Fill that freezer!!

I am at that point in my pregnancy (37 weeks!) where the nesting is really kicking into gear because I know baby could be here at any time! I find that I have energy bursts where I get a ton done--and then I crash. So if I start feeling a little bit of extra energy, I jump on it and do as much as I can. I've been trying to do meal prep every day to fill my freezer for after the baby comes. 

Today I made bacon and egg biscuit sandwiches for breakfasts. Mmmm, the biscuits were so big and fluffy, I had to really restrain myself! The only other breakfast foods I have in the freezer are waffles--any other ideas? We eat a lot of quick-cooking oatmeal, toast, and granola for breakfast, but I'm trying to add a little more protein. 

So far, I've got a ton of ham-and-cheese rolls (think homemade hot pockets), taquitos, make your own pizza kits, cornbread muffins, crescent rolls, lasagna rolls, and three kinds of soup. Still on the list is chili and ???? I need to think of just a few more meal ideas to have in there ready to go so I don't have to worry too much about food in the first few weeks.

Freezer Meals Friday

Taco Soup

Ingredients

6-8 chicken tenders

Taco seasoning

Chicken stock

1 can of black beans

1 can of diced tomatoes with sweet onions

1 cup cooked rice

Garnishes: sour cream, shredded pepperjack cheese, chopped cilantro

1. Coat chicken tenders in taco seasoning and cook in a frying pan until juices run clear; cool and shred with two forks.

2. Combine chicken, beans, tomatoes, rice, and chicken stock (the amount of chicken stock you add depends on if you want a more brothy soup or a thicker soup) in a large pot; bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Let cool completely and carefully ladle into a gallon ziplock bag; lay flat in a pan and freeze until solid, then stack in your freezer and freeze for up to 3 months.

4. To serve, thaw overnight in the fridge and then transfer soup to a large pot; simmer over medium heat until heated through.

5. Serve with garnishes and cornbread muffins.

Freezer Meals Fridays

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I'm cheating this week--today's recipe comes from Our Best Bites! However, I omit most of the ingredients they list and only use cream cheese, salsa verde, pepperjack cheese, lime juice, cilantro and chicken (and canned chicken is fine in this recipe as well) for the filling.

To freeze these, place rolled taquitos on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid; transfer to a gallon ziplock bag and freeze for up to three months. Bake, from frozen, at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until tortilla is crisp and golden brown. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and spanish rice.

These are great for an easy lunch, too!

Freezer Meals Fridays

When I got my bread machine from DI, it took me a long time to find the perfect bread recipe. I tried lots and nothing was just right--until I found this dinner rolls recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. These rolls are slightly sweet and bake up perfectly fluffy--the dough also makes great bread! Just bake in bread pans instead of shaping into rolls.

Best Ever Bread Machine Rolls

Ingredients

3 1/4-3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast (that 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening

1 beaten egg

1. Add ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer's directions (for mine, that means all wet ingredients, then all dry ingredients with yeast being added last)

2. Use "dough" setting on your bread machine--check dough during second knead cycle. The dough should be smooth and elastic. If it's too dry, add milk a tablespoon at a time; if it's too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time.

3. When cycle is complete, remove from machine, punch down and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Shape dough into 24-36 rolls (depending on how big you want them)

5. Freeze until solid (I put them in a muffin tin so they freeze individually); transfer frozen roll dough to gallon ziplock bag and freeze for up to 6 months.

6. To bake frozen rolls, transfer to a pan and cover with a clean towel; let thaw and rise until double. Here in Utah, that usually takes about 5-6 hours from frozen dough.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown; serve with butter and honey or homemade freezer jam! Yum!

Freezer Meals Fridays

Sweet and Tangy Shredded Chicken

Ingredients

6-8 frozen chicken tenders or 3-4 frozen chicken breasts

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup salsa (I like Great Value Peach Pineapple Chipotle)

1. Spray inside of Crock Pot with cooking spray; place chicken in Crock Pot

2. Mix brown sugar and salsa; pour over chicken.

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours

4. Use two forks to shred the chicken; let cool completely.

5. Divide shredded chicken into sandwich size ziplock bags and freeze for up to 3 months

6. Reheat in the microwave, the Crock Pot, or on the stovetop; serve with tortillas and your choice of garnishes, sweet rice, and black beans.

Freezer Meals Friday

With all the requests for my freezer meal recipes, I decided to start posting them. Look for one every Friday for Freezer Meals Friday!

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Bundles (16 servings)

Ingredients*

2 10-oz cans of chicken

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1 8-oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

4 cans of crescent rolls

Melted butter

Breadcrumbs

1. Combine chicken, cream cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts in a large bowl; mix well until all ingredients are fully incorporated.

2. Instead of dividing crescent roll dough into triangles, press seams together to form rectangles (four rectangles from each package)

3. Place heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture in center of crescent roll rectangles; wrap sides around and pinch to seal

4. Roll bundles in melted butter and breadcrumbs; place on a cookie sheet, seam side down, and freeze until solid; transfer to a gallon ziplock bag and freeze for up to three months.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes; serve with rice pilaf and a green salad.

*You can substitute fresh ingredients for the frozen/canned ones--it's just so much easier and you can't tell a difference when it's made.