1 pound pork sausage (whatever heat you desire)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp chili powder
8 oz egg noodles
Ground and brown sausage with onion and green pepper, drain. Lower heat and add tomatoes, sour cream, water, and seasonings - stir well. Gently stir in egg noodles, cover and simmer approx 30 minutes, or until noodles are tender - stir occasionally.
To Freeze: Follow cooking instructions up until adding the noodles. The sauce can be frozen without problem. On serving day, allow up to 24 hours for sauce to thaw in fridge, then warm on the stove. Once sauce is hot, add the noodles and let simmer until noodles are tender.
Tips:
*This will make 1-2 meals, depending on serving size and number of mouths to feed. Easiest freezing storage is freezer ziploc bag - quart or gallon size.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups BBQ sauce (whatever flavor or brand you choose)
2 TBSP mustard
2 TBSP honey
1 TBSP soy sauce
sprinkle with salt & pepper
Trim pork of any excess fat. Scatter onion over bottom of slow cooker and place pork on top. Add chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove meat and let it cool (~ 5 min). When cool enough, pull meat into thin shreds - removing all fat and gristle. Skim excess fat from liquid in cooker. Return pork to slow cooker and stir in BBQ sauce, mustard, honey, soy sauce, and spices. Cook for 1 hour longer on low.
To Freeze: Divide pulled pork into desired meal sizes and transfer to freezer bag. Label with date, food info, and instructions. On serving day, let pork thaw in fridge up to 24 hours, can re-heat in microwave or on stove top on low.
Tips:
*This will easily make 4-5 meals - easiest storage in sandwich sized bags, contained in quart or gallon freezer bags.
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups BBQ sauce (whatever flavor or brand you choose)
2 TBSP mustard
2 TBSP honey
1 TBSP soy sauce
sprinkle with salt & pepper
Trim pork of any excess fat. Scatter onion over bottom of slow cooker and place pork on top. Add chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove meat and let it cool (~ 5 min). When cool enough, pull meat into thin shreds - removing all fat and gristle. Skim excess fat from liquid in cooker. Return pork to slow cooker and stir in BBQ sauce, mustard, honey, soy sauce, and spices. Cook for 1 hour longer on low.
To Freeze: Divide pulled pork into desired meal sizes and transfer to freezer bag. Label with date, food info, and instructions. On serving day, let pork thaw in fridge up to 24 hours, can re-heat in microwave or on stove top on low.
Tips:
*This will easily make 4-5 meals - easiest storage in sandwich sized bags, contained in quart or gallon freezer bags.
Chipotle-Lime Marinated Pork Chops
4 boneless pork chops
1 chiptole chile, canned in adobe, chopped OR 1 dried chiptole chile, rehydrated* and minced
2 tsp oregano
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup lime juice
1 TBSP chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
*To rehydrate, cover chile with hot water for 10 min, let stand at room temp. Drain and use as directed. Seed chile, if desired to reduce piquancy a bit. Always weare rubber gloves when handling hot chiles.
Place chops in a large self-sealing plastic bag; combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chops.
To Freeze: Can let pork chops marinate for 4 hours, then freeze up to 3 months. On serving day, let chops thaw in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Grill over medium-hot temp for a total of 12-15 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Can use marinade to baste pork chops as they cook.
1 chiptole chile, canned in adobe, chopped OR 1 dried chiptole chile, rehydrated* and minced
2 tsp oregano
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup lime juice
1 TBSP chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
*To rehydrate, cover chile with hot water for 10 min, let stand at room temp. Drain and use as directed. Seed chile, if desired to reduce piquancy a bit. Always weare rubber gloves when handling hot chiles.
Place chops in a large self-sealing plastic bag; combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chops.
To Freeze: Can let pork chops marinate for 4 hours, then freeze up to 3 months. On serving day, let chops thaw in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Grill over medium-hot temp for a total of 12-15 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Can use marinade to baste pork chops as they cook.
Chicken Rotini
1 box rotini
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of chicken
2 cups milk
8 oz muenster cheese slices
2 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Cook rotini pasta according to box directions. Soften celery in skillet with butter. In separate bowl, mix "cream ofs" with milk. In 9x13 pan, layer noodles, chicken, and celery two times. Pour 2/3 of milk mixture over the noodles and chicken, then cover with the muenster cheese. Pour the last 1/2 of the milk mixture over the top of the cheese.
Bake at 350 F for 30-40 min.
To Freeze: Layer noodles, chicken, and celery in 9x13 pan as in original directions. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, to reduce air bubbles, and then cover with aluminum foil. Label with date, food info, and cooking instructions. On the day you plan to eat it, let it thaw in the fridge up to 24 hours, add the muenster cheese and milk mixture prior to putting it in the oven.
Tips:
*This can be divided into two 8x8 pans with one layer of noodles, chicken, and celery.
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of chicken
2 cups milk
8 oz muenster cheese slices
2 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Cook rotini pasta according to box directions. Soften celery in skillet with butter. In separate bowl, mix "cream ofs" with milk. In 9x13 pan, layer noodles, chicken, and celery two times. Pour 2/3 of milk mixture over the noodles and chicken, then cover with the muenster cheese. Pour the last 1/2 of the milk mixture over the top of the cheese.
Bake at 350 F for 30-40 min.
To Freeze: Layer noodles, chicken, and celery in 9x13 pan as in original directions. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, to reduce air bubbles, and then cover with aluminum foil. Label with date, food info, and cooking instructions. On the day you plan to eat it, let it thaw in the fridge up to 24 hours, add the muenster cheese and milk mixture prior to putting it in the oven.
Tips:
*This can be divided into two 8x8 pans with one layer of noodles, chicken, and celery.
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Concept Behind Our "Cooking Days"
To sum it up, we share the load - the meal planning, the grocery shopping, the prep work, the cooking, the storing of food.
We try to plan our meals based on what meats are on sale that week...(and when we are actually grocery shopping, we always look for meat that might be nearing expiration date and is marked down significantly -this could be used for our next "cooking day"). We alternate duties each week, whomever's kitchen is being used is the one who does the grocery shopping. Obviously, recipes are doubled or tripled as needed, and once the shopping is done, we split the cost.
We have become more and more experimental with the recipes we choose, and sometimes those recipes require a decent amount of prep work. Sometimes, it is necessary to do some prep the night before.
I, Kristin, have two little girls (almost 3 year old and 14 month old) and am expecting another little one at the end of August!! :) Nikki has three children who keep her VERY busy (6 year old girl, 3 year old girl, 16 month old boy). Since we are two busy mommies with little ones, we try to keep our "cooking day" to a max of 4-5 hours for all prep, cooking, and storing. Usually, in that amount of time, we are able to prepare at least 4 dinner recipes, and sometimes we also make 1-2 side dishes in addition. Also, most of the time, the 4 main course recipes are able to provide 6-8 meals for our families.
We are learning how to most effectively portion out the recipes for our family's normal portions at dinner.
This idea was started after finding the cookbook "Don't Panic - Dinner's In The Freezer" by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia. Excellent resource for starting this type of cooking method.
This has been a huge blessing in both of our lives and we truly look forward to our "cooking day"! :) Hoping this continues for many years, as our families and children continue to grow!
We try to plan our meals based on what meats are on sale that week...(and when we are actually grocery shopping, we always look for meat that might be nearing expiration date and is marked down significantly -this could be used for our next "cooking day"). We alternate duties each week, whomever's kitchen is being used is the one who does the grocery shopping. Obviously, recipes are doubled or tripled as needed, and once the shopping is done, we split the cost.
We have become more and more experimental with the recipes we choose, and sometimes those recipes require a decent amount of prep work. Sometimes, it is necessary to do some prep the night before.
I, Kristin, have two little girls (almost 3 year old and 14 month old) and am expecting another little one at the end of August!! :) Nikki has three children who keep her VERY busy (6 year old girl, 3 year old girl, 16 month old boy). Since we are two busy mommies with little ones, we try to keep our "cooking day" to a max of 4-5 hours for all prep, cooking, and storing. Usually, in that amount of time, we are able to prepare at least 4 dinner recipes, and sometimes we also make 1-2 side dishes in addition. Also, most of the time, the 4 main course recipes are able to provide 6-8 meals for our families.
We are learning how to most effectively portion out the recipes for our family's normal portions at dinner.
This idea was started after finding the cookbook "Don't Panic - Dinner's In The Freezer" by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia. Excellent resource for starting this type of cooking method.
This has been a huge blessing in both of our lives and we truly look forward to our "cooking day"! :) Hoping this continues for many years, as our families and children continue to grow!
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