Freezer Meals

All of these recipes can be made ahead and frozen.  These are great recipes to bring to a new mom, or to stock your freezer before welcoming a new baby.  If you really want to save time, double the recipe when you cook dinner and freeze half to eat later.  Enjoy! 

 

BBQ Turkey Meatballs

Whole Wheat Calzones

Venison Turkey Chili

Enchilada Casserole

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Tortilla Soup

Lasagna

Stuffed Shells

Sloppy Joes

Homemade Hot Pockets

Breakfast Burritos

Chicken Packets

Freezer Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bagels

Freezer Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bagels


8 whole wheat bagel thins
8 eggs
8 slices cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Optional additions:
Sliced ham
sausage patties
bacon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8 sections of a large size muffin tin with cooking spray.  Crack an egg in each section.  Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until eggs are set.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool.


Meanwhile, separate each bagel thin.  Place one slice of cheese on bottom layer of each.  Remove eggs from muffin tin by loosening the edges with a knife.  Place one egg on top of cheese on each bagel thin.  Top with bagel top.  


*After cooling completely, bagels can be wrapped in foil, placed in freezer bags, and kept frozen.  Remove from freezer and reheat in microwave until cheese is melted and eggs are heated through.



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JoJo's Enchilada Casserole

JoJo's Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground turkey

2 10 oz. cans enchilada sauce

1 can Wolfe turkey chili without beans

1 can fat free refried beans

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 fajita size whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook ground turkey until no longer pink; drain.  Add 1 can enchilada sauce, 1 can refried beans, and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.  In a separate pot, combine remaining can of enchilada sauce and 1 can Wolfe chili.  

Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.  Fill tortillas with turkey mixture; roll up and place in pan.  If any meat mixture remains, pour over top of tortillas.  Top with chili mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

**Can be frozen before placing cheese on top and baking.  Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, top with cheese, and bake according to directions.**

Venison Turkey Chili

Venison Turkey Chili

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb ground deer meat

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1 tbs chili powder

1 tbs Zatarain's seasoning (Cajun seasoning)

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs brown sugar

Cook turkey and deer meat together over medium in a large pot until no longer pink.  Drain grease.  Add remaining ingredients, stirring well.  Bring to a boil;  turn heat to medium low.  Cook for 2 hours.  Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, or with Fritos.

**Can be frozen flat in freezer bags after cooking.  Defrost in refrigerator over night and reheat on stove on medium low heat.**

Whole Wheat Calzones

Whole Wheat Calzones - adapted from food.com

1 pkg yeast

1 cup warm water

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs oil

1 tsp salt

2 3/4 cup wheat flour

2 tbs butter

1/2 tsp oregano
filling of your choice(I used pizza sauce, ground beef, Canadian bacon, and mozzarella)

Dissolve yeast in water.  Mix sugar, oil, and flour, and add to yeast and water.  Mix together until smooth.  Knead and cover for 30 minutes.  

Prepare filling.  Roll out dough into a 10" circle.  Place 1 - 2 cups of filling in center of dough.  Fold over and crimp shut.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Let rest for 15 minutes.  

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with oregano.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown.

**Can be frozen after baking and cooling completely.  Defrost in refrigerator over night.  Reheat in microwave.**

Simple BBQ Turkey Meatballs

Simple BBQ Turkey Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1/4 cup oats

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 bottle Kraft BBQ sauce

3 tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.  Combine all ingredients except BBQ sauce and brown sugar.  Form into approximately 24 meatballs and place in baking dish, leaving 1" between each meatball.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.  Meanwhile, combine BBQ sauce and brown sugar in a pot over low heat.  After meatballs have been removed from oven, add them to the sauce. Stir to coat.  Simmer on medium low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

**Meatballs can be frozen after baking.  Defrost in refrigerator over night.  Add to sauce.**

Poppa's French Toast

Poppa's French Toast

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

4 tbs sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

6 slices whole wheat bread

Mix first 4 ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Baste bread slices with mixture.  Fry bread in a buttered skillet.  Serve with butter and syrup or powdered sugar.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes - slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbs vegetable oil
margarine

Heat large pan on medium and melt 1 tablespoon margarine.  Sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl.   Add buttermilk, egg, and oil to dry ingredients. Whisk well until combined.  Pour 1/4 cup batter into hot pan for each pancake. Flip when the surface of the pancake becomes somewhat dry and starts to bubble.  Melt another tablespoon of margarine between each batch of pancakes.

Makes about 10 pancakes.

Healthier Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls - healthier version

2 cups 1% milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 package active dry yeast(2 1/4 tsp)

2 cups whole wheat flour plus 1/2 to 1 cup more

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tbs salt

melted margarine

3/4 cup sugar

cinnamon

Icing

1/4 cup 1% milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour. 

After rising for at least an hour, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle about 1/2 cup melted margarine over the dough. Now sprinkle sugar over the margarine followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted margarine in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Icing - Alton Brown

Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Sift confectioners' sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined. Remove the glaze from the heat and drizzle immediately over warm cinnamon rolls.

Oatmeal Waffles

Oatmeal Waffles - adapted from recipezaar.com

1 1/2 cups oats

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups water

1 tbs baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1 tbs honey

2 tbs vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients until there are no lumps.  Cook in a waffle iron according to machine's directions. 

Makes approximately 6 waffles.

Chicken Packets

I usually cook 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot and freeze half of the chicken to make this again another day.

Chicken Packets - adapted from recipezaar.com

1 cups chopped cooked chicken

4 oz. cream cheese

1 tbs. milk

1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup seasoned croutons or Italian breadcrumbs

1 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls

1/8 cup melted margarine

Mix chicken, cream cheese, milk, and Cajun seasoning in a medium bowl to make filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Separate crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles.  Press dough together along perforations.  Place 3 tbs. chicken mixture on one half of each rectangle.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.  Fold over and press together to seal.

Dip each packet into melted margarine and then croutons or breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Breakfast Burritos

I'm always in a rush in the morning, but breakfast is a necessity so I like to prepare things ahead of time that I can just heat in the microwave and eat quickly.  This recipe doesn't take much prep time and is relatively healthy, not to mention good! You could make it even healthier by using low-fat cheese and egg substitute.

Breakfast Burritos

8 eggs, scrambled

8 whole wheat tortillas

8 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup shredded cheese, your choice

Lay out a tortilla. Fill with 1/8 of the scrambled eggs, 1 slice of crumbled turkey bacon, and a sprinkle of cheese. Wrap up burrito style.  These can be wrapped in foil, frozen in a freezer bag, and reheated for breakfast on the go.

Homemade Hot Pockets

I made these for my husband and I to eat during the week when we don't have anything else to eat.  Plus, it means my husband has no excuse to not take his lunch to work and eat fast food, which I am all for! :) We freeze them and take them out as needed.  These are really simple and are great reheated.  I used this dough recipe in my bread machine from Our Best Bites, and then just kind of winged it from there and added whatever ingredients I wanted.

Homemade Hot Pockets

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour(I used half whole wheat, half bread flour)

Add to bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer.  Select dough cycle.  When finished, add filling ingredients to the center of rolled out dough, leaving a gap on all edges.  Wrap up burrito style, making sure to seal edges.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Brush with butter or margarine if desired.

Cheddar Stuffed Mini Meatloaf

This is a combination of a few different recipes that I've made in the past.  My husband loves my mini meatloaf recipe and would literally eat it twice a week.  I like it too, but I needed a little change from the usual recipe, so I decided to add cheese to change it up a bit.

 

Cheddar Stuffed Mini Meatloaf

For meatloaf:

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/2 lb. ground beef

2 tbs. Worcestireshire sauce

1 tbs. Zatarain's or other Cajun seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. chili powder

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 tbs. milk

1/2 block cheddar cheese, sliced thinly into 6 pieces

For sauce:

1/4 cup honey barbecue sauce

2 tbs. ketchup

1 tbs. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients except cheese.  Mix just until combined. Form into 6 patties.  Place 1 slice of cheese on each patty; form mini meatloaf around cheese.  Place mini meatloaves into a greased 9 x 13 pan. 

In a small bowl, combine barbecue sauce, ketchup, and brown sugar.  Brush onto tops of meatloaves.

Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Simple Pancakes

Pancakes

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat eggs until fluffy. Add milk and melted margarine. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Melt about a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. (Do this before each batch of pancakes)

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan and spread into desired shape. When bubbles appear on surface and begin to pop, turn over and cook other side. Repeat until all batter is used.

**I usually double this recipe because my husband and daughter eat so many pancakes! You could also add chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. to the batter.