Baking Day

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Ham & Cheese Pockets (Day 9)

by Crystal on May 12, 2012

Today’s recipe is one that was one of our favorite law school recipes. I haven’t made it since the law school days and had all but forgotten about it until I saw Amy’s recipe for Ham & Cheese Pockets.

Since our budget was so tight when Jesse was in law school, I only made this recipe when I was able to find ham on some amazing closeout price. Every once in awhile, Dillon’s would have it marked down to $0.49 to $0.99 for the small packages of thin-sliced lunchmeat. I usually had a coupon to pair with this deal, so I rarely paid over $0.50 per package of lunchmeat. I could stretch one package to 5-6 Ham & Cheese Pockets and they were a special treat since we didn’t eat a lot of meat during that season of life.

At any rate, since we have more wiggle room in our grocery budget these days, I splurged on thick-cut ham this time around, and these turned out SO good. I can’t believe it’s been such a long time since I’ve made this recipe. It’s definitely something I want to make more often now that I remembered about it!

Freezer-Friendly Ham & Cheese Pockets

Dough:

3 cups flour
4 Tablespoons dry milk
3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 cup warm water

Filling:

Sliced ham
Shredded or sliced cheese

To make dough in bread machine: Add ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. Check about halfway through to see if you need to add a little extra water or flour to make a soft dough.

To make dough by hand: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in salt, sugar, and dry milk. Add flour and stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Add a little more flour, if needed.

To make Ham & Cheese Pockets: Divide dough into 10-14 balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle. Put ham and cheese on half of the rectangle. Fold dough over and pinch sides to seal tightly.

Bake Pockets on a greased cookie sheet at 350-degrees for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned.

To freeze: Let cool completely. Freeze in airtight ziptop freezer bags for up to 2-3 months.

To serve: Remove desired number of pizza pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated through. Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350-degrees oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-ham-cheese-pockets-day-9.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Did you do any freezer cooking over the past two days? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 88 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Homemade Pizza Pockets (Day 8)

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by Crystal on May 10, 2012

These Pizza Pockets, inspired by Amy’s Finer Things and Pocket Change Gourmet, turned out beautifully today!

I doubled our family’s favorite homemade pizza dough recipe for the dough.

Then I cut the dough into pieces.

And rolled those dough pieces into balls.

Next, I flattened the balls with the rolling pin.

When I turned my back someone was making some artistic designs on my rolled-out dough.

Then, I dolloped a little of the filling on.

Sprinkled the filling with cheese

And sealed up the edges with my fingertips.

Ready to go into the oven.

The end result — so yummy and delicious! And my whole family agreed with me that this recipe is a definite keeper.

Freezer-Friendly Pizza Pockets

Dough:

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons oil (I used olive oil.)
5 cups flour (I used unbleached, but I think half white, half whole-wheat would also work well.)

Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup pasta sauce or pizza sauce
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but I think cheddar or a mixture of cheese would work well, too.)
Other optional filling ingredients: diced black olives, pepperoni, diced green pepper, and/or diced mushrooms

To make dough: Mix yeast into warm water until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, oil, and flour. Mix well and dump onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes.

To make filling (I browned this while mixing up the dough): Brown ground beef with onion (and green pepper, if desired). Drain. Add pasta sauce and mix together. Add other optional filling ingredients, if desired.

To make Pizza Pockets: Divide dough into 15-20 pieces. Roll pieces into balls. Flatten balls into circles with rolling pin. Dollop a few tablespoons of filling onto dough circle and sprinkle with cheese. Fold over and seal tightly.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes until browned.

To freeze: Cool completely and store in an airtight ziptop freezer bag for up to 2-3 months.

To serve: Remove desired number of pizza pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated throw. Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350-degrees oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Recipe inspired by Amy’s Finer Things and Pocket Change Gourmet.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-homemade-pizza-pockets-day-8.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 92 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches (Day 6)

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by Crystal on May 8, 2012

So, I’ve shared lots of really simple, no-brainer tips here over the years, but I think this might qualify as just about the most basic of ideas I’ve ever shared.

In fact, I doubt I even need to do a post about it, since I could probably just put a picture and say, “I made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the freezer today. The end.”

And that would about sum it up. But that would also probably be the most boring post I’ve ever written, too. So I’ll try to expand a bit on this basic of basic ideas, for those who would like a few more details.

I first happened upon the idea of freezing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when Jesse was in law school and we were eating a LOT of PB&J. I usually packed one or two sandwiches in his lunch each day and since he often had to leave for school early in the morning, I’d try to have as much stuff prepped ahead of time so that I could just take 20 seconds to pull it all out and put it in the lunch pail.

While it doesn’t really take long to make PB&J, when your time is really crunched in the morning, it can help speed things up a little bit. Plus, I’ve also found it’s so nice to have sandwiches at the ready if you end up needing to leave to go somewhere unexpectedly and no one has eaten any lunch yet.

I listened to The Little Big Things today while making PB&J in an assembly-line fashion. {The audiobook has some good things in it, but the crass language is driving me batty! Honestly, that’s a “little big thing” to me!}

I ended up having to break out a new jar of jelly and peanut butter about halfway through. And Jesse got home about this time and he sat at the kitchen table and told me about his day while I finished up the sandwiches. Multi-tasking at its finest!

The end result: A big pile of sandwiches! I cut the sandwiches in halves, put them in individual baggies, and then put the baggies in large ziptop bags.

Freezer-Friendly Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Bread
Peanut Butter
Jelly

Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

To freeze: Cut and put in baggies (if desired) and store in airtight freezer ziptop bags in the freezer for 4-6 weeks.

To thaw: Stick frozen sandwiches in sack lunches in the morning and they will be thawed by lunch time. Or, you can be weird like me and eat them straight from the freezer. You can also warm them in the oven or microwave if you like your sandwiches warmed.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-peanut-butter-jelly-sandwiches-day-6.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 108 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Homemade Baking Mix (Day 5)

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by Crystal on May 7, 2012

After a busy weekend, I seemed to take forever to get going this morning — even though I got up early.

I finally got the Homemade Baking Mix made tonight at 7:45 p.m.

{Notice anything wrong with this picture? Maybe that I somehow am a month behind?! I noticed that after I’d taken the picture! }

And tomorrow we move onto freezer-friendly lunches. I think those are going to be a bit more time-intensive to make, but they are going to be so nice to have in the freezer that it will be every bit worth it!

Homemade Baking Mix

10 cups flour
8 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (I didn’t have any of this so I just left it out. We’ll see if it works okay without it!)
1 1/4 cup powdered milk
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 cup sugar or raw sugar
2 1/4 cup coconut oil or shortening

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening or cold coconut oil until you have fine crumbs.

To freeze: Store in an airtight container or freezer bags in the freezer for up to two months.

To use: Use the Homemade Baking Mix straight from the freezer in place of Bisquick. Or, use this to make our family’s favorite Cinnamon Roll Biscuits. For other recipe ideas, check out a similar Homemade Baking Mix recipe from Kitchen Simplicity.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-homemade-baking-mix-day-5.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Biscuits — you can whip these up in a matter of minutes using the Homemade Baking Mix!

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 63 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Week #2 Freezer-Friendly Lunch Recipes + Shopping List

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by Crystal on May 7, 2012

Are you ready for another week of filling your freezer? This week, we’re tackling lunches.

Here’s my plan for making Freezer-Friendly Lunches this week. Remember that you are more than welcome to change any or all of the recipes as it fits best with your budget and family’s preferences:

Freezer-Friendly Lunch Recipes

Tuesday — Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches {Yes, these freeze really well and it’s nice to have some on hand for when you need to fix a sack lunch really quickly.}
Wednesday — Brown Bag Burritos
Thursday — Pizza Pockets
Friday — Ham & Cheese Pockets
Monday – Southwest Rollups

Grocery List

(I rounded up on the amounts needed, just to be safe. You probably have many of these items already on hand. You’ll want to double-check that you have the correct amounts, though.)

3 pounds ground beef
Ham (you’ll need enough for 3 cups chopped ham)
Chicken (you’ll need 2-4 cups chopped cooked chicken)
4 cans refried beans (you can also make your own Refried Beans with this recipe)
2 cans enchilada sauce
1 jar pizza or pasta sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1-2 loaves of bread
1 jar of peanut butter
1 jar of jelly
36 flour tortillas (If you prefer, you can make your own Homemade Tortillas with this recipe)
1/3 cup minced or dried onion
12 cups flour (whole-wheat, white, and/or a mixture of both)
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
16-oz. block of mozzarella cheese (or 3 cups pre-shredded)
2 16-oz. blocks of cheddar cheese (or 8 cups pre-shredded)

Staple Ingredients/Spices:

chili powder
garlic powder
salt
oregano
yeast
olive oil
Italian seasoning
sugar
milk
honey

Optional Ingredients (for Pizza Pockets)

Parmesan cheese, optional
1/2 onion, optional
1/2 green pepper, optional
1/2 c. sliced or chopped mushrooms, optional
4 oz. pepperoni, optional

Freezer Storage Items Needed

Foil
Paper Towels (for wrapping burritos)
Plastic Wrap
15 large ziptop freezer bags
Plastic sandwich baggies (for PB&J sandwiches, if you prefer to store them individually to pull out for separate lunches.)
Something to label packages with (marker to write on bags, labels, and/or tape)

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-week-2-freezer-friendly-lunch-recipes-shopping-list.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Click on the “Print This” tab at the top of the list to generate a printer-friendly list. (If you’re reading via email or a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to print the list.)

{ 73 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Baked Oatmeal (Day 4)

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by Crystal on May 5, 2012

We made it to Joplin at a little after 10 p.m. tonight. I can’t believe how much has been rebuilt since the tornado last year. The last time we were here, it was a heart-wrenching zone of destruction. It’s so encouraging and heart-warming to see the new buildings in place of what was ruins and wrecked parts of buildings.

And I’m looking forward to getting to meet some of the wonderful people who live here (and in nearby towns) at the workshop tomorrow!

Before we left to head out of town, I got a double batch of Baked Oatmeal made for the freezer.

I divided the recipe in thirds and put them in pie pans.{And yes, those of you with larger families and/or older children can laugh at the fact that one pie pan of Baked Oatmeal will feed our family. This stuff is much more filling than regular oatmeal and it seems like when you add milk, a little bit goes a long way — or at least it does at our house!}

In less than 20 minutes, I had three pans of Baked Oatmeal ready to go in the freezer. By the way, I don’t recommend wrapping these just in foil unless you’re planning to use them within the next few weeks. If you think it might be longer than 3-4 weeks before you’ll use the Baked Oatmeal, I’d recommend sticking it in a freezer bag instead to prevent freezer burn.

Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal

1/3 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
3/4 cup raw sugar (or brown sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
3 cups oats (regular or quick oats)

Beat eggs, sugar and butter together. Mix in baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

Stir in milk and oats. Pour into a greased 9×13 foil pan or baking dish and cover well. (Can use a Ziploc freezer bag, if freezing). Freeze.

To serve: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until set in the middle. Serve warm with milk. (We like to sprinkle sugar on top before pouring the milk on.)

If you want to serve it without freezing it first, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and then bake it at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes in the morning.

Serves 6-8.

Adapted from Food.com

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-baked-oatmeal-day-4.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 52 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Banana Bread (Day 1)

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by Crystal on May 1, 2012

Did you get something made for your freezer today? I did — but just barely.

Today was one of those days… where I felt behind, tired, cranky, and just plain unmotivated. And truthfully, if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew you all were also baking, I would likely have not gotten anything made. So thank you for doing this challenge with me to help keep me on track even when I’m really tempted to jump ship!

Silas helped me whip up the banana bread while I was making stirfry for dinner tonight.

Being silly.

We decided to mix things up a bit and add chocolate chips to the top of one loaf. Yum!

After the bread cooled, I sliced one loaf, wrapped it in plastic wrap and then in foil.

We’ve found that it’s nice to have the bread already sliced so we can pull a few slices out at a time. And while I wrapped this bread up really tightly as an example for those of you who are new to freezer cooking, truthfully, I often just throw the slices in a freezer bag, let out the air, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer.

I left the second loaf whole because I’m thinking I may end up giving it away to a friend. So I made sure to seal it really well with plastic wrap and then covered tightly with foil and labeled it.

Freezer-Friendly Banana Bread

Makes 2 loaves

4 cups flour (all-purpose, whole-wheat, or a mixture of both)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil (I used melted coconut oil.)
2 cups sugar (I used turbinado.)
4 eggs, beaten
6-8 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 Tablespoons milk

Stir together dry ingredients. Beat together remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.

To freeze: Slice loaf, if desired, and covered in plastic wrap, then in foil (or in a ziptop bag).

To serve: thaw on the countertop for a few hours or defrost an individual piece in the microwave for 20-45 seconds. We love to serve ours warm with butter.

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

{ 122 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Week #1 Breakfast Freezer Foods Plan + Shopping List

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by Crystal on May 1, 2012

Are you ready to get busy filling your freezer? My goal with this challenge is to erase your fears of freezer cooking and to show you that — no matter what stage or season in life you’re in — you can find a way to make it work for you.

In the process, I hope you fall in love with freezer cooking, if you haven’t already. It’s been a huge sanity-saver to me so I can’t help but be a big advocate of it.

Here’s this week’s list of Breakfast Foods I’ll be making to stick in the freezer along with a grocery list (let me know if you see any mistakes on amounts needed):

Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Recipes

Tuesday — 2 loaves of Our Family’s Favorite Banana Bread
Wednesday — 2 dozen Cinnamon Rolls (I’m using this bread dough recipe and this filling/topping recipe.)
Thursday — Triple batch of Whole-Wheat Waffles
Friday — Double batch of Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal
Monday – One batch of Homemade Baking Mix

Grocery List

(I rounded up on the amounts needed, just to be safe. You probably have many of these items already on hand. You’ll want to double-check that you have the correct amounts, though.)

1 dozen eggs
6-8 ripe bananas
One package of butter (4 sticks)
20 cups of freshly-ground flour or two 5-lb. bags of whole wheat, all-purpose, or a mixture of both flours
1 package of brown sugar or raw sugar
1 bag of sugar (You’ll need at least three cups — can substitute raw sugar)
1 bag or box of powdered sugar
Cream of tarter
Powdered milk (you’ll need 1 1/4 cups)
1 canister oats (regular or quick oats)
Oil (any kind — you’ll need at least one cup)
Coconut oil (you’ll need around 2 1/2 cups)
Milk (you’ll need at least 2 cups)
Baking soda
Baking powder (make sure you have at least 1 cup)
Salt
Vanilla
Cinnamon

Freezer Storage Items Needed

Foil
Plastic Wrap
10-12 large ziptop freezer bags
2-4 glass or aluminum pans (to freeze Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal in)
1 airtight lidded tub (to store Homemade Baking Mix in, if you don’t want to use freezer bags)
Something to label packages with (marker to write on bags, labels, and/or tape)

Click on the “Print This” tab at the top of the list to generate a printer-friendly list. (If you’re reading via email or a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to print the list.)

Before you head to the store, make sure to clean out and organize your freezer and check that you have enough storage space for these items in it.

{ 162 comments }

Freezer Cooking Session: Beans, Rice, Cinnamon Rolls, and Homemade Poptarts

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by Crystal on April 26, 2012

Earlier this week, the girls made peanut butter cookies by themselves. It was their first time to follow a real recipe all by themselves, so they were pretty excited. It left an aftermath of mess, but the memories and fun were worth it!

Jesse had to work late last night, so I got motivated to do a little more freezer cooking. In about an hour and a half, here’s what I was able to accomplish:

5:50 p.m. — Started the flour grinding and rinsed the beans. Added more wheat to the grinder. Filled up a pot of water and put it on the stove to boil.

5:55 p.m. — Poured a bag of rice into a pot and put it on the stove to boil. Added more wheat to the grinder.

6:00 p.m. — Added the black beans to the big pot of boiling water. Started putting the ingredients in the bread machine for cinnamon roll dough (I used this bread recipe for the dough). Added more wheat to the grinder.

6:05 p.m. — Finished adding the ingredients to the bread machine and turned it on. Brought the freshly-ground flour into the house (I grind wheat outside since it’s a little on the messy side!)

6:10 p.m. — Cleaned up the kitchen and started in on the homemade poptarts. I decided to use a different crust recipe since I didn’t have any yogurt on hand.

6:30 p.m. — Poptarts are finished — finally! {More details on how they turned out will be coming in a separate post.} I stirred the rice and beans and turned the rice off to cool.

6:35 p.m. — Cleaned up the kitchen — again! — while the poptarts baked and put the flour into freezer bags.

6:50 p.m. — I dumped the dough out onto the countertop and rolled it out and into cinnamon rolls. I set these out to rise and sat down to take a short break.

After the cinnamon rolls rose, I stuck them in the oven to bake while I finished cleaning up the kitchen (notice a trend here with all the kitchen clean-up?! It seems to be never-ending!) and put the beans and rice into bags to go in the freezer.

The cinnamon rolls were supposed to be for an event this weekend, but alas, they were too good to stick in the freezer to save for later!

{ 49 comments }

Today’s 30-minute Freezer Cooking session

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by Crystal on April 24, 2012

Since I decided to switch my plans and make homemade pizza for dinner tonight, I figured if I was already going to be in the kitchen making pizza, I might as well make a few extra things.

So, I browned two pounds of ground beef and then mixed up the pizza dough.

While the pizza dough was resting for five minutes, I set aside some of the cooked ground beef for the pizza and added some taco seasoning, beans, and a can of tomatoes to the rest of it.

This made two dinners’ worth of taco meat for the freezer — perfect for Haystacks!

I also threw the ingredients for my sister’s Easy Whole Wheat Bread in the bread machine and let the dough mix up while I put together the pizza and baked it. I stuck the bread in a loaf pan to rise during dinner and baked it after dinner.

So, for just a little bit of extra time in the kitchen, I was able to make dinner and plus put two dinners’ worth of taco meat plus a loaf homemade bread in the freezer.

It wasn’t anything spectacular, but by using the little minutes here and there to work ahead like this, it really helps you to be able to pull together homemade dinners in no time later on in the week or month.

Use your minutes well and you’ll soon find you have more margin, more peace, and more sanity in your life!