Cooking Day is a little different this time around. Ten women are involved and each will assemble three meals at home before exchanging them in a few weeks. I’m a little consumed by this project right now; there are visions of 60 chicken breasts, 15lb of hamburger and 100+ eggs dancing in my head. I enjoy the communal aspect of our regular Cooking Day — preparing a ton of meals amongst a ton of women has a certain appeal — so I’m not sure I’ll like doing the prep part by myself. However, the night of the exchange involves margaritas, so I think it’ll all work out nicely in the end. Not to mention the fact that my freezer will be stuffed full of 30 meals for my family.
Here’s what I’m preparing… The first two recipes our on our usual list of meals; the last is one I’m introducing.
Italian Chicken Marinade
Italian dressing
Soy sauce
Garlic
6 chicken breasts
Mix and bag it. Freeze.
Thaw and cook on grill/oven/stovetop until done.
Salisbury Steak
2 Eggs
3T crackers
2T onion
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1/2 t rubbed sage
1 1/2 lb hamburger
1 can mushrooms
4 T Butter
6 T Flour
4 beef bouillon cubes
6 servings instant mashed potatoes
Combine egg, cracker, onion, salt, pepper and sage. Add beef and mix, then shape into patties. Bag it. Put mush, butter, and bouillon in small bag. Place potatoes in another small bag labeled with instructions. Freeze.
Thaw. Sautee mush bag and all 6 T of flour then add 3 1/2 cup water cook and stir until smooth and thickened. Brown patties, a few minutes on each side, then add to gravy and cook for another 10 min or until no longer pink. Serve on mashed potatoes.
Breakfast Casserole
1/2 lb pork sausage
1 pkg (8oz) crescent rolls
8 eggs, beaten
1/2 C milk
1 C mozzerella
1 C cheddar
1 t dried oregano
Brown sausage, drain and cool. Place in small bag. Beat eggs, add cheeses and oregano, then pour into gallon bag. Double bag to prevent leaks. Freeze.
Thaw. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray of 9×13 pan, then roll out crescents
on the bottom. Bake for 4-5 minutes. Place sausage over rolls, then pour egg mixture over the top. Bake 35-30 minutes or until set.
2 Comments
adam Jan 29, 2007 3:23 PM
((salivates and regrets skipping lunch))
what about making breakfast enchiladas and then freezing in meal-size portions? does your method have to be cooked at the time of consumption, or do you allow pre-cooked and frozen entries (entrees) -snicker- in your cooking list?
RT Jan 29, 2007 4:42 PM
Breakfast enchiladas sound yummy! We try to assemble ingredients for easy cooking once thawed. With enchiladas we’ve cooked and bagged the meat/sauce, then added tortillas to a larger bag. Then all you have do is thaw, roll up the tortillas and bake. Some things don’t freeze well, so it’s good to have a little idea of what works and what doesn’t.