Bonus Meals

I love love LOVE comfort food! And I love love LOVE my crock pot (I get lazy sometimes..and by sometimes, I mean all the time).  It may be the middle of summer, but I wanted comfort food. This beef stew recipe was the perfect choice..1.) it's comfort food, 2.) I can make a bonus meal out of it, and 3.) it has dumplings.  I'm the carb queen!

The recipe is so super simple.  Next time you shop, grab double the ingredients and make two meals out of it.  This is also a great recipe for beginner freezer cookers, because you can put all of these ingredients (sans the dumplings) into a gallon freezer bag and just dump it in the pot the day you are ready to eat.  Easy-peasy.
I've adapted the recipe from http://www.amazingsouprecipes.com.  I planned on making a bonus meal out of this recipe, so I bulked up on the veg to stretch it a bit more as well.  In the end, my hub & and I each had seconds for dinner, plus each had a serving for lunch the next day.  AND I made two pot pies..from one recipe!

Beef Stew with Dumplings
{makes 6-8 servings}
2lbs stew beef, cut in chunks
4 ribs celery, cut into chunks
4 carrots, cut into chunks (those mini carrots work great...no cutting--remember I'm lazy)
2 onions, sliced
shrooms, if you like 'em
1 tsp black pepper (now, this is a lot, but I really enjoy the depth it gives, but you could cut it back to 1/2 or                                even 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp ground mustard
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3/4 c red wine (or be boring and use beef broth)
6 oz can tomato sauce
1 beef bullion cube
salt to taste

to thicken later:
1/4 c water
1/4 c flour

dumplings:
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c bisquick mix
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp oregano

Instructions:
1. Sear the beef on all sides and remove from pan. (I skipped this step..it's lazy I am.)
2.  Add beef, veggies, spices, wine, tomato sauce & bullion into crock pot (or gallon bag).
3. Cook it on low for 8-10 hours
4. Combine water & flour; add to stew.
5. Combine dumpling ingredients; drop by spoonful into stew.  Cover and turn on high for 30 minutes.

ENJOY! I sure did...

(beer is a comfort food too, yes?)

Bonus Recipe:

Beef Pot Pies

Before I added the dumplings, I scooped out stew and ladled it into 2 disposable tins.  I had pastry dough in my freezer that I had taken out the night before.  I covered the two tins (once completely cool) with the dough and wrapped them up tightly & labeled them and added them to my freezer.  Angela & I will be in Florida for about 2 weeks and our husbands can just stick the pot pies in the oven (that's about as fancy as they get in the kitchen).

Do you still crave comfort food in the summer?

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Playing Catch Up!

It's been a while since my last post..but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the kitchen!

I've been busy meal planning, food shopping, cooking and ugh, cleaning.  I love cooking, but just hate cleaning up the mess I make.  Probably it's because, as my husband often reminds me, that whenever I cook I dirty every dish in the house.  Hey, making a mess is half the fun, right?

Speaking of fun, let's talk ice cream.  So last week my daughter and Angela's niece had a play date.  While they were playing, I ran out to go to a doctor's appointment...and while I was gone they whipped me up a blueberry pie.  And this is NO ordinary blueberry pie.  It's the best, most amazing, delicious,you-need-it-in-your-belly-right-now kinda pie.  Now most people put a scoop of ice cream on top of their pie.  And that's a great idea... but I had a better one.  After I ate half the pie (literally)...I was in a pie coma.  And while in that lovely pie coma, I had an idea.. why not put the pie IN the ice cream?  I love my ice cream maker, and don't use it as often as I'd like so it was a no brainer!

I made a basic vanilla ice cream and after it had churned in my ice cream maker, I scooped half of it into a Tupperware, then crumbled 1/4 of the pie on top of the ice cream.  I repeated that process with the remaining ice cream and pie.  Then I took a spatula and smoothed the top of the ice cream down and made sure all pie pieces were covered by the ice cream.  Let it set up and freeze...and voila! Delicious, seasonal, homemade ice cream! Can't beat it!

Angela's blueberry pie

Crust

- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 2/3 cup shortening

- 8 to 10 Tbs of cold water

In medium bowl stir together the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of water over part of the flour mixture. toss with a fork, Push moistened pastry to the side of the bowl. Repeating moistening flour mixture, using 1 Tbs of water at a time, until flour mixture is moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll out and line your baking plate. There will be extra along the side, just cut along the side to make it even. I like a thicker crust, so if you like it thinner, cut this in half.

Filling

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

- 5-6 cups of fresh blueberries ( I use 3 containers or 6 small)

- 1 Tbs of lemon juice

Topping

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1/c cup packed brown sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 425. In large bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into a pastry lined baking plate. sprinkle with lemon juice. Sprinkle your topping all over the top evenly. Cut butter into small pieces and place all over the blueberries. Bake for 34-45 min. Let sit for about 2-3 hours before eating to allow it to set.

Enjoy

I used my cuisinart ice cream maker and slightly adapted their vanilla ice cream recipe:

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 & 1/2  cups Vanilla Almond Milk
1 & 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. Transfer half of the ice cream into a Tupperware  then crumble 1/4 of a pie on top.  Repeat process with remaining pie & ice cream.  Gently press a layer of plastic wrap on the ice cream, then cover with lid and freeze (about 8 hours).  ENJOY!

***Notes: Next time I make this, I think I will smush the blueberries in the pie before adding the pie pieces to the ice cream...the berries have such a high water content and become mini ice cubes in the ice cream.**

What's your favorite flavor ice cream in the summer?

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Sweet Summer Time

It's HOT!  It has been sweltering here the last week or so.  Super hot days, followed by muggy, thunderstorm filled nights.  My garden certainly isn't complaining!  The hot weather is the inspiration for my post today.  When we say "freezer friendly" or "freezer cooking" that doesn't just mean dinners!  Meghan Loc makes a mean breakfast burrito, I make homemade egg "McMuffins" for my hub and today I've made a snack/breakfast/healthy dessert to keep in my freezer.

I made yummy Greek yogurt "Popsicles."  So super easy and the combinations are endless!  I got these super cute and tiny popsicle molds from my grocery store not too long ago.  I made these pops with vanilla Greek yogurt, Kashi Go Lean Crunch and  some Berry Greek Frozen Yogurt I had already made in my freezer/

I simply layered a scoop of the vanilla yogurt, some Kashi, some Frozen Yogurt and then more vanilla yogurt.  I popped the lids on and they are currently sitting in my freezer!  Really the possibilities are endless...you could add fresh fruit, jelly, granola, any kind of cereal, any kind of yogurt...

Frozen Yogurt Breakfast Pops
1-2c of your favorite yogurt (I used vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt)
4 TBSP of Kashi Go Lean (or granola)
4 TBSP of Berry Greek Frozen Yogurt

Berry Greek Frozen Yogurt (Jamie Oliver)
1 cup yogurt (I used plain Greek, but use any that you have)
2 cups frozen berries 
2-3 tablespoon honey 
A few Mint sprigs

Blend in food processor until smooth and creamy.  

Here they are mid freeze:

I promise a better picture of the final product...still working on that camera!

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So We Meet Again!

Oh last night was so much fun!  Yesterday was my last day of school (teachers had to go back Monday & Tuesday for PD time), and ending my day with cooking club was such a wonderful way to start my summer! I've said it before, and I'll say it again...LOVE these ladies!  We even said last night...even if we don't cook, let's still have cooking club meetings to have girl time!

I had a random burst of inspiration one day and asked Angela what she thought about Cooking Club: BBQ Edition--Burgers.  She was down so I emailed the rest of the ladies and our menu this month was born!

On our menu this month we have:
Angela: Chicken tequila burgers
Meghan Loc: Buffalo chicken burgers
Andrea: pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches AND pizza burgers (someone had their fancy pants on!)
Meghan Lo (me!): Balsamic, Bacon & Onion Jam stuffed burgers

Beth couldn't join us this month because she recently gave birth to sweet baby Roman, but that doesn't mean her freezer stays empty!  We started our tradition for Andrea before she had Christian and we're continuing it on for the other new (or soon to be new) moms in our group.  Beth got some burgers and since Meghan Loc is about to pop (and still looks adorable, by the way) we all made an additional meal for her! (Angela made her salsa chicken and I made chicken cacciatore.  Andrea loaded her up with extra burgers.)

After lots of snacking, tomato pie, yummy lemon-mint water (half of our group are pregos!), and gossiping we finally swapped meals and said our good byes.  Next time we see Meghan Loc she will be holding Baby Tank in her arms (that'd be the baby's nickname...she doesn't plan on giving birth to the hulk).

These recipes and freezing instructions can be found under our "recipes" page.

Let us know: What's your favorite burger to throw on the grill?

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Revisiting an old recipe

I happen to have my nice Nikon camera out in our office from Mother's Day (when I finally pulled it off the shelf...).  It was a great wedding gift from my parents (thanks, Mom & Dad).  Since it was within easy reach, I decided it would be fun to snap some photos as I prepared a recipe for my freezer.  (Disclaimer: I may have gotten married four years ago...but I'm still learning how to work this camera!)

I wanted comfort food (my all time favorite) on our menu this week, so I revisited an old freezer meal: Chicken and Stuffing Bake .  I used the measurements and recipe that can already be found on our blog, but divided everything by two and made 2 meals for the freezer...expect one never made it to the freezer...we had it for dinner last night.  It was THAT yummy, we just couldn't wait!

Here are the ingredients:

 Then I mixed the milk and cream of chicken soup.

 Poured half over each tray of chicken breasts (2 in each tray).

 Letting my stuffing cool.  (I also may have taste tested it...several times.)

Then I packed half of the stuffing mixture in each tray, trying my best to keep it on top of the chicken. 

(no idea why the date is off..)

Then I wrapped both tightly in foil, labeled and placed in my freezer.

To cook: thaw and then bake at 375 for about 40 minutes to an hour.  I left mine covered, and then about 3/4 of the way through the cooking time I took the cover off.  ENJOY! 

I've also seen a very similar recipe on pinterest for the slow cooker...has anyone tried it?

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Slow Cooker Spaghetti

So I've been seeing it a lot on Pinterest...I've even pinned several varieties myself, but have never attempted cooking pasta in my Crock Pot.  

Well, tonight I tried it.  And I'll do it again!

I pinned this recipe to our Freezer Friendly board not too long ago.  It looked super yummy and my kid will eat pasta and sauce like it's going out of style, so that's a major win in our household.  I made several adjustments to the recipe (due to lack of them...) but it still turned out great.  My hubs even said it was a keeper, and he's pickier than our toddler!  

Here is a link to the original recipe: http://skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-cheesy-spaghetti-with-turkey-sausag/

I signed up for emails for more slow cooker (crock pot...what do you call it?) recipes  from the site.  YUM!

Below is the recipe with my adjustments:

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

24 ounces spaghetti sauce

8 ounces (uncooked) spaghetti, about 2/3 of a 13.25 oz box, break into small pieces before adding to meat mixture

2 cups low fat ricotta cheese

1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Kosher or sea Salt to taste

Directions

Sauté onion and garlic until softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Add beef and cook in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking into small pieces while cooking. Ensure the beef loses its pink color before removing from heat. Drain, discard any fat and set aside. Combine meat with marinara and broken spaghetti pieces.

In a medium bowl combine cooked meat with the remaining ingredients, add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 2-3 hours or until spaghetti is al dente and cheese is bubbly.

Serve and sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

NOTES:

I used my crock pot liner (easy clean up!) and cooked on high for about 2 hours.  I started on low, but I'm impatient and I didn't feel like it was getting hot enough all the way through.  

To make this recipe FREEZER FRIENDLY: 

1. Brown beef with onions and garlic, then set aside and cool completely.

2. Combine beef with spaghetti sauce and cheeses and S & P.

3. In a gallon freezer bag, add beef/cheese/sauce mixture, closing tightly to remove as much air as possible.  

4.  Break up pasta and place pieces in small Ziploc bag. (Now, you could just do this step when you are ready to cook the meal, too). 

5.  Place bag of pasta and bag of sauce into a larger gallon bag (keeping it all together) and label and freeze.

When you're ready to cook

                         :

1.  Thaw completely in fridge.                 

2. Mix to bags together.

3. Place mixture in your crock pot (that is fitted with a liner) and cook!

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Friday Night Feast

I did say in my last post I want to blog more frequently so I'm back already! I don't know about you, but it was a long Friday. Lots of icky rainy here from Tropical Storm Andrea.

I was excited that I had thought ahead to take out crab cakes for dinner tonight. It was a great meal to end the week with and since it was a freezer meal---no big mess to clean! 

The recipe I used was from www.skinnytaste.com (I simply adore that blog!) When I cooked a few weeks ago I doubled the recipe (easy!) and made two batches of 4 cakes each. I put the cakes in a round aluminum foil tin and wrapped tightly with foil. I also labeled with the contents and cooking directions before putting in the freezer. I usually label with the date as well, but crab cakes never last long in our house! I served them over a bed of baby spinach. I put the hot cakes on the spinach to give it a slight wilt. Along side for a starch I nuked some frozen steam-in-the-bag potatoes (don't judge me). All in all, a quick yummy meal!

I used silver sharpie on silver foil...whoops!

half way done cooking!

the final products!

Baked Crab Cakes 

(adapted to be freezer friendly from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/baked-lump-crab-cakes-with-red-pepper.html)

Makes 8 cakes

16 oz crab meat 

20-25 crackers, crushed

2 eggs, beaten

4 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped

2 tbsp mayo

handful (or more!) chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, juiced

s & p

Bake at 400 degrees, about 15 mins on each side.

1. Assemble your tins, foil and markers to freeze.

2.  Toss all ingredients, except crab meat in a medium bowl and mix together.

3.  Gently add in crab meat.

4. Form into patties.  The original recipe calls for using a 1/2 cup measuring cup and it's pure genius! 

Tear off foil, label with date, name and cooking instructions. Place 4 patties in tin and cover tightly with foil. Pop that yummy goodness into your freezer!

To cook:

Thaw over night in refrigerator.  Remove foil and bake in oven as directed.  

Notes:

There isn't a lot of filling in this recipe (which is a good thing!) so the patties may not stay perfectly together, and that's ok!  They will still taste delicious.  Between that, and the fact that there will be extra moisture in the patties from defrosting, I cook them slightly longer than the original recipe.  I suggest to start checking on them about 10 mins into cooking on the first side.  Give em a nudge and see if they're ready to flip.  If not, cook a few more minutes before flipping to the second side.  

Also, the sauce from the original recipe is to die for!  I haven't tried freezing that yet, because it's a mayo based sauce...but I have left overs from tonight that I might just try and freeze to see what happens! Like I said before...mistakes are OK!

If you wanted to freeze individual cakes, I would make as directed then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil and place cakes in a labeled gallon freezer bag.  Follow above directions for cooking! 

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