Chicken Broccoli

1 cup margarine
1 cup flour
8 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups cooked chicken, cut up
2 lbs. broccoli, cut up and lightly steamed
2 lbs. cheddar cheese, grated

Make white sauce; melt margarine in a large heavy pan.  Add flour, stirring constantly.  When it reaches the boiling point, add milk, mixing constantly with a wire whisk.  Heat until almost boiling, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Place cooked chicken into four 8×8 inch baking pans; sprinkle each pan with grated cheese; cover pans with foil; label and freeze.  You can also store this in zip top freezer bags, saving the grated cheese to sprinkle on the top at serving time.

To serve: Thaw.  bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or pour from freezer bag and heat in heavy pan on stove top.  Serve over cooked rice, spaghetti, or fettuccine noodles.

Servings: 16

Freezer Friday - Cheesy Chili

I have done all of the grocery shopping and menu planning for my Once A Month Cooking extravaganza.  I will post a menu and the recipes as I go, but let’s just say that I got 6 weeks (excluding Sundays when we usually grill out) worth of meals for $240!  This doesn’t include the staples that we will need weekly, or items for breakfast or lunch, but the hubby usually takes leftovers for lunch and the kids and I will eat sandwiches or soup most of the time.  Included in the $240 was diapers, coffee, Drano, hangers, and some other odds and ends.  It also included the freezer bags, pans, aluminum foil and cling wrap.  I was thrilled.  So, here is one of the recipes that will be on the menu - haven’t cooked this up yet but plan to today, it sounds yummy!

CHEESY CHILI

2lbs. ground beef

2 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cans (10 ozs each) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 can (28 ozs) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (4 ozs each) chopped green chilies

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lbs. processed cheese (Cheez Whiz or Velveeta)

In a large saucepan, cook the beef, onions and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the tomatoes, chilies and pepper; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Serve immediately or allow to cool before freezing.  May be frozen for up to 3 months.

To use frozen chili:  Thaw in the refrigerator; heat in a saucepan or microwave.

Servings: 12

Freezer Veggie Calzones

This recipe courtesy of Taste of Home magazine Veggie Calzones

1/2 lb    fresh mushrooms, chopped   1   medium onion, chopped   1   medium green pepper, chopped   2 Tbs    vegetable oil   3   plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped   1   can (6 ounces) tomato paste     1 cup    (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese   1 cup    (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese   1/2 cup    grated Parmesan cheese   2   loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed   1   egg   1 Tbs    water     1 In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add tomatoes; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; set aside. Combine cheeses and set aside. 2 On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a 7-in. circle. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup of vegetable mixture and 1/4 cup of cheese mixture over one side of each circle. Brush edges of dough with water; fold dough over filling and press edges with a fork to seal. Place calzones 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. 3 Beat egg and water; brush over calzones. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Cool desired number of calzones; place in freezer bags. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the remaining calzones 18-22 minutes longer or until golden brown. Serve immediately. 4 To use frozen calzones: Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 servings. To use frozen calzones: Place calzones 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.   Servings: 8

Round Steak Casserole in the Crock Pot

This isn’t much of a recipe, but it is delicious and very easy.

3-4 lbs boneless round steak, cut into bite sized pieces

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup

Cooked rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes

Place the round steak in the crock pot.  Mix together the soup mix and mushroom soup and “plop” on the top of the round steak (don’t worry, the steak will produce enough juice to make the gravy).  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, stirring just a few times to mix the soups into a gravy.  Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

This is one of my family’s favorites and it couldn’t be easier!

Chicken Taco Quiche

This recipe is courtesy of Taste of Home Simple and Delicious February 2008 - I will be making this tonight so will keep you posted on how it turns out. 

Prep: 20 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes

2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches)

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

2 envelopes taco seasoning, divided

2/3 cup salsa

2 cups (8 ozs) shredded cheddar cheese

8 eggs

2 cups half and half cream

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 can (4 ozs) chopped green chilies

1/2 cup sliced ripe olives

Line unpriced pastry shells with a double thickness of heavy- duty foil.  Bake at 400 ° for 4 minutes.  Remove foil; bake 4 minutes longer.

In a small bowl, combine chicken and one envelope taco seasoning; spoon into pastry shells.  Top with salsa and cheese.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, butter and remaining taco seasoning.  Stir in chilies and olives.  Pour over cheese.

Cover and freeze one quiche for up to 3 months.  Cover edges of remaining quiche loosely with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400º for 33-35 minutes or until knife inserted in near the center comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

To use frozen quiche: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw).  Cover edges of crust loosely with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400º for 70-75 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 2 quiches (6 servings each).

Southwestern Casserole

So, I have decided that Fridays are going to be Freezer Fridays.  By this I mean that all recipes that I post on Fridays will either freeze well, or will make enough for two meals meaning you can freeze one.  I will let you know whether I have tried this before and will try and rate it 1-5 (one being the lowest, 5 being the highest).  Without further ado - here is the recipe for Southwestern Casserole:

1   package (7 ounces) elbow macaroni   2 lbs    ground beef   1   large onion, chopped   2   garlic cloves, minced   2   cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained   1   can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained   1   can (6 ounces) tomato paste     1   can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained   1- 1/2 tsp    salt   1 tsp    chili powder   1/2 tsp    ground cumin   1/2 tsp    pepper   2 cups    (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese   2   jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture. 2 Transfer to two greased 2-qt. baking dishes. Top with cheese and jalapenos. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly and heated through. Serve one casserole. Cool the second casserole; cover and freeze for up to 3 months. 3 To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Cover and bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Servings: 12

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it is on my menu this week - I will try to let you know how it turns out.  I am looking forward to making these freezer recipes, and easy way to stock up the freezer with meals that just need to be heated.  Happy Friday:)

Note:  I finally made this last night (4/21) and my family really enjoyed it.  I did have a few cans of Mexicorn laying around and added that and for the seasoning I used a packet of chili seasoning.  To save on cost I also halved the hamburger and doubled the pasta - there still seemed to be plenty of meat, at least for me.  This one will definitely be making the menu again:)