Freezer Meal 4: Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie! One of the absolute classics & I would say the perfect freezer meal that is guaranteed to please in both taste and time.

What You Will Need: Cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, onion, carrots, celery, rosemary, butter, flour, chicken broth, pie crust, frozen peas & corn.

Start by heating up some olive oil and add in the carrots, celery & onions. Salt/pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add in the diced chicken & minced rosemary, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of flour and allow time for the raw flour to cook. Add in your chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil. Check the thickness and adjust accordingly. 

Throw in a handful of both the peas & corn, combine and remove from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool completely then spoon into the pie shell.

Top with the other crust and pinch together the edges to seal. I used a floured fork to seal then poked a couple air vent holes in the top.

Wrap several times with plastic wrap then a double coat of foil. Label & freeze.

To Serve: Thaw in the fridge then bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. 

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Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Freezer Meal 3: Quiche

I'm a huge advocate of eating breakfast. I always make my husband eat something before he leaves the house whether its a banana, bagel or eggs. Its easy to make sure that he is getting his first meal of the day when Im getting ready for work at the same time but I can only imagine the morning glory I'll turn into the first couple weeks after our baby arrives. So throwing in a 'breakfast' freezer meal seemed like a good idea.

Keep in mind that with something like Quiche, the sky is the limit on your fillings. Go as simple or as crazy as you would like!

What You Will Need: Eggs, heavy cream, pie crust, meat of your choice, cheese & any vegetables that you would like. I used peppered bacon, bell peppers, onion, red skin potatoes and green onions.

Preheat your oven to 375

Cook your meat, drain off any excess fat and add in to your shell. Doing a small dice on the potatoes and veggies, add them in with the meat. The vegetables will bake in the oven so no need to precook them.

Sprinkle with the shredded cheese, salt & pepper.

For the egg mixture: Whisk together 6 yolks & 8 whole eggs and 2 cups of cream. Pour the eggs overtop. 

Bake for 40 minutes, making sure at the half way mark you rotate the baking sheet to ensure even cooking. Give the sheet tray a little jiggle, you want to make sure that the quiche itself is firm and set before removing it from the oven. 

All it to cool completely.

Wrap with several layers of plastic wrap, then give a double coat of foil, label and freeze.

To serve: Allow it to thaw in the fridge, then either place the whole pie in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes to heat through or cut out individual slices and reheat in the microwave.

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Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Zucchini Fritters

My husband and I stopped at a local produce stand this afternoon and picked up lots of fresh goodies!!

As soon as I saw the zucchini my mind went to crispy, hot fritters!

What You Will Need: zucchini, onion, egg, cooked bacon (a couple tablespoons of rendered bacon fat), flour, parmesan cheese, shredded cheddar or colby jack & panko bread crumbs.

preheat oven to 200

Start by grating the zucchini and placing it into a kitchen towel.

Over your sink ring out the excess liquid in the zucchini & place it into a bowl. Add in the diced onions.

Then goes the bacon, egg, parmesan & shredded cheese. Salt/pepper and mix throughly.

Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of flour and panko breadcrumbs. Mix and adjust accordingly. If the mixture is to dry, add in another egg. If it is to wet, add some extra breadcrumbs. 

Heat the rendered bacon fat and add a little oil to the pan. Drop about a 1/4c. of the mixture into the hot sauté pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping when it gets golden brown.

To keep them warm while your cooking the rest of the batch, place the finished fritters on a cookie sheet in the oven set at 200.

To serve I place a small dollop of sour cream on top and sprinkled on some fresh chives from my herb garden.

Crunchy on the outside. Hot & soft in the middle. A touch of meaty bacon in the background and a cool, creamy finish from the sour cream!

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Freezer Meal 2: Creole Sausage

Im a sucker for the combination of sausage with peppers and onions. In this dish, everything is cooked and ready to go for you. Just unthaw, heat and serve over a starch of your choice..rice, pasta, roasted potatoes, etc.

What You Will Need: 2 packages of smoked sausage, 3 bell peppers, 1 whole onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of black beans and Creole seasoning.

Heat some olive oil in a large pan and add your sliced peppers/onions. Allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and sliced sausage. Cook another 3 minutes.

Throw in your black beans & diced tomatoes. Seasoning liberally with the creole seasoning but taste as you go to control the heat level. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and give a final taste. Once the spice is to your liking, remove the mixture from the heat.

**Dont worry if there appear to be a lot of liquid. All that extra liquid will get absorbed by whatever starch you choose to pair the dish with when reheated**

The mixture needs to be completely cooled before you put it into the freezer bag. To speed that process up, spread the mixture out onto a sheet pan or baking dish for more surface area. Stir often and if you have some ice packs, place them in for a rapid effect. 

Once it has came down in temperature, spoon it into your freezer bag, press it flat, seal, label & freeze.

To serve, simply unthaw & reheat. This mixture can go over multiple starches. I have made this freezer meal for a family member before and I bought him several packages of Uncle Ben's microwave rice for an easy dinner option.

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Enjoy & Alway Cook with Love!

Freezer Meal 1: Chicken & Rice

Its now August, which happens to be the estimated birth month of my first born child (if I don't go over). The nursery is finished & filled, the diaper bag is packed, clothes washed, car seat is locked & loaded in the vehicle, all my ducks are in a row. Well, all most...

I've had several mothers suggest stocking my freezer with some pre made meals to aid in the adjustment weeks of being a new mommy! So here we go, freezer meal #1, Chicken and Rice.

What You Will Need: 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 cups white rice, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 4 cups shredded cheese and a large zucchini or green vegetable of your choice (broccoli, peas, kale, etc.)

I cooked the 4 cups of rice according to the packaged directions & I seared the chicken in a hot sauté pan till it was cooked through. Allow the rice and chicken to cool completely before you start mixing all the ingredients together.

Dice your zucchini into bite size pieces & season with salt/pepper. Add in your rice.

Chopped chicken and the shredded cheese go in next. Then your cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup. Combine throughly. 

Portion into freezer bags, press the mix as flat as you can to get all the air out. Seal, label and freeze.

Cooking: Unthaw, place in a baking dish, bake in a 350 oven till hot & bubbly!

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Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Zucchini Tart

Its that time of year when your garden is starting to produce the fruits of your labor! Normally, Im guilty of doing the same old thing with these fresh vegetables and thats either throwing them on the grill or giving them a quick sauté in a pan. 

Even tho Im always looking for new ideas, I sometimes fall into a rut so lets change it up!

Out with the Old - In with the New!

Here it is...4 ingredients and a new way to enjoy Zucchini! 

What You Will Need: Zucchini, Pie Crust (thawed), Shredded Cheese, Butter & S/P.

Preheat your oven to 400

Give a coat of non stick spray to your sheet tray and gentle remove the pie crust from the tin. Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, thinly cut the zucchini. You want the slices to be thin so they will cook quickly in the short amount of time it will be in the oven.

Layer the zucchini pieces onto the pie crust, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bring up the edges and drop a couple little bits of butter over top. Bake in the oven till the crust is golden brown! 

Turn the oven off, pull the tart out of the oven, sprinkle with cheese and place back in the oven just till the cheese melts completely. 

Wait a minute, there is something extra that has been added to my tart....is that bacon?!?!? 

Yes, yes it is! I had some extra bacon that I cooked up for another recipe and decided to give this tart a little meaty garnish! This was a last minute addition so feel free to keep it meat free if you'd like.

Flaky pie crust, buttery zucchini, melted cheese, crispy bacon...this might be my new favorite way to eat zucchini!! 

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!