Easy Crockpot Mongolian Beef

This crock pot meal is fabulous when school is in full swing and there are after school activities.

Ingredients:

1 pound stewing meat (I actually use 1.5 pounds and there is plenty of sauce)
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thickly (I omit this as my children don't like onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
1/2 cup hoisin sauce

Directions:

Dump everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you are going to cook it a bit longer it is advisable to add a little bit more water so it doesn't dry out. This is delicious with rice and a nice green vegetable such as broccoli, peas or green beans.

Freezer directions:

Mix all liquid ingredients and put in a freezer bag. Add your meat and mix up to be sure the beef is covered. Seal and date your bag and place flat in the freezer. Take out of freezer the night before cooking and put in your fridge to thaw. Next morning put in the crockpot and follow directions above.

Source: www.allrecipes.com (adapted from)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Yep. Another Paula Deen Magazine recipe! We love Chicken Cordon Bleu in our house, so I was intrigued by this recipe. It was very easy to fix and everyone loved it. The only rice I had on hand was a seasoned packet. I would definitely use plain rice next time due to the salt in the seasoned packet, and I would omit the salt that the recipe calls for. I think the ham adds enough salt to the dish. This would probably be a good freezer dish, too!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
3/4 cups prediced ham
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

*Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 11x7-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
*In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Add chicken and ham; cook until heated through. Add rice and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper; cook for 2 minutes.
*Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake for 45 minutes or until rice is tender.

Farmer's Casserole

This is a new favorite in our house.  I made it the first time for guests for New Year's Day Brunch and have since made it again for my family.  This is a great dish for a weekend lunch, brunch or dinner for the family.

Ingredients:

3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (24 ounce bag)
3/4 cup of shredded  Monterey Jack Cheese (3-4 ounces)
3/4 cup of shredded Cheddar Cheese (3-4 ounces)
1 cup ham or Canadian-style bacon (5 ounces)
1 can of mild green chilis (4.5 ounce can - optional)
1/4 cup green onions, sliced (2-3 medium)
4 beaten eggs
1 - 12 ounce can of evaporated milk (the full fat kind works best)
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Note:  You can use whatever kind of cheese you like.  It is yummy with a shredded cheese mix.
I make mine without the chilis and onions as my children don't like them, but I bet it is fabulous with them included!

Directions:

Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. 
Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish.
Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles, and green onions. 
In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt.
Pour egg mixture of potato mixture in dish.

NOTE:  Chill for several hours or overnight in the fridge before baking or immediately cover and place in freezer for future meal.

Serving Instructions:

Thaw completely (if frozen). 
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 
If you prefer; extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

If you want a reaaallly easy, flavorful soup to freeze and something that will make your house smell like the picture of fall for hours, look no further! Try Barefoot Contessa's roasted butternut squash soup.

Serves 4 to 6

3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded (I just used one)
2 yellow onions (again, I used one)
2 McIntosh apples, peeled and cored
3 tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 cups homemade chicken stock
½ teaspoon good curry powder

CONDIMENTS (these are what she recommends, but if you don't have the goods, some simple sour cream is good too):
• Scallions, trimmed and sliced diagonally
• Shredded coconut, lightly toasted
• Salted cashews, toasted and chopped
• Raisins
• Banana, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Cut the butternut squash, onions, and apples into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until very tender. This concoction smells divine and would be good all on its own!!!!

3. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock until it’s simmering. When the vegetables are done, place them in batches in a food processor and puree w/ some chicken stock until desired consistency. When all of the vegetables are processed, place them all in a pot and add enough chicken stock to make a thick soup. Add the curry powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Be sure you use enough salt and pepper to bring out the curry flavor. Serve hot with condiments on top of each serving.

Chicken Squares

I LOVE trying new, outta the box recipes. Here's one that I thought would be a good Sunday football meal but it would really be good anytime. My man BIG time loved it and so did my 3 year old. It's going to become a regular. I think you could maybe even make these and freeze them inside the dough uncooked? If so, I'm guessing you'd just have to pull them out and bake them. I got this from my friend at Musing Foodie.

Chicken Squares
Here is what you need:
2-3 chicken breasts - cooked and shredded
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 a stick of butter
3 T. onion
1/2 c. milk
Salt / Pepper
2 tubes of crescent rolls (8 each) (this mixture actually lasted 3 crescent roll cans worth for me)
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Musing Foodie says:
Take several cooked chicken breasts and shred them, adding in a package of cream cheese, half a stick of butter, 3 tablespoons of finely minced onion, 1/2 cup of milk and some sea salt and pepper. It makes a rich chicken salad consistency and you'll want to begin spooning it down right then and there, but control the urge as you pop open a tube of crescent rolls, mush two together so it makes a rectangle and then place a generous scoop in the center. Pull all four corners up to meet and then seal the sides by squeezing the seams together. You don't want the chicken salad mixture to leak out while baking - so squeeze those seams good!

I sprinkle seasoned stuffing mix on top and bake at 350 degrees for about 20ish minutes, until the top is nice and golden brown. Cream of mushroom soup diluted with several tablespoons of milk makes an excellent sauce to spoon over each Chicken Square prior to serving. I love these.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

We are HUGE fans of Texas Pete fans so this recipe is a definite pallet pleaser in our house. Disclaimer: It's definitely not for people who can't take things very spicy. I think next time I might double or triple the recipe and freeze the remainder b/c there are TONS of possibilities for this meat (sandwiches, hoagies, nachos, homemade pizza w/ crescent roll crust, wraps, and on and on). We've already tried two options and they were both great...very flavorful! It's a great meal to accompany a day of football games on TV or even after a long week of a nasty cold to clear out those sinuses. We topped it with blue cheese and scallions which was delish but next time I think we'll try the hoagies all the way w/ lettuce and tomato, too.

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided (preferably Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce)
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise (note: whatever bread you use, make sure it is pretty hearty and won't get soggy when it sops up the yummy sauce)

Directions
1.Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
2.Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

Southwestern Taco Pie

A friend of mine recently sent me the following recipe from The Food Network. I wanted to find some meals that I could freeze and she said this was a good one. I doubled the recipe to make one for dinner tonight and then froze another. It was very easy to make and VERY yummy! My entire family loved it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean, ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1/3 Cup water
1 Tbsp Oil
1 (1 lb bag) frozen green, red, yellow peppers and onions--I left this out because my family doesn't like these!
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt (I left the salt and pepper out and it did not effect the outcome at all)
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1/2 Cup Salsa
8 oz. shredded cheese (Mexican blend works well)
2 refrigerated pie crusts (the type you can unroll yourself)

Directions
*preheat oven to 400 degrees
*Brown ground beef in large skillet for 8-10 minutes. Drain and add taco seasoning and water; mix until beef is well coated.
*Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan until hot. Add peppers and onions; cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Add garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, corn and salsa. Stir well and set aside.
*Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie, using a glass or metal pie pan. (Because I froze one and made one for dinner, I bought 2 frozen pie crusts already in the pie plates and then two that I unrolled for the tops).
*Combine salsa mixture with ground beef mixture and mix well. Place 1/2 of cheese on bottom of pie shell, spread 1/2 of beef mixture over cheese and pat down, sprinkle 3/4 cheese over meat mixture, top with remaining beef mixture and pat down, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese. Top with second crust and flute edges; slit in several places.
*Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown (If freezing, wrap 2-3 foil layers over top of unbaked pie and place in freezer). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Sausage Balls

"These are easy and tasty. A great make ahead item for a Christmas party appetizer or to serve guests. I made a batch this afternoon and baked some and placed the rest uncooked in the freezer for Christmas".

1 pound of bulk pork sausage (you can use any flavor or heat).
2 cups of Bisquick or a homemade substitute
3 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

*I added a bit of Worcestershire Sauce to my mixture, however, this is not in the original recipe

Mix all ingredients together using your hands. I would suggest combining the sausage and the Bisquick first and adding the cheese last. You may have to work at it to get everything incorporated, but it will come together.
Roll about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture in a ball. Repeat until done.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Freezer instructions: Roll into balls and flash freeze on wax paper on a cookie tray. When the sausage balls have hardened move to freezer bags. Thaw in your fridge and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Baked Chicken Fingers

When chicken breasts are on sale make baked chicken fingers in a snap. Enjoy some fresh from the oven and place the remainder in the freezer. No need to purchase fried chicken or chicken nuggets from the store. These are great sliced on salads and lunch for the little ones with some dipping sauce on the side.

2 lbs of boneless, chicken breasts (skinless)
Sauce: 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of bottled ranch dressing
*I reduce the fat content by using skim milk and fat free ranch dressing
Coating: cup of seasoned bread crumbs
*Adjust sauce mixture and coating depending on amount of chicken you are preparing and use plain or seasoned bread crumbs depending on your preference. Also, add a little paprika if you like!

Mix the milk and ranch dressing together well with a whisk.
Cut the chicken in strips or nuggets.
Place the chicken in sauce and coat well.
Place chicken in the bread crumbs.
Place coated chicken on a spray-treated baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes, turning once.
Remove from oven and enjoy or cool on baking sheets to follow freezer directions below.

Freezing directions:
Allow cooked chicken to cool on the baking tray then place tray with cooked chicken in the freezer and freeze until firm.
Place the frozen strips/nuggets in freezer bag.
You just reheat frozen chicken on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes (until hot).

Buster Bars

When the weather gets warmer it is fun to have a yummy treat in the freezer. This is a breeze to prepare, a crowd pleaser, slices easily so can be served spur of the moment and a great summer after meal treat which can be prepared the night before hosting a get together.

1 package of Oreo Cookies (crushed)
½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1 16oz. jar of hot fudge sauce
1 ½ cups peanuts
1 quart Cool Whip

Instructions:
Line bottom of 9x13 dish with crushed Oreos.
Spread softened ice cream over Oreos.
Refreeze ice cream.
Spread on fudge sauce.
Spread peanuts on fudge, then Cool Whip over peanuts.
Freeze again.

Cut in squares and serve (approximately 15 servings)

Note: Can be made with light ice cream and light cool whip if you are trying to cut the fat. I opt not to use peanuts, but if you and your family like them they would be a great addition. This can also be divided in two 8 x 8 pans so would make a great food gift when taking a meal to a friend or neighbor.

Cranberry Chicken

We had this for dinner this evening and I must admit that I had forgotten how yummy it is!

8 ounces of Catalina Dressing (regular or low fat)
1 package of onion soup mix
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce (16 ounces)
4 boned or boneless chicken breasts

Mix together the dressing, onion soup mix and cranberry sauce. Place the chicken and the sauce in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour (until your chicken is done).

This goes really well with steamed rice and veggies.

Freezer Directions:
Mix together the dressing, onion soup mix and cranberry sauce. Place the chicken and mixer together in a freezer bag. I then place in another freezer bag and label and date. When ready to prepare thaw overnight in the fridge and follow instructions above.

Frozen Peanut Butter Bars

I just made a batch of these today for my hubby. These are so easy to make. Just grab one from the freezer to put in the lunch box or great as an evening snack.

1 cup of butter of margarine
2 cups of creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (I use one full 12 ounce bag of semi-sweet)
1/3 cup of milk

In a large saucepan, melt butter and peanut butter together.

Remove from heat.
Add crumbs and powdered sugar, mixing well.
Spread peanut butter mixture in a jelly roll pan (for thinner bars) or 9x13 pan (for thicker bars). Chill in fridge until firm.
When the peanut butter layer is firm melt chocolate chips with milk over low heat.
Spread over chilled peanut butter mixture. Chill again until firm.

Freezing Directions: Cut into serving size pieces. Wrap individually in sandwich bags and then place in a one gallon freezer ziplock bag. Eat straight from the freezer or thaw slightly.