Need frozen dinner suggestions...

[ChrisF]

Good morning....
My dear friend went on vacation to Hawaii and seriously injured her back on a hiking trip, so I'm cooking for her and her son. Do any of you have a favorite dinner recipe that can be frozen - I'd like to make a double recipe and put half in her freezer for a later date. I'm already making up chili, lasagna, a marinated flank steak, but I don't have any chicken recipes that I've ever frozen. Thanks for any ideas!
Christine

[lorilei]

This has probably been mentioned before on other threads -- but I love this idea, and use it often.

Freeze whole chicken breasts in a marinade of your choice -- when you thaw them, they're marinated and ready to go. You could use this concept to come up with a ready-to-eat stir fry. Cooked rice frozen in a ziplock bag reheats excellently in a microwave!!

[ChrisF]

Thanks Lorelei!
I'll use this one myself! I should have mentioned that I checked the July(?) issue's freezer meals, but they were a little too 'much' for her picky school-aged son. Guess I'm looking for frozen Comfort Food for both of them! BTW - I'm thinking of cooking and freezing the recent meatloaf recipe. I've never frozen a *cooked* meatloaf before: does that work okay?
Christine

[lorilei]

Freezing meatloaf really does work, particularly if you give it a good long thaw. Freezing individual servings, as someone suggested, might be a quicker fix. Just an idea, but why don't you freeze some good old mashed potatoes with the meatloaf. Mmmm http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Mandy]

Lorilei-
How do you do the ready-to-eat stir fry? I've never really done the freezer meals, does that turn out pretty good? Thanks.
Mandy

[lorilei]

Well, Mandy, it's "almost" ready-to-eat. The chicken still requires a slight browning, but will cook faster due to the marinade. I did this all the time when I was in college, so that I could have "real meals" when I came home from school.

Slice the chicken up into small chunks, put them in a ziplock bag and pour the marinade in with them (I make my own, but you could use one of the ready-made marinades out there). Freeze the veggies and the cooked rice in separate bags (pea pods and broccoli work very well, or you can buy pre-made stir fry mixes at the grocery store). When you're ready for dinner, you can take the chicken out (since they're small pieces, you can even cook them frozen), saute the chicken until brown, add the veggies until heated through, and cook the rice in the microwave (open the bag slightly and microwave for ~2-3 minutes).

Super fast and no one will ever know http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[RunnerKim]

I make up a big batch of chicken enchaladas and freeze them in ziplocs. Works great for a quick no-hassle meal - and I'd imagine her son would like them.

Here's my basic recipe but almost any variation will do: (this is from memory so I hope the ratio isn't off)

6 chicken breast halves
1 large jar of salsa
1 lb. Montery jack cheese, grated
1 can of refried beans
1 pkg large tortillas

Marinate chicken breasts overnight in fajita marinade (packet from the store). Grill and cut into strips (or you can saute in a skillet).

In a large bowl mix 1 jar drained salsa, grated cheese, chicken pieces. Spread refried beans on tortilla. Scoop about a half cup of mixture onto tortilla and roll-up. About 4 fit in a gallon ziploc.

If they're room temp - cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. If frozen cook for 35-40 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Kim

[RunnerKim]

I thought of something else that a pickier kid might also enjoy - stromboli or calzones. I make my own crust but you could also use pre-made dough from the store. I'm sure there's rules on what makes a calzone or a stromboli but I pretty much put anything on the inside that I want. I would pre-cook it (perhaps slightly under-done)and then have your friend re-heat - probably take about 30 minutes for a stromboli log at 350, calzones less as they would be smaller/individual.

[Grace]

Here is one of our all-time favorite chicken recipes, and every kid I ever served it to loved it... I have frozen it as well, and it freezes and reheats well! I would probably make several feezer packages out of one recipe rather than freezing the whole dish.. hope you like it - it's an absolute tried and true that I make ALL the time!

CookWare(tm) from Cooking Light(r)

Chicken Tetrazzini

SOURCE: Cooking Light YEAR: July/Aug 1991 PAGE: 70

INGREDIENTS FOR 6 SERVINGS:
1 Tblsp. margarine
3 cups presliced fresh mushrooms
1/3 cup minced onion
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2-1/3 cups canned no-salt-added chicken broth
2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (2 ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained
1 (7 ounce) package spaghetti, uncooked
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound boneless skinless)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Melt margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat; add mushrooms and onion,
and suate 7 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

Stir in all purpose flour. Gradually add chicken broth, skim milk, and cream
cheese; bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from
heat, stir in 2 Tblsp. Parmesan cheese and next 5 ingredients. Set aside.

Break spaghetti into 4 inch pieces. Cook according to package directions.
Drain well.

Stir spaghettin and chicken into mushtroom mixture. Spoon mixture into a deep
3 quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tblsp.
Parmesan cheese.

Cover casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 10
minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 (1-1/3 cup) servings

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Calories 339 / Fat 7.1 / sodium 417

[Kelly]

Hi Chris. Have you already done meatballs? They freeze very well and can easilty become a meal - meatball subs, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball soup.

What a great friend you are - I would like to think that someone would take care of me like that if I needed it!

[ChrisF]

Thank you all so much!
I did lots of cooking from your ideas and recipes this weekend! My friend's back is healing, and her freezer is full....Terrific!
Chris