I should have used 2 but I didn?t and I ended up having to add a can of tomato sauces and season away) and let that simmer while I did the cheese mix.  I used a 16oz tub of cottage cheese (I would use 24 next time because I like it cheesy), 2 eggs (can be raw or hard boiled, I did raw to save time), a few handfuls of mozzarella cheese, grated and powdered parm. cheese with salt, pepper and oregano. Mix well! I used bread pans for ease and space. I layered meat sauce, noodles, cheese mix, meat sauce, etc. Bake 350, covered, for 1 to 1 ? hours and then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. I add more mozzarella cheese before I bake it uncovered.

Pizza: We didn?t do this yet but we bought the basic fixings for pizza for one of those days.

Chicken Noodle Soup: I had previously, though recently, frozen chicken noodle soup for an additional meal. http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/homemade-chicken-noodle-soup-3996  I highly suggest this! It was wonderful.

If anyone has ideas for next time, because I do LOVE this, let me know!