Frozen Burritos

When my husband and I were newly weds, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment and both attended university full-time. When we visited his parents in Montana, his mom made a huge double-batch of freezer burritos and sent them home with us.  I remember many times when we packed the burritos with us to go on campus because we knew we would be there late.  During the day we just stored them in the fridge in my husband's research office. They were so convenient!
I had a new baby a few weeks ago, and before she arrived, I made a batch of these burritos. Wow - if these came in handy when I was a college student, they were truly a lifesaver when, after a busy day, I was scrambling at 6pm to feed three little kids and myself, while my husband was still at work and I had a new baby to nurse. Not only are they quick and convenient, but they are tasty too! And my kids love them. Between lunches and last-minute dinners, we burned these through burritos at a fast rate, and now that we are all out, I'm missing them!

Frozen Burritos
Submitted by Erin  - thesisterscafe.com

1 ½ lbs hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 (31 oz) can refried beans
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 (about 10 oz) bottle mild red taco sauce
Half of a 10-oz can green enchilada sauce (or you can use about 5 oz from a bottle of green taco sauce)
¾ tsp cumin
¼ c. Pace chunky salsa
24 large flour tortillas
1 to 1 ½ lb shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger with onion and drain excess grease.  Add remaining ingredients except tortillas and cheese and heat through.  (You may add salt to taste.) Lay out tortillas and divide meat mixture and cheese among them.  Roll up in plastic wrap, place in gallon-sized ziplock freezer bags, and freeze.
To serve, place one wrapped frozen burrito on a plate and microwave for 1 ½ minutes or so. Using kitchen shears, slice through the plastic wrap along the length of the burrito and discard. (If you discover the middle is still cold, heat it up a little more in the microwave.)
This recipe may be doubled.

Assembling the burritos:

 
Wrapping them up in plastic wrap:

 

Ready to pop in the freezer:

 

Garlic Balsamic Crusted Pork Tenderloin

I found this recipe while browsing Pinterest ( I LOVE that site) It sounded so good  and let me tell you,  it did not disappoint!    I am not a big meat eater myself, and I never crave it, but this recipe just might change that:)  This tenderloin was fantastic!   It was super tender and flavorful!  Just for fun,  I served it with some peach salsa, and it was delish!  My family and our dinner guests loved it. And I loved how easy and simple it was to prepare.  I think the marinade time is key. I let mine soak for about 12 hours, but I think overnight would even be better.  The next time I am Costco I will pick up some more tenderloin and freeze them in the marinade so they can marinate while they defrost.  That is one of my favorite time saving tricks and it works great!  I grilled ours, but I think the oven directions would work wonderfully if you didn't want to cook outdoors.

Hope you all have a great week!  We have some seriously exciting news here:) Go Cougars!

Garlic Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
submitted by Melanie ~ The Sisters Cafe

4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pork tenderloins (about 1¼ pounds each)

2 tablespoons canola oil (if preparing in oven)

Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. If not, no worries, it will still be great!

Grill preparation:

Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Try to let it rest before slicing.

Oven preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat canola oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat.  Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes.

Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, and try to let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Source: Kitchen Confidante

Spinach Stuffed Shells (freezer meal)

Ok I have another super easy and good freezer meal for you! Remember this post from my sister Erin? Well, she inspired me to get back to freezing meals for my family. I used to do that a lot, but I had fallen out of the habit. I have since been filling up my freezer with a variety of muffins for quick a breakfast, pizza dough rounds all ready for toppings, twice baked potatoes to go with flank steak that I froze in the marinade, cookies for lunches and various other meals. It feels so good to feed my family homemade goodness instead of fast food when we are short on time. Freezer meals are a life saver for me. And this is one of my favorites! Spinach stuffed shells are extremely simple but so tasty! My family loves them, they come together fast and freeze beautifully. What is your favorite freezer meal??

( Don't ask me why I have two different dates on my dishes even though they were made at the same time--oops:)

Spinach Stuffed Shells

submitted by Melanie (recipe from friend Lisa)

Printable recipe here

1 pkg jumbo pasta shells

1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce

1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1 lg carton cottage cheese

1 egg white

Thaw spinach and drain well. Cook shells according to package directions (I always slightly undercook them by a minute). Mix in a large bowl;cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, spinach and egg white. stuff mixtre into shells and place in 9x13 baking dish (I usually use 2 smaller sized ones because my family does not eat a whole 9x13 for dinner). I spray the baking dish with cooking spray and pour a little bit of sauce in the bottom. Stuff mixture into shells and place into prepared dish (or dishes). Pour spaghetti sauce over shells. Cover and freeze or you can back it immediatly at 350 for 30-45minutes until heated thru. If you freeze it plan on adding an additional hour to your baking time. I love freezing this meal, but it is also a great recipe to make earlier in the day and keep in the fridge. Then all you have to do it throw it in the oven for dinner.

Freezer Meals

Freezer Meals
Submitted by Erin ~ www.thesisterscafe.com
(to print this post (without pictures), click here.)


A few friends have asked me about the meals that I made and put in the freezer in preparation for when I had my baby a couple months ago. I decided to post about how I stocked up my freezer with meals. This might be handy for anyone who has a big event coming up and won't have time to cook, or if you have family coming in town and don't want to use up time preparing meals, or if you prefer not to have to cook every day.

What I did is I made a meal plan of the following recipes below; every day I planned on serving one of these meals for our family dinner. When I went to the grocery store I bought double of the ingredients. Then, while I was making dinner each evening, I made double the amount and saved the extra for a freezer meal. So for the enchiladas, one day I made four 8x8 pans of it (it usually makes 2 8x8 pans or just one 9x13) and then I served one for dinner and froze the other three. This way, I was making dinner at the same time as preparing freezer meals, with only a nominal increase in time and mess. I did that with all these meals.

For the pans that I was putting in the freezer, I used square disposable foil pans (I purchased them at the grocery store). If you want to pay a little more, you can buy disposable pans that come with lids, making it easier to stack them in the freezer when they are still fresh and unfrozen. To save freezer space and money, I decided to forgo the lids and just put a few layers of foil on top my meals, and froze them solid before stacking them on top of each other. I also printed out labels and instructions and taped them to the top of the foil.

By the way, I don't ever thaw out freezer meals before placing them in the oven to bake. I know some people do, but for me, using a frozen meal for dinner is a last minute decision, so I don't have time to thaw it out. I just bake them until they are hot in the middle, and it always works out great!

Okay, here are the recipes:

Lasagna - this freezer meal takes about 1 1/2 hours to bake, if it goes from freezer to oven. I usually check it just after one hour; if it is still frozen in the middle, I bake it for another half hour. At that point, if it is still slightly cold in the middle, I'll bake it for a little while longer, etc.
Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells - This recipe already makes 2 9x13 pans, so I don't double this one - I just make four 8x8 pans, serve one for dinner and freeze three for later. I taped these instructions to the outside of the pans: Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells (March 2010) •Take directly out of freezer and put in 350° oven (doesn’t necessarily have to be preheated), leaving one layer of foil on top. •Bake ~50 minutes; check to be sure middle is hot. •Take off foil and sprinkle with ½ c. shredded mozzarella and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. •Serve with a green salad, breadsticks, and frozen veggies.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage - This recipe makes 2 8x8 pans. Put the frozen pan into the oven, turn it to 400 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes or until browned and hot throughout.

Chicken Enchiladas - I haven't posted my favorite regular chicken enchiladas yet, which is what I used when I made my freezer meals, but I'm sure either of these enchilada recipes will work perfectly:

Brittany's Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Black Bean Enchiladas

I taped these instructions to the outside of the pans:

Chicken Enchiladas (2/19/10) •Take directly out of freezer and put in 350° oven (doesn’t necessarily have to be preheated), leaving one layer of foil on top. •Bake 30-40 minutes, until middle is hot. •Take off foil and sprinkle with ½ c. shredded cheese (monterrey jack / cheddar) and bake an additional 5 minutes. •Serve with a green salad, spanish rice, and frozen veggies.

Beef Enchiladas - This makes about 15 enchiladas. When I make dinner I take five out of the bag and place them in a 8x8 pan. Then I pour half a can of red enchilada sauce over them and bake. (See the instructions.)

The BEST dinner of all to freeze are hamburger patties. The problem with the above meals is you have to decide 1 to 1 1/2 hours before dinnertime that you will not have time or energy to make dinner, and then put the frozen meal in the oven right then. My problem is some days I'm too busy to think of dinner until dinnertime when we are all hungry. At that point, even if I had a million dinners in the freezer, none of them will help me. So hamburger patties are AWESOME. You just layer the raw patties between squares of plastic wrap, and then put the stack in a freezer ziploc bag. When I need dinner ASAP, I take out a stack of five, defrost them for two minutes in the microwave, and then put them on the indoor electric grill (like a george foreman) while I slice tomatoes and cheese and defrost and toast the buns. Then we have a wonderful, fulfilling dinner in 10 minutes. My favorite recipes are these two, and I just buy bakery hamburger buns and freeze them too (placed in freezer ziplocs). Like I said, these burgers are my favorite 'freezer meal' because they can go from freezer to dinner table in 10 minutes.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

Teriyaki Burgers

And More...

For a quick on-the-go snack, I like to have a large tupperware in the freezer full of muffins. This is also convenient for when my kids are hungry for lunch and I have a darling crying baby to attend to. :) Almost any muffin recipe will freeze well. We have posted oodles of muffin recipes on this site - I love muffins! Some of my favorites are these Cape Cod Muffins, as well as South Beach Muffins and Apple Muffins.

I also bake bread, slice it, and put it in freezer ziploc bags. When I need a few slices of bread, I take them out, defrost them for a few seconds and viola.

Another quick type of frozen meal is to use homemade frozen pizza crusts. My favorite pizza crust (found here) recipe makes enough for two pizza crusts. I only need to make one pizza for my family, so sometimes I will roll out the extra crust and bake it (devoid of toppings) for about 10 or 12 minutes, until it is firm and only mostly cooked, but not browned. I let it cool and then wrap it up in seran wrap and tin foil and place it in the freezer. When I need a quick dinner, I preheat the oven, pull out the frozen crust, put toppings on it, and then place it in the oven. I bake it as usual, about 20 minutes. It has a thinner and crunchier aspect than fresh, but I like it for a change, and the convenience can't be beat! Try this Ham & Veggie Pizza recipe on a frozen crust.

I'm sure there are more recipes on this site that work great as freezer meals as well, but these are the ones I usually use. (If any of my sisters want to add more ideas, please do! :) )

I hope this post is helpful for a few of you!

Perfect Freezer Biscuits and a little Slice of the South

Hello Friends!
Sorry about the lack of posts, I have had the BIGGEST headaches with my computers lately! My PC has an icky virus that has rendered it useless! I am so sad, I may have to go to the 'Geek Squad' to rescue it because I have done everything I can! And my laptop has given me trouble too! For some reason I have errors in Internet Explorer, because it keeps kicking me off the internet, even though I still have a connection. I wrote this whole post up on Monday and it was all lost:)I have changed to Mozilla Firefox and I am now happily enjoying the internet again! But needless to say, I did not have the time to re write it all until tonight. My boys go back to school tomorrow so it has been BUSY around here! This recipe is perfect for busy school mornings--you can just pull the biscuits out of the freezer and have a warm breakfast for your family in minutes!

This week marks the 1 year anniversary for us living in the south! I thought I would share a little of what I have learned and LOVE about the Southern Culture:

*Everyone has a dining room and love to use it for gatherings and good home cooked food( I really wanted a dining room--and it was hard to find in the West--but not here-lucky me:)

*People go to church every Sunday and pray over every meal...even in a restaurant.

*You always finish with a "mam" or "sir" when you answer a question--happily my boys are starting to pick this up!

*No matter how old you are, parents are always referred to as"Mama" and "Daddy" and children are always "baby" to their parents or anyone for that matter.
*And Southerners LOVE a good biscuit...even all the fast food joints have them on the menu !

And, with that in mind, let me introduce you to a wonderful biscuit recipe from my friend Sheri--not a southerner, but a fabulous cook:)

This biscuit recipe is a favorite of mine because they are tender, moist and I LOVE that you can bake them straight from the freezer. So easy! We love them with butter and jam, but we recently had biscuits and gravy made by our friend Mary Bess--a true southern girl and it was WONDERFUL! I will have to get her recipe so I can share it with you!

Freezer Biscuits
submitted by Melanie
printable recipe here

4 cups flour
2 TBs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup butter
16oz sour cream
3-5 tsp water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until there are small well blended pieces. Add sour cream and water, mix well. Knead and roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Freeze individually on a cookie sheet. When frozen solid, place in a freezer bag to store. When ready to use, place frozen biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 15=17 minutes or until top is golden. makes 16-20.

Sweet and Spicy Crockpot Chicken

This is one of my favorite dinners because it is soo easy and really tasty! Perfect for a busy night or a day that you don't want to spend cooking in the kitchen. We love it in burritos, quesadillas, nachos and taco salad. I love that the recipe is so simple and uses ingredients that I always have on hand. Hope you enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken
submitted by Melanie recipe from Prudence Pennywise
Printable recipe here

*Note: If you don't want the finished shredded chicken mixture to be quite as "wet", slightly drain the tomatoes before using them. Also, I nearly always double or triple this recipe because it freezes so well.

*Serves 4
1 pound (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14-ounce) can petite or regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like extra heat - with this amount it is mild enough for my kids to eat it up but spicy enough to help offset the sweetness)

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker and mix the chicken with the juices from the tomato/brown sugar sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in flour tortillas or over tortilla chips with toppings of choice: lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocados, etc.

* This is a great Freezer Meal: I freeze the leftovers and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving the next day. Reheat and serve. Easy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Ok, my friends, I am not usually a casserole girl...BUT I do think there is a time and a place for a good dish of baked "hidden treasures" (as my husband calls them). There is something comforting about a warm and cheesy dish like this. I was introduced to this super easy recipe at a church activity. We all met at the church kitchen to make several meals to freeze and have on hand to give to people in need of a meal. This recipe was a hit. It comes together very easily, tastes great and freezes very well. I came home and made a few up for my freezer. I like having a few meals on hand for a friend in need or when I have a crazy day myself. Not my nicest meal ever, but it was really yummy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Submitted by Melanie

2 Packages reduced sodium Stuffing mix

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 lb sliced deli ham, cut into 1 inch stips
1 cup swiss cheese shredded

2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

2 cups cooked chicken ( I used shredded--but I think cubed would be better)

Prepare stuffing mixes according to directions on box. Meanwhile in a bowl, combine soup and milk. Put chicken in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper. Layer with ham, swiss cheese and 1 cups of cheddar cheese, soup mixture ans stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. At this point you can freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer.