All American Potpie

This is so good. The crust tastes like a cheezit!
Crust:
2cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2c shredded cheddar
1/2c shortening
1T cold butter, cubed
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
1 cup diced, peeled potatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1T butter
1 cup chicken broth
2T flour
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cubed chicken or turkey
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp pepper

1) In a food processor, combine flour and salt; cover and pulse to blend. Add cheese; pulse until fine crumbs form. Add shortening and butter; pulse until coarse crumbs form. While processing, gradually add water until dough forms a ball.
2) Divide dough in half with one ball slightly larger than the other; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3) For filling, in a large saucepan, saute the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in butter for 5-6 minutes. Add broth, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4) In a small bowl, combine the flour and milk until smooth. Gradually add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the remaining ingredients; simmer 5 minutes longer.
5) Roll out larger pastry ball to fit a 9-in. pie plate; transfer to pie plate. Trim pastry even with edge. Pour hot turkey filling into crust. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top or make decorative cutouts in pastry.
6) Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Serve immediately.

Amazing Frosting!

I got this recipe from another site, OurBest Bites.com.

3T flour
1/2c milk
1/2c butter
1/2c sugar (regular sugar)
1t vanilla

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small saucepan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are undercooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring until it looks like pudding, you should be able to see the bottom of the pan while you stir it. Even though it's thick, you can still put it through a mesh strainer. Just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through and then let it cool completely to room temperature, or chill it in the fridge, it needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you will have runny frosting.

In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixture, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens.
You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first you and will wonder what you did wrong. Keep beating and something amazing will happen.

Store at room temperature.

I copied this nearly verbatim from their website. It's a great website, I totally recommend checking it out.

Pizza Rolls

I have made this one several times and everyone seems to love them. I do leave out the carrots, bell peppers and onions, again for TD's sake. Ugh. I also use turkey sausage in. Anyway, they freeze well, they cook fairly crispy and they are healthier than the kind in the freezer section. I find the egg roll wrappers in the refrigerator case in the produce section at Walmart.

1/3cup finely chopped carrots
1/3cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/3cup finely chopped onions
1tsp minced garlic
1/2lbs ground sirloin
1/2cups tomato sauce
1/2tsp oregano
1/2tsp basil
1/2cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10 egg roll wrappers

In a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the carrots, onion, green pepper and garlic for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add the meat, cooking until browned. Remove heat and stir in tomato sauce, oregano, basil and cheese.
Place about 2 tablespoons in the middle of each egg roll wrapper. Fold the lower bottom third up, fold the two sides toward the center and then roll up.
To eat now:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the rolls on a cooking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 9 minutes, turn the rolls over and continue the baking for 4 to 6 minutes or until crispy and browned.
To Freeze: Do not bake. Freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to freezer bags, label and freeze up to 2 to 3 months.
To prepare after freezing:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove roll directly from the freezer and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, turn the rolls over and then continue the baking for another 5 to 6 minutes or until crispy and browned.

Cacciatore Penne

I made this and thought it looked rather uninspiring. The liquid wasn't thick enough for me so I added a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken it. My entire family loved it. Even the picky ones. It tasted pretty good to me as well, it's just that when I was making it, it didn't look exciting. Of course, I had to leave out the green pepper, which would have added some color. This is supposed to make 6 servings. I split it into two and put the leftovers in the freezer.

2cups chicken breast meat, cooked and cubed
1 cup canned chicken broth, I use Rachael Ray's, it's really tasty
1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 8-oz package sliced mushrooms
2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings, undrained
10oz (2 cups) uncooked penne pasta (cook according to pkg directions)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (for serving day), I topped with mozzarella instead

In a large skillet combine broth, green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook over medium high heat until green pepper slices are tender and mushrooms are cooked through. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and drained pasta. Pour into labeled freezer bags; seal and freeze.

To serve: thaw completely. Reheat in large skillet until heated through. Serve hot, sprinkled with cheese.

Another tip

Tonight I made a full recipe of lasagna. I split it into two. One we ate tonight and the other that went into a disposable pan that was covered and put into the refrigerator. Lasagna freezes amazingly well and we didn't even eat the entire pan I cooked tonight. That's another meal that we will be eating in the future.
I do need to clean out and rearrange my freezer so that I can fit things in better.

Taco Filled Pasta Shells

This is one of my favorites, in fact, I am making it this week. I will make a whole recipe and freeze half of it.

1lb ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning

4oz cream cheese, cubed

12 uncooked pasta shells

1/8c butter, melted ( I usually don't do this, extra calories)

1/2c salsa

1/2c taco sauce

1/2c shredded cheese

3/4cups crushed corn chips ( I do Frito's)

1/2c sour cream



In a skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning, prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until melted. Transfer into a bowl; chill for 1 hour. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons meat mixture.

Place 12 shells in a greased 9-in square baking pan. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. To prepare shells to eat now spoon salsa into a greased 9-inch square pan. Top with stuffed shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and chips. Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sour cream.

To use frozen shells, thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours, shells will be partially frozen. Remove from dish. Add salsa to dish; top with shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue as above.

Mini Meatloaves

I know, meatloaf recipes are so hit and miss but this one is really tasty and you can make it ahead and serve it when you want.

1/2cups ketchup
2T firmly packed brown sugar
1/2tsp ground mustard
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5cup Crispix cereal, crushed (I have used whatever Chex I had on hand for this)
1.5 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4tsp garlic powder
1/4tsp pepper
1.5lbs lean ground beef

In a large bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Remove 1/4c for topping. Set aside. Add eggs, sauce, cereal and seasonings to remaining ketchup mixture; mix well. Let stand for 5 minutes. Crumble beef over cereal mixture and mix well.
Press meat mixture into 9 muffin tins, about 1/3cups each. Bake at 375 degrees, for 18-20 minutes. Drizzle with reserved ketchup mixture; bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Serve desired number of meatloaves. Cool remaining loaves. Transfer to freezer bags; freeze for up to 3 months.
To use frozen meat loaves; completely thaw in the refrigerator. Place loaves in a greased baking dish, Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through or cover and microwave on high for 1 minute or until heated through.

Breakfast for dinner

So, Trina asked for some recipes. I figured that someone have just recipes and not tons of pictures on their website and that is totally something that I can do. I just hated stopping in the middle of what I was doing to take a picture. So, I am just going to post recipes, sans pictures, for a while. The first theme is freezer meals.
My entire family loves this one and it's really easy to prep. I always use disposable pans because if something needs to stay in a pan in the freezer, I am not missing pans until we eat it. Plus, the clean up, not only do I have dinner already made, but I don't have to clean the pans. Since we only have 4 people in our family, I use this one recipe and make two dinners. Also, it takes some forethought to let it thaw and then soak, so just make sure you know it's something you are going to serve that week and plan accordingly.

English Muffin and Ham Strata

6 English muffins, cut into small pieces
3 cups diced ham
2 cups shredded cheese blend ( I usually use the cheddar/jack)
1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups egg substitute ( you can always use beaten eggs, I think it would be 6, read the side of the carton for the equivalent)
1/4 cups dijon mustard
1/2tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Spray 13x9 in pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread the English muffins over the bottom of the prepared baking dish to cover. Sprinkle with half of the ham and half of the cheese. Repeat to make a second layer, ending with the cheese. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, mustard, salt and pepper.
Put egg and milk mixture into a resealable freezer bag. Place the bag directly on top of the layer of cheese. Label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. Before you bake the strata, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw for 2 days. Then pour the egg mixture over the strata and let it soak overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the cover and bake for 1.5 hours or until the center is set and the cheese is browned and bubbly.