Final Date June 11

The final date is June 11 at 7 pm. The new order deadline is Monday, June 8. Hopefully that doesn't create problems for any of you who are planning to come. We should plan to be there right at 7 and plan to work quickly so we can be done by 9 and get home to our families. If there is anybody that would like to help set up before hand so that we can get an immediate start, I would greatly appreciate it. Just let me know. I apologize for the weird scheduling of this activity. Hopefully we can avoid scheduling conflicts like this in the future. I hope many of you will still be able to come. I really enjoy getting to know you all better.

Next Date is June 6

I've scheduled the Stake Center for June 6 at 9 a.m. for the next freezer meal activity. I hope that date works for most people. I've tried to avoid doing them on Fast Sunday weekend, but the next weekend is right before finals for those who are in class during Spring term. So, hopefully many of you can and will come! Please submit your orders by Monday June 1 either by comment or by email.

Here are the meals we will do:

1. Frozen Strawberry Margarita Dessert: pretzels, brown sugar, nuts, butter, lime juice, orange juice, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, strawberry puree, whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla
Servings: 8-10

What you need to bring:
• 1 Pie pan or square baking pan
• 1 one-gallon freezer Ziploc bags IF your pie pan fits inside and you want extra freezer protection

2. Steak Fajitas: sirloin steak, lime juice, white wine vinegar, salad oil, oregano, garlic, flour tortilla, fajita style veggies
Servings: 4

What you need to bring:
• 1 pound sirloin steak raw
• 2 gallon Ziploc bags (put meat in one bag and bring the extra)

3. Chicken and Rice Pilaf: chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, salt, pepper, paprika, pimientos, chicken broth, white rice, dry onion soup mix
Servings: 4

What you need to bring:
• 4 Chicken Breasts raw – you can do whole or 8 halves for more manageable servings
• 1 baking dish – 9x13 might be too big, but it would work ok

4. Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating: Dijon mustard, butter, honey, bread crumbs, pecans, parsley, salmon
Servings: 6

What you need to bring:
• 6 raw Salmon fillets – 4 oz each (you could do 2 12 oz steaks or whatever you can find – just enough to fill a 9x13)
• 9x13 pan

5. Tuna Bow Ties: bow tie pasta, cream of chicken, evaporated milk, onion, Monterrey Jack cheese, American cheese, tuna, frozen peas
Servings: 6-8

What you need to bring:
• 2 gallon Ziploc bags

Fruit Dip

This isn't a freezer meal. It's actually the dip I brought today with the strawberries for a breakfast surprise.

Ingredients:
16 oz cool whip slightly softened
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 can (15oz) cream of coconut (It's kind of hard to find in the store. I found it with the alcoholic drink mixes.)

Just whip it all together for a few minutes until it's thick. Refrigerate leftovers.

Maple Dijon Marinated Pork Chops

Serving Size : 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
6 pork chops
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2/3 cup maple syrup
½ cup dijon mustard
¼ cup hoisin sauce

Blend Marinade

Add to pork chops in freezer bag

Freeze

Thaw

Grill, saute, or cook in crock pot

Italian Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf

Serving Size : 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 pounds extra lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ teaspoons basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
8 ounces pizza sauce
2 cups grated provolone cheese
4 ounces sliced olives -- canned
4 ounces sliced mushroom -- canned
4 ounces pimiento -- jar

Spray bottom of 9X13 pan.

Mix beef, bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan, seasonings, garlic and ½ of the
jar of pizza sauce together until well combined.

Place ½ the meat into a dish and level out. Smoosh the center down and
build up the sides so you have a lip on the meat.

Put a little shredded cheese along the trough, then top with mushrooms ,
more cheese, olives, more cheese, then pimentos and remaining cheese.

With the remaining meat, make it thin, like three big burgers and put them
on top so you cover the cheese.
Pinch the sides well so the filling will not escape.

Rub the sides down with cold water on your hands until you see it is
smooth. (The water sets the meat so it doesn't break as easily).

Place remaining ½ of the pizza sauce in a sandwich bag and freeze separate
from meat.

Freeze.

Thaw, bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven and spread
the rest of the pizza sauce on top and give it a sprinkle of parsley or
oregano. Bake another 20 minutes. (absolutely delightful).

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Serving Size : 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 2/3 cups frozen peas and carrots
2 cups cooked chicken breast halves -- chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup Bisquick® baking mix
½ cup milk
1 egg

Stir together vegetable, chicken and soup.

In a bowl, stir remaining ingredients until blended.

Pour vegetable mixture into 9" pie tin or 8X8 pan.

Pour Bisquick mixture on top.

Freeze.

Thaw.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
 

Minestrone Soup

Serving Size : 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage
2 stalks chopped celery
2 chopped carrots
1 small chopped onion
28 ounces diced tomatoes
8 cups water
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 cubes beef bouillon -- crushed
1 cup macaroni -- uncooked

Cook and cut up sausage into bite-size pieces. Prepare vegetables. Place
everything except water, macaroni and parmesan into a freezer bag.

Freeze.

When thaw, put everything into a 6 quart crock pot and add 8 c. water.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add macaroni ½ hour before serving. Serve
with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Fantastic News!

This time, the cost of the meals is only $4 each. That's amazing! I have really been trying to bring costs down and this week had exactly the sales we needed. I feel like the Lord is blessing us poor college families.

I'm excited to see you all at the church tomorrow at 9am. Hopefully you all remembered and you have your ingredients ready. If you've forgotten and you have little time left, the raw pork chops and cooked minestrone can be added to the recipes after the activity later in the day. But you really need to have the cooked chicken and raw hamburger for the other two recipes.

Don't forget to come early enough to label your dishes! We have 10 sisters planning on coming and I foresee confusion if everything is not properly labeled. I will bring a sharpie marker and masking tape for the pans.

I am planning to be there at 8:30am to set up. We have enough sisters that we may flood into the gym and set up one station in there and two in the kitchen. If anyone happens to wake up early on a Saturday morning and have nothing better to do, then feel free to come early and join me! :)

See you all soon!

Testimonials

I know many of you have wanted to come and just haven't quite made it for whatever reason. So, I thought I'd give some of you who had participated the opportunity to leave testimonials that just might be the encouragement you need to come this time! If we don't get any testimonials, then that means one of two things: either they didn't like it, or they are busy people and don't have time to comment which is a testimonial in itself to how nice it is to save some time by having meals already prepared.

Here's mine: I love that we do at least half as many dishes as we would if we all made these meals on our own. That's a huge plus for me!

Information for Newcomers

Bringing children may cause problems since we will have knives and other kitchen utensils all over, not to mention raw meat. If it is possible to leave your children home, that would be fantastic! If not, let me know, so we can accommodate somehow and maybe arrange babysitting.

Each month I will post the list of recipes on the blog – feedyourfreezer.blogspot.com. Right now the plan is: 4 entrees, 1 dessert dish. I will provide all the ingredients other than the meat, which you will bring. I will tell you how much you will need and what to do with it. Also, feel free to substitute chicken, ground turkey, etc. on any recipes you want. Just because a recipe calls for a certain meat you don't necessarily have to use that particular meat.

You will need to email me back or post a comment on the blog your order of how many of each recipe you want by the Monday before we meet. Once you place your order, you are obligated to show up and pay for the meals. If you cannot make it suddenly, please let me know as soon as possible. I generally do the shopping Thursday or Friday night.

I will be dividing the total food bill by the number of meals ordered. All the meals will be the same price. After we make the meals on Saturday, you will pay me before you leave. If you do not pay, you do not take meals home, so please remember your money/checkbook. The meals usually feed 4-8 people and usually cost between $4-6 each.

We will meet at the church in the kitchen and begin at exactly 9am. Please be on time as the whole process is dependent on having your ingredients there in order to make your meal. Basically, there will be five stations – one for each recipe – and we will split up so everyone works at one station and makes all the meals for that recipe. There should end up being about 2 or 3 people at each station. Then, when all the meals are made and the gym is cleaned – hopefully about two hours later – we go home with several different recipes! Hooray!

Remember to bring the meat for the recipes you ordered and the dishes/bags required.

If a recipe calls for 2 gallon bags that means two 1 gallon bags. They need to be labeled correctly so that your meat doesn’t get switched and you get each recipe you ordered. Example: you will put your meat in one bag with your name, the recipe name, and any ingredients you want left out clearly written right on the bag. The other bag should also have your name, the recipe name, and the date written on it. This second bag will be used to double bag the food in order to prevent freezer burn. I will have sharpie markers there for you to use, but remember, we have to start right at 9am. So, come a few minutes early to get organized.

The 9x13 pans work best if they have a lid. I’m sure many of you got Pyrex dishes for your wedding that came with lids and those will work. I bought some pans at Wal-Mart for five dollars each two years ago that have lids and they work perfectly. If you don’t use lids on the pans it still works, but they are hard to stack in the freezer, and may also get freezer burn. However, if you only order one recipe that requires a 9x13 pan and you don’t have a lid, you can always eat that recipe in the first couple days and you don’t have to worry about that.

The pans also need to be labeled. I will have some tape and markers there for you if you need.

If you have a rectangular cooler, that will be a huge help to you! I will have everyone’s name on the stage and when a recipe is finished, it should be taken immediately to that spot where your name is. If you have a cooler, your meals can be put right into your cooler and carried easily to your car and into your house. If you don’t have a cooler, a laundry basket could also work - whatever eases the trip home!

Please come a few minutes before 9am so that you can get your bags/dishes labeled and put at the right station as well as your cooler/box. Also, please plan to stay until everything is cleaned up. It will be much easier with more help. I’m pretty sure we should all be done by 11am or 11:30am at latest.

Once you get your meals home, make sure most of the air is out of the bags of food. Extra air will allow freezer burn.

May 9, 2009 Orders

The next freezer meal group will be on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 9 a.m. at the Stake Center. Hopefully you can all attend! Here are the meals you can order, their ingredients, and what you need to bring. Please post as a commment or email your orders to me by midnight, Monday, May 4, 2009.

1. Peanut Butter Pie: Graham Cracker pie crust, cream cheese, peanut butter, milk, powdered sugar, whipped topping

What you need to bring:
• 2 one-gallon freezer Ziploc bags

2. Minestrone Soup: kidney beans, basil, pepper, oregano, parsley, sausage, celery, carrots, onion, tomatoes, water, parmesan cheese, beef bouillon, and macaroni

What you need to bring:
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (you can also make this soup with no meat)
• 2 gallon Ziploc bags (put meat in one bag and bring the extra bag)

3. Italian Cheese Stuffed Meat Loaf: ground beef, eggs, dry Italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, pizza sauce, provolone cheese, olives, mushroom, pimiento

What you need to bring:
• 2 lbs ground beef raw
• 9x13 pan

4. Easy Chicken Pot Pie: peas and carrots, chicken breast halves, cream of chicken soup, Bisquick® baking mix, milk, egg

What you need to bring:
• 6 chicken breasts – cooked and cubed
• 9x9 pan or round 9 inch pan

5. Maple Dijon Marinated Pork Chops: pork chops, vinegar, honey, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and hoisin sauce

What you need to bring:
• 4-6 raw pork chops
• 2 gallon Ziploc bags (put meat in one bag and bring the extra bag)