Freezer Cooking #3 - Sauce-a-Palooza!!

My Freezer!

We are about a month and a half away from baby boys due date and I decided it was about time to stock up the freezer with some easy to "pull out & serve" meals!  Some of my favorite fall recipes are my moms which include her Spaghetti Sauce, Beef Stroganoff and her Homemade Marinara.   I decided to have an afternoon of cooking last weekend to prep all these sauces and I ended up with 19 "bags" of sauce!!

It is sooo easy to pull out a sauce and defrost it in the sink for 20 minutes and then transfer to a pot to warm while the noodles are cooking so I figured stocking up on these "comfort meals" would be perfect for once baby is here and for the cool fall/winter weather!

As I pointed out in my Freezer Cooking # 2 post,  I prepare my “bags” to be for “2 servings.”  Since there are only 2 of us eating…this helps with waste & portion control.  If you will be serving more than 2 people with your freezer meals then you can cut the # of bags I tell you to prep for each sauce in half so that each bag has more sauce. ( i.e. – I will tell you to label 6 bags for “spaghetti sauce”, these bags will have enough for 2-3 servings each in them when the prepared sauce is divided equally between them, so if you would like your bags to have 4-6 servings, then divide the sauce evenly between 3 bags instead of 6.)

Also, I will be using my FoodSaver system to seal/store all of the sauces.  For the sake of the instructions and so no one gets confused I will still refer to everything as “bags.”  For this round of recipes you will need quart sized freezer bags if you follow my instructions how they are OR gallon sized bags if you are increasing serving sizes to (4).   

Here is the menu for Freezer Cooking Round 3 “Sauce-A-Palooza”:

·         Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce  (6)

·         Beef Stroganoff  (6)

·         Tomato Marinara Sauce  (7)

Here is my grocery list:  (don’t be alarmed!  The list looks a bit long but most of the ingredients were already in my cabinet and are probably in yours!  Everything in italics was already in my cabinet.   Compare this list to your cabinets and cross out the items you won’t need to buy at the store. =)  )
Fresh Produce:

·          Sweet Onions (7 small) I bought a “bag” of sweet onions- it was less $

·          Head of Garlic (1)

·          Fresh Sliced Mushrooms (24 oz)

Meat:

·          2.5 pounds Ground Beef

·          4-5 Ibs Beef Sirloin Tips ( I buy steaks and cut them down into tips/strips - less expensive!)   

Grocery:

·          ¾ cup Butter (1.5 sticks)

·          4.5 cups Beef Broth

·          Worcestershire Sauce

·          Flour

·          Sour Cream (This is added to the Beef Stroganoff LATER when you defrost it and are ready to eat so you may not want to buy this yet!)

·          Yellow Mustard

·          Tomato Paste ( 7)- 12 oz cans

·          Crushed Tomatoes (4) – 28 oz cans

·          20 oz Chicken Broth

·          32 oz can Tomato Sauce

·          Diced Tomatoes (2)-32 oz cans

·          1.5 cups milk

·          ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

·          6 Eggs

·          6 Slices White Bread

·          White Sugar

·          Oregano Leaves

·          Bay Leaf (2)

·          Salt & Pepper

·          Garlic Salt

·          Parsley Flakes

·          Flour

·          Dried Basil

·          Vegetable Oil & Olive Oil

·          Freezer Bags

Don't worry!  I recycle!!

·          *You may also want to go ahead and buy a couple of packages of spaghetti noodles & egg noodles to have on hand for when you thaw the sauces- I usually stock up when they are on sale & when I have coupons*

Of course, once you get everything home and you are ready to cook put it on the counter and admire what you are about to do!! =) 

I label everything with name, date and instructions BEFORE I start:

·          Mom’s Spaghetti (6 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat & Serve over Noodles

·          Beef Stroganoff (6 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat, Add 8 oz Sour Cream before serving over Egg Noodles

·          Tomato Marinara (7 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat & Serve over Chicken Parmesan, Noodles OR make Baked Ziti.

Now it’s time to get started on the sauces!

1.      First, you want to assess your “pot” situation.  You will need (3) LARGE pots to make these sauces.  I only have (2) large pots so I actually ended up prepping the marinara in (1) large pot and then transferred it into my 3qt and 5qt crock pots to simmer while the spaghetti sauce & beef stroganoff occupied the pots on the stove.   Get  your pots/crockpots ready on the counter/stove.

2.      Prep the meat for the Beef Stroganoff:  Make sure the beef sirloin is cut into strips or tips and place in a large bowl.  Coat evenly with ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.  Set aside.

3.      In Marinara Pot warm 2 tbsp olive iil.  In Beef Stroganoff Pot melt ¾ cup butter and in Spaghetti Pot warm 2 tbsp vegetable oil.  **MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LET ANY OF THESE BURN!* Keep on LOW HEAT until you are ready to add onion.  (If you will be using crock pots like I did for the Marinara Sauce then hold off on Spaghetti instructions until Marinara is transferred to crock pots.)

4.      Next, chop all 7 onions- I have an onion chopper I used for this which made things a little easier.   You will want to distribute (3) of the chopped onions into the melted butter/Beef Stroganoff pot, (2) of the chopped onions into the Marinara pot and (2) of the chopped onions into the Spaghetti Pot.  Also, at this time add the beef tips coated in flour to the Beef Stroganoff pot.  Add (6)cloves garlic minced to the Marinara Pot.  Sauté all onions until translucent.  Sauté beef & onions in Beef Stroganoff pot until beef is cooked through.

5.      Once Onions are done it is time to assemble the sauces:

a.       Marinara Sauce Pot:

                                                   i.       Add 4- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

                                                 ii.       Add 20 oz chicken broth

                                               iii.       Add 32 oz tomato sauce

                                               iv.      Add 36 ounces tomato paste

                                                 v.      Add 3 tbsp oregano

                                               vi.      Add 3 tbsp basil

                                             vii.      Add 2 tsp salt

                                           viii.      Add ½ tsp pepper

                                               ix.      Add ½ cup sugar (or more to taste)

                                                 x.      Mix all together well and simmer for 1.5 hours OR transfer to crock pots at this time to simmer.

b.      Beef Stroganoff Pot:

                                                   i.      Add 4.5 cups beef broth

                                                 ii.      Add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

                                               iii.      Add 2 tbsp yellow mustard

                                               iv.      Add 6 oz tomato paste

                                                 v.      Add 24 oz sliced mushrooms

                                               vi.      Mix all together well and simmer 1.5 hours  

c.       Spaghetti Pot:

                                                   i.      Add 36 oz tomato paste

                                                 ii.      Add 64 oz diced tomatoes

                                               iii.      Add 1 tbsp oregano leaves

                                               iv.      Add (2) bay leafs

                                                 v.      Add ½ cup sugar (or more to taste)

                                               vi.      Add 2 cups water

                                             vii.      Mix all together well and simmer 1.5 hours  *if it seems to thick, add more water*

6.      While Sauces are simmering, you will need to prep the “meat” part of the spaghetti sauce.  In a bowl mix the following ingredients together:

a.       2-2.5 pounds of ground beef

b.      1.5 cups milk

c.       1 tsp pepper

d.      ½ cup parmesan cheese

e.       6 eggs (beaten with fork)

f.         6 slices white bread torn into tiny pieces

g.       1 tsp garlic salt

h.      2 tsp parsley flakes

Brown the above ingredients in a skillet well.    Add to Spaghetti Sauce pot after sauce has simmered at least an hour- mix well and let simmer an additional 30 minutes.

Once all sauce has simmered for 1.5 hours- let cool before placing in bags.

Distribute sauces evenly amongst # of prepped bags.

I usually put them in the freezer stacked as flat as possible on top of each other for easy storing.

Here is how I typically serve my sauces:
Spaghetti Sauce:  Typically I just serve this over plain ole’ spaghetti noodles with salad & garlic bread.
Beef Stroganoff:   I serve this over egg noodles with some sort of bread.
Marinara Sauce:  I use this for all sorts of things!  You can make baked ziti with it, serve it plain over noodles, over frozen ravioli or manicotti and my favorite way to serve this is over chicken parmesan.

ENJOY!!!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

I LOVE anything I can dip tortilla chips into!  Salsa, Bean Dip, Onion Dip,  ANY DIP!!  I wanted to make something new & refreshing for labor day weekend so I found a recipe this Black Bean Salsa recipe on Food Network that I adapted a bit!  Thanks Paula Dean for a "healthy" recipe with no butter.. haha!
The salsa was a hit so I wanted to share...

Black Bean Salsa
approximately 12 servings

Ingredients:

• (2) 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed & drained
• (1) 17 oz bag of sweet white frozen corn
• (3) large tomatoes, seeded and diced
• (1) small onion diced
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
• Juice from 1 whole lime
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt & pepper

Method:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl/container than can be covered.  Cover and chill overnight.  You can taste and add more lime juice, salt & pepper to your liking.  ENJOY!

*  I used my onion chopper for the onion & tomatoes and it helped make the prep process go faster!

Chicken with Broccoli

I had a pack of chicken in the fridge and some broccoli that I needed to use so I decided to attempt a "Chinese Flair" dish-- Chicken & Broccoli!   You are seeing it on the blog because the hubs LOVED it and asks for me to make it all the time...  and I have to admit it was fairly easy!   Most of the recipes I found for chicken & broccoli required a bunch of different pans etc but I tried to combine the essentials for "ease of dishes" at the end and it worked well!!

Chicken with Broccoli

I forgot to take a pic before I dug in so this one isn't so pretty!

approx. 3 servings

Ingredients:

to velvet chicken:

• 3/4- 1 Ib Chicken Breast
• 2 egg whites
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt

to cook broccoli:

• 2 broccoli crowns
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water

sauce:

• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Water

other ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp Water
• Vegetable oil

Method:

1. Cut chicken into thin strips.  Mix together egg whites, cornstarch & salt.  Add chicken to mixture, making sure it is coated well.  Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.  This is called "velveting the chicken."
2. Prep sauce & broccoli while chicken is velveting.  For sauce combine oyster sauce, soy sauce and water in a small bowl- set aside.  Chop garlic & set aside.  Wash & drain broccoli- cut florets into 3-4 pieces or to a size of your liking.  Also, cut some of the broccoli stalk diagonally and thin- set aside.
3. Preheat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat.  Add garlic 10-20 seconds to saute and then add the velveted chicken.  Make sure chicken pieces are separated- stir often.
4. In another skillet heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat.  Add broccoli, salt and sugar.  Stir fry broccoli for approx 1 minute and then add 1/2 cup water.  Cover & cook 4 minutes.  Drain broccoli and add to chicken mixture (when chicken is cooked through.)  Stir fry briefly.
5. Mix cornstarch & water mixture into soy mixture and then dump over chicken & broccoli.  Toss until thickened.
6. Serve over rice & ENJOY!  =)

Mini Chocolate Mousse Cups

I had a vision of mini chocolate mousse desserts in little cups with tiny silver spoons for a dessert at my Pampered Chef Party...  I had the mini cups (from the dollar tree!  Thanks Haleigh for the tip!  (Check out her fabulous blog:  Partleigh Put-Together ) and I had the mini spoons but I had no idea what to do about the mousse!  Being 7 months pregnant, I cannot consume any raw egg (and really you never should) but most real mousse recipes call for egg whites.  I decided to use chocolate pudding mix to make my egg-less mousse and it came out super yummy!   This is definitely a fun dessert for a party and it made A TON!


Mini Chocolate Mousse Cups
makes approx 48 mini cups

Ingredients:

• (1) 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• (1) cup cold water
• (1) 3.9oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
• (1) cup whipping cream, whipped
• 1/2 Package Oreos, Crushed
• Redi-Whip

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and water.  Add pudding mix; beat well.  Chill 5 minutes.  While the pudding mixture was chilling I whipped the whipping cream until soft peaks formed.  Fold whipped cream into pudding mixture.  Spoon chocolate mousse mixture into mini cups.  Crush 1/2 package of oreos and sprinkle crushed oreo on top of the chocolate mousse.  You can put these in the fridge tightly covered the day before your party.  When you are ready to serve, remove from fridge and top each mousse with RediWhip and put a tiny silver spoon it it!  Serve on a large platter.  Enjoy!

Mini Cups from Dollar Tree and Mini Silver Spoons from Party City

Pumpkin Bars!

It has been an incredibly hot summer here on the east coast!  I find myself longing for FALL to get here so I can enjoy cooler weather, jeans and of course "comfort food!"   One thing that always makes it feel like Fall is anything pumpkin!  I had a Pampered Chef party a week ago and decided to make a batch of pumpkin bars-- I think it was my form of a "Fall Dance" to bring on the cooler weather sooner!  This was an easy make-ahead recipe and a party pleaser!!

Here is the recipe!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin "Cheesecake" Bars

Ingredients:

• (1) 16oz package yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
• (1) 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• (1) 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• (1) 15oz can pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease bottom of 15 x 10 jellyroll pan.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg, (melted) butter and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice on low speed until crumbly.  Press mixture onto bottom of jellyroll pan.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat (softened) cream cheese on low until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then remaining two eggs, pumpkin, remaining 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Mix Well.
3. Pour over crust.  (You can add 1 cup of chopped pecans or another kind of nut at this point-I did not).  Bake 30-35 minutes or until set.  Cool.  Chill and cut into bars.  Store in refrigerator.

Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups

I am always looking for great "freezer meals" and this one is definitely a keeper!  It is really easy, healthy and has a great flavor!  I pinned  this on my pinterest board months ago after finding it on skinnytaste.com  and finally decided to try it, adapting it a bit to what I had in the pantry!

Zucchini Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups
4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 Cloves of Garlic-chopped
• 3/4 cup zucchini, shredded (I used the "larger" side of my cheese grater)
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 large chicken breasts sliced in half (to make 4 "thin" pieces of chicken)
• 3/4 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• non stick cooking spray

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 450 & spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet heat 1 tsp oil over medium-high heat.  Once heated add chopped garlic.  Saute until golden brown.  Add zucchini, shredded Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.   Cook for about 4 minutes and then set aside to cool.  Once cool, add mozzarella cheese and mix well.
3. Lay Chicken out on work surface and evenly distribute zucchini filling amongst them.  (Make sure you will be able to roll chicken up without filling coming out).  Roll each piece of chicken around zucchini mixture and set seam side down.
4. Mix Panko Breadcrumbs, Basil, Oregano and Garlic Powder in a shallow & wide bowl.  In another bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil and pepper.
5. Dredge Stuffed Chicken through the lemon/olive oil mixture and then put in breadcrumb mixture coating all sides evenly.  Place chicken in prepared baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining chicken.
6. Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

*For those freezer cookers out there (like me!) I tripled this recipe when I made it, to make (3) meals.  Once you have coated the chicken with the breadcrumbs- place in freezer on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours so it gets semi-frozen.  Place chicken in freezer bags or vacuum pack with your FoodSaver system.  Don't forget to label the bags with the cooking directions:  Spray with Cooking Spray, 450 degrees 30 minutes. 
Remove from freezer the day before you plan on baking it so it thaws out. =)

I forgot to take a pic so go to the link above at skinnytaste to see what they are supposed to look like!

Enjoy!

Thai Flavor! "Pad See-Ew"

We love going out for Thai food!  What's better than the delicious & spicy flavors all mixed together AND a "doggy" bag that tastes even better for lunch the next day??

I had some pork & broccoli in the fridge that I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with...  and then I decided to do something Thai!

This recipe is really easy to whip up and we both devoured it AND I had enough leftover for dinner the next night and my lunch for the next day!

Pad See-Ew!
Approx 4 Servings

Ingredients:

•  16oz box Flat Thai Rice Noodles
• 1 Egg
• 2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• (3) Pork Chops sliced thinly into strips (you could also use Chicken or Beef if you wish! Pork Chops were what I had in the fridge that I needed to use!)
• 2 Tbsp oil, plus 1/4 Cup White Wine
• MARINADE (for meat)
• 2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
• 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I used reduced sodium)
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 3/4 Cup Soy Sauce (I used reduced sodium)
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp white ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (if you don't like heat, don't add this!)

Method:

1. Stir together the meat marinade:  oyster sauce, brown sugar & soy sauce.  Dump marinade over thinly sliced meat and stir together well.  Set aside & let marinate while you prep everything else.  (I let mine marinate about an hour while I did yoga too!)
2. Prep Rice Noodles:  (Read side of Rice Noodle Box) Place Rice Noodles in large bowl and fill bowl with HOT tap water.  Let sit 25-30 minutes.  Drain Noodles and set aside to use later.
3. Next, I prepped the stir fry sauce.  (To save dishes I used the same bowl I had mixed up the meat marinade in)  Soy, Brown Sugar, White Pepper and Cayenne.  Set aside.
4. Make sure your broccoli is chopped and your garlic is minced and near stove for use.
5. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp oil.  (if you have a wok this would be the pan of choice, but I don't have one!)
6. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
7. Add the meat (with marinade) to the pan and stir-fry approximately 3 minutes.  If your pan becomes dry add the white wine.
8. Add the broccoli and continue stir-frying for approx 3 minutes.
9. Push all ingredients in pan to outside edges and crack the egg in the center of the pan.  Scramble the egg.  Once scrambled mix in with rest of pan ingredients.
10. Add noodles slowly and pour the stir fry sauce over them.  Lift & turn the noodles to mix with all ingredients and the sauce.  Make sure everything is coated well.  Noodles should become softer.  Mix & turn noodles about 2 two minutes.
11. Taste test noodles to make sure you like the taste.   Add more soy until you like the taste.
12. I served our Pad See Ew with a sweet thai chili sauce on the side and a Siracha Chili Sauce on the side.
13. Enjoy!