Recipes for Latest Freezer Meal Batches

As you know I have been doing a lot of freezer meals lately. This is in preparation for baby #4, as well as to make my day-to-day life simpler during the school year so that I actually have time to play with my kids, help them with homework, etc. without the stress of dinner hanging over my head. Here are the various instructions, recipes, labels, etc. I used for this last batch.

These are the instructions/labels I put on the bags that go in the freezer. This way I know how to prepare the food I have in there when I am ready to use it:

Pretzels:

·       Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

·       Lightly grease a baking sheet

·       Dip each pretzel into the soda wash.

·       Sprinkle with salt, let rest 10 mins

·       Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Brush with butter while hot        

Soda wash:

·       Whisk together 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tbsp baking soda

·       Cook in microwave 1 min

Pork chops:

·       Thaw in fridge in marinade. (not more than 7 hours)

·       Remove chops from brine, pat dry.

·       Brush chops with oil, and cook 2-3 mins per side until browned

·       Bake at 350 for 20 mins or grill

Pot Roast Sliders:

·       Put roast and sauce mix (bag 1) in crockpot. Cook 8 hours.

·       Thaw bag 2 while roast is cooking

·       Shred or cut meat, serve on rolls with cheese and sauce from bag 2

Mongolian Beef:

·       Coat meat in corn starch, let sit 5 mins.

·       Heat 1 cup oil in skillet or wok, and then add coated meat. Cook until done to your likeness.

·       Remove meat from pan

·       Use 1 TBS oil, add bag one, stir fry 30 secs

·       Add bag 2. Heat until sugar melts, bring to boil. When starts to thicken, add meat in, let simmer until sauce thickens. Top with Bag 3.

Sweet and Sour Chicken:

·       Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

·       Coat chicken with cornstarch

·       Beat 2 eggs, dip chicken in eggs.

·       Heat 2 TBS oil in skillet and brown chicken (not cooked through).

·       Put chicken in 9 x 13 baking pan, pour sauce over.

·       Bake for 1 hour. Turn chicken half way through.

Fried Rice:

·       Heat 1 TBS oil in large skillet or wok

·       Add bag one, stir fry until tender, move to side of skillet

·       Scramble 2 eggs in same pan.

·       Add bag two and three (rice and soy sauce)

·       Stir fry until well heated

Lasagna Roll Ups:

·       Preheat oven to 375 degrees

·       Bake 30-35 minutes

·       Top with extra sauce and shredded mozzarella, let it melt (or return to oven to melt it)

Orange Chicken

·       Heat wok or large skillet add 1 Tb oil, cook dredged chicken

·       Remove chicken, set aside.

·       Add Bag 1- wok for one minute

·       Add Bag 2- Bring to boil

·       Add chicken back in.

·       Serve over rice

Pockets:

·       Preheat oven to 375, line baking sheet

·       Place pockets on tray, pierce top with fork.

·       Beat an egg with 1 TBS water, brush on each pocket pie

·       Bake 20-25 minutes

·       Let rest 5 minutes before serving

Bang Bang Chicken

·       Heat skillet with 1 TBS oil

·       Cook chicken, when almost done, add Bag 1.

·       Add Bag 2, Simmer for 5 minutes

·       Add Bag 3, cook until crisp tender

Egg rolls:

·       Heat oil in wok or skillet

·       Cook until light brown

·      Serve with dipping sauce 

 Meatballs: Thaw, heat, and use as desired

Here are the actual recipes:

Pretzels

For the Dough:

·      12.5 oz all purpose flour (2.5 cups)

·      1/2 tsp sea salt

·      1 tsp sugar

·      2.25 tsp instant quick rise yeast

·      1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

Mix in mixer, put in Ziploc bag, let rise 30 mins

Cut into 8 pieces, roll into ropes and pretzels. (this is the point where you freeze them if not making them day of)

Dip in soda wash, top with salt, let stand 10 mins, bake at 450 for 10 mins

Soda Wash:

·      1/2 cup warm water

·      1 tbsp baking soda

Wisk together and microwave one minute, then dip pretzels

Pork chops

Ingredients
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup molasses
4 whole cloves
1 cup boiling water
7 cups cold water
4 (2 1/4 inch thick) center cut, bone-in pork chops

Directions
Combine salt, molasses, cloves, and boiling water in a large container. Stir until molasses and salt are dissolved; let cool to room temperature.
Pour cold water into molasses mixture; stir to combine.

Bang bang chicken

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips

Bag 1:
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp. ginger root or bottled ginger
1 scallion, chopped into 1 inch pieces or 1 small onion, chopped
Bag 2:

3/4 cup water
6 tbsp. soy sauce
6 tbsp. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Bag 3: 4 cups broccoli florets or florets and spears (if not using fresh the day of)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

 

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

 

Bag 1:

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

 

2 eggs, beaten (not frozen)

 

Sauce bag:

 

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Cream cheese pastry

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt                 

Mix all but flour and salt, then add in flour and salt until combined and holds together in ball. Turn into well floured surface, and divide. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll dough out, center to edges, turning frequently until 12 inches wide.  Cut circles. Fill with whatever fillings you want. Then crimp edges with fork

Roast sliders

Roast:

1 3-4 lb beef roast

Bag1:

·       1 cup water

·       1 cup salsa

·       1 envelope onion soup mix

·       1 envelope Italian dressing mix

·       1 envelope Au Jus mix

Bag 2:

·       ¼ c sour cream

·       2 Tbs chili sauce

·       2 tsp creamy horseradish sauce

Serve on rolls, with provolone, and creamy chipolte sauce

Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine egg, water, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper and combine. Add ground beef, broken into chunks, and mush with your hands to combine. Form into meatballs about 1" in diameter and place on a broiler pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until meatballs are no longer pink in center. Cool and freeze, or when baked, use in your favorite recipe.

Mongolian Beef

Bag one:

½ teaspoon ginger, minced

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

 

Bag two:

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup water

¾ cup dark brown sugar

 

1 lb flank steak

¼ cup cornstarch

 

Bag 3:

2 large green onions, chopped

Fried Rice                                                                                             

Bag 1:

1cup diced ham

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Bag 2:

cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)

3 tbs sesame oil

Bag 3: 1/4 cup soy sauce

Lasagna Roll up

1.     Cook lasagna

2.     Layer sauce (prego)

3.     Layer of cheese filling (one pint cottage cheese and one ricotta mixed together with garlic and a cup of paremsan)

4.     Layer of ground beef- Cook with garlic, onion powder, and salt pepper

5.     Roll them up, freeze on a cookie sheet with wax paper individually, then pop in a ziplock bag

Orange chicken

Chicken cubed and dredged in seasoned flour

Bag 2:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 1/2 tablespoons orange juice

5 tablespoons sugar

1 orange, zest of

Bag 1: Stir fry mix:

1 teaspoon garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red chili pepper 1/4 cup green onion, chopped 1 tablespoon rice wine

I know this is a long post, sorry I need to start doing it as links, but I am kinda lazy.

Also, I got some of the recipes from Pinterest and various other sources, of which I can't remember all, but I am not taking credit for them. I do adjust and make changes to most based on preference, but they are not my original recipes by any means.