Food Friday

I told you that I would be here with recipes this week! I didn't want to let you down two weeks in a row!

This week I thought I would share with you the recipes that I made for my first round of freezer cooking. The couple of recipes that I have tried have tasted really good!

All of these recipes came from "Once-a-Month Cooking" by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. I would highly recommend this book if you would like to try your hand at freezer cooking. There are two-week and once-a-month plans in this book. They take you step by step thru the entire process! These recipes have obviously been tested to ensure that they work great for freezer cooking. I checked this book out from the library first and loved it, so I found it on Amazon for $2.18!! On to the recipes!

(Ingredients with an * are ones that you will prepare the day of serving)

Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (or hamburger)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 12-ounce can tomato paste
3 28-ounce cans Italian style or plain crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cups water
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 gloves)
4 bay leaves
2 T sugar
4 tsp dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
4 T chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 16-ounce package spaghetti*

In a large pot, cook and stir the meat with the onion until the meat is brown; drain fat. Add remaining ingredients, except the spaghetti. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat. Partly cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If desired, simmer in a crockpot instead of pot) Makes 12 cups of sauce.

After sauce has cooled, freeze 4 cups for Spaghetti and 3 cups for Frech Bread Pizza; divide remaining 5 cups sauce in half, and freeze in 2 1-quart bags for Calzones.

To prepare for serving Spaghetti, thaw sauce, and heat in a medium saucepan. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and pour sauce over them. Makes 6 servings.

French Bread Pizza
1 loaf unsliced Frech Bread (not sourdough)*
3 cups Spaghetti Sauce*
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese*
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese*
3 ounces Pepperoni slices*

This recipe is assembled on the day it's served. Put sauce in a 3-cup container, cheeses in 2 1-quart bags, and pepperoni in 1-quart bag; wrap bread in heavy foil. Freeze them together.

To prepare for serving, thaw French bread, sauce, grated cheeses, and pepperoni. Set oven to broil and/or 550 degrees. Slice loaf of French bread in half lengthwise. Layer sauce, parmesan cheese, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese on each half. Place bread on baking sheet, and put in over. Broil until mozzarella is melted. Cut pizza into serving-size pieces. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Calzones
2 loaves frozen bread dough (Italian, French, or white)
6 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
5 cups Spaghetti sauce

Thaw two loaves of bread dough. Divide each loaf into 5 parts. One at a time, roll each dough piece on a floured board or stretch with your hands, making 10 7-inch squares. Fold each dough square over a pinch of cheese to form a turnover, and pinch edges to seal.

Place each turnover in a small sandwich bag. Put 5 turnovers in a 1-gallong freezer bag. Divide sauce in half, and store in 2 1-quart freezer bags; enclose each bag of sauce in a bag of Calzones. Do the same with the remaining 5 turnovers.

To prepare for serving, thaw sauce; heat in a medium pan 10 to 15 minutes until bubbley. At the same time, take frozen turnovers out of bags, and place them about 2inches apart on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 20 minutes. Turnovers will be golden brown when done. Ladle sauce on top of turnovers and serve. Makes 10 servings.

Chicken Packets
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 T choped chives
2 T milk
Salt to taste
1/2 cup crushed, seasoned crouton crumbs*
2 8-ounce packages refrigerated crescent rolls*
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted margarine*

Mix chicken, cream cheese, chives, milk, and salt in a medium bowl (mixing with hands works best) to make filling, and store in a 1-quart freezer bag. Put crouton crumbs in another 1-quart bag, attach it to bag of chicken filling and freeze. Refrigerate crescent rolls.

To prepare for serving, thaw chicken mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls. Each tube will contain 4 rectangles of dough with a diagonal perforation. Press dough along each perforation so the rectangle halves will not separate. Place about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture into the center of each rectangle. Fold dough over the filling, and pinch the edges to seal tightly. Dip each packet in melted margarine, and coat with crouton crumbs. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Packets are good either hot or cold. Makes 8 packets. (I split the filling in half to make 2 separate batches of these since it makes so many servings) We had these this week and they are really good!

Chinese Chicken Morsels
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 cups)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup regular, uncooked rice*

Cut chicken breasts (kitchen scissors work best) into 1-inch cubes. Mix lemon juice, soy sauce, mustard, oil, and pepper. Put marinade and chicken cubes in a 1-gallon bag and store in the freezer.

To prepare for serving, thaw chicken and remove from marinade. Warm marinade in a small saucepan. Place cubes about an inch apart on broiler pan treated with nonstick spray. Broil 4 to 5 minutes from heat for 7 minutes, brushing with marinade once. Turn chicken and broil another 4 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package directions. Heat remaining marinade and serve over rice. Makes 4 to 5 servings. (I didn't like that you use the same marinade that you had the raw chicken in to marinade the cooked food, so I placed half of the marinade over the chicken to freeze and froze the other half in a separate bag to use when cooking.)

Chili Hamburgers
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
2 T finely chopped green bell pepper
1 T minced onion
1 T chili powder
1 T chili sauce (I couldn't find this, but they tasted good without it!)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 Hamburger buns*

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except hamburger buns. Shape into 4 hamburger patties. Freeze in a large freezer bag, with waxed paper between each one.

To prepare for serving, thaw patties and hamburger buns. Grill or fry patties to desired pinkness in center. Serve on warmed hamburger buns. Makes 4 servings.

I hope you enjoy these recipes if you try them!