Main Dishes

New Year Freezer Meals

Dear Sis,

I have an extra freezer dedicated to housing freezer meals. I find that just as often as we use freezer meals, we give them away… To a neighbor who had outpatient surgery, a mom friend who has a new baby, etc. Sometimes the best gift is a home cooked meal!

Two years ago, I got an Instant Pot as a holiday gift. The first year, I didn’t like it. The second year, I learned to make soups, stews, and one pot meals in it. This year, now that I am over the learning curve, I use my Instant Pot regularly, from steaming fresh vegetables in a flash or whipping up a side of potatoes, rice, or pasta. My goal is to extend my Instant Pot recipes to include freezer meals. Sometimes I need to use a freezer meal with only an hours notice! 

In the coming weeks… and months, I will be testing new recipes. This post will serve as a directory that links to individual posts that take a recipe from preparation to presentation.

Instant Pot Freezer Meals

Beef Vegetable Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Chicken Paprikash

Orange Chicken

Creamy Tomato Chicken

Ginger Chicken and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli

Minced Beef Stroganoff

Happy Cooking!

Love,

b




Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta

Dear Sis,

Today we had a delicious dinner that tasted way better than the amount of work I put into it! It’s another from the Taste of Home Almost Homemade 2013 cookbook we found at the little free library some weeks ago. 

Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta

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Course Main Course
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken breasts thin sliced
  • 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
  • 1/4 c water
  • 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese soft
  • 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms drained
  • 1 (9 oz) pkg refrigerated linguine cooked

Instructions
 

  • Place chicken in a slow cooker. Combine dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 1.5 hours.
  • Whip together cream cheese and soup until smooth. Fold in mushrooms. Pour over chicken and cook another half hour.
  • Serve over fresh pasta.

Everyone enjoyed it! It’s always wonderful to add another recipe to my cookbook of family approved recipes:)

Love,

b

Beef Ramen for Grown-Ups

Dear Sis,

We all loved Ramen as kids! Its high time those greasy curly noodles grew-up too!!!

Grown-up Beef Ramen

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Course Main Course
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 (3 oz) pkg beef ramen
  • 1 lb beef top sirloin sliced
  • 1 T avocado oil
  • 1 T steak sauce
  • 2 carrots shredded
  • 2 T green onions sliced

Instructions
 

  • Set aside seasoning and cook pasta according to package instructions.
  • Fry steak in oil until browned.
  • Add seasoning, steak sauce, and vegetables and cook until soft.
  • Stir in pasta and serve.

Love,

b

Great Grandma’s Cabbage Rolls

Dear Sis,

Our neighbors gave us a cabbage a few weeks ago. I haven’t bought cabbage in the better part of a decade because Josh doesn’t enjoy it, but since this one just showed up I decided to turn it into an old family classic. 

Great Grandma's Cabbage Rolls

b
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1 lb. ground turkey breakfast sausage
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1/2 c rice uncooked
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (10.5 oz) can condensed tomato soup

Instructions
 

  • Core and boil cabbage, pulling off leaves as they cook and soften.
  • Brown meat and onion. Stir in rice and diced tomatoes.
  • Wrap meat mixture in cabbage leaves.
  • Combine soup and 1 cup cabbage water. Pour over cabbage rolls.
  • Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes at 350.

Notes

Great Grandma used ground veal and pork breakfast sausage instead of turkey. 

We invited Carter’s family to help us eat it all up. Mama Jenn was kind enough to make and bring mashed potatoes to go with it. We had your Cheater Apple Dumplings for dessert. Your batch is too big for our family, so I always make a half batch instead.

Cheater Apple Dumplings

b
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 (8 oz) can crescent rolls
  • 2 apples peeled, cored, and quartered
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 1 (7.5 oz) can Mt. Dew soda

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350. Butter a square baking dish.
  • Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll and arrange in prepared pan.
  • Combine sugar, butter, and vanilla. Spread over rolls. Pour soda into the corner of the dish carefully, so it doesn't disturb the sugar mixture.
  • Bake 30-35 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Love,

b

Homemade Bread Bowls

Dear Sis,

William has been asking about getting broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl from Panera. We made it at home, since it’s so much trouble to go out at the moment.

Homemade Bread Bowls

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Servings 8 bowls

Ingredients
  

  • 3 c warm water
  • 1 1/2 T dry active yeast
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/4 c butter melted
  • 7-9 c bread flour
  • 1 T milk
  • 1 egg white

Instructions
 

  • Combine water, yeast, and 1/2 t sugar in a small bowl. Stir to dissovle yeast. Cover and stand until foamy.
  • In large bowl combine, salt, 2 t sugar, butter, yeast mixture, and 4 c flour. Mix, adding additional flour 1/2 c at a time until dough pulls away from the bowl.
  • Knead until smooth. Oil bowl and dough. Cover and rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
  • Divide dough into 8 pieces. Form balls. Place on parchment lined sheet. Cut an X into the top of each ball. Cover with plastic and rise 30-40 minutes more.
  • Make egg wash with milk and egg white and brush over dough. Bake 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
  • Remove bread from loaf center to create bowls. Ladle in soup and serve.
  • Freeze loaves wrapped in pastic and inside a freezer bag. Thaw on counter and warm in over before using.

Enjoy!

Love,

b

Homemade Pizza Dough to Share

Dear Sis,

We have given out cookies four times in the last week and a half. Today we decided to share something a bit different with some of our neighbors and friends.

Each kit contains dough for two pizzas, wrapped in plastic wrap, a small bag of cornmeal, and an instruction print out in a freezer bag.

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Homemade Pizza Instruction Printable

Happy Sharing!

Love,

b

Purim 2020

Dear Sis,

This year I invested in a Megillah: Artscroll Youth Megillah: Fully illustrated with the complete text, simplified translation, and comments by Nosson Scherman. It was a great tool for creating our Purim to do list.

Purim To Do List

  • Assemble and deliver food baskets to three Jewish friends
  • Assemble a dry foods box for the poor and take it to the food pantry
  • Read the Megillah two times, with noise makers
  • Prepare and enjoy a Feast

Purim Menu

Dinner Rolls

Five Bean Soup 

Cheesy Mushroom Chicken

Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Carrots

Banana Pudding

5 Bean Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 1 red bell pepper, diced
  2. 1 onion, diced
  3. 2 T minced garlic
  4. 1 T avocado oil
  5. 3 c chicken stock
  6. 1 c tomato puree
  7. 1 can black beans
  8. 1 can cannellini beans
  9. 1 can great northern beans
  10. 1 can red kidney beans
  11. 1 can pinto beans
  12. 2 t cumin
  13. 2 t garlic powder
  14. 1 t onion powder
  15. 1 t paprika
  16. 1 t pepper
  17. 1 t salt
Instructions
  1. Set Instant Pot to Saute, saute pepper, onion, and garlic in oil.
  2. Stir in stock and tomato sauce.
  3. Drain, rinse, and add beans.
  4. Stir in spices.
  5. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal. Pressure cook 10 minutes. Release pressure and serve.
Adapted from Six Sister Stuff
Adapted from Six Sister Stuff
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
Monterey Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 4 chicken breasts
  2. 2 T avocado oil, divided
  3. 1/2 c Monterey Jack, shredded
  4. 8 oz mushrooms, halved and sliced
  5. 4 green onions, sliced
  6. 1/3 c water
  7. 1 heaping t, chicken stock concentrate
  8. 1 T unsalted butter
  9. 1/4 c sour cream
Instructions
  1. Season chicken with salt and pepper on each side.
  2. Panfry in 1 T oil over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes per side, until internal temperature reaches 165.
  3. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with shredded cheese and cover to keep warm.
  4. Add remaining oil and saute mushrooms and onions seasoned with salt and pepper.
  5. Stir in water and stock concentrate. Bring to a boil, cook stirring 2 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat, stir in butter and sour cream.
  7. Serve chicken with mashed potatoes and top with mushroom sauce.
Adapted from Hello Fresh
Adapted from Hello Fresh
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
Roasted Carrots
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pound carrots
  2. avocado oil
  3. salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Peel and diagonally slice carrots, or use baby carrots to save time.
  3. Place in an oven safe dish. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Bake 25-30 minutes.
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
We shared our feast and Megillah reading with our neighbor Mrs. Nicely.

Happy Purim!

Love,

b

Lunch with Aunt Angel

Dear Sis,

This morning my sous chef and I had an early start, so we could me Shepherd Pie and Cookie Pudding for Aunt Angels lunch visit.

While I chopped the onion, Sous Chef William chopped the potatoes. Daddy is in the background sitting on the floor while baby sister spins counter-clockwise in the doorway bouncer:) She always uses her feet to spin counter-clockwise (shoulder shrug).

Josh browned the beef for me, while I put Charlotte down for her morning nap. Making lunch was a family affair:) When I came back, we put William’s potatoes on the stovetop to boil. 

While I made gravy and mixed veggies into the beef, my sous chef got busy crushing the chocolate sandwich cookies. He has a few refined techniques:

This first technique is a broad spectrum approach to cookie smashing.

The second technique is more precise and can be used to target cookies that escaped smashing during the application of the first technique.

I have a homemade shepherds pie recipe on the blog, but I have made some changes to accommodate life with a baby and toddler. When I’m in a real pinch, I use Bob Evans pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store. I thought I’d share my new mom hacks. Also, though I have not tried it yet, I’m pretty sure this could be a freezer meal. 

Busy Mama Shepherds Pie
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pound lean ground beef
  2. 1 onion, chopped
  3. 2 cups beef gravy
  4. 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
  5. mashed potatoes
  6. shredded cheese (opt)
Instructions
  1. Brown beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat.
  2. Stir together beef, gravy, and vegetables in a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
  3. Top generously with mashed potatoes.
  4. Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
  5. Add shredded cheese during last 10 minutes of baking time, if using.
Adapted from b
Adapted from b
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
I used GFS beef gravy mix: 2 c water and 1/2 c mix, whisked and microwaved in 30 second intervals until thick.

We had a wonderful afternoon with Aunt Angel! Our monthly lunches are such a treat:)

Love,

b