Maui Wowee Chicken

I started out with a recipe originally from Mom's Budget, but that recipe calls for 4 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup, which meant I would need 32 cans of soup for our 8 meals! I tested the recipe, and although my husband really liked it, it tasted too much of Crm of Chicken Soup to me. It is quick and easy though, so worth trying out if you want something fast to make. I knew I could make the sauce a little more fresh, and make it less expensive as well. So I tweaked my own version of it, closely using a recipe for Hawaiian Chicken in my What's For Dinner cookbook by Jana Schofield (Thanks Grandma, it's one of my favorites!).

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked and cubed Chicken Breasts
1 (20oz) can Pineapple Tidbits
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Green Pepper (1 cup)
1/2 Onion (1 cup)
2 carrots, sliced diagonally (1 cup)
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp soy sauce
On Hand:
4 cups cooked rice

Prep Directions:
To cook chicken breasts I boiled them in a large pot adding Chicken broth to the water, then I allowed them to cool and chopped. (this can be done ahead of time and packaged in 2 cup portions in the freezer for up to 2 months for fast dinner prep). Or chicken can be cooked in a large skillet with a small amount of oil until no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Drain pineapple. Add enough water to measure 1 cup. Combine juice vinegar and sugar in skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Add green peppers, onions and carrots to sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until carrot is crisp-tender. In a small bowl, blend cold water and cornstarch stirring until smooth. Add to sauce stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in pineapple tidbits, soy sauce and chicken. Heat through, if serving right away. If Freezing, label Freezer Bag, place mixture in Bag, allow to cool completely before laying flat in Freezer.

Serving Directions:
Thaw. Heat on Stovetop and Serve over Rice.

Serves 8 (although without sides, it would probably only serve 6)

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!

Spicy Sloppy Joes

1 1/4 lb Lean Ground Turkey
3/4 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 1/2 cups Bell Peppers, Red & Green, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Carrots, Shredded (3 medium)
2 (16 oz) jars Salsa
1/3 cup Tomato Paste
2 tsp Dried Basil, Crushed
1 tsp Dried Oregano, Crushed
1/2 tsp Salt (I used 1/4 tsp Sea Salt)
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced

*On Hand: Buns or Brown Rice.

Prep Day: In skillet, brown Ground Turkey and Beef, over medium heat, breaking meat up into pieces. Drain any fat, and let cool. Combine cooled beef with all other ingredients in a gallon-size freezer bag.

To Serve: Thaw overnight in refrigerator or defrost in microwave. Cook in slow cooker, covered, on High 2-3 Hours, or on Low 4-6 Hours. (Could probably put it into the crockpot frozen and let cook 8 hours.) Serve over Hamburger Buns or Brown Rice.
*I tried to keep the spice down in this recipe by using mixture of medium and mild salsa. If your family likes more spice you can add more cayenne when you cook it.

Serves 8, Cost per meal $8.79

My Personal Notes: Can use 2 lbs of any ground meat, I like to use ground turkey b/c it's leaner and healthier, but I added lean beef this time, for flavor, in case some families aren't used to the taste of ground turkey. I haven't made this recipe before but I chose it b/c it's a healthy version of Sloppy Joes, with out all the sugar, and with lots of hidden veggies (they should soften up nicely after slow cooking all day and the kids might not even notice them!) I could not find the piece needed for my food processor, and had to shred the carrots by hand. Will try to avoid doing that again in the future!

Chicken Cacciatore

So I didn't get a picture of the actual meal, but I did take a shot of all my Grocery's to make 8 6-serving dishes!

2 lbs. Chicken Breasts, boneless skinless
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 can Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Oregano
*On hand: 12 oz. Spaghetti

Prep Day:
Cut Chicken breasts into quarters. Combine with all ingredients into a gallon-size freezer bag and mush.

Serve: Place Cacciatore, frozen, into a crockpot and cook all day on low. Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Serves 6, Cost per dish $4.98