You’ll notice that my menu this week includes several “freezer” recipes. Last week, we just did another freezer swap, so I’m excited to try out some new meals. I have really enjoyed these “freezer meals” and since I’m off on spring break this week, I plan on trying out several other freezer meals this week. Stay tuned next week for a big post on my freezer cooking experiences!

Sunday – Vacation (no cooking!)

Monday – Apricot chicken (freezer meal)
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 springs of thyme
1/2 c. apricot preserves
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Place the chicken breasts into bag along with 1/2 cup apricot preserves, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Shake until well blended. Pour into greased baking dish. Sprinkle thyme on top of chicken. Cook at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until warm. To serve, top each chicken breast with plenty of sauce.

Tuesday – Awesome Lemon Pepper Pork Chops (I got this several years ago from Allrecipes.com)

This serves four, but is easily expandable. Very simple and makes the most tender pork chops you will ever eat. Servings: 4
Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
8 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Tear off a generous square of tin foil for each chop, enough to wrap and seal completely. Coat both sides of each chop with lemon pepper.
3. Put 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the middle of each square of tin foil. Put the peppered chops on top of the butter and oil. Put 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil on top of each chop. Add 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce over the top of each chop. Wrap each chop tightly and place on middle rack of oven. Bake for 35 minutes.

Wednesday – Slow Cooker Swiss Steak

Thursday – Chicken Pot pie (freezer meal)

Friday – Grilled lemon herb tilapia (freezer meal)

Saturday – Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
bread crumbs
1 egg mixed with ½ cup milk
8 oz. Swiss cheese, cubed
8 oz. ham, diced
1 can (10 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk

Dip chunks of chicken in egg and milk mixture, then into bread crumbs, coating well. Brown in a little oil until golden. Place chunks in baking dish, add cubes of Swiss cheese and small pieces of ham. Mix cream of chicken soup with 1 cup of milk; mix well and pour over all. Bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until tender and bubbly.

I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

Sunday – Chicken Cordon Bleu – I got this recipe from Marci’s blog and it looked so yummy! I actually wanted to try it out last week, but I forgot to buy toothpicks. I finally made it last night and it was a hit with adults and kids 🙂

Monday – Weeknight Ravioli Lasagne – I got this recipe from the March 2009 All You Magazine

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups marinara sauce
1 20 oz package refrigerated cheese ravioli
1 10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Spoon 1/4 c. marinara sauce over the bottom of the dish. Cover with half of ravioli. Spread half of remaining sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle on spinach and then half of mozzarella. Sprinkle top with parmesan. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbling, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Per serving details: 539 calories, 22 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 100 mg Chol, 7 g Fiber, 33 g Protein, 51 g carbs, 1,077 mg sodium

Tuesday – Southwest Turkey Burgers (freezer meal)- This is another recipe from the freezer swap group that I joined!

Wednesday – Brown Sugar chicken – Last week while searching for new recipes, I discovered this one and it sounded interested, so I figured we would test it out.

Thursday – Rodeo!/my dad’s birthday – no cooking for me 🙂

Friday – Spring break vacation starts – eating out

Saturday – Spring break vacation – eating out

I only have to cook 4 days this week. It’s kind of nice to have a break!

Sunday – Bird’s Eye Voila! meal from my Randall’s trip this week – I had good intentions to cook a “real” meal today, but I’m just completely worn out and I stocked up on convenience foods this weekend for a reason, so that’s what we’re having tonight!

Monday – Country Style Pork loin

I’ll be honest. I have never actually cooked pork loin before, but I’m trying to branch out and mix things up a little bit. I have a couple in my freezer that I got for almost free at Kroger a few months ago. So, I posted on the BabyCenter “Cooking for Your Family” board asking for suggestions and got some great ideas! Here’s the recipe I’m trying this week:

Country-Style Pork Loin
Katie (Katiedid) from Taste of Home

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (3 pounds)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot mashed potatoes, optional

Cut pork roast in half. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, onion powder and mustard. Add pork, one portion at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown pork in oil over medium-high heat on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Pour broth over pork. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until tender. Remove pork and keep warm. For gravy, strain cooking juices and skim fat; pour 2-1/2 cups cooking juices into a large saucepan. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice pork; serve with gravy and mashed potatoes if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

*This recipe was SOOOO yummy! Even my kids loved it. It is definitely a keeper at our house!

Tuesday – Cranberry turkey meatloaf (freezer meal) – This is another meal from the freezer group that I joined. I can’t wait to try it! I have to admit that it has been SO nice to have these meals on hand! I’m sad that I had to miss out on the swap this month, but our group got bigger and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get all of my meals done in time.

Wednesday – Chicken Parmesan (slow cooker) – I spent some time Saturday night browsing for “new” menu ideas. I got this recipe from the Year of Crockpotting website (if you’re not familiar with her site, you should check it out – she cooked something in the crockpot every day of the year last year!)

Thursday – Chicken enchilada casserole – This is a recipe that my sister came up with. She uses canned chicken when she makes it. I came up with a little bit of a variation.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (shredded) – or 1 can chicken
1 large can red enchilada sauce
corn tortillas
shredded cheese

Directions: (this is what I do) – I put my chicken and the enchilada sauce in the crockpot the night before and then shred it when I get up in the morning. If you are using canned chicken, you can just shred it as you are making the casserole. I spread some of the chicken/sauce mixture along the bottom of the casserole dish so it doesn’t stick. Break corn tortillas into four pieces and layer across the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread a layer of the chicken/sauce mixture and cheese. Add another layer of corn tortillas. Continue until you are out of the chicken/sauce mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Friday – Sloppy joes (freezer meal) – I got this recipe from Christy’s Once a Month Cooking site

Sloppy Joes
-serves 4
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (I use 1/3 Cup dried minced onion to make it quicker)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

TO Freeze: I brown and drain the ground beef, you can either sauté the onion with the beef or just add the minced dried onion without cooking it. I let the ground beef cool, toss in a freezer Ziploc bag, add the minced onion, and all the other ingredients, and freeze.

When you’re ready to eat it, thaw it, and reheat in a pan until it’s warmed up. If you’re just making it without freezing it, you would brown the beef and sauté the onion. Then add all the other ingredients and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until sauce has thickened and divide between 4 hamburger buns and serve. (We like it over “homemade” bread machine bread, instead of worrying about having hamburger buns around). Nice and easy! I like that! =) Hope you enjoy! =)

Saturday – Country ham & macaroni casserole

Country Ham and Macaroni Casserole (thanks to baby_hokie on NBBC)
Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen

1 lb country ham slices or regular smoked ham in one piece
1 large onion, diced
1 lb elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted
1 cup dry plain bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 400º.
2. Bring 4 quarts water and ham to boiling in large pot. Once water begins to boil,
remove ham to a plate. Add onion and macaroni to pot. Return water to boiling; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Coarsely chop ham, discarding any fat and bones.
4. Drain macaroni and onion and return to pot. Add ham, cheese, sour cream and soup. Scrape into a 13x9x2 baking dish. Pour melted margarine over top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
5. Bake in heated 400º oven 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: Prepare in two 8×8 casserole dishes, bake one and freeze one (unbaked) for another day. If freezing, top with crumbs and margarine right before baking.