Filed under: bulk buying, bulk cooking, chicken, cookbooks, cooking, cooking ahead, dinner, freezer, freezer cooking, frozen assets, frugal living, groceries, homemade, make-ahead, mealtime, oamc, once a month cooking, recipes, saving money, simple living
Here’s one of my family’s all-time favorite chicken recipes. The instructions include directions for preparing ahead of time for the freezer. So if you find chicken on sale at a good stock-up price, you can take advantage of the sale prices and have this delicious meal waiting in the freezer for a busy evening later in the month. If you want to bake without freezing first, be sure to allow at least an hour or two to marinade in the refrigerator.
MARINATED LIME CHICKEN (from Frozen Assets Lite & Easy)
6 servings
- 6 chicken breast portions (about 8 ounces each)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 limes (or 4 tablespoons bottled lime juice)
- 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 9 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons basil
Preparation: Squeeze limes into a medium sized bowl. Stir in vinegar, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Place chicken breast portions into labeled freezer bags. Pour lime sauce over top; seal and freeze.
To Serve: Thaw completely. Pour marinade into small saucepan. Heat to boiling. Place chicken pieces into shallow oven-proof dish. Pour boiled marinade over chicken. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 – 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Serve hot, sprinkled with fresh basil sprigs if available.
I hope your family likes this recipe as much as my family does!
~Debi
Filed under: books, bulk cooking, cookbooks, cooking, cooking ahead, freezer, freezer cooking, frozen assets, frugal living, holidays, homemade, make-ahead, mealtime, oamc, once a month cooking, recipes, saving money, simple living
Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month
The best-selling freezer-based cookbook, with more than 22,000 copies sold, has been re-released and repackaged. Same great content … with a new modern look and feel!
“Finally, a realistic way to combine the cost-effectiveness of cooking from scratch with the convenience of quick and easy meals!” -Mary Hunt, author of The Financially Confident Woman
“Belongs in every family’s kitchen! One of the best time – and money – savers a busy family can have.” -The Dollar Stretcher
“Offers relief to those tired of eating restaurant fare or expensive, over-packaged convenience foods at the end of a hard day.” -Library Journal
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The attraction of frozen assets
Chapter 2: Help! My freezer is too small and other frequently asked questions
Chapter 3: A day in the life of frozen assets
Chapter 4: The ins and outs of meal planning
- Getting started with ease
- Menu choice and planning for the trail blazers
- Making a list and checking it twice
- Shopping tips
- Steps for a successful cooking experience
- Freezing
- Thawing, serving and power outages
- Twelve additional cooking tips
- Frozen assets preparation steps
Chapter 5: The thirty-day meal plan
- The thirty-day meal line-up
- Shopping list
- Preparation Plan
- Recipes – Sauce over pasta, baked ziti, lazy lasagna, meatball sandwhiches, meatloaf, Salisbury steak, broccoli-ham bake, scalloped potatoes and ham, mix-n-match chicken soup, chicken broccoli and rice, sweet and sour meatballs, chili-day meatballs, chicken broccoli and noodles, mexi-chicken
Chapter 6: The two-week meal plan
- The two-week meal line-up
- Shopping list
- Preparation plan
- Recipes – chicken curry, texas style chili, spaghetti pie, broccoli quiche, sloppy Joes, stuffed peppers, poor man’s casserole, black beans and rice, lentil-rice soup, east Indian rice ring
Chapter 7: Ten-day holiday meal plan
- Ten-day holiday meal line-up
- Shopping list
- Preparation Plan
- Recipes – turkey dinner, broccoli and ham bake, turkey rice, Texas style chili, sauce over pasta, lasagna, easy taco salads, turkey noodle soup, turkey stuffed manicotti, baked ziti, ham and cheese quiche, holiday breakfast casserole.
Chapter 8: More main dish dinner recipes
- bulk spaghetti sauce, lazy lasagna, calzones, baked ziti, spaghetti pie, meatloaf, meatballs, Salisbury steak, sweet-sour meatballs, chili-day meatballs, East-Indian meatballs, East-Indian rice ring, Tomato-sauced meatballs, Meatball stroganoff, California meatballs, all purpose ground meat mix, tacos, taco potatoes, easy taco salads, stuffed peppers, sloppy Joes, Texas Style chili, poor man’s casserole, mexi-chicken, chicken casserole, chicken broccoli, chicken creole, turkey-stuffed manicotti, turkey rice, crab and swiss quiche, basic “use it up” quiche, quiche Lorraine, chicken elegante, quiche Nicoise, green chili and cheese pie, crustless “use it up” quiche, stuffed potato shells, broccoli ham bake, scalloped potatoes and ham, split pea soup with ham, lentil-rice soup, lentil ranchero, black beans and rice, Mexican noodle bake, beef and bean burritos, enchilada pie, pizza blanks
Chapter 9: Breakfasts, lunches, desserts, mixes
- Breakfast ideas and tips
- Lunch ideas and tips
- Dessert ideas and tips
- Holiday breakfast casserole, McBreakfast, breakfast burritos, Mix-n-match quick bread, mix-n-match soup, Debi’s million dollar chocolate chip cookies, multi-purpose baking mix, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, shortcake, snack cake, dumplings, pizza crust
Chapter 10: 100 money-saving tips and ideas for groceries
- General money-saving food tips
- Saving strategies for grocery shopping
- Food purchasing specifics
- Breakfast ideas
- Lunch tips
- Dinner meal stretchers
Appendices
- Appendix A: Foods that don’t freeze well
- Appendix B: Recipe equivalents
- Appendix C: Tips for singles
- Appendix D: Reducing fat in recipes
- Appendix E: Creative uses for freezer meals
- Appendix F: Recommended resources
Index and worksheets
- Blank calendar for cooking plans
- Add your own recipe pages
- Blank shopping list
- Recipe index by main ingredient
You can order your copy of Frozen Assets right now from Amazon.com by clicking here. (Currently discounted – more than 30% off!)
Filed under: Christmas, Thanksgiving, bulk buying, bulk cooking, cookbooks, cooking, cooking ahead, dinner, freezer, freezer cooking, frozen assets, frugal living, groceries, holidays, homemade, make-ahead, mealtime, oamc, once a month cooking, recipes, saving money, seasonal, simple living, turkey
Can you imagine a relaxed Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner without needing to actually cook a turkey on the big day? You’d be able to enjoy the festivities as much as your friends and family!
Believe it or not, it’s possible to roast your turkey ahead of time and store the cooked meat in the freezer to reheat and serve on the big day. If this sounds a bit too much like eating leftovers, let me assure you that by following these simple freezing and reheating instructions, you’ll have moist, delicious turkey — and not one of your guests will suspect you didn’t spend the entire holiday slaving away in the kitchen keeping watch over a hot oven.
Feel free to use your own favorite turkey recipe if you prefer, and then follow the freezing/reheating instructions at the end of this article (but I personally don’t think you’ll find a tastier turkey recipe!).
TO PREPARE TURKEY:
- 3 onions, quartered
- 6 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups white wine (or water)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons sage
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 3 cups chicken broth, canned (reserve for freezing process)
In bottom of a deep roasting pan, place two quartered onions, four celery stalks, the carrots, bay leaves and white wine (or water). Remove turkey giblets, rinse bird inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Stuff turkey loosely with remaining quartered onion and celery stalks. Brush turkey with olive oil mixed with salt, pepper, sage, and thyme. Cover turkey loosely with a large sheet of foil coated lightly with olive oil, crimping foil on to edges of roasting pan. Cook according to chart below. During last 45 minutes, cut band of skin or string between legs and tail. Uncover and continue roasting until done. Baste, if desired.
Turkey Roasting Chart (loosely wrapped with foil):
12-16 pounds / 325 degrees F / 4 – 5 hours
16-20 pounds / 325 degrees F / 5 – 6 hours
20-24 pounds / 325 degrees F / 6 – 7 hours
Testing for doneness:
About 20 minutes before roasting time is completed, test bird. Flesh on thickest part of drumstick should feel soft when squeezed between fingers, drumstick should move up an down easily, and meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of leg should read 185 degrees F. (Or follow manufacturer’s instructions.)
- FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS -
DRIPPINGS: Pour liquid and drippings from roasting pan into a bowl. Remove vegetables. Allow bowl of liquid to cool in refrigerator until fat congeals on top. Scoop off fat with a spoon and pour drippings into a labeled freezer bag. Thaw to use for making gravy on serving day.
TURKEY: Allow turkey to cool in pan for 1/2 hour; then place turkey and its roasting pan into refrigerator. Allow to cool completely (several hours). When fully chilled, slice turkey as usual. Remove all meat from bones. Place breast and dark meat slices into labeled freezer bags. Pour canned chicken broth into bags over meat. Freeze.
TO SERVE: Thaw bag of meat and broth, and place into a covered baking dish for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Or place turkey and broth into a microwave-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap, and heat until hot (the time will vary with different microwaves, so check manufacturer’s instructions). Drain off broth (reserve to make more gravy, if needed). Arrange the heated turkey slices attractively on a serving platter. Serve hot.
**Excerpted and adapted from the 10-Day Holiday Meal Plan in the bestselling book, Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month (SourceBooks).
~Debi
Filed under: bulk cooking, cooking, cooking ahead, dinner, freezer, freezer cooking, frozen assets, frugal living, ground beef, make-ahead, oamc, once a month cooking, recipes
MAKE-AHEAD MINI-MEATLOAF
- 12-ounces tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoons salt, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
- 1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
- 4 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup ketchup
In a large mixing bowl, combine first eight ingredients. Add ground beef and mix well. Shape into balls and place in lightly greased muffin tins; flatten to fit (should make about 2 dozen mini-meatloaves). Spoon two teaspoons ketchup on to the top of each mini-loaf. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool completely; then remove from muffin tins. To prevent from freezing into a solid meatloaf-mass, freeze individually on cookie sheets and then place into freezer bags. Label and freeze.
To serve, thaw in refrigerator and reheat in microwave.
