Turkey Noodle Casserole

(Sorry! Forgot to include hard copy instructions with my meal.)

1 pkg broad egg noodles
1 lb ground turkey
1 14-oz can corn
*1 can cream of mushroom condensed soup

Cook egg noodles according to instructions, drain. Meanwhile, brown turkey in a skillet until brown and fully cooked. Drain any grease. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, then turn into a freezer container. Freeze (may want to allow it to come down to room temperature before placing in freezer.

On cooking day, thaw completely in fridge (take it out the night before or morning of). In a preheated 350F oven, cook for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly and completely hot throughout. Serve!

*I found a hopefully healthier substitute for the cream condensed soups. Here is the recipe.

CREAM SOUP MIX
2 cups dry milk powder
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken boullion granules
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. onion powder

Combine all. Mix well. Store in air tight container. Yield: 3 cups

FOR CONDENSED SOUP SUBSTITUTE:
Blend 1/3 cup mix and 1 1/4 cups water in micro-safe dish until smooth. Microwave 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool. Use as substitute for 10 3/4 oz. cr. chicken, celery or mushroom soup.

OPTIONAL:
May add freeze dried mushrooms when finishing soup. OR add finely chopped celery for celery soup. If you use it before it cools is seems to be a little thin but will thicken when cooled. If I plan to use it in a recipe I try to make it a few hours (or the night before and refrigerate it) so that it has time to thicken.

Apricot Jammin' Chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 Chicken Breasts
3/4 C. Ketchup
3/4 C. Apricot Preserves *
2 T. Vinegar
1 t. Worcestershire Sauce
2 t. Chili Powder
1/8 t. Salt

Assembly Directions:
Place the chicken in a labeled one-gallon freezer bag or freezer container. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken parts.

Freezing Directions:
Remove excess air from the packaging, seal and freeze.

To Serve:
Thaw and place in baking pan that is oiled or coated with non-stick baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (about an hour).

*Many different jams or preserves will work with this recipe. Blackberry, apricot, plum, or current, are good places to start.

Did this meal feed 4 adults? How did you like this and would you like this again?

Lasagna

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Chicken Salsa

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Spicy Chicken with Citrus Au Jus

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Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
* 1 bone-in turkey or chicken breast, thawed, rinsed and patted dry (about 4lbs)
* 4 tbsp(1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
* Grated peel of 1 medium lemon
* 1 tsp chili powder
* 1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/8 - 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
* 1 tbsp lemon juice
* Salt & black pepper

Prepare: Crockpot
1. Coat crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Add the turkey or chicken breast
2. Mix butter, lemon peel, chili powder, black pepper, and pepper flakes in a small bowl until well blended. Spread mixture over top and sides of turkey or chicken. Cover, cook on low 4-5 hours or on high 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until meat thermometer reaches 165 F and juices run clear. Do not overcook.
3. Transfer turkey or chicken to cutting board. Let stand 10mins. before slicing. Turn crockpot to Low.
4. Stir lemon juice into cooking liquid. Pour mixture through fine mesh sieve: discard solids in sieve. Let mixture stand 5 mins. Skim and discard excess fat. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Return au jus mixture to crockpot. Cover to keep warm. Serve au jus with turkey or chicken.

Bake:
1. Coat your baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the turkey or chicken breast.
2. Follow step two above. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 - 2 hours (depending on the size of your meat) until the juice run clear and the meat thermometer reaches 165 F.
3-4. Follow step from above. Use a pan to keep au jus mixture warm.

Chicken Enchiladas

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Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

* 1lb shredded cooked chicken
* 8 tortillas
* 2-3 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
* 1 1/2 cans cream of chicken
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 can(4oz) Green diced chilies (I used 3/4 of the can, just in case some people does not like it too spicy)
* Option: 2-3 tsp Red pepper flakes

Prepare:
* Mix cream of chicken, sour cream, 1 1/2 cup of cheese and diced chilies together.
* Place 2-3 spoonful of chicken on the tortilla and 2-3 spoonful of the cream mixture along the side of the chicken. Roll it up and place in non-stick baking pan. Repeat until all tortillas are gone.
* Pour the remaining cream mixture evenly over all the tortillas. Then cover it with the remaining cheese.
* For freezing: cover the pan with plastic wrap and then with foil.

Baking Directions:

• Thaw out: I usually take it out in the morning around 11am and leave it in my sink.
• Remove the plastic wrap under the foil
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45mins.- 1 hour. (Depending on how thawed out your dish is) Add red pepper flakes to give it more of a kick while baking. Option: Remove the foil 15 mins. before you are going to take it out of the oven- allow the cheese to get a little brown.

Side Dishes: Salad and refried beans or Spanish rice

Barbocoa Pork

2 1/2 lb boneless country style ribs
3/4 cups brown sugar
6 oz. salsa
6 oz. dark soda (I used Pepsi)

I combined all the ingredients, except the pork, in a pot and boiled for a couple minutes.
This is your marinade.

Pour marinade over pork

I usually put pork in crock pot and pour over marinade, so I would think you don't need to thaw this before you cook it in the crock pot.
5-7 hours on low. Once the pork is tender shred.

We put it over rice as a salad or roll it up on warm tortilla with melted cheese.

Meal change

After doing a test run of the "Caesar Spaghetti", we decided it wasn't that good.

So, I'm changing my meal, hopefully for the better!

Frito Chili Pie

(I combined a few different versions of this recipe)

Make Chili mixture:

1 can pinto beans

1 can chili

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 pound ground beef (cooked and drained)

Crush 2 cups corn chips and place on the bottom of a lightly greased baking pan. Place chili mixture on chips. Top with 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

I'm freezing the cheese and chili mixture, and providing a bag of chips.

To prepare from frozen, thaw the chili and cheese, and follow the above directions. If you don't want to heat up your oven (and house!) you can always just heat it up on the stove, and pour over the chips. You can also add lettuce to this and eat it like more of a taco salad. Many recipes called for onions, which I didn't add, but obviously there are many other toppings you could throw in as well, depending on what your family likes.

Hopefully this is an enjoyable meal :)

LOAF

I don't really like that word 'loaf', but this is pretty good. I can take out the onions for the non-onion peeps, but I think onions contribute to the overall flavor. I plan to use ground turkey, for health and we like it better. Sorry to make you turn your oven on, but if you thaw it... should only take 30- 1 hour max to bake.

Bacon Swiss Meatloaf
1 bacon strip, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
1/3 Cup butter crackers crushed
5 Tablespoons shredded Swiss cheese
4 ½ teaspoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
½ lb. Ground beef
In bowl combine egg, crackers, 4 Tablespoons shredded cheese, chopped onion, garlic, bacon, salt and pepper. Add beef into mixture and combine. Shape into loaf and freeze wrapped in tin foil or in a ziploc bag. When ready to cook take out of the freezer and place in a loaf pan. Top with more bacon pieces if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes- 1 hour.

Oven Time

Just a small concern and wondering if anyone is thinking the same thing.
Having my oven on for 2.5+ hours for one meal gives me worry to try to keep the kids away from it. On top of that it takes up a lot of energy. Anyone thinking the same thing? If not, no big deal.

Pizza

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Pizza Crust (Makes 3 crusts)
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 1 Tbsp white sugar
* 2 1/2 cups warm water
* 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbsp salt
* 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
* 5 1/2 cups bread flour

Prepare:
In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until creamy (10 minutes). Stir olive oil, whole wheat flour, salt, and four cups of the bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out into a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume. (About 1 hour) Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about 10 minutes.

* I partially baked the crust at 500 degrees for 3 minutes. Then placed the crusts in ziplock bags and then in freezer

Papa John's Pizza Sauce (for one pizza)
* 1 can tomato puree (or crushed tomatoes)
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 tsp sugar
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 1/4 tsp lemon juice
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp oregano
* 1/8 tsp basil
* 1/8 tsp thyme
* 1/8 tsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Bake Directly from Freezer:
* Brush crust with butter.
* Add pepperoni or other toppings you want
* Bake at 425 degree for about 20-25 minutes until cheese melts and crust is golden brown.

Sunday Chicken

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Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 slices bacon
1 family size can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream

Prepare:
* Place chicken in pan. Cover with bacon slices. Mix soup and sour cream together. Pour over chicken and bacon.

Freeze:
* Cover tightly with foil. Freeze in a disposable aluminum pan.

Side: Rice

Cooking:
* Bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice.

Skillet Squash Pasta

New-
boil the noodles until done. Cook the squash in oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Top with fresh grated Parmesan

Anne