Saturday, April 21, 2012

Strawberry Pineapple Banana Smoothie!



Just made the best smoothie for breakfast this morning.
1 banana
6 frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 individual serving container strawberry banana yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
blend- YUM!!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Freezer Recipes

Taco Soup
2 pounds cooked hamburger
2 cans hominy, not drained
2 cans corn, not drained
2 cans green chilis (4 oz)
2 cans chili beans
2 cans black beans
2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
2 pkg. hidden valley ranch seasoning mix
mix all divide into two gallon size freezer bags, freeze flat on a cookie sheet. To cook, thaw 24 hours ahead then warm through or can put in crockpot on low until warm.
Serve over tortilla chips top with cheese or sour cream



Mexican Beef and Rice
2 pounds hamburger, cooked
1 large can olives, drained and sliced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups cooked rice
2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
2 small cans tomato sauce
mix all into two gallon size freezer bags, "squish" together, forgot to make sure you know it is important to get as much of the air out of the bags to avoid freezer burn! Freeze flat on a cookie sheet. To serve warm through, can be put in crockpot on low. Serve with tortilla chips and top with sour cream, can also use as a filling in a flour tortilla along with avocado and lettuce.

Sloppy Joes
3 pounds cooked hamburger
2 cups onion, chopped
3 tomatoes chopped or can use 2 cans chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt and pepper
Sauce
1 (30 oz) can tomato sauce
15 oz can v8
7 tsp worcestershire sauce
7 Tbsp brown sugar
7 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground red pepper, optional
1/2 tsp chili powder, optional
Mix well, divide into three small freezer bags, "squish" together. Lay flat to freeze, can place in crockpot on low to serve. Serve on buns with pickle spears.

Taco Meat
- self explanatory
one note, I do use my own already made taco seasoning instead of buying it from the store.
 When time to use, you can just microwave for about 4 -5 minutes and your ready for tacos!!

Tater Tot Casserole
2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
mix in 2 cans cream mushroom soup or make your own
layer your choice of vegetables, sometimes we will use peas, canned or frozen, this time we used frozen mix veggies.
top with tater tots and shredded cheese.
Layer each in a 8 x 8 pan (I use the glad ware that can be used in micro, dishwasher, and oven and freezer).
To cook thaw 24 hours in fridge then cook 350 for about 25 min or until bubbly.

Beef Stroganoff
3-4 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
3 onions sliced thin, cooked with ground beef
2 packages onion soup mix or make your own
4 cans sliced mushrooms, or fresh or frozen will work
2 lg boxes of beef stock or beef bouillon and water
bring to simmer, add 4 Tbsp of flour to 1/2 cold water and mix into the pan, will thicken quickly. Lower heat, don't add sour cream until right before serving.
Freeze in 3-4 freezer bags, lay flat to freeze.
To serve can put in crockpot or warm on stovetop, add 1 cup sour cream right before serving, serve over hot egg noodles or rice.

Baja Citrus Swai
Ok, I really cheat here but I can't find a good hm recipe for the seasoning that compares to this.
I buy the McCormick Grill Mates Baja Citrus Marinade and add the vinegar, water and oil to this
We also buy the Swai Filets from WalMart, they come frozen individually packaged. I open then and cut them in half because they are quite large fillets. So three filets are plenty for our family. I layer then in a gallon freezer bag and dump the seasoning and other ingredients, swish it around a bit.
To serve thaw 24 hours in fridge, then grill or bake.

Ok, this isn't all of them but it's a start!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Cheap Way to Build Food Storage




One of my favorite stores to just go see what I can find is Big Lots! I like to go at least a few times a month to see if I can find any really great deals usually on food. Well I lucked out tonight. I ran over there and look what I found! Gossner shelf stable milk that's good for two more years! For only $1.00! Also 8 packs of individual Jif Peanut Butter To Go for only$1.00. I bought all they had. Then I was very lucky to find this canned ham my kids absolutely LOVE! I bought all they had of those too. They were only $.85 each. These are all great and cheap and perfect for 72 hour kits.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Family Favorite Freezer Recipes

Well, I am going to put up a more in depth post with our family favorite freezer recipes. I am working from home now and am able to have a little bit more time getting a little more organized and boy do I need to work more on our freezer! I have been doing freezer cooking for about 11 years. I love it! It is a great way to be organized, plan a menu and stick to it, and of course save a ton of $$$ on your grocery budget.
These are just a few of our favorites. Recipes to follow soon. I will be cooking these over the next few days and posting pictures.

Mexichicken
Chicken Broccoli
sloppy Joes
Mexican Beef and Rice
Russian Stew
Twice Baked Potatoes
Enchilada Pie
Breakfast Burritos
Wild Rice Chicken
Stromboli
Chicken Spaghetti
Manicotti
Lemon Chicken

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Food Storage Beef Stew

1 cup dried onions
1 cup dried carrots
3 cups water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups water
1 can (15oz) green beans, with liquid
1 can (15oz) corn, with liquid
8-10 cubes beef bouillon
1 Tbsp. dried garlic
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. kitchen bouquet
salt and pepper
2 cans (15oz) beef chunks, with liquid
Mashed potatoes
Rehydrate onions and carrots in 3 cups water for 15 min. Drain. In a large pot on high heat, add oil, onions and carrots, saute for 1 min. Sprinkle flour in and lightly brown. Add 3 cups water and stir until thickened. Add green beans, corn, bouillon, garlic, worcestershire sauce, kitchen bouquet, salt and pepper to taste. Turn down heat to medium low. Add beef and juice, being careful not to shred the chunks. Cover and simmer for 30 min. Serve stew over prepared mashed potatoes.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

RS Freezer Frenzy

Well tonight our lovely RS prepared freezer meals as our monthly activity. It was so much fun! One of the ladies in our organization tallied up a list and purchased all the ingredients. Those that signed up brought their own meat (enough for their families) for two meals. We were also asked to bring two extra chicken breasts so that while we were doing these meals for ourselves we made them for other families that might need a meal to be brought in. Sometimes when there is an illness, baby born, death, etc. we take meals over to help out that family. I will have to find out how many "extra meals" we were able to do. They were great!
We made Teriyaki Chicken, and Cranberry Chicken. Thanks for all your hard work Holly!
Cranberry Chicken
In a gallon freezer bag mix the following
1 can cranberry sauce
1 cup french dressing
1 pkg. onion soup mix
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (my mom did pork loin chops)
mix in bag and freeze flat, to serve thaw 24 hours prior to cooking in fridge. Place in 9x13 pan and cook for 45 min at 350. Serve with rice (our favorite is Jasmine).
Teriyaki Chicken 
In a gallon freezer bag, mix the following
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can chunk pineapple, undrained
1 small package of baby carrots
1 onion, chunked
1 (10 oz) bottle teriyaki sauce
1 tsp garlic minced
1 1/2 cup water
To serve, thaw 24 hours prior to cooking in fridge. Place in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. High for 4 hours. Serve with rice (again, ours is Jasmine).