Freezer Meals (Mostly Crockpot)

My daughter and I spent an hour and half prepping meals today to fill our freezer. Here is what we did:

Chicken Teriyaki

Pork Loin Teriyaki (used the same ingredients - teriyaki marinade, broccoli, carrots & pineapple, then added pork to one, chicken to the other)

Chicken Tacos

Beef Tacos (onion, peppers, salsa - one with chicken and one with browned ground beef)

Shredded Roast Pork (BBQ sauce, can of cola)

Pineapple Skirt Steak (pineapple, olive oil, lime, garlic and soy sauce)

2 bags of meat sauce

While she chopped and put together the most of the bags, I browned ground beef for tacos, meat sauce and lasagna, browned sausage for sauce and lasagna, cooked the sauce and put together the lasagna.

We labeled the bags and will just pull one out and pop in the crock pot when needed. I can't believe how easy it was with 2 of us doing it together and how much we got done. Yeah!

Prep Sunday for a Week of Meals

SELF magazine had an article this week about prepping for an hour on Sunday and cooking all week. The recipes were for one, but I increased them to feed my family of 6. I did not do the entire program, but we enjoyed 3 meals - the Chicken with Black Bean Mango Salsa (I added a little peach as well, I think next time I'd add a little red pepper for color also), the Drunken Sausage (after browning the sausage, I threw it all in the crockpot for the day, worked great!) and finally, the Cheesy Shrimp. All were big hits with the entire family!

Here is the link: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2012/02/cook-once-eat-healthy-all-week?in%20%20tcid=trail0123

Thai Chicken Wraps

This was quick and yummy! It's from a Back Packing site Manny goes to: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?61693-Thai-Chicken-Wraps&s=ec5e1b8aa83a921921ea6b59ebafd783

This recipe was designated a lunch/snack recipe due to it's simpleness but of course can be used for a dinner as well.

Ingredients

•1/2 C. Creamy Peanut Butter

•1/2 C. of Prepared Pad Thai sauce (easily found in most grocery stores)

•1 Bunch of Green Onion

•4 Large Tortillas, Wraps, or Flatbreads

•1 Pkg - 7 Ounces of Tyson Chicken (or two 5 ounce cans)

•Leaf or Romaine Lettuce (We suggest Romaine. It's much stiffer and will hold up well in a pack for a day or two as long as it does not get overheated)

Package the above ingredients using whatever method suits you

Trail Preparation

In your cookpot (we suggest using hard anodized aluminum for its non stick properties) stir together the peanut butter, chopped green onions and pad thai sauce. Cook over medium heat stirring until sauce is mixed completely and warm. Do not overcook!

Layout a Tortilla or Wrap, top with lettuce, chicken and onions. Sauce over the top and then wrap burrito style.

Notes

You may also consider saucing the wrap first, then other ingredients but we find personally that having the sauce on the chicken imparts a better flavor.

Chicken Divan Recipe - HELP!

I was at a loss as to what to make for dinner tonight, and George requested Chicken Divan. The recipe he wanted, is, (of course!), the recipe that the Dunicans first ate when Mrs. McCormack made it for the church fair one year, many, many ages ago. We all loved it and Mom requested the recipe -- it then became a staple in our house -- cheap, easy, fed a crowd, what more could Mom ask for? I believe it was a standby for many of our families for many years after, as well. I haven't made it in a long time and I couldn't find my recipe tonight, so I did my best from memory -- I know the basics chicken, rice & broccoli, a sauce made with Cream of Chicken (I substituted Cream of Broccoli), mayo, lemon juice & curry powder, and topped with some cheddar.

Any of my sisters have the original recipe?

Potatoes with smoked salmon

This will be a new favorite appetizer at our house. We made it when we had friends over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It filled all my criteria -- based on Irish cuisine (potatoes and salmon), was orange and green, really easy to make, looked pretty, and most importantly, tasted delicious!

I sliced 4 red potatoes, tossed with olive oil, s&p and baked at 400°. I flipped them 1/2 way and baked them for about 30-45 minutes, depending on thickness. I blotted them on paper towels. (I made these in the morning and they kept fine during the day.)

I mixed a little cream cheese, sour cream and capers and topped the potatoes with that. (This can also be made ahead and stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.)

Then topped with slices of smoked salmon and chopped chives for garnish.

Loved it!

My husband has already requested it for my son's First Communion in a couple of weeks.

Christmas Bread

It must be a hold over to growing up but I love making bread for teachers for christmas. Usually I do pumpkin. I did make a chocolate muffin this fall and am thinking of turning that it to a loaf.

I happen today to have a lot of leftover chopped up apples so was thinking of make an apple bread. I found this and thought I'd try Apple-cranberry bread

I also have a lot of bananas and thought I'd do Bridget's chocolate chip banana bread. My question - The apple recipe talks about making the batter and freezing until ready to bake. That would be great! Would it also work for the banana bread? Can I freeze in the aluminum loaf pans I got?

Fun & Easy Meals for Kids

My husband will be traveling next week, and I will still have to be shuttling the kids back and forth from events, so I need thing that can be ready when we walk in the door, ie. crockpot meals, or shortly after we arrive home, or in-between runs.

Any fun, tried-and-true meal ideas? I usually try to make fun meals when George is away, but I'm not sure I can keep that up for a week...

Waffle Cones

Waffle Cones! While at the ice cream shop today, Erin asked could we make waffle cones at home? I found a recipe on-line and thought we might try it but first wanted to check if anyone has tried it? If so any tips or suggestions?  If not here is what I found if you are interested.

http://www.waffle-recipe.com/recipes/waffle-cone-recipe/

Dinner in a hurry!

I just recieved this info and thought others could use it to get through the busy days of spring! Slow cooker sandwiches. All you need is rolls, wraps and a salad and dinner is ready when you come home from a game or are rushing out to whatever. Share what you make and like with us!

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/slow-cooker/soup-chili/slow-cooker-sandwich-recipes/?sssdmh=dm17.375768&esrc=nwdr042709&email=1753946067

Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes Recipe?

Regina, your Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes at Christmas were great. Can you please share the recipe?

What's for dinner this week?

I find that when I plan my meals and base my shopping list on them, my weeks is so much easier. So, I am trying to plan my menus for the week ahead. I am also trying to add lots of veggies to our meals, so after I shop and grab what looks good I'll let you know how I did.

Mondays are Religion days, so I feed the kids early and then G and I eat later. Most nights we all eat together and I try to do a combination of meals in the week of things George and I will enjoy, and some things the kids will enjoy. Tonight, I am going to do Turkey Meatball sliders. The kids have never been meatball wedge (hero, subs, whatever you call them) people, but I am thinking with smaller rolls they might get into it. Plus, I can keep the meatballs in the crockpot so they are ready for the kids, and still good when George and I are ready to eat.

Other than that, I am looking at Chicken picata or Tandoori chicken with spinach and rice, Lamb kebabs with sweet potatoes and butternut squash, eggplant and pasta, and I think I'm going to try those pizza bites I posted in an earlier post. 

Would love to hear what you are all having.

Simple appetizer?

Any suggestions for a simple appetizer? We are traveling an hour Sunday to my niece's Christening, then go back to the house. My sister-in-law is having cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, deviled eggs, a sub and wraps. I'd like to bring an appetizer, something that can be cold, room temperature or microwaved? What's your favorites? Thanks in advance for sharing.

Pizza Party Bites

This looks like such a simple, easy appetizer/snack-y dinner idea. I think it would be perfect for get-togethers and kids' parties. Also, while the original recipe calls for pepperoni, I'd love to experiment with it.

http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2008/10/party-food-pizza-in-a-bite

Crockpot Banana Bread

OK, I was thinking today as I was cleaning up from the holidays, getting rid of the tree, and the decorations, and finally giving the place the cleaning it didn't get when I took all the decorations out in a rush, that generally if you give more, you get more. Not necessarily material things, but that if you put more effort in, you reap greater reward or satisfaction. That said, isn't everyone always looking for the quick fix? Myself included. So, when this arrived in my email inbox this week I was intrigued. I love anything you can put in a crockpot and forget about and come back later to just enjoy. I do stews, sauces, chilis, soups, chowders, ribs, pulled pork or chicken or beef. I've even done meatloaf and baked potatoes with moderate success. However, I'm not sure if I believe that you can get sweet treats from a crockpot. Here it is: Crockpot banana bread. Let's give it a try and weigh in on the results.