Greek Pasta Bake

I tried a new recipe tonight from the Taste of Home Ultimate Chicken Cookbook. We really liked it, and it's one I will add to my list of potential freezer recipes. Whenever I try a new recipe I only make a single batch to make sure we really like it before filling our freezer with several pans of it. I have made that mistake before, and we had to choke through three batches of seafood lasagna that neither of us really liked.

I made a few adjustments to this recipe and thought the outcome was quite enjoyable. I would have used Greek seasoning, but I ran out and wasn't able to find more after searching two grocery stores. The original recipe calls for 1 tsp of basil and 1 tsp of oregano. I doubled both to give it more flavor. It was also a touch dry. After baking, it ended up being a bit dry. I added about one cup of canned spaghetti sauce which greatly improved it.

Greek Pasta Bake

1 pkg (12 oz) penne pasta
4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cans (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (divided)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, tomato saouce, tomatoes, spinach, olives, onion, green pepper, basil, oregano, and 1/2 cup feta.

Freeze pasta mixture in a Ziploc bag. Place remaining cheeses in a separate quart size Ziploc bag and attach to the pasta bag.

Thaw in the fridge. Transfer to a 9x13 in baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining feta and mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.

I know it is a success when super picky Claire is willing to eat it.

Café Rio Companion Recipes

The following recipes are not necessarily recipes I would do for freezer cooking, but go perfectly with the Café Rio Chicken recipe I previously posted.

I posted both of these on my family blog, but decided to include them here as well. Freezer cooking doesn't mean every part of the meal has to come from the freezer. In this case you could make these black beans and the salad dressing and have wonderful salads topped with the Café Rio Chicken you pull from the freezer. Sprinkle your salad with a little cheese, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips. It makes a great, easy summer meal.

I found these recipes as Kara's Kitchen Creations.

Crock-pot Black Beans
2 cups dried black beans
About 3 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp cumin

Wash the dried beans pick out any rocks or beans that look funky. Pour them into a pan and add water till it is at least 2 inches above the beans. Let soak overnight (or for 8 hours.)
Drain off the water and pour beans into a crock pot. Add the 3 cups of water and the remaining ingredients. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. During the last couple hours of cooking, you can add extra water if you want them saucy.
(I added about 1 1/2 cups more water than the recipe called for. I also cooked them on high for about 6 hours and then turned them down to low for another 3-4 hours. I'm not sure that 8 hours on low would be enough. I like them very soft--almost beginning to fall apart. This recipes is also a tad salty. I will probably decrease it just a bit next time. I will also increase the cumin to at least 2 tsp.)

Café Rio Salad Dressing
1 cup mayo
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 of a bunch of cilantro with stems chopped off
1/2 - 1 small jalapeno (if you don’t like it spicy, remove the seeds)
1 tsp lime juice
1-2 tomatillos (remove outer papery skin and cut up)
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender.
(We loved this stuff!)

Granola

I came across this recipe recently and loved it. The flavors are great. I especially enjoy it with fresh strawberries and milk. Next time I plan to make a triple batch and freeze the extra so it will keep longer.

Granola
3 ¼ cups Oats (Old Fashioned or Quick—any combination)
1 ¼ cup white wheat flour-freshly ground if possible
1 1/3 cup shredded coconut
¼ cup flax seed (optional)
1 cup or more coarsely chopped almonds and/or pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/3 cup water
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 300. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, flax seed, coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and water and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbly. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together until smooth, and then stir in the salt, vanilla and spices. (I increased the spices to 1 tsp each and the vanilla to 1 TB.) Pour mixture over the oats mixture and stir will to coat. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

Spread mixture on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide it into the middle of the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to break up the mixture into medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake again for 15 minutes before stirring again. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the granola is uniform golden brown and completely dry—this usually takes me about 45 minutes . Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Freezing Techniques

Ziploc Bags:
Ziplocs work well for most foods I freeze. The best part about them is that they freeze flat and stack easily. They store well in your freezer and take up a minimal amount of space. I use Ziplocs for just about everything including soups, marinades, most pastas (except formed pasta like lasagna), etc.

• Only fill about half full.
• Place bag into a glass or larger container and fold top zipper around the edges of the container to make it easier to fill.
• Squeeze out as much air as possible.
• Lay on a shelf to freeze flat and then stack. The bag shouldn't be more than about 1 inch thick when frozen.
• Don't go cheap on plastic bags. Buy the heavy freezer bags. I definitely prefer Ziplocs over the store brand quality.

Muffin Tins:
Muffin tins work perfect for single servings of sandwich fillings such as Sloppy Joes or BBQ pork. Simply fill almost full and put in the freezer to freeze until firm. Once frozen pop the servings out and place in a Ziploc bag. You can easily pull out the number of portions you need and thaw in the microwave. I prefer using the silicon muffin pans for this because it makes it so simple to pop out the portions.

Crock-pot dinners:
This is a new idea I came across a while ago, but haven't tried yet. Freeze all your ingredients for a favorite crock-pot dinner. Thaw in the fridge for about a day and place in your crock-pot to cook. I would first place the meal in a crock-pot liner then into a Ziploc for freezing.

8x8 and 9x13 pans:
Pans present the biggest challenge for freezing because they take so much space and are more likely to allow freezer burn. I freeze my meals in Gladware ovensafe plastic pans. After assembling, I place a layer of foil over the dish then top with the pan lid. Unfortunately, they aren't readily available anymore. I had to really search the internet about six months ago when I wanted to buy more. I haven't seen them in stores in quite a while. The other easy option is purchasing disposable aluminium pans for freezing certain recipes. You can also freeze in a glass or metal pan. A final option is to freeze your dish in the pan and then remove once frozen. Line your pan with foil, assemble as normal and place in the freezer. Once frozen simply lift out and wrap well with foil. When thawing, unwrap while frozen and place back in the pan to thaw and cook. This technique will use the least amount of freezer space and will not require you to purchase multiple extra pans.

Foil:
Foil works well for certain foods such as chimichangas that already have form, and I am bundling together. I use heavy foil and purchased a large box from the restaurant supply section of Sam's Club. I generally wrap most foods in at least two layers of foil.

Labeling:
Don't forget to label and date your food in the freezer. Also make sure you include any specific cooking information if needed. I write this information on the Ziploc bag or with a black marker on the foil covering my meal. Dating is very important. Most things freeze well for about three months. Every cookbook I have read has a different idea on the amount of time a meal can sit in the freezer and retain it's quality, but I try to stick with three months.

Organization:
Develop some type of organization for your freezer that works for you. I previously posted about my spreadsheet to help me remember what is in the freezer. I also reorganize my freezer when I do any major freezer cooking so I can easily find the food I want.

Chimichangas

I got this recipe from the 30 Day Gourmet Freezer Cooking Manual and have made a few adjustments to improve the taste and make it easier to assemble. It calls for ground beef, but I find they are much tastier with Cafe Rio Chicken. The following quantities make 32 chimchangas.

5 cups cooked chicken (use the Cafe Rio Chicken recipe)
32 oz salsa
32 oz refried beans
2 4-oz cans diced green chilies
2 envelopes taco seasoning (I buy my taco seasoning in a large container from Sam's Club and just mix it in to taste)
32 8" flour tortillas
8 cups shredded cheese (we like pepperjack)

In a large bowl combine chicken, salsa, refried beans, and green chilies. Stir in taco seasoning. Assemble by placing about 1/2 cup meat mixture in the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold in the sides and then roll up.

Wrap in heavy foil to freeze. Wrap individually for one serving or bundle several together for a family dinner. We bundle 6 chimichangas for our family.

Reheat in the microwave or bake. I generally bake for about 30 minutes at 350. I then pour a can of enchilada sauce over top, sprinkle with more cheese, and bake an additional five minutes. This is one of my husband's favorites.

Tamale Soup

1 TB olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ lb chuck roast, chopped
1 (15 oz) can tomato puree
1 ½ c tomato juice
1 (14 oz) can beef broth
½ c sliced olives
½ c chopped green chilies
1 (11 oz) can Mexicorn
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 Jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 TB chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lg tomato, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 c corn chips

Sauté meat with onion, garlic and oil until meat is no longer pink. Place meat mixture and remaining ingredients (except cheese and chips) in slow cooker. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Cool. Freeze in quart or gallon freezer bags. Remember not to fill too full or the bags will pop open in the freezer before fully frozen.
Thaw. Reheat on stove top or in microwave. Serve topped with cheese and chips.

How to Freezer Cook

There are many different ways to approach freezer cooking. I think I have done them all. I have done it slowly over time making triple batches of our evening dinner and freezing the extras. I have done it based on the meat I am using such as assembling several dishes that call for cooked chicken. I have also done the crazy all day event and stocked my freezer all at once. I wouldn't recommend this one. You are exhausted by the end of the day, and it is so much work to do all the shopping and cooking for that many recipes.

After doing this for years and considering the limited time I have available to devote to a freezer cooking session, I generally choose three or four recipes based on how easy they would be to work on at the same time rather than considering ingredients. For a normal session I might choose tamale soup, chimichangas, and lasagna. I always try to make one crockpot meal because it's so easy. This is what my cooking session would look like:

• Saturday morning I review my recipes, decide on my quantities, and make my shopping list. After doing the shopping, I leave everything for my cooking session on the counter that doesn't need to be refrigerated. There is no reason to put it away, only to pull it out again.
• Saturday afternoon I grate all the cheese I will need in the food processor. I also chop the vegies such as onions for my recipes.
• Sunday morning I put everything in the crockpot for Cafe Rio Chicken. The chicken is done when we get home from church. For lunch we have salads with the shredded chicken on top. I put the rest in the fridge to use Monday when I assemble the chimichangas.
• Monday morning I make sure my dishwasher and garbage are empty and start cooking. I put everything in the crockpot for tamale soup. It cooks all day so I don't need to worry about it for hours.
• I make the sauce for the lasagna. While it simmers I start the chimichangas. After my sauce has simmered for about 30-45 minutes, I take it off the stove to allow it to cool. To do this quickly, take several water bottles and thoroughly clean the outside. Fill 3/4 full and freeze. Place the water bottles in the sauce. They will quickly cool it, just make sure your lids are on tight. Wash your bottles and refreeze for next time. While the sauce is cooling I finish the chimichangas.
• Once the chimichangas are wrapped and in the freezer, I go back to my lasagna. Generally I make mine in 8x8 pans because it takes us forever to eat a 9x13. I just break the noodles to fit my pan when I assemble it. Place your pans in the freezer.
• When my tamale soup is ready, I use the same strategy to cool it as the lasagna sauce. Ladle it into quart or gallon Ziploc bags and freeze flat.

After this particular day of cooking I will have about 100 chimichangas wrapped in bundles of 6 each, 6 8x8 pans of lasagna, and about 8 quart bags of tamale soup. It makes a busy day, but the recipes I chose allow me quite a bit of flexibility as well to take care of kids.

Café Rio Chicken

For those of you who have never tasted Café Rio, you are missing out. I have done many online searches trying to find copycat recipes for Café Rio--especially their special salad dressing. I haven't been successful in duplicating their food, but this one comes pretty close to their chicken. We love this chicken on quesadillas, burritos, and chimichangas (I'll post that recipe later).

Café Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 TB chili powder
1 TB cumin
3 cloves garlic--minced
5 lbs chicken breasts

Combine ingredients in crock-pot and cook on low 4-6 hours. Shred meat and cook one additional hour. Freeze in quart bags.