Freezer dinner prep = kitchen chaos

Freezer dinner group meets tonight and I'm making Penne Rustica.

 My kitchen may be chaotic at the moment but the results will be so worth the mess.

Penne Rustica for a crowd

 

Via

Ingredients:
12 oz. grilled chicken breast (marinate in olive oil and garlic salt overnight, then grill on barbecue for best flavor)
½ pound thick bacon
48 oz. (3 boxes) penne pasta
2 large red bell peppers- diced
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika

Gratinata Sauce:
2 tsp butter
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup marsala wine OR 1/3 cup apple juice + 2 tbsp red wine vinegar +enough chicken broth to equal 1 cup
1 tsp dijon or dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 tsp cayenne pepper OR  substitute chili powder
8 cups heavy cream (I used 4 cups half-n-half and 4 cups heavy cream)

Topping:
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tsp chopped rosemary

Directions:
Sauté garlic in butter in large pan. Add marsala wine, mustard, salt, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and heavy cream.Cook pasta according to directions. Cook bacon. Slice chicken into medium-bite size pieces.Combine sauce, cooked pasta, diced chicken, cooked bacon, bell peppers, parmesan cheese, and paprika and mix thoroughly. Spread in pans. Top with chopped rosemary and mozzarella cheese.
Bake @ 475 for 10 minutes. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator the day of. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes.
Number Of Servings: Yields one 8×8 and two 9×13 casserole dishes.
Preparation Time: More than an hour


 

Freezer Dinners Rock!

I joined a freezer dinner group with some of my friends.

Our first month was so successful.

 I cannot tell you how awesome it was to have these meals in my freezer and ready to go for easy summer dinners on the fly.

On the menu (top to bottom, left to right - click on links for recipes)

Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells (recipe coming soon)

Creamy Taquitos with Refried Beans

Baked Penne Pasta

Cilantro Lime Pesto with Chicken and Flour Tortillas

Sweet n' Sour Chicken with Rice

How it works:  Using one recipe, make one family sized meal for each member of your group.  We have 5 participating in our group so I made 6 meals - 1 for my family to eat that night.  Meals are packaged in large freezer sized ziploks or 9x13 foil pan, labeled with directions and frozen or ready to be frozen.  Meet at a home and exchange meals once a month.  

So, so glad I joined this group.   Find some friends who know how to cook and do this too.  It's awesome.

Frozen Vegetables = Marinara Sauce

I'm almost out of  homemade marinara sauce and that's a problem because we L♥VE to eat pasta around these parts.  Actually, let me clarify that statement.  My kids and I L♥VE to eat pasta around these parts.  My husband?  Not so much.

Time to make more - for the kids and me!

My recent freezer clean out yielded half of a freezer full of last summers' vegetable crop...as in LOADED with...tomatoes, zucchini, squash, celery, carrots, bell peppers and onions.

Today it's all defrosting on my counter top and tomorrow it all will be transformed into delicious marinara sauce.   I make a huge batch every spring and I fill my freezer with quart sized bags of the stuff.  You should try it sometime.  It's so worth the effort.

Love this recipe.  

 

Alrighty now, let the defrosting begin. 

Freezing Jalapeno Peppers

I have an abundance of peppers from my garden. I knew I could freeze the green/red/yellow bell peppers because I've done it successfully many times.   What I didn't know was if the same could be said for jalapenos.

 Guess what? Jalapeno peppers can be frozen whole without a lot of prep work.

Here's how: Wash and thoroughly dry the pepper, and remove the stem. You can cut the pepper in half if you wish to remove the seeds and membrane, although this is not necessary. Place the jalapenos in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer, and allow the peppers to freeze over night. When frozen, transfer the jalapenos to a freezer storage container for future use.  That's it.

Now I'll have an instant supply for my Jalapeno Pepper Jelly.

Food Storage - Freezer Friendly Foods

The first purchase Mr. CHiPy and I made together was this freezer.  I love this thing!  Seriously.  I ♥ it!  We always tell each other it was our best purchase.  And here's why.  Each day I feed my family of six, three meals plus snacks and almost always dessert.  The kids range in age from 10-20 and they all have adult sized appetites...especially that 10 year old!  As a result of all that cooking and baking, I freeze just about everything I can get my hands on.  It's a great way to stock up on sales and it prevents unnecessary trips to the store.  We keep the freezer in the garage in its own little area.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is, "What specifically do you store in your freezer?"  Good question.

And here's the answer in no specific order:  diced onions, peppers, celery, cheese, milk, ice cream, bread, vegetables, cookie dough, butter, orange juice, chicken, meat, fish, shredded/diced potatoes, yogurt (for smoothies) berries, bananas, zucchini, carrots, pesto, waffles, pancakes, rolls, dough, muffins, freezer meals...and just about anything else you can think of.

One of my favorite items to freeze is cheese.  All varieties.  Shredded cheese works best, but sliced cheeses will work also if you let them defrost completely in the fridge before you use them.  Cream cheese and sour cream does not freeze well.  It gets clumpy and separates.  Nasty. On the shelf below the cheese are bags of diced onions and next to those are celery.  I think there are a couple of cookie dough packages there under the onions.  Ha! 

Milk - Mr. CHiPy and the kids drink 2% so that's what I freeze.  Usually I have at least 6 gallons in the freezer and 2 gallons in the fridge at any given time.  To defrost just set the frozen milk out on the counter the night before you need to use it and it defrosts like a charm. Give it a good shake and store it in your fridge.  We have never had a problem with milk going bad this way.   Oh, and don't be freaked out by the frozen yellow milk.  That's the milk fat and it disappears once the milk is defrosted.  No change in the taste or appearance.

Another favorite item I freeze is bread - all types.  I go to the Sara Lee Outlet once a month and I spend about $10 bucks.  It buys me 12 loaves of bread and a variety of rolls.  I ♥ that store!  The bread is always fresh and we have never had a problem with freezer burn.

Vegetables are another  favorite.   The packages from Sams' and Costco hold up really well.  I also freeze shredded zucchini, diced celery, onions, peppers (like I mentioned before).  I think the onions are a favorite of Mr. CHiPy's.  He likes to add them to his occasional morning omelet.

And I think that's about it.  This system works out really well for our family and I highly encourage you to give it a try.   

Feeding My Freezer

Every couple of months I take an hour to feed my freezer. Today it was onions and celery.

I purchased a bagful of both from Costco and got to work on the onions slicing off both ends and peeling off the skins.  Because of their size, I quarter them.

I love my "AS SEEN ON TV" Vidalia Chop Wizard.  This thing is AWESOME!  I paid $19.99 for it at Target, a bit much I know, but it is so worth it to me!  And it comes with two blade sizes which is great and is dishwasher safe.

Now place the quartered onion on the Chop Wizard and press that lid down.

Super easy and efficient.  Love that!

The last step is packaging up those chopped onions into freezer bags and off to the freezer they go.

Next on the chopping board is celery.

Other items I always store in my freezer:  Shredded cheese, sliced cheese, 2% milk, bacon, cream cheese, bread, chicken, meat, fish, and anything else that will freeze goes in.

It's what works for me.