Chicken Sausage and Pesto Pasta

This special sausage adds a lot of color to this dish. Serve with some steamed broccoli and melted cheddar.

12 oz. spinach chicken sausage, sliced
1 box farfalle pasta
1/2 c. basil pesto
2-4 oz. Parmesan cheese
opt. grated mozzarella

Prepare pasta as directed. In a large bowl combine pasta, pesto and cheese.

To freeze: Place mixture in a freezer pan. On cooking day thaw and bake as directed.

To Bake: Bake in baking dish covered with foil on 350 for about 20 minutes until heated through. If baking after it has been in the fridge thawing it will most likely take closer to 40 minutes to heat through. To made a little more sauce add a half cup of milk or half and half and extra mozzarella or Parmesan cheese.

April Meal Swap

This morning Amanda, Amity, Leah and I met at my house to swap our freezer meals. Everything looks so good!  We have a lot of chicken dishes this time which is no surprise since there were a lot of good sales for chicken these last few weeks. We discussed swapping again in mid May and are moving towards more crockpot and stovetop dishes for next time. We usually take a few months off in summer and then resume when kids go back to school.

(click on menu item to be taken to recipe)
CHICKEN
Lemon Chicken
Sunshine Chicken
Catalina Chicken
Chicken Sausage and Pesto Pasta
Cranberry Dijon Chicken
Chicken and Rice Wraps
Angel Hair Chicken Pasta
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

BEEF
Mostociolli
Slush Hamburgers
Swedish Meatballs

OTHER
Honey and Spiced Glazed Pork Chops
Turkey Taco Lasagna
Ham and Cheese Braid

Beef Meatball Sub Filling by Maggie and Turkey Meatball variation by Amanda

BY MAGGIE
Serves: 2 families of 6 (4 meatballs per person) or
4 families of 2-4 (3-6 meatballs per person)
2 jars Classico spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 can of crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
meatballs (about 48)
Puree tomatoes then add everything else except for the meatballs to a pot and simmer about 20 minutes or heat on low in a crockpot for about an hour. Add meatballs and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve on buns, french loaf or even on top of spaghetti with melted mozzarella or provolone cheese.

VARIATION BY AMANDA:
Serves:  2 families
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 can of crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
Frozen meatballs- I used turkey (30 per bag)
6 sub sandwich rolls per family

1. Puree tomatoes in blender for about 2 seconds.
2. Dump in to a large bowl.  Pour in 2 cans of spaghetti sauce, garlic, seasonings and mix well. 
3. Label freezer bags with directions (see cooking directions).
4. Place frozen meatballs in a bag then pour half the sauce into each bag (measures to be approx 3 1/2 cup sauce). Freeze flat.

Cooking directions: Thaw in fridge overnight.  Reheat on stove top and serve on buns, french loaf or even on top of spaghetti with melted mozzarella or provolone cheese. Broil if desired to toast the cheese on top!

BBQ Beef and Bean Cornbread Casserole by Amity

For the homemade barbecue sauce:
    1 1/2 c. ketchup
    1/2 c. brown sugar
    1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
    2 T. honey
    2 t. salt
    1 t. cumin
    1 t. chili powder
    1/2 t. allspice
    1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
    1/2 t. pepper

Combine all BBQ sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

For the beef and bean combination:

    1/2 lb. dried beans (any kind, I usually use pinto or kidney)
    1/2 – 1 lb. ground beef
    1 onion, diced
    salt and pepper to taste
    optional: 1/2 diced green pepper, 1 diced celery stalk, 1 shredded carrot
    2 c. barbecue sauce (homemade or from a bottle)

1. Soak beans overnight and cook until done.
2. Brown ground beef with onions and any optional ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste. Drain. Combine beans and beef. Add reserved BBQ sauce and stir to coat all. Pour into a 13×9 casserole dish.

For the cornbread:
    3/4 c. corn meal
    1 1/4 c. flour
    1/4 c. sugar
    2 t. baking powder
    1/2 t. salt
    1 c. milk
    1 egg, beaten
    1/2 c. vegetable oil, melted butter, or meat drippings
1. Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients until moist.
2. Spoon over beef and bean filling.
3 cover & freeze
4 cooking day: Thaw Bake @400* for 30-15 min.

Cheesy Potatoes with Ham by Amanda

my inspiration: http://freezermealsforus.blogspot.com/2011/01/funeral-potatoes-by-maggie.html

 but I updated/ changed recipe to this:

 

Ingredients:

½ C chopped onion
1 pint sour cream (1 pint = 2 Cups)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed

2 Cups of chopped ham (think Easter ham leftovers!)
salt + pepper to taste
optional: 3/4 sleeve Ritz crackers and 2 tbs melted butter
for a crunchy topping (don't freeze these)

Assembly:

Let hash browns thaw in fridge just enough that they can be poured (not frozen chunks) in with the other ingredients. In a large mixing bowl combine onion, sour cream, soup, cheese, salt and pepper, hash browns and ham pieces. Mix well. Label freezer bag with cooking instructions. Freeze bag.

Ready to eat:
When ready to prepare, thaw potato mixture in fridge over night. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Pour potato mixture into 9x 13 casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. (May be longer depending on how frozen the meal is before cooking.

To make this even yummier you can add a topping during the last 15 minutes. Top with 2 C. crushed potato chips or Ritz crackers combined with ½ C melted butter. Sprinkle potato chips on top, then drizzle with butter.

Baked Chimichangas by Maggie

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Ground Turkey ( Or Chicken)
• 1 package Taco Seasoning (1.25 Oz)
• 1-¼ cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 2 teaspoons Chopped Fresh Oregano
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• 1 can Fire-roasted Green Chiles (7 Oz.)
• ½ cups Diced Fresh Tomatoes
• 2 Chopped Green Onions
• ½ cups Low Fat Sour Cream
• ½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 6 Flour Tortillas (burrito Sized / Large)
• ½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (to Melt On Top)
• GARNISH: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cheese, Guacamole, Salsa, Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Saute poultry until cooked through and starting to brown. Add taco seasoning and stir. Add water and stir. Over med – low heat cook until liquid has reduced 2/3.
Add cumin, oregano, cilantro, chiles, tomatoes and green onions. Simmer until the rest of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.

For eating tonight:
Lay tortillas on wax paper and brush both sides with the melted butter. Spoon 1/6 th of filling into center of tortilla and fold like and envelope.
Put tortillas, seam-side down on a non-stick sheet pan. Spaced so they DO NOT touch. Bake 20 -25 minutes at 350 or until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven to melt. Serve with the garnishes.
Freezing Instructions:
Lay tortillas on wax paper. Spoon 1/6 th of filling into center of tortilla and fold like and envelope. Carefully lay tortillas in a single layer inside a Ziploc freezer bag. Freeze flat. Night before eating... thaw overnight, preheat oven to 350. Spray pan with Pam AND spray tops of burritos with Pam... or drizzle with melted butter. Bake until golden brown.

Makes 6 servings.

Poll Results: What kinds of goals have you set for the New Year?

Check out the results of this month's poll.  For the majority of us- our Health is the main focus for improvement and change this year. Nearly 2/3 of you chose it as your primary resolution. It's such an important goal to have and one that will make an incredible difference in your life. Best of luck to all of you as you work to achieve your goals.

What kinds of goals have you set for the New Year?

Health/Diet	204 (63%)
Getting Out of Debt	136 (42%)
Building Relationships	59 (18%)
Big Life Change: Get married, have a baby, get a job, move	66 (20%)
I don't set goals at the New Year	34 (10%)

Total Votes: 319

Sounds Boring, but Tastes Good Noodle Bake by Maggie

8-10 oz. egg noodles, uncooked
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. cheese, shredded
1 16oz. can corn (or 1 1/2 c. frozen corn)
2 tsp. chili powder (I usually do 3 tsp.)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-2 8oz. can tomato sauce (add one... then add another if you want it saucier)
1/4 c. water (I pour the water into the tomato sauce can and slosh around to get all the tomato out of the can)

If you are cooking to eat tonight:
Boil noodles till soft; drain well. Brown ground beef with onion. Drain any fat. To the meat mixture add the rest of the ingredients, including the noodles. Let simmer on low about 5 minutes. Then serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

If you are freezing:
Boil noodles till al dente; drain well. Brown ground beef with onion. Drain any fat. To the meat mixture add the noodles and other ingredients EXCEPT for the cheese.  Mix well then let cool to almost room temperature. Add the cheese and stir. It should not melt if you cooled it sufficiently.  Pour everything into a labeled Ziploc freezer bag.  When you want to eat this make sure you thawed it, then prepare on stovetop by dumping mixture into a skillet and simmering on the stovetop for 10 minutes.  Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

***For our freezer meal swap this month I only cooked the meat sauce portion and bagged it and gave each swapper a bag of noodles to boil just before serving. The noodles are better fresh.... but it does require that little extra prep the night you plan to eat this.