Today the weather took a turn back towards winter, so I spent the day pouring over my freezer cooking books looking for new recipes to try. I came up with what I think is a diverse set of recipes that should go well together. Tomorrow is shopping day, so I’ve combined the ingredients and will be shopping at Costco for many of the bulk ingredients.
I’ll be buying 6 lbs of ground beef, 27 chicken breasts, and 2 lbs beef tenderloin for one very skinny person. I’ll admit, every time I buy meat it just reminds me why I became a vegetarian – yuck! I have plenty of plastic gloves and don’t mind working with it because it’s for my sweetheart and it makes him happy.
Here’s what I’ll be making from Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead:
I write the changes I make and recipes we love or hate in my books
Cheesy Chicken Bundles - Chicken with Parmesan, cheddar cheese, bread crumbs filling, then folded into a “bundles”. I’ll be serving that with Wild Rice Nut Bake – a side dish with wild rice, cheddar jack cheese, eggs, onion, pinenuts, pecans, walnuts, and parsley.
Chicken Enchiladas – 6-in tortillas stuffed with chicken, sour cream, onion, Monterrey cheese and more yummy goodness. This will be served with Spanish Rice (from Fix, Freeze, Feast), a recipe I’ve made before and the hubs loved, but this time I’m deleting the ground beef and adding the equivalent of it in rice. I think ground beef would be too much with the enchiladas.
Chicken Pot Pie - a repeat because it’s so delicious and so easy! I never make it with crust, I serve it over rice or mashed potatoes. This time it’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes with cream cheese and chicken broth. I’ll also make a vegetarian version of each for me!
Beef Stroganoff - another repeat because it’s amazing and again so simple. This one will be served with buttered egg noodles.
Brownies – I’ve not made a dessert from any of the books so I thought it was about time! My hubs is not a huge chocolate fan, but he likes cakes and brownies so I’m starting with this one.
Here’s what I’ll be making from Fix, Freeze, Feast: More than 125 recipes to prepare in bulk and by the serving:
Beef and Bean Burritos - 10″ tortillas filled with seasoned ground beef and refried beans. It’ll be served with the same Spanish Rice (meat-free) as the Chicken Enchiladas.
I think this is a nice mix of recipes I know and love and a few that I’m willing to try. It’s always hard to commit the money to a new recipe that my hubs may not like. Luckily, he’ll eat anything, once!
