Freezer Meal Cooking Day 1

I finally got a friend talked into doing a cooking day with me!!  And it is was quite successful.  We started off small with 4 recipes: Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Pot Pie, Manicotti and Banana Bread (because I had to get rid of all those frozen, overripe bananas to make room for my freezer meals).

(Not the best pic, my 5 yr. old took it, but we are very proud of ourselves!)

I did the shopping this time, minus the pantry basics, we split the bill then with kiddos in tow my friend, Kelly and I started our morning at 10.  We were a little overwhelmed at first getting the 4 kiddos settled, trying to figure out the best approach, getting our caffeine ready for this cooking frenzy!  After the first hour we looked at the clock and what we had accomplished and thought we might have bitten off more than we could chew, fed the kiddos lunch then barreled through - we had to get done before naptime!  Because neither of us were giving that up.

Here are the steps we took for these recipes:
1. I started the bread, it was the only thing we had to put in the oven.
2. Kelly got the chicken breasts in the pot.
3. While Kelly waited for the chicken, she mixed up the manicotti cheese mixture.
4. Chicken done and cooling then shredded.
5. Once done with the bread, I mixed up the chicken enchilada mixture.
6.  Bread done, started wrapping enchiladas.
7.  Kelly boiled monicotti and peeled carrots for Chicken Pot Pie.
(At this point we realized that the pie crusts for the Pot Pie were not going to happen, that we would just make the cream sauce and when we get ready to use it we could purchase pie crusts or make a crust or biscuits)
8.  Kelly and I started stuffing manicotti....probably the most time consuming part but they are yummy!
9.  Packaged everything up to freeze and split our goods!

With the servings we made and how much the grocery bill was, I figured it is roughly .86 cents per serving, this did not include the bread and I did buy the pantry staples.  I still think that is awesome!

At 1:00 Kelly was out the door!

Here is our haul!

Applesauce

Another first for me.  David and I made applesauce last weekend and froze 4 - 32 oz. containers.  It is very yummy and very tasty.  It was super easy - mainly because my MIL has an grinder/peeler/applesauce maker (I am really not sure the technical term).  Apples are not in season just yet but we were given a half a box of red delicious apples that were leftover from a middle school church lock in.

We had about 30-40 apples (I kept forgetting to count) and froze 4 - 32 oz. containers.

First wash and quarter the apples (don't forget to remove any stickers, if you purchased them from the store)

Put about 2 inches of apple juice into your stock pot.

Put in quartered apples (if you have a grinder/peeler/whatnot you don't have to remove seeds or peel)

Cover and turn stove to hight until apples are very soft 20-30 minutes (stir occasionally to get the apples on the top to the bottom)

Once soft pour apples into the grinder and start cranking.

We did add a couple cinnamon sticks to our apple juice.

I am so excited about the yummy things that are filling up our freezer:

1 gallon bag of carrots

5 - 3 cup bags of sweet corn

1 gallon bag of green beans

7 - 2 cup bags of zuchinni

4 - 32 oz. of applesauce

Fruit Turnovers

1/3 cup sugar                                          
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 t. cornstarch                                         
all-purpose flour, for work surface
1/2 t. coarse salt                                     
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
3/4 lb. fresh or frozen fruit, cut into 1 inch pieces if necessary         
2 large egg yolks
coarse sugar (optional)

1.  In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Add fruit and lemon zest; toss to coat.  on a lightly floured work surface, roll each sheet of pastry into an 11 by 18 inch rectangle and cut into eight 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch rectangles.
2.  Dividing evenly, place filling lengthwise on one half of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border.  Combine 1 egg yolk with 1 t. water.  Brush border with egg wash; fold dough over filling and press edges to seal well.  with the tip of a sharp knife, cut vents into pastry.  Freeze turnovers. (see below)
3. To serve, preheat over to 400 degrees, with rack in lower third.  Place desired number of frozen turnovers on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Combine 1 egg yolk with 1 t. water; brush egg wash onto turnovers and sprinkle with coarse sugar (if using).  Bake until turnovers are deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.

To freeze: Freeze turnovers on a parchment lined baking sheet until firm.  Layer with wax paper in a resealable container or freezer bag.  Store in the freezer, up to 1 month.

*If using frozer fruit, increase sugar to 1/2 c.

*Recipe found in Everyday Food: A Martha Stewart Magazine (March 2010)

Breaded Pork Chops

4 large eggs                                         
2 cups plain dried breadcrumbs
1 T. plus 2 T. Dijon mustard                
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 T. plus 2 T. finely chopped fresh sage              
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted                                      
1/4 c. vegetable oil
8 bone-n pork chops (1" thick, 2.5 -3 pounds total)

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard, and safe and let stand 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, pound each pork chop (avoiding bone) between two pieces of plastic wrap to a 1/4" thickness.
2. Spread breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.  Pour egg mixture onto another rimmed baking sheet.  In batches, season pork chops with salt and pepper and coat in egg mixture.  Gently shake to remove excess, then dredge in breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere.  Freeze pork chops. (see below)
3.  To serve, heat broiler.  Place rimmed baking sheet in broiler to heat.  For each frozen chop, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; brush on both sides.  For each batch of two, place chops on sheet and broil until both sides are deep golden brown, 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

How to freeze: Layer pork chops between sheets of freezer paper and transfer to two 1-gallon freezer bags.  Press air out, seal bags, and freeze flat.  Store in freezer, up to 6 weeks.

*recipe found in Everyday Food: A Martha Stewart Magazine (March 2010)

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingrediants:
3 boneless skinless chicken breast
8 oz. sour cream
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can cream of (I have used chicken or celery)
large flour tortillas

Boil chicken, once cooked shred or cubed chicken breasts. While chicken is cooking mix in the four remaining ingredients. Once chicken is cut up add to the mixture and spoon into tortillas. Sometimes I don't fill all of the tortillas and put some of the filling on top while it cooks other times I want more enchiladas so I will use all the filling and top them with shredded cheese and salsa, they are also good without topping. These are perfect to put in a freezer safe container and freeze, for easy lunches (they just need warmed up since everything is cooked) or line them up in a 9x13 or 8x8 (depending on how many you are cooking at a time) and bake until warm through at 350 degrees, about 30-40 minutes.

Hope my directions make sense, ENJOY!