Recipes

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole (Day 14)

by Crystal on May 21, 2012

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is delicious, filling, frugal, and so freezer-friendly! If you freeze the bags flat, you can store them on their side like filing folders to fit a lot in a small freezer.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

10 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I bake mine in the oven like this.)
4 cups chopped broccoli, lightly steamed (can use frozen or fresh)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or 2 batches cream of mushroom soup)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or 2 batches cream of chicken soup)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

To freeze: Divide into four ziptop freezer bags and seal tightly. Freeze flat.

To serve: Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8×8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9×13-inch pan). Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.

This recipe makes around 15-18 servings. Each freezer bag serves 4-5 people.

Recipe adapted from Once a Month Mom

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-chicken-broccoli-rice-casserole-day-14.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.

{ 48 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough (Day 13)

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by Crystal on May 18, 2012

This pizza crust recipe has been my go-to recipe for years. It’s so easy to make — and it’s really hard to ruin. In fact, I’ve made it dozens upon dozens of times and I don’t think I’ve ever messed it up.

That’s saying a lot coming from someone like me, who can even ruin simple recipes like Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars.

Last year, I experimented with freezing the pizza dough — to make it even quicker to pull off Homemade Pizza for dinner. While I still think fresh is best, the frozen dough is almost as good — and it’s a whole lot less expensive than ordering pizza for dinner.

Freezer-Friendly Homemade Pizza Dough

2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)

Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.

To freeze: Cut lump of dough in half and place each half in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks.

To bake: Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.

Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

If you don’t want to mess with freezing the dough, take the kneaded dough and roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan. Add pizza toppings and bake as directed above.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-freezer-friendly-pizza-dough-day-13.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.

{ 86 comments }

4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Barbecued Meatballs (Day 11)

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by Crystal on May 15, 2012

My great grandmother passed along a love of barbecue meatballs to our family — and it’s a recipe we’ve made over and over again. We love to serve these with twice baked potatoes, homemade rolls, and tossed salad.

And even if you’re not a fan of most freezer meals, I bet this one would work for your family since you freeze it uncooked. No one will likely know that you pulled this out of the freezer to serve for dinner.

Freezer-Friendly Barbecued Meatballs

Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 cups oats (quick-cooking or old fashioned — can also substitute bread crumbs)
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds raw ground beef (since you’ll be freezing this recipe uncooked, you’ll want to make sure the meat is fresh, not frozen)

Barbecue Sauce:

2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Shape into one-inch balls and lay on a cookie sheet.

To freeze: Freeze uncooked meatballs on a cookie sheet for one hour. Remove from cookie sheet and transfer to airtight ziptop freezer bags.

To serve: Thaw meatballs overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Put in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Drain.

While meatballs are cooking, combine Barbecue Sauce ingredients together in a saucepan on the stove. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour Barbecue Sauce over meatballs and bake for 10-20 minutes longer, or until done.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-barbecued-meatballs-day-11.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: Ham & Cheese Pockets (Day 9)

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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: 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.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-banana-bread-day-1.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.

{ 122 comments }

Homemade Carrot Fries

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by Crystal on March 28, 2012

My friend, Angie, and I split a 25-pound bag of organic carrots from Azure Standard last week. It was only $10 for my share, so a pretty good deal for quality organic carrots.

Now the fun has just been figuring out how to use them up!

I came across this Carrot Fries recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it.

It was so simple to make. You just wash the carrots.

Peel and chop off the ends.

And then slice them into “fries”.

Coat with olive oil and salt and bake them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for around 30-45 minutes, until a little browned and crispy.

Enjoy!

Homemade Carrot Fries

10 large carrots
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and peel carrots. Chop off the ends and slice into “fries”.

Put in a bowl and stir in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Stir until well coated.

Spread onto a baking sheet and stick in the oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a little browned and crispy. Enjoy!

Makes 2-3 servings.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/03/homemade-carrot-fries.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

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Healthy Homemade Dairy-Free Mocha Recipe

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by Crystal on March 14, 2012

After seeing this Healthy Hot Cocoa recipe, I was inspired to concoct a Healthy Homemade Mocha recipe that was dairy-free. The end result was yummy. It’s not exactly the same as a traditional mocha, but it’s still good–and pretty good for you, too!

Healthy Dairy-Free Homemade Mocha

3 cups almond milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey (if you want it to taste a little more authentic, I’d suggest using raw sugar)
1 cup coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla
Coconut whipped cream
Chocolate chips for garnish, if desired

Whisk together milk, cocoa powder, sweetener, and coffee in a medium pot and heat on a stove until hot. Add in vanilla. Pour into mugs and top with Coconut Whipped Cream. Garnish with chocolate chips.

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/03/healthy-homemade-dairy-free-mocha-recipe.html
© Copyright 2012 Money Saving Mom®. All Rights Reserved.

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Easy Peasy Chocolate Torte

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by Crystal on March 9, 2012

I was supposed to take a dessert to our monthly couple’s get-together tonight and I had a boxed cake mix in the pantry and a bag of chocolate chips in the freezer, so I remembered this dessert I used to make years ago and decided it would be perfect.

It’s not healthy or gluten-free, but it sure is delicious. Best of all, it can be whipped up in mere minutes!

Easy Peasy Chocolate Torte Recipe

1 chocolate cake mix + ingredients needed to make it (You can also make your own chocolate cake from scratch.)
1 bottle of chocolate syrup
1 pint whipping cream (or whipped topping)
Powdered sugar
Vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix cake and bake according to directions. Let cool.

Poke holes in the top of the cake and drizzle 1/2 to 1-cup chocolate syrup over the cake.

Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla to taste.

Spoon whipping cream over top of the cake. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Refrigerate until serving. Makes 10-12 servings.

{ 35 comments }

How To Make Homemade Refried Beans

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by Crystal on March 2, 2012

Guest post from Jill of The Prairie Homestead

If there is one food worth learning to make from scratch, it’s refried beans.

Homemade refried beans are:

1. Healthier -- Canned, store bought beans are usually full of hydrogenated oils and preservatives.

2. Frugal – I can get a 25-lb. bag of pinto beans from Azure Standard for around $25. That means I’m only paying about 75 cents for the beans I need to make this recipe. (This recipe makes at least as much as 2-3 cans from the store.)

3. Better tasting – To be perfectly honest, I despised refried beans for the longest time. It wasn’t until I learned how to make them myself that I discovered that I actually love them! Homemade refried beans have a much better texture and are full of flavor.

With reasons like that, you have to give these beans a try, at least once.

Homemade Refried Beans

(Feel free to cut this recipe in half- it makes quite a lot. However, they also freeze well.)

4 cups cooked pinto beans (You may used canned whole beans if you like. I prefer to use dry beans and cook them myself. Directions follow below.)
3 T. healthy fat for sauteing (Butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, or lard would all work here. Avoid olive oil as it isn’t stable at high temperatures.)
1 cup chopped onion
5 cloves minced garlic
2 1/2 t. cumin
2 t. paprika
2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. chili powder (more or less- the intensity of chili powders seems to vary)
1/2 t. black pepper
Milk, as needed (water or bean broth can be used if your family is dairy-free. However, I prefer the richness that the milk adds.)

Directions:

To prepare dry beans, place the beans in a large bowl, cover with an ample amount of water and allow to soak overnight. (Keep in mind that 1 cup of dry beans equals approximately 3 cups of cooked beans).

The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Cover them generously with fresh water and simmer for several hours or until tender. A slow cooker works wonderfully for this as well! I like to make up a big batch of beans and freeze the leftovers in 2 cup portions.

In a large pot or saucepan, saute the onions in the fat until they are soft and translucent.

Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

Add the beans. If your beans are without liquid, you may need to add extra water or milk at this point. (I prefer to leave a little of the bean broth in with the beans when I freeze them.)

Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and black pepper.

Bring to a slow simmer and allow it all to cook on low heat for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the mixture is dry, you may need to thin it with a splash of milk or water at this point. However, if you started out with extra liquid in your cooked beans, you may not need to add anything.

Once the beans have cooked down for a while and the flavors have had time to incorporate, mash them with a potato masher, fork, or my personal favorite: an immersion blender. I prefer slightly chunky beans, versus a super-smooth “puree” consistency.

Serve with tacos, burritos, or alongside chips as a dip. One of our favorite ways to eat refried beans is to make simple bean quesadillas with homemade tortillas, cheddar cheese, and dipped in sour cream.

Making refried beans from scratch transforms a rather boring side-dish to a flavor packed feature that just might end up being the main event on your menu. It’s worth giving them a try!

Jill writes from the homestead she shares with her husband, daughter, and ever-changing assortment of animals. When she’s not in the kitchen preparing traditional foods, you’ll find her outside riding horses, growing vegetables, milking her cow, and killing rattlesnakes. She blogs at The Prairie Homestead, where she enjoys encouraging readers to return to their roots, no matter where they may live.

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Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffle Recipe

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by Crystal on February 15, 2012

When I found this Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffle recipe on Passionate Homemaking, I knew I had to try it.

To my surprise, they turned out beautifully! They were a little lighter and crispier than typical waffles, but they were delicious and definitely a winner gluten-free, dairy-free recipe.

Of course, in typical fashion, I had to tweak the original recipe. So here’s what I came up with:

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Waffles

3 cups homemade rice milk
1 cup brown rice
2 cups gluten-free oats (you could also use millet or brown rice)
4 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a Vita-Mix (or other powerful blender), combine rice milk, grains, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. Blend on high for two minutes until the grain is completely ground and blended.

Add baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Turn on blender again and mix until blended. Oil or butter the waffle iron and cook waffles for 2-4 minutes each, until done.

Makes around 10-12 waffles.

Recipe adapted from Passionate Homemaking

Coming tomorrow: My homemade rice milk making experience.