19 freezer meals in 2 days!

At the beginning of January, I found some wonderful deals on hamburger and chicken at my local grocery store.  As for deals, I mean deals for our day, definitely not real deals.  I think the 93% lean hamburger was $2.99/lb and chicken breast were $1.59/lb.  Anyone living near days market, the hamburger has been on that sale every Monday for the past month.  I'm not sure how much longer that will go on.

My freezer has been free of freezer meals for a few months, so with these "deals" I decided to go to town freezing meals.  When I say 'go to town', I really mean it, in two days I made 19 freezer meals!!!  The recipes were found at random places and changed a little as they were put together.    

It really was easy to create this many meals and it didn't take that long.  Just make sure you have all the supplies and are not having to make last minute runs to the grocery store.  It kills the drive to get it done. You will need to see how many gallon sized freezer bags you will need and how many freezable containers for baked dishes you will need. 

 Monday was my beef day and Tuesday was my chicken day.  It helped by being able to cook all the beef and season it up in only two separate batches.  Just make sure your freezer bags are all pre labeled, labeling them after the food is in doesn't always work the best.  I know from prior experience.  It also helps to keep key ingredients, like vinegar, sugar... out on the cupboards.  

Here is my list:

Taco Soup- 2

Baked Ziti- 3

Mongolian Beef -1 

Beef Stew- 1

Sloppy Joes- 3

Orange Chicken- 2

Chicken Brocolli Alfredo- 1

Maple glazed Chicken- 1 (the only recipe I worry about)

Poppyseed chicken casserole- 1

Cilantro lime chicken- 2

Teriyaki chicken -2

I am not sharing all the recipes right now, because while I want to all taste wonderful, they are all new recipes to me.  I need to try them all out before passing on a recipe that isn't the best.  I have tried 4 of them so far and those I will share.  My favorite so far is the Teriyaki Chicken, it was awesome!  Most of the recipes I made are for the crock pot and the recipes say to thaw before cooking.  I usually will turn the crockpot on high for 2 hours if they are not thawed and then turn it down to low.  

Teriyaki Chicken (label bag: Cook low 6-8 hours, shred chicken and serve over rice)

3 chicken breasts

1 cup Teriyaki sauce (I used Yoshida's brand)

1 cup water

2/3 cup Brown Sugar

3 Garlic Cloves

1/2 tsp minced Ginger

Mix the sauce together good in the bag, then add the chicken breast.  Freeze  

Hawaiian Style Sloppy Joes (label bag: Cook low 3-5 hrs, Serve with bun)

1/2 lb bacon- Cooked

Cook together in 2 T bacon grease

1 lb ground beef

1 med onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

add & cook another 2-4 minutes

3-4 garlic cloves

1 tsp minced Ginger

Place this in the bag

Add this to bag

3/4 cup Ketchup

2 T Brown Sugar

1 T Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke

1 T Soy Sauce

1/3 cup Pineapple Juice

This is for one recipe, which I tripled (minus the bacon)

Remember this is Hawaiian style and will taste sweeter than traditional sloppy joes.

Orange Chicken (label bag: Cook low 6-8 hours, shred chicken, Serve over cooked rice)

1-1/2 lbs Chicken

1 cup Orange Marmalade

1 cup BBQ Sauce

3 T Soy Sauce

Baked Ziti Penne (label 8x8 container: Bake 350 degrees 30 minutes with foil, 15 minutes without foil)

This recipe makes 2- 8x8 pans

1 lb Penne Pasta - cook 7 minutes
Brown- then add sauce
1 Onion, chopped
1 lb lean Ground Beef
2 jars spaghetti sauce

8 slices provolone cheese
16 oz sour cream
8 ounces Mozzarella cheese
3 T Parmesan cheese

Layer: 1/4 pasta, 1/4 Sauce, 4 Slices Provolone cheese, 1/2 Sour Cream, 1/4 Pasta, 1/2 Mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 Parmesan cheese

Remember this was for 2-8x8 containers.  Thaw before baking.