All posts tagged freezable meal

I had this on my meal plan once and then “chickened out” (haha) before actually making it.  I went with a normal chicken-and-rice dish instead.  Then I put it on my meal plan again, determined to do it.  I soaked and cooked the beans and mixed up everything in the dish, and then….

YUMMY.

Why didn’t I do this sooner?!  Not to mention it’s a filling, balanced, cheap and easy meal.  I think it will grace my meal plans every week or two now.  Just delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. brown basmati rice
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. tomato sauce
• 1 c. cooked black beans (about 1/3 c. dry)
• 1 c. peas
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 – 2 lbs. chicken

Directions:

The night before, soak black beans in water (to cover by 1″) with a pinch of baking soda.

The next day, cook the black beans in water until soft, about 45 min.  Drain and set aside.

In a 9×13 baking dish, add your rice.

Add stock.

Add tomato sauce.

Then spices.

Add carrots, peas, and black beans.

Stir it all together.

Lay your chicken pieces on top.  I am using leg quarters because they are really cheap and then I use the bones to make more stock.  You can use drumsticks, bone-in breasts, boneless breasts…really whatever you want.  Ideally the chicken should be covering most of the rice.  If not, lightly cover with foil.  I don’t need to.

Now, put it in the oven at 350 for about an hour.  Then it’s done.  If you had beans already cooked and in the fridge or freezer, this dish would seriously come together in 10 minutes.  It is a no-brainer.

Serve it with shredded cheese (my favorite), slices of avocado, sour cream, fresh salsa — whatever you like and have on hand.  Pair it with a salad and some fresh fruit (or canned in the winter) and you have a perfectly easy meal.  This would make a great lunch, dinner, or even a meal-on-the-go if you baked it in advance.  Maybe try serving it with a little Blueberry Crumble….

Depending on the type of chicken you use, this is a $5 – $6 meal and it will feed a family of 4 – 6, possibly with leftovers.  You could add more beans if desired.

How do you like your Mexican food?

These are kind of complicated.  But also yummy.  I think my perception of how much time they take is skewed because I was making about four other dishes at the same time and I spent two full days in the kitchen.  That’s okay.  As usual, they are freezable, so you do all the work once and you have days of meals.

They start with a soaked crust and marinated meat, so they do need to be prepped the night before you actually want to assemble them.  The prep only takes 10 – 15 minutes, though.  They are just a perfect lunch, paired with a salad or some fruit.  They can be reheated (my preference) or eaten cold.

You don’t have to stuff these exact ingredients in these.  You could really put any combination of meat, cheese, and veggies in them.  This is just the first one that I tried.  They could be pizza pockets, turkey and cheese, Italian sausage and veggies…really whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients:

Dough

• 3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/3 c. olive or coconut oil, melted
• 1 c. water
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Meat

• 1 1/2 lbs. top round roast, sliced thinly*
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Veggies:

• 4 – 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
• 6 – 8 slices Swiss cheese

*Take advantage of having a local butcher, if you can find one, and ask them to slice the meat for you!  I imagine it would have taken me a good 30 minutes, maybe longer, to slice the meat myself and I would have never gotten it very thin.  But I asked the butcher to do it for me and it was awesome.  I also had twice this amount of meat, and I froze some of it marinated and cooked for a dinner meal on another day.

Directions:

The night before, mix together wheat flour, honey, and oil.

Add water, and stir to form a stiff dough.  Cover and put in a warm place.

Place all the meat into a large glass bowl.

Add the lemon juice, onion, garlic, and spices, then add water to cover.

Let all of this sit overnight!  The easy part.

In the morning, add the egg, yeast, and salt to the dough.

Use your hands to mix it in briefly, until the dough is mixed, but sticky (just a couple minutes).

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.  It will still be fairly stiff.  Return it to the bowl and set it aside to rise until doubled, 3 – 4 hours.

When the dough is risen, divide it into 12 – 15 small balls and set them aside to rest.

Chop all your veggies.

Saute the veggies until softened; set aside.

Fry all the meat.  You will need to cut it into smaller pieces, probably — at least I did.  Cook it 3 – 4 minutes per side, until cooked through.

Now it’s time to assemble your pockets!  Roll out the dough in a long oval.

Place some veggies and meat on part of it.

Top with half a slice of cheese.

Fold over the other side and pinch closed carefully.

Repeat the process for each ball of dough.  Place them all on a large cookie sheet.  Allow them to rise for about an hour.  Alternately, you could freeze them at this point (prior to rising), but they would need to sit out for several hours to thaw and rise before baking.  That makes them a less quick lunch option than freezing them post-baking.

Bake at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.  Allow them to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to bags and place in the freezer.  Yummy!

**This post has been entered in Frugal Days and Sustainable Ways.**

What would you stuff in your “pockets?”

Are you noticing a theme here?  A lot of “balls” recipes.  Food in ball form is just easier to eat….

Anyway, these are very interesting.  This happened because I had tons of egg whites around that I need to use — I mean, 3 dozen or so.  It’s summer so we started making ice cream a lot again.  That’s 4 egg yolks every time!  I used to throw the whites away…so sad…but now I keep them and see what I can make from them!  Most of the time I make macaroons, but sometimes I make angel cake (yummy).  I needed a non-dessert option, though.

And then there were cheeseballs.

These are sort of gourmet, so feel free to swap out some of the spices for other stuff if your family isn’t a fan.  The basic recipe is still good, though.  It’s almost like “real” bread!  Oh — and they’re grain-free!

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tbsp. diced sundried tomatoes
• 4 large, fresh basil leaves, cut
• 1 c. almond flour

Directions:

Using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they’re thick, white, and foamy (about a minute — we’re not looking for any peaks to form).

Add the basil.

Add the sundried tomatoes.

Add the cheese.

Add the almond flour and garlic salt.

Stir this all up to form a very thick batter.

Drop spoonfuls into a greased mini-muffin tin.  Bake at 350 for about 15 min.

Yummy cheeseballs!  You could probably use different types of cheese and spices, as long as you keep the main ingredients the same.  I haven’t tried yet.  Use these as a main course, a side dish, or even as an appetizer.  I bet these could even be party food.  And they’re freezable!  How can it get better than that?  (Not to mention the whole grain-free, uses-extra-egg-whites part…!)

**This post has been entered in Real Food Wednesday, Frugal Days and Sustainable Ways.**

How would you serve cheeseballs?

Last week, the first week in my “freezable lunches” series, I did pizza balls.  Just in case you missed those.  I’ve really enjoyed having them for lunch these last couple weeks….

But, several of you asked for a gluten-free version.  And since my husband is still grain-free, I thought I would try it out.  Then my almond flour showed up.  Perfect!

These are basically like grain-free pizza balls.  Except they are a little bit different, of course.  I made these with sausage because I had some leftover that I needed to use, but you could use whatever you like.

When my husband came home and found these sitting on the counter, and that they were, in fact, grain-free, he was excited to try.  Immediate comment: “Are these in a cookbook?  Well, they need to be.  These are cookbook-worthy.”  Not everything I make, that he likes, is deemed ‘cookbook worthy’ but these were, so you know they’re good.  He even got the idea that I ought to add veggies and other toppings and cook a big batch in a round cake pan, like a “real” pizza.  Hmm…someday.

For now, try these little bites!  They’re delicious, and just as freezable and portable as the original pizza bites.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. sausage
• 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese*
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. almond flour

*If you are on GAPS, sub cheddar or another GAPS-friendly cheese.  You may also be able to use homemade cultured mozzarella once you are well into the diet and starting to re-introduce cultured dairy.

Directions:

Cook your sausage.  Mine was in casings, so I removed it before cooking.

Dump cooked sausage into a large bowl.

Add your eggs.

Beat this all together, and toss in the salt.

Then, add your cheese.

Add your almond flour, and mix this all together.

Scoop spoonfuls into a mini-muffin tray (for bite-sized balls).  Grease the tray first unless you have cast-iron or something non-stick (but you’re not using chemical non-stick cookware, right?).

Bake them at 350 for about 15 min.  Put them on a cooling rack until they’re cool, then store in a bag in the freezer.

Reheat on a baking sheet at 350 for about 10 minutes.  Serve with tomato sauce if desired, although they’re yummy without anything.

**This post has been linked to Friday Food, GAPS friendly Friday, Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday.**

What will you add to your sausage balls?