Freezer Fabulous Round 3

 Freezer Meal Menu 11/6/2013

Corn Salsa Chicken, Chicken Fajitas, Broccoli and Cheese soup,

Homemade Frozen Pizza. Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup (optional Meatless Monday)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions or thinly sliced leeks (whites only)
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 cups mixed fresh or frozen vegetables, such as carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, peas, potatoes, and zucchini (cut larger vegetables into smaller pieces)

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions or leeks,celery, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add all other ingredients to freezer bag and freeze. To cook, add three cups of water and contents of bag to crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours or until vegetables are tender.

http://www.marthastewart.com/318100/big-batch-vegetable-soup

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Corn Salsa Chicken
Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14 oz) cans corn, drained
1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning
1 lb chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup water
Directions:
Place all ingredients in resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together in bag and zip closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours.
When finished cooking, shred chicken and serve over rice, with tortilla chips, over a salad, in tortilla shells, or wrapped in a soft tortilla (this meat is so versatile). Garnish with cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce.
Side dish idea:

Easy Mexican Rice 

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

1-2 red bell peppers, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

lime juice

fajita seasoning, store bought or homemade.

 Directions:

In your freezer bag add all ingredients, then close bag and mix ingredients thoroughly around to coat in seasonings. Freeze!

Day of cooking: let contents thaw completely, then stir fry in a skillet with a little oil. Fajitas will be ready when chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender. Serve with warm tortillas. YUM!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

½ cup onion diced

2 Tbsp butter

1 10oz can cream of chicken soup

1 ½ cup milk

1# velveeta cheese cubed

1 10oz bag of frozen chopped broccoli

Saute onion in butter and place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low 3-4 hours.

Homemade Frozen Pizza

Makes one large pizza or two individual pizzas

Ingredients
1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
1/2 to 1 cup sauce: tomato sauce or other spread
2 to 3 cups other toppings: sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, pepperoni, cooked sausage, cooked bacon, diced peppers, leftover veggies, or any other favorite toppings
1 to 2 cups (8-16 ounces) cheese, shredded or sliced: mozzarella, monterey jack, provolone, fontina, or any other favorite

Equipment
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Baking stone (or baking sheet)
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet on a middle rack in the oven as it heats.
2. Roll out the pizza rounds. Divide the pizza dough in half to make two individual pizzas, if desired. Place the ball of dough in the middle of a piece of parchment paper. Roll it out to your preferred thinness. If the dough starts to shrink back and crinkle the paper, let it rest for a few minutes and then try rolling it out again. If making two individual pizzas, repeat with the second round of dough.
3. Par-bake the pizza rounds. Slide the pizza rounds on the parchment sheets onto the pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 3-5 minutes until the rounds are puffy and dry on the top, but still very pale.
4. Let the pizza rounds cool completely. Remove the parchment from beneath the pizza rounds and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Top the pizzas. When cool, top the rounds as you would if you were going to bake them right away: spread some sauce on the pizzas, add toppings, and sprinkle cheese over the top. Note: pizza rounds can also be frozen un-topped.
6. Freeze the pizzas. Place the pizzas on a baking sheet and freeze, uncovered, until solid, about 3 hours.
7. Wrap the pizzas in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Once frozen, remove the pizzas from the freezer and wrap them first in plastic wrap. Write the pizza toppings on a piece of masking tape and stick the label to the plastic wrap. Then, wrap the pizzas in a layer of aluminum foil. The double layer protects the pizzas from drying out in the freezer. 
8. Freeze for pizzas for up to three months. 
9. Bake the frozen pizzas. When ready to eat eat the pizzas, preheat the oven to 550°F (or the temperature at which you normally cook your pizzas). If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven as it heats; frozen pizzas can also be baked on the foil used to wrap them. When the oven has heated, unwrap the pizzas and slide into the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is dark brown and the cheese in the center of the pizza is bubbly. Eat immediately.
   For the dough:
   3/4 cups (6 ounces) lukewarm water
   1 teaspoon active-dry or instant yeast
   2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
   1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Combine the water and yeast in a mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the yeast. The mixture should look like thin miso soup. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix until you've formed a shaggy dough.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface along with any loose flour still in the bowl. Knead until all the flour is incorporated, and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. If it's sticking to your hands and counter-top like bubble gum, work in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it is smooth.

If you have time at this point, you can let the dough rise until you need it or until doubled in bulk (about an hour and a half). After rising, you can use the dough or refrigerate it for up to three days.

Cover the dough with the upside-down mixing bowl or a clean kitchen towel while you prepare the pizza toppings.

When ready to make the pizza, tear off two pieces of parchment paper roughly 12-inches wide. Divide the dough in two with a bench scraper. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, form it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the parchment paper.

Work from the middle of the dough outwards, using the heel of your hand to gently press and stretch the dough until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. For an extra-thin crust, roll it with a rolling pin. If the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest for five minutes and then continue rolling.

The dough will stick to the parchment paper, making it easier for you to roll out, and the pizza is baked while still on the parchment. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, and you can slide the paper out midway through cooking.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-frozen-pizza-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-186527

Shopping List:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions or thinly sliced leeks (whites only)
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 cups mixed fresh or frozen vegetables, such as carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, peas, potatoes, and zucchini (cut larger vegetables into smaller pieces)
• 2 (14 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 2 (14 oz) cans corn, drained
  
• 1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning
  
• 1 lb chicken breasts
  
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
• 1-2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• lime juice
• fajita seasoning, store bought or homemade.
• ½ cup onion diced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 10oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1 ½ cup milk
• 1# velveeta cheese cubed
• 1 10oz bag of frozen chopped broccoli
• 1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
  1/2 to 1 cup sauce: tomato sauce or other spread
  2 to 3 cups other toppings