Freezer Cooking Day (Part 1)

Confession time…I would rather do just about anything than cook after a day at school. I love homemade food and I’m tiring very quickly of frozen breaded chicken and potatoes in some form. However, I love my husband and his willingness to cook for us when we get home from school.

I decided that I need to start off on the right foot this school year and start participating in lots more freezer cooking days. I actually love doing several hours worth of cooking and cleaning at once because I can do it when I have the energy and not when I come home hungry and have a hungry family to feed. It’s much more economical and it fits into my life better because it’s so practical. 

Over the last few years, I have tried to learn to live more simply and in all things simplify. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I have the tendency to over think and overdo things sometimes when life would have been way less stressful if I had just remembered where my priorities lie.

The brownies & cubed chicken didn’t make it into the picture. The brownies barely made it into the evening. We ate pork bean chalupas for supper, so the blue lidded containers are what’s left over.

Here is what I ended up making:

• Southwest Roll-ups  
• Lazy Granola (makes 3 qts.)
• Pork Bean Chalupa
• Best Brownies 
• Cubed Chicken
• Chopped Onions

When it’s all said and done, I have enough for at least 8 dinner meals, several nights of dessert and lots of granola cereal for breakfast.

This was my first shot at making true homemade brownies and this recipe is wonderful! I think it would be easy to prep all the mix and place in baggies to add the wet ingredients later for a super quick dessert.

Proof that the brownies were scrumptious! :) Audrey got more on her than in her, but she enjoyed it!

The Southwest Roll-ups are super yummy! I popped one in the microwave for 40 seconds and ate it for lunch with sour cream.

I had read that you can bake the chicken in the oven instead of boiling it. So, I placed it on a broiling pan with water in the bottom and cooked 4 large chicken breasts @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes. They were very tender. I kind of expected them to be tough.

Southwest Roll-ups (makes 8 roll-ups)

1 can refried beans
1/4 cup salsa
1-2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I used two cups, which was one large chicken breast)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
8 tortillas

Mix together beans, salsa and chicken.

Spread 1/8 of mixture onto one tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up and turn ends under. Stick in a freezer bag or in a 9×13 baking pan.

When ready to bake, thaw and bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 20-30 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with more shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired. Serve with salsa. Serves 4.

I need to get some containers to freeze lots of soup in. I would like to avoid plastic. Does anyone have any suggestions for meal storage in the freezer that doesn’t include tons of plastic containers or is that my only option?