Monday, April 20, 2009

Sauteed Peas and Scallions

2 T unsalted butter
3 cups peas
3 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced diagonally
Course salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a ziplock freezer bag. If freezing, don't melt the butter or anything, just chunk it in tbe bag with the peas and scallions. Freeze.

To prepare, place into a skillet and saute until butter is melted and peas are heated through.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 - 2 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 - 2 cups of chocolate chunks)

Sift together the flour, baking poeder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and floffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients. Stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.

Freeze cookies on sheet until completely frozen, then put them into a ziplock freezer bag.

To bake, preheat oven to 350d and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

NOTE: If you are baking these immediately, the dough needs to be really cold when they go into the oven - chill for 2 - 3 hours prior to baking.

Greek Potatoes

8 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large wedges (about 6 - 7 wedges per potato)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1 T oregano
1 1/2 lemons (juice of)
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well with clean hands. Place in freezer containers and cover well. Freeze.

To prepare, thaw potatoes and place them in a baking pan. Bake at 440d for 40 minutes. When a nice golden-brown crust has formed on the potatoes, give them a stir to bring the white underside up, season lightly with a big more salt and pepper, and add a sprinkling of oregano. Add 1/2 of water if pan appears to be getting dry, and then pop back into the oven to brown other side of potatoes (this will take another 40 minutes or so).

Cannelloni with Cheese Sauce

2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 lb ground beef, browned
1/4 lb italian sausage, browned
1 cup onion, chopped and sauteed
6 cannelloni, large
1 cup white sauce
6 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 T parmesan cheese, freshly grated

To make filling, combine browned beef, browned sausage, sauteed onion and marinara sauce. Cook cannelloni as directed, but cook for only 3/4 of the recommended time; rinse and drain. Fill cannelloni with filling mixture and pack firmly into greased baking dish.

To make cheese sauce, warm white sauce until nearly boiling; add grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Pour over cannelloni, coating pasta generously. Cool.

To freeze, cover baking dish with foil; place in freezer bag and freeze.

To prepare, uncover and bake frozen casserole in 400d oven for 1 hour, or until hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, return to oven for 5 minutes to brown top.

Quiche Lorraine

1 pie crust (9-inch), uncooked
6 bacon slices, crisply cooked
6 oz swiss cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup half and half or light cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cubed, cooked ham
1/4 onion, sliced
4 eggs

Sprinkle crumbled bacon and cheese on the bottom of pie crust. Put remaining ingredients in blender container. Blend on high for 10 seconds, blend until onion is mixed but do not over-blend.

Pour into pie crust over bacon and cheese.

To freeze: Flash-freeze pie on cookie sheet. When frozen, cover with foil and seal in jumbo freezer bag.

To prepare, thaw quiche completely before baking. Bake in preheated oven at 350d for 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and mixture is set. Serve warm.

Sticky Chicken

4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 roasting chicken, large
1 cup onion, chopped

In a small bowl, combine all of the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.

Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure that it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in ziplock bag and freeze.

To prepare, allow chicken to thaw. Stuff cavity with onions and place in a shallow baking pan. Roast, uncovered, at 250d for 5 hours.

After the first hour, baste chicken every 30 minutes with pan juices. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of the pan and the chicken will turn golden brown.

Let chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.

Sesame Broccoli

1 pkg (10-oz) frozen broccoli spears
1 T vegetable oil
1 T soy sauce
1 T sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

Cook broccoli arroding to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine oil, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar; heat on medium until sigar is dissolved and mixture is hot. Drain broccoli. Allow to cool, package well, and freeze.

To prepare, thaw broccoli. Place in saucepan on medium heat until warmed.

Macadamia Coconut Cookies

1 package dry sugar cooke mix, prepared to package directions
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips


To cookie mix (prepared as package indicates) add nuts, coconut and white chocolate chips. Shape into cookie-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer until they are frozen. Place cookies into a ziplock bag and store in freezer until needed.

To cook, remove as many cookies as wanted and thaw. Bake at 375d until cooked through (do not overbake).

NOTE: If giving instructions to you husband, make sure he doesn't confuse these cookies with frozen bread rolls...

Easy Ranch Parmesan Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup ranch dressing (we used Hidden Valley)
1/4 cup melted butter

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. In a shallow bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, seasoned slat, black pepper and garlic powder.

Dip the chicken into the ranch dressing to coat both sides. Coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Please in a single-layer into the baking dish. Lightly drizzle the melted butter over each breast.

Cover well and freeze. To prepare, let thaw. Cook (uncovered) for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

BBQ Chicken Calzones or Pizza

3 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1/2 small onion, chopped
2/3 cup bbq sauce (we used Famous Dave's)
4 slices bacon
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup shredded mozz cheese
1 (10-oz) can refrigerated pizza dough

Preheat oven to 400d. Fry bacon, remove from pan. Add the onion and shredded chicken to the hot bacon grease. Fry over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in 1/3 cup BBQ sauce, and then mix in the cooked bacon.

If making calzones, roll the pizza crust out onto a greased cookie sheet. Press to an even thickness, and then cut in half. Divide the chicken mixture between the 2 pieces of dough, spreading on only 1/2 of each piece to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the filling. Sprinkle the cheese and cilantro over the top. Fold the uncovered portion of dough over the filling, and press the edges together with a fork to seal.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned to your liking. Cool for a few minutes, then cut each calzone in 1/2. Each serving is 1/2 a calzone.

If making pizza, roll out pizza dough and spread remaining BBQ sauce on the pizza. Add the topping, and then top with the cheese. Bake at 425d or until the cheese is melted and the crust is cooked. There is enough topping in this recipe for 2 pizzas.

Hot Green Beans

2 (14 1/2 oz) cans French-style green beans (I used regular frozen green beans..)
5 T vinegar
5 T sugar
1 small onion, chopped
5 slices of bacon (cooked - save the drippings)
3 T bacon drippings, cooled
1/2 cup almonds (slivered or sliced)

Mix all ingredients together. Cover well and freeze. To prepare, thaw beans. Preheat oven to 300 d and bake (covered) for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking another 15 - 20 minutes.

Chocolate-Mint Grasshopper Pie

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg (4-serving size) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding
2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided
6 Double Stuff Oreo Cool Mint Creme cookies, chopped
1 Oreo pie crust
1 square Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 1/2 cups of the Cool Whip and the chopped cookies. Spoon into crust. Spread with remaining Cool Whip.

Melt chocolate and drizzle over top of pie.

Refrigerate 2 hours or freeze until firm. If frozen, remove pie from freezer about 10 minutes before serving; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Store leftovers in refrigerator or freezer.