Friday, April 17, 2009

Chicken Taco Rice

(There was enough to feed my family 3 times. AND I forgot to put half of the taco seasoning in so there is usually a little more spice to it.)

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 cups Chicken broth
8 oz. Tomato sauce
1 pkg. Taco seasoning mix
1-1/2 Brown rice, uncooked
1/2 cup Red or Green Pepper
1 can of corn

On Hand:
Shredded cheddar cheese

Optional Ingredients:
Tortilla chips, flour tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, etc.

Assembly Directions:
Mix everything in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is done (about 40-50 minutes). Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Freezing Directions:
Allow rice mixture to cool. Place in appropriate sized containers. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat in microwave until warm. You can also reheat it in a saucepan if you add a little bit of water before heating. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve with tortilla chips.

Comments:
This is a great after school snack. Use it to make quick nachos or a filling for tacos.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Quinoa and Black Beans

Quinoa is a power grain- a complete protein and a great substitute for rice or taco filling. This recipe makes plenty for 8: • 1 onion, chopped • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped • 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (make sure to rinse thoroughly) • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper • salt and pepper to taste • 1 cup frozen corn kernels • 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro Directions 1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned. While this is cooking, soak quinoa in water for 5 minutes. Drain. 2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, 3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro. 4. Enjoy with brown rice and corn tortillas, top with cheese and avocado

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Creamy Minestrone Soup

Jana got this recipe from Allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef or Ground Sausage or both
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 (15 ounce) cans mixed vegetables, with
liquid (Jana used fresh cut-up vegetables)
2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, with liquid
2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes,
with liquid
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped
spinach
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping


Directions:
1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, stir and cook onions in butter until soft. Add ground beef/Sausage and cook until browned. Add broth, mixed vegetables, kidney beans, tomatoes, spinach, and tomato paste; simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove about half of the vegetables to a blender or food processor, reserving liquid in stock pot. Puree the vegetables until smooth and return them to stock pot. (Jana did not puree - she left the vegetables chunky and I agree - loved it with the chunky veggies)
3. Stir in garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, basil, macaroni, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, garbanzo beans, and heavy cream; cook for 1/2 hour, stirring frequently. Pour into bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. (Jana likes to add Basil, if she has it on hand)

Parsely Parmesan Chicken



I got this recipe from the Freezer Chicks who do a freezer swap like we do. I stumbled across their site this past week and think I may be using many more recipes from there soon! I've modified the recipe to show it on a single dish scale.

Ingredients:
2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 6-8 chicken breasts)
1/3 bottle of Italian salad dressing
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 c dry bread crumbs (used Seasoned Italian bread crumbs)
1 1/2 T parsley flakes
1/2 T paprika
Salt & Pepper

Assembly Directions:
Marinate chicken in dressing overnight.
Mix the remaining ingredients and bread each breast with coating.

To Freeze: Lay chicken breasts side by side on baking sheets and place in freezer for 1 to 2 hours to firm up. Place chicken in labeled gallon size Freezer Bag and freeze.

Cooking Directions:
Thaw & bake at 350 uncovered for 30 minutes or until done.

Makes 8 (4 oz) chicken breasts Cost $5.50 per meal (Chicken on sale for $1.99/lb)

This was super easy to make and they smelled delicious! Haven't cooked ours yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Going to serve with it with Marci's Zucchini Mozzarella Medley

Update: The Hubs made this dish while I was finishing up some work, and he made it with Asparagus and rice instead of the Zucchini. It was super yummy and I'll be making multiple batches again!

BBQ Spareribs

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Spareribs
1 c Catsup
2 c Water
1/4 c Worcestershire
1/4 c Vinegar
1 t Salt
1 t Celery Salt
1 t Chili Powder
1/4 c Brown Sugar


Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients and boil for 3 minutes. Allow to cool.

2. Place ribs in freezer bag and pour 2 cup of sauce over ribs. Lay
flat to freeze

3. To serve, thaw and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Baste ribs while baking.
Or bake ribs at 300°-325° for 2-3 hours.

Can be served with Southern Cole Slaw


Prepared by Virginia

Poppy Seed Chicken

This is another freezer meal recipe from 30 Day Gourmet. We were rushing to eat before heading out for Ella's kindergarten orientation so I didn't get a good picture of it, but I thought it was really good! I made some white rice and put this on top, but you could also cook up some extra egg noodles...it definitely could use the extra though and it makes the meal go further (we only ate about 1/2 of it).

(1 recipe=8 servings, in my opinion)
Ingredients:
- 5 oz. wide egg noodles
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup (21 oz)
- 1 1/2 c. chicken broth
- 16 oz. fat free sour cream
- 4 c. chicken cooked and cut into small pieces (I used 1 can chicken for each recipe, which is about 2 c.)
- 1/2 stick margarine, melted
- 1 1/2 c. Ritz crackers, crushed
- 2 T. poppy seeds

Assembly Directions:
-Cook noodles slightly less than package directions.
-Mix soup with broth, sour cream and chicken.
-Drain noodles and add to soup mixture.
-Combine crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter in a separate bowl.

Freezing and Cooking Directions:
-Label 2 bags for each person, one for chicken mixture and a small one for cracker topping.
-To serve: Thaw chicken mixture. Spread in 9x13 pan and stir (mixture will separate in freezing). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir, add topping and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 8, cost per meal $8.