Freezer (Spring) Meals // FM 101

 

Scrambled Egg Bites Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• salt and pepper
• whatever you want to add in such as vegetables, meat, and shredded cheese

Assembly instructions:

1. Grease muffin tins with butter or cooking spray.
2. Break one egg into each muffin tin.*
3. Lightly whisk each with a fork to break the yolk.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Drop-in your choice of mix-ins.
6. Press the mix-ins down with a fork or spoon.
7. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.
8. Cool.
9. Place in a large, resealable freezer bag. Seal. Freeze.

*You can substitute egg whites if desired.

It’s important to allow the egg bites to cool before you add them into the bag or it will create moisture in the bag which will affect the texture of the egg bites. We learned this lesson the hard way.

Cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Reheat in the microwave on a paper towel or napkin. Cooking times vary depending on the microwave oven but approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes if frozen or 30 seconds if thawed.
3. If you want, you can top the egg bites with salsa, some hot sauce, guacamole, or cottage cheese.

Suggestions for what to put in egg bites:

• diced green or purple onions
• chopped red or green pepper
• diced tomatoes
• pre-cooked deli ham
• pre-cooked sausage
• crumbled cooked bacon
• cooked diced turkey
• shredded cheese (cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss, jalapeño jack, or a blend)
• feta or goat cheese
• diced jalapeños
• baby spinach
• broccoli

Lemon Pepper Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Freezing instructions:

1. Add the chicken to a large freezer bag and top with the lemon juice, garlic, lemon pepper seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
2. Squeeze the bag together to mix the sauce into the chicken, remove the excess air from the bag and seal. Place it in the freezer until you’re ready to prepare it.

Serving instructions:

1. Thaw the chicken in the refrigerator.
2. When ready to cook in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Transfer the chicken and sauce to the baking dish and cover the pan. Cook for one hour, removing the cover for the last 10 minutes of baking.
4. To cook the chicken on the stovetop, pour the chicken and sauce into a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
5. To grill the chicken, remove the meat from the bag and cook over medium high heat on the BBQ. Continue cooking until the center of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.

To make your own lemon pepper seasoning at home, combine:

• ¼ cup dried lemon peel
• 1 Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Stir the ingredients together and use what you need for your recipe. Then, store the rest of the seasoning in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it again.

Does Lemon Pepper Chicken Freeze Well?

Most chicken recipes are perfect for freezer cooking, which means this lemon pepper chicken is a great option for meal prepping. That’s because it’s so simple to prepare! Just combine all the ingredients in the freezer bag, then store them flat in the freezer until you’re ready to cook them.

To ensure you prepare you chicken before it goes bad, make sure to write the name of the recipe, the date it was frozen, and the expected expiration date on the outside of the bag before you place it in the freezer. When stored properly, this lemon pepper chicken will stay good in the freezer for up to three months.

Dill Salmon Recipe:

• 1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillets (pin bones removed)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. dried dill
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Assembly instructions:

1. Place the salmon in a large resealable freezer bag or a reusable silicone bag.

2. Cooking instructions:

   1. Thaw.
   2. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

   Using tin foil on the baking sheet makes clean up a breeze!

Spinach and Sausage Pasta Bake

By Sharla

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. bow tie pasta
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce can Italian style plum tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream or heavy cream
• 1 cup spinach leaves, sliced into strips

Freezing instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions in a large pot of boiling water. Drain the water from the pasta and rinse under cold water. Set the pan aside.
2. Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. When the meat is cooked through, drain the fat from the pan and remove the pan from heat.
3. Allow the sausage to cool slightly, then transfer it to a large freezer bag.
4. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, cream, and spinach to the bag. Use your fingers to squish the ingredients inside the bag to break the tomatoes into smaller pieces and combine the sauce ingredients.
5. Add the cooked pasta, then seal the bag and shake to combine.
6. Open the corner of the bag to release the excess air. Reseal and freeze.

Serving instructions:

1. Thaw the pasta in the refrigerator.
2. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Transfer the thawed pasta to the casserole dish and cover the pan with foil.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.

Is Pasta Freezer Friendly?

The trick to freezing pasta is cooking it slightly under what is called for in the package directions so that it doesn’t get mushy when you reheat it. You can easily freeze cooked pasta and reheat it in the oven for a delicious dinner any night of the week.  

When you’re freezing pasta for dinner, there are two methods for storing your noodles in the freezer:

1. Freezer bags. Using freezer bags to store your pasta is great for saving space in your freezer. Simply add your cooked pasta and sauce to the bag, remove excess air from inside the bag, and flatten it before placing it in the freezer.
2. Casserole dish. If you’re making a freezer pasta bake, you might want to store your prepared dinner in a dish for easier cooking. After preparing your pasta bake ingredients, just transfer everything to a freezer-friendly dish and store it in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook, transfer the dish to the refrigerator to thaw and bake according to the recipe instructions.

Should I Use Spicy or Sweet Sausage?

There are a variety of different sausage flavors to choose from, which means you can easily create a customized pasta bake for your family depending how spicy they like their dinner! You can use spicy sausage in this pasta dish to add a kick of spice to your meal. Or use sweet sausage if your family doesn’t like too much spice. You can even use a combination of the two sausage varieties for even more flavor!

1. In a small bowl, combine the other ingredients.
2. Pour in the bag and squish around to coat the salmon.
3. Remove excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.