Meal Xchange
Freezer Meal Exchange
This is the fun little club that enables us to spend about two-four hours in the kitchen each month, yet feed our family with fabulous meals all month long.
Currently, a few of us meet up in Farmington or Royal Oak, MI about every six weeks or so to exchange the freezer meals we’ve created for one another in bulk. And if you’d like to spend more time eating with your family and less time shopping, cooking, and cleaning up – this club’s for you too! Join us by emailing jessica at jessicabeaubien dot com.
Here are some of the recipes from which we’ve selected:
Vegetarian Entrees:
Macaroni and Cheese
Curried Sweet Potato Stew
Spaghetti with Spicy Rice Balls
Ultimate Veggie Burger
Tamarind Lentils
Picadillo
One Soup Four Ways
Indian Lentil Stew
Vegetable Soup
Stuffing for Stuffed Peppers
Neatloaf
Spinach Pie
Baked Ziti
Baked Ziti Page 2
Sweet Potato-Lentil Stew
Eggplant Parmesan
Baked Broccoli and Cheese
Curried Lentils
Spinach Pie 2
Split Pea Soup
White Chili
Chive Risotto Cakes
Great Freezer Recipes From Martha Stewart
Meat Entrees:
Chicken Marsala Bake
Pork Tenderloin with Cumberland Sauce
Maple Glazed Salmon
Chicken Enchiladas
Pork, Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Fiesta Chicken
Perfect Short Ribs
Fiesta Chicken
Basil Burgers
French Dip
BBQ Chicken Pizza
White Bean Chicken Chili
Stuffed Shells
Baked Potato Soup
Salisbury Meatballs
Chicken Parmesan
Beef Enchiladas
Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes
Chicken Pot Pie with Phyllo Dough
Lasagna Casserole
Basil Chicken Burgers with Pesto
Penne Bolognese
Crock Pot BBQ Pork
Slow Cooker Pizza Chicken
Buffalo Chicken Soup
Creamy Pasta Primavera
Spinach Stuffed Flank Steak
Rosemary Turkey Meatloaf Freezer Recipe
Cranberry Chicken Freezer Cooking Recipe
Smoky Joes
Monterray Stuffed Chicken
Slow Cooker Chinese BBQ Pork
Baked Ziti
Taco Soup
Irish Bacon and Cabbage Soup
Cannelloni w/Cheese Sauce
Mock Gyros
Read these important rules and tips from FreezerFriendz.blogspot.com!
FREEZER COOKING QUICK TIPS
When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn.
Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don’t skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!
Meat in Freezer Meals: Start with FRESH meat – not frozen – because you can only freeze raw meat once!
Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.
Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!
Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!
Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc…
Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it – it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1″ above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).
1lb. raw ground beef=11 oz. cooked ground beef=2 1/2- 3cups
3lb. raw ground beef=2 lbs. cooked ground beef = 7 1/2- 9cups
Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags.
Freezer Efficiency: If your freezer isn’t full, fill empty milk jugs 3/4 full with water and place in freezer. This helps your freezer not have to work so hard to stay cold, saving you money.
Substitutions: Here is a great source for figuring out substitions for your recipes when you start making something and realize you are missing an ingredient: CLICK
Some more good overall rules of thumb.