Recipe Roundup: October 2012

Beef Burritos

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)

1 diced onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons whole peppercorns

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)

1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)

Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag. Label and freeze. When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes.Serve with Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple. You can make the rice in advance, allow it too cool, place into a zipper freezer bag, flatten (as much as possible, seal and freeze. To reheat, vent the bag and microwave until desired temperature, transfer to serving dish.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Beans

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn OR one can of corn, drained
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. Label and freeze.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours).
Serve with tortillas and toppings such as with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.

Pepperchini Beef Sandwiches

Make Ahead Meal Ideas

2-3 lb Beef Roast

1 16 oz. jar pepperchinis (yellow pepper rings) Adjust to your taste, I usually only use ½ the jar.

One Packet (Dry) Italian seasoning OR 1 TBS Homemade Italian Dressing Dry Mix

Add all contents to the bag. Label and freeze. When ready put in crock-pot 6-8 hrs on low. Shred meat and serve on Crusty Rolls, don't for get to Thaw the Crusty Rolls for dinner!

Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. Label and freeze.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Sprinkle with fresh or dried rosemary for serving.
Serve with oven roasted potatoes. I need to post a recipe for the potatoes don't I?

Garlic Honey Chicken

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
⅓ cup soy sauce
⅔ cup ketchup
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

(Feel free to double the sauce if you like extra sauce, we like it on our rice too!)

Add all the ingredients to a freezer bag. Label and freeze. When ready to put in to crock pot. Cook 3-4 hours on high OR 5-6 hours on low. We like to eat this with brown rice and a veggie.

Beef Stew

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 pound stew meat cubes
4 carrots, sliced. I usually use half a bag of baby carrots
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. Be sure to label. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours).

Teriyaki Pork Chops

Make Ahead Meal Idea

4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick

Salt and pepper to taste (you can sprinkle them before you add them to the bag.)

I also like to sprinkle the meat with ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

⅓ cup chicken broth

Add the pork chops, garlic cloves, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chicken broth to the freezer bag. Write the following instruction on the bag – Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7 hours. We ate this with white rice. I also shred the chops to go farther for my family of 7.

Chicken Cacciatore

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 lb chicken breasts
1 (26 oz) jar of chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together. Label with directions
Garnish: chopped black olives (optional, I hate olives), shredded Parmesan cheese
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles and garnish with olives and cheese. Also would be delicious with Copycat Olive Garden Bread Sticks

Chicken Fajitas (this is my family's favorite!)

Make Ahead Meal Idea

2 bell peppers (your favorite) Seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips like the peppers
1 1/2 pound chicken breasts
1 envelope taco seasoning OR 1 TBS of Homemade Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup salsa

You will also need tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc.

I put a bag of tortillas and some shredded cheese together and Label them to go with the fajitas.

Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)
When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
When it’s cooked, shred/slice the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Make Ahead Meal Idea

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets
2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce
1 large green pepper, chopped (optional)

1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together. Be sure to label!
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.
Serve with cooked fettuccine noodles, green salad. Or make up some of these Herb Crusted Rolls (these also freeze well after being baked. Just cool, store in zipper freezer bags, and thaw 1 hour before eating. Or wrap in foil and reheat in the oven!!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

Make Ahead Meal Idea

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

½ cup white sugar

½ cup vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

½ cup of pineapple juice (use what’s in the can)

½ can of large pineapple chunks

Add all the ingredients to the bag. Label. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. Serve it over rice and enjoy. While I am cooking the rice I like to shred the chicken and put it back in the juice before I serve it.

I have also made up "minute rice" while I was putting together my freezer bags. I take out a family sized portion of the cooked rice and place it into a zipper bag, press it flat and freeze it with the bag of chicken mixture. Just vent the bag of rice and microwave to reheat, then transfer to a serving bowl.

Black Bean Taco Soup

(Make Ahead Meal Idea)

1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
1 (16 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed (you could use kidney beans or pinto beans)
2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
Brown meat and onion, drain. Let meat cool for a minute, then dump into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.
Dump the remaining ingredients into the bag, mix together, and zip bag closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or LOW for 2-3 1/2 hours.
Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

Slow Cooker BBQ Spareribs (Make Ahead Meal Idea)

Jennifer S.

1-2 lbs of country-style pork ribs
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 Tablespoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
Place pork in resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over pork. Mix together in bag and zip closed. Label and freeze.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours.
Serve with Easy Cheesy Potatoes (which can also be made in advance and frozen) and a bag of frozen corn.

Make-Ahead Meal Party Recipes

Thanks to all who continue to make my page and my parties a great success!

Here are all the dishes that were brought over to my 1000+ Celebration party. The theme was "Make-AHead Meals". I wanted something to put in the fridge or freezer to pull out when you needed it most.

From Who Needs A Cape?

Bolognase Sauce/Gravy

From Barefootingly Simple

Canned Cabbage Soup

Cabbage Soup
1 lb ground beef
1 head of cabbage, chopped
46 oz V-8 Juice
28oz Stewed tomatoes (or a quart canned tomatoes)
10 ¾ oz Rotel or salsa (or a pint of Rotel style or salsa)
3 (15oz) cans Kidney Beans (or 3 cups dried beans)
1 chopped medium onion
Salt and pepper to taste and any other spices you wish. I sometimes use Italian spices. I also sometimes add bell peppers to it.

Brown beef and drain well. Mix everything together in a LARGE pot. Simmer for at least 1 hour. Best cooked a day ahead and reheated. Freezes and cans well. Pressure can at 10lbs pressure for 75 minutes(pints) or 90 minutes (quarts)

I have also switched out the ground beef with diced pork or ground turkey. The meat really doesn't matter- you could leave it out if you wanted to make it vegetarian! I love this soup!!

Here is a picture of it canned in Pints! (this is with the pork) When canning add more tomato juice so it doesn't get too thick in the pressure canner.

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Slow Cooker BBQ Spareribs

From Crumbs in my Mustachio

Stuffed Shells

Just place Stuffed Shells covered with foil in the freezer until you want to bake them. Thaw in fridge over night, or pop into the oven frozen and add another 30-40 minutes to the cook time.

From The Fountain Avenue Kitchen

(Make-Ahead) Egg & Cheese Sandwiches with Prosciutto

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Black Bean Taco Soup

From Walking on Sunshine

Lasagna Roll Ups

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

From Citronlimette

Black Bean Lasagna

From The Food Geek Diary

Jalapeno, Sweet Pepper, and Ricotta Pancakes

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

From Manila Spoon

Spinach Quiche Cups

From Life Currents

Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Chicken Cacciatore

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Teriyaki Pork Chops

From Play with your food

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Beef Stew

From Crêpes Suzettes

Perfect Pesto

From MyRecipeRoundUp

Garlic Honey Chicken

From Uncle Gary's Gourmet Peppers and Pepper Jelly

Uncle Gary's Mango Jalapeno Banana Nut Bread

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2C. Jalapeno Peppers Fresh
* 3 mashed ripe bananas
* 1 cup diced mango
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/2 teaspoon ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Lightly grease a loaf pan.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ginger.

3. In another bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Add the eggs and mashed bananas and mix well.
4. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring constantly until fully blended.
5. Stir in the Jalapeno's Mango and Walnuts. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.
6. Cook in the middle of preheated oven at 350F for around 1 hour. Check the loaf is ready by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean the loaf is ready.

7. Allow to cool in loaf pan for 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the loaf pan and placing on a wire rack to cool fully.

TIPS: When using dried mango it’s a good idea to soak it in boiling water so it becomes nice and moist before adding it to the other ingredients. You can also add 1/2 cup of plain or vanilla yoghurt to make the banana bread more moist.

From MyRecipeRoundUp