freezer cooking adventures...

Well, 3 pregnancies later I have finally accomplished something that has been on my to-do list each time but never happened...

I made several meals for my freezer, so we can actually eat more than canned chili and cereal when Baby Girl gets here and I am too tired to cook!

My mom came over this week to keep us company for a few days while Andrew was out of town.

Yesterday I got it in my head that I should do some freezer-feeding and since Grandma was here to help entertain the boys, I decided to actually do it!

Over the course of the afternoon, I ended up getting several meals ready and boy did that feel good!

I also snuck in a few minutes to organize our garage freezers so we can actually find those meals again in a few weeks, which felt almost as good as getting the meals ready themselves!

Nesting has officially come to town, I think!

All of these dishes I made on the smaller side, so that we don't have more than one meal and one meal of leftovers from each one.

Here's what I froze:

2 - 9" pans of my Tuna Casserole
6 - small-loaf size Cheesy Barbeque Chipotle Meatloaves
1 batch of Chili-Seasoned hamburger meat for tacos or chili later
2 batches of Hamburger Soup
1 big batch of Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (we'll get at least 2 meals or a company meal out of this!)
oh and one more triple-batch of Raspberry Freezer Jam.

And I still have a big batch of our favorite Split Pea Soup to make (today or tomorrow...  I forgot to buy carrots for that one!) that will give us 3-4 meals worth!

Here's what I did:

I made the Tuna Casserole's except for baking, put into foil pans, covered with foil, placed in gallon ziplocs, labeled and froze.  (To serve, I will thaw overnight and bake at 350ºF until heated through and bubbly.)

For the meatloaves, I mixed all the ingredients, formed and placed into small foil loaf pans, covered with foil, placed into gallon ziplocs, labeled and froze.  (To serve, I will thaw overnight and bake at 350ºF until cooked through, brushing with more barbeque sauce if needed!)

I browned 3lbs of ground beef and seasoned with Homemade Chili Seasoning.  Half was used to make 2 batches of  Hamburger Soup and half was frozen in a ziploc to use later for tacos or chili making.

For the Hamburger Soup, I put all the ingredients, and the cooled, cooked hamburger into gallon ziplocs, labeled and froze.  (To serve, I will add corn - I was out - and then heat on the stove or slow cooker!)

I cooked my Slow Cooker Stroganoff as usual, except for adding the sour cream, let it cool and then placed it into a gallon ziploc, labeled and froze.  (To serve, I will reheat in the slow cooker, adding sour cream at the end, and serve with fresh cooked noodles.)

I will make my Split Pea soup as usual tomorrow and freeze into gallon ziplocs (probably will take 4), label and freeze.  (To serve, I will reheat on the stove or slow cooker!)

And...  we will eat well for a while at least!!

Do you freezer cook?  Or have you before??

What are your favorite recipes to freeze and reheat?  

I may do another day of this if I feel up to it, so I need some ideas!

(Fun story:  I *may* have sharpened my knives before I began, and I *may* have cut myself a few times with those newly sharp knives.  Here's a tip:  If you do the same, don't decide to cut up a bunch of fresh pineapple the next day!)

homemade chili seasoning

Apparently one thing I have been craving this pregnancy is chili.

I can't even count how many times Andrew has made his famous Man Chili for me these last few months, and I always have intentions of freezing some for later but it disappears to fast!

With all that chili that making, it was only a matter of time before we ran out of chili seasoning blend and had to make our own.

I am super impressed with how this recipe turned out and I'm going to be making a nice big batch next time I get to a store with bulk spices!

The recipe below will make enough for 2 batches of Andrew's Man Chili...  (We make large batches of chili so we can freeze some...  this would be enough for probably 4 batches of regular chili!).

I will probably at least double this next time I make it, if not more, since this seasoning will also work great for tacos and more!

Homemade Chili Seasoning Recipe
adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons mild chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (use less if you don't like much spice!)

Directions:
Measure everything into a bowl, whisk well to combine and then transfer to a small jar or spice container for storage.

no effort slow cooker cleaning

I have finally figured it out!!

After years and years of soaking, scrubbing, soaking & scrubbing over and over again to get my crockpot inserts clean after particularly stuck-on messes, I finally figured out the best and easiest way to clean them.

Want me to share?

Ok, here's what you do:

1.  Take your dirty, gross, burnt-on food crusted crockpot...

2.  leave it in the base...

3.  fill it up with hot water and a few squirts of dish soap...

4.  turn it on LOW and walk away!

Let the soapy water 'cook' overnight, or even for a day or more if you've got a really big mess (think chili that sat in the slow cooker - on - for almost 2 days!).

When you're ready, dump out the hot water, do a quick swish with a brush or rag and your crockpot will be clean as a whistle!  (If it's not, add more hot water and soap and just let it cook longer!)

Enjoy your clean slow cooker with no effort at all!

Does this make you as excited as it does me?  I feel like I just gained years of my life back and a whole new joy-obsession with my slow cooker!!!

And, I will be making this slow cooker steel-cut oatmeal tonight.  And not caring one bit about the burnt on bits that are pretty much inevitable!

perpetual slow cooker chicken stock

When I first saw this recipe from Nourished Kitchen for perpetual chicken bone broth, I was instantly intrigued and had to try it for myself.

If for no other reason than simplicity and anytime access to chicken stock (which I love to use!)...  although I must admit the easy nutrients sounded pretty good to me too!

I had some leftover turkey legs and bones from Thanksgiving, so I threw those into my slow cooker with half an onion, a few cloves of garlic and some peppercorns...  covered everything with water and turned the slow cooker on for the week!

A week?  The slow cooker is on for a week?!  All the time?!  Yep!

And besides the bit of warmth it adds to our house (so nice during these cold winter months!), it also keeps our house smelling deliciously like homemade chicken soup.  Yum!

According to Jenny, this broth tastes lightest on day 1 (24 hours after starting), richest on day 5, and then lighter again on day 7.

I am on day 4, and it has been amazing each day...  I can't wait to taste how good it is on day 5 if it's only going to get better!

As you dish up some broth to sip, or use in your soup or cooking, simply replace with fresh cold water and there you have it...  perpetual chicken stock!

At the end of the week, you should be able to easily crush the end of a bone with your finger tips.  That is how you can tell that all of the nutrients have been given.  If they haven't, feel free to continue to use another day or so!

Perpetual Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Recipe
adapted from Nourished Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass, or bones - raw or previously cooked*
an onion, peeled and quartered
a few cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
a tablespoon or so of whole peppercorns
some parsley leaves and stems, if you have them

Directions:
Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Fill to the top with cold, filtered water, cover and cook on low for at least 24 hours or up to 7 days!

As you dish up a serving, pour through a fine mesh strainer or a reusable coffee filter.  Season to taste with salt and replace that amount of water into the slow cooker to keep the broth going.

*You could also place a whole chicken in the slow cooker and then remove it and take off the meat for another use when it's cooked through.  Return the carcass to the pot and continue with your stock!

homemade condensed cream of chicken soup

I promised you that this super quick, easy homemade version of condensed cream of chicken soup would get it's own post soon...

So here it is!

(I apologize for this picture, but there's really no way to make

condensed soup look pretty.  There's just no way.)

This stuff is amazing.  Seriously amazing.

I'm pretty sure I won't ever go back to buying cream of anything soups again.

Why?  Well, for starters...  I really like knowing exactly what's in my food.

But even more important?

This homemade stuff takes only seconds to throw together, and it's all stuff you keep in your cupboards!

Oh and did I mention it tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff?  Because it does.

I actually licked the spoon after I made this.  I bet you've never done that with your can of cream of chicken soup!

(Oh if I want cream of mushroom soup, I will just add sauteed chopped mushrooms to this same recipe.  And sauteed celery for cream of celery!)

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe
adapted from Tammy's Recipes
this recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups, or the equivalent of 1 regular can of condensed soup

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup lowfat milk, divided (1/4 cup + 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon paprika (or cayenne, if you like a little spice!)
salt & pepper, to taste
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock, 1/4 cup milk and all the spices to a boil over high heat.  In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup cold milk and the flour until smooth.

Whisk the flour/milk mixture into the boiling stock mixture and continue whisking and cooking until it has reached the thickness you desire and until the 'floury' taste is gone.

Use as needed in your recipes!

(Try my Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole...  a perfect place to use this recipe!)

[a trick] for thickening soups...

I've mentioned this before (in my Cheddar Fondue Soup recipe) but I thought this trick needed its own post for clarification.

My secret for thickening soups (and we like most of our soups thick around here!)...

is Instant Mashed Potatoes!

I buy a big box of these Honest Earth* natural instant mashed potato packets at Costco, and use about 1/4-1/2 of a packet for each batch of soup, depending on how much there is or how thick we want it.

Some soups, like Split Pea & Ham, turn out nice and thick the second day when you reheat them, but sometimes not so thick the first day.

To solve this problem, I sprinkle in a bit of instant mashed potatoes and instantly we've got perfect soup!

*Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored post.  Honest Earth doesn't know anything about me...  I just love their product because #1: it is natural - potatoes, butter and salt, nothing more... and #2: I can buy it at Costco!