Monday, July 18, 2011

Yum, yum, yummy: Freezer Meals

Well anyone who knows me well knows that I HATE to cook! Seriously, if I was rich, the first thing I'd do would be hire a chef!  Speaking of rich, check out this house that is being built about 30 minutes from our house - 72,000 square feet - all made of concrete - one of the largest homes in America: click here to see it. Personally, I think it's a waste of money, but it's not my money to waste!

Back to food. The girls have recently decided they LIKE to cook dinner. Last week, with much enthusiasm they made us spaghetti, pancakes and loaded baked potatoes for dinner.  And I'm LOVING this!!! I'm trying to be in the kitchen more with them since they are enjoying it, but it's not something that comes easy for me.

Last summer I shared a few of our favorite freezer meal recipes.  And I thought I'd share a couple more with you now. Enjoy!

Very Veggie Lasagna 
(a summertime favorite for all those veggies from the garden! Note: I usually make this one recipe in 2 9x9 pans, we eat one and freeze one for later, rather than the 13x9 pan.)

2 med carrots, julienned
1 med zucchini cut into 1/4 in slices
1 yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4 in slices
1 med onion, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup red julienned sweet red pepper
1/2 cup julienned green pepper
2 T vegetable oil
1 teas salt
2 garlic gloves
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
14 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
4 cups shredded cheese

In large skillet, stir fry vegetables, garlic and salt in oil until crisp tender.
Spread 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce in greased 13x9 in dish.
Arranged 7 noodles over the sauce, overlapping as needed
Layer with half of veggies, spaghetti sauce and cheese.
Repeat Layers
Cover and bake at 350 degrees from 60 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 min before cutting.
If you freeze one, bake an extra 30 min or so.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
(take a little time, but I usually make double/triple batches, and they are so worth it!)

- 3-4 raw Chicken Breasts (sliced into either strips or cut into nuggets)
- 3 T melted Margarine or butter
- 1 T Worcestershire
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In small bowl, mix Margarine & Worcestershire sauce together. In separate bowl, mix bread crumbs and cheese together. Dip chicken into margarine mixture, then dip it into bread/cheese mixture. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Flash freeze chicken for an hour. Then remove from cookie sheet and place in a ziploc freezer bag until ready to bake.

Serve: SPRAY pan (I always forget this step, not a good idea!). Bake uncovered for 30 min at 375 degrees, or until juice in chicken runs clear. Turn once with tongs.

1 comment:

Lisa said...

Sounds yummy! I'll have to try these. Thanks!