Freezer cooking for November

Well folks, Dr. Bob and I have been busy this past weekend prepping our freezer for the coming month.

All last week I was scouring recipe blogs looking for yummy new recipes to try.

I really liked all the recipes we made last month, but it gets old after a while.  You can find all those yummy recipes here and here.

This month we are attempting to make more of a variety (without running out of freezer containers...proving harder than we thought!)

Too make this cooking weekend possible, we did the bulk of our basic shopping at Aldi, meat shopping at Kroger, and 2 quick back-up trips to Publix and a different Kroger (ask Bob about that story, you should get a giggle!).  We ended up spending $182.48 and we got this:

So far we have made:

~ 34 turkey meatballs

~ 7 turkey burgers

~ BBQ chicken calzone (leftover BBQ chicken in the freezer for later use). Dough recipe can be found here.

~ Sloppy turkey joes - in the freezer to be used later

~ 7 or 8 individual containers of turkey chili.  I will have Dr. Bob write up this recipe some time soon.  Sooo good!

~ 4 individual containers of Corny Chicken Bake

~ 8 individual containers of a Creamy Southwestern Chicken Soup.  Basic recipe can be found here but we made some modifications:
              added diced jalapeno to onions while sauteeing, and added about 2 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp paprika, 2 
              tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp cayenne pepper.  Chicken was cooked with garlic, cumin, paprika, 
              cayenne, salt and pepper.  Added a can of black beans with the potatoes.  During the final 
              boil/cook, added about 3/4 cup shredded cheese.  Note: increased all measures (in initial recipe; 
              what's written here was as used) by 50%, to use the full 12 ounce can of evaporated milk

~ 6 individual containers of Buffalo Chicken Lasagna (Good guess Leslie!) (And thanks for the recipe Susan!)

~ 3 turkey and feta quesadilla's (more to be made this week)

~ 6 individual containers of a Deconstructed Burrito Bake: Rice mixed with salsa, can of refried beans, some taco seasoned turkey chili and cheddar cheese- layered in that order and then baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

~ Teriyaki seasoned chicken - this will be packed with fried rice eventually.  (Our rice cooker died yesterday so we purchased a new one today and have yet to make the rice due to football...ugh!)

~ Cheesy chicken paired with Cheesy potatoes

Still to come:
~ Pierogie lasagna
~ Fried Rice
~ Cheeseburger soup
~ Baked pumpkin ice cream glazed donuts

Here's everything ready for the freezer....look at all those containers.

That's over 40 meals ready to go for this month.  I am so excited about all of the above!  We have been taste testing it all and I can't wait to dig in!

Luckily I found more recipes than we could possibly make this month so we already have a list going for next month.

Any recommendations or suggestions to add to our list??


How was your Halloween?  Did you dress up?

Simple pot roast

I love my slow-cooker. That's not to say that the biologist in me didn't get freaked out about low temperature cooking of meat for a long time, but a little research put away those fears.

After our trip to the farmers market on Saturday, I decided it was time to make a bulk meal that could last me for a while. So, pot roast it was.

Ingredients:
12-15 new potatoes (the little ones, sometimes called creamers) poked a few times with a knife
1.5 cups carrots (either baby carrots or just chop up some regular ones)
1 can tomato paste
12 oz. Guinness
1 onion, roughly sliced
Worcestershire sauce
Olive oil
Minced garlic
3.5 pound chuck roast
Salt, pepper, oregano, parsley

Heat up some oil in a large pan, and add about a tablespoon of minced garlic. When the pan is nice and hot, add the roast, and brown about 3-5 minutes on each side (depending on how thick it is.




























After you take the roast out of the pan and place it in the slow cooker, add some roughly sliced onion to the pan and cook until the onion just starts to soften. Scrape the onion and the rendered fat and olive oil into the slow cooker.






In a separate bowl, whisk together one small can of tomato paste, one 12 oz bottle of Guinness, 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, and a nice coating of oregano and parsley. You can also add about 1/4-1/2 cup of red wine at this point. I didn't, and wish that I did, but it's not essential. Add about a teaspoon of pepper and a half teaspoon of salt.


Add the potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker.














Pour the Guinness mixture over the meat and veggies, and add water to cover (probably about 2.5 cups).


Cook on low for about 5 to 6 hours. Check the temperature of the meat (should be about 155).

Enjoy!