Paleo Italian 3 Squash Casserole

I have been filling my freezer with as many healthy and quick meals as I can.  The other night I was tempted to eat the kids spaghetti noodles, but was able to resist by pulling out a two serving bag of chicken chili instead!  Worked like a charm.  This morning I got up and started making the kids breakfast.  I decided if I was going to be stuck at the stove cooking anyway, I should whip out a freezer meal too.  I love multitasking.  The result of my 'impromptu' recipe was wonderful.  I put 2 small casseroles In the fridge and ate a plate of the leftovers for breakfast too!

Here's what I did:

Brown 1/2 lb. Italian sausage

Chop one onion, small eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini and slice 1/2 cup cabbage.  Add to skillet and sauté.  Add 2-3 cups spaghetti sauce (I use marinara, because it is all I can find without added sugar and I love the taste).  Add 1-2 cups of water and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  

Prepare your pans for the freezer.  I use 2 bread loaf pans.  They are perfect for two one serving meals.  Take aluminum foil and line the pans, with extra foil peaking out to cover the top when you close it.  Cross-cross the foil.  

Spoon the casserole mixture into the pans.  Let cool.  

Top with mozzarella cheese.  Cover with foil tabs and freeze in your freezer.  

After they are frozen, remove from freezer, and loaf pans.  Slip each foil packet casserole into a freezer storage bag and be sure to label it so you won't be playing a mystery meal game a few weeks from now!  Put back into the freezer.

When you are ready to eat it, remove from freezer, pop back into the loaf pan you made your mold from, and bake at 375 until bubbly.  Cook times will vary depending on much you fill your pan and if you cook from frozen or thawed.  Enjoy, you are planning ahead for your success!

How to get your kids to eat Squash ;)

Well, this week I have been particularly frustrated with my brood of kiddos.  Even the babies who are normally excellent eaters have become picky.  I made Butternut Squash Soup and they turned their noses up at it.  I made tuna noodle casserole (a BIG request 2 weeks ago), but no takers.  Chili, no thanks.  I even made an old standby, Italian Sausage casserole, but apparently bought the wrong kind of noodle!!!  I pulled my now famous pumpkin pie french toast and they were still crying for cereal........UGGGG! 

What is with these kids, don't they know money doesn't grow on trees, there are starving kids in.....you get the point.  So, I decided to NOT go to the store until the end of the week.  I had my hubby stop last night for milk and eggs, but that was it!  He even offered to order me some sushi, but I declined the treat and told him that probably wouldn't be fair to the kids!  So, guess what?  They are all eating what IS in the fridge!  They ask occasionally for a granola bar, I keep reminding them that I will go to the store on Friday.  They will live and this week there will be less to throw out to make way for our next batch of groceries.

 

 

Look at that all gone!!!  And they were crying for more  :)

 

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, sliced and steamed

2 cups chicken broth

1 can pumpkin

1can carrots

1 onion diced small and sauted in olive oil

cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger to taste

 

I cook the squash in the vegetable steamer (or cooked face down in a pan of water in the oven). 

Saute the onion in oil and add the scooped out squash.  Pour in the broth.  Drain carrots and add them to the pot as well (you can use fresh carrots, I just happened to have some canned to use up).  Let it cool and run through the food processor.  If it is too thick you can add some milk, water, almond milk OR more broth to taste.  Put back into soup pot and stir in the can of pumpkin and spices to taste  (cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg).  Serve warm, stores in fridge for 1 week.

easy Banana Ice Cream - dairy and gluten free

"Why yes, you CAN have an ice cream cone for lunch!"   Have you ever been able to say that to your kids?????  I can and you can too!  Just follow these simple steps and you will all be screaming for ice cream!  I promise the only ingredients in this were bananas and real vanilla extract.  You can add ingredients to your taste or diet, but this one was excellent plain!

STEP 1: Break up and freeze bananas

STEP 2:  Blend in blender with 1 tsp. vanilla a few pieces at a time.

STEP 3: Put in storage container and back into the freezer for scoopable ice cream!

Optional Add-Ins:  Peanut butter, chocoalte chips, strawberries, cherries, marshmallows, nuts, Reeses Peanut Butter cups (yes, please), Hershey's syrup (in the above picture), M & M's, caramel sauce, crushed graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or oreos, oh my!

Italian Sausage Casserole - freezer meal

Here is a super simple recipe for Italian Sausage Casserole.  I doubled it (so half it if you want just one). It is perfect to have one tonight and throw the other into the freezer for later.  Ciao!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

2 Pks. Italian Sausage

1 onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 zucchini

2 boxes Penne or Bowtie pasta

2 jars spaghetti sauce

1 cup. mozzarella cheese

Saute the sausage (I split the sausages and squeeze them out of the casing).  Add the diced onion, zucchini and garlic, cook for 5 minutes.  Boil noodles and drain.  In a large mixing bowl or pot mix all the ingredients together.  Spoon half into a casserole dish and top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

Put the remaining into freezer safe bags and store in the freezer until next time.  Thaw and bake the same way. 

Serve with salad and garlic bread or if you want to try focaccia bread try this recipe:http://naturallyhomemade.blogspot.com/2012/04/homemade-focaccia-bread.html

mini chocolate croissants: freezer recipe

I have been enjoying the benefits of preparing great food in advance and storing it in the freezer.  It is called 'freezer cooking' and has been saving me valuable time and money, as well as being able to pull amazing things out and in a flash wowing my guests.  Recently, I tried a chocolate croissant recipe that was well worth the effort.  My kids called them an awesome dessert, but I just had to have a few with my morning coffee, making them breakfast!  This recipe makes 64 mini rolls, but only about 50 made it to the freezer.  This is one of those recipes that I don't mind the kids polishing off quickly so I can try it again ;)

Mini Chocolate Croissants

2 TBSP. Yeast

1.5 cups milk

3/4 cup butter

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

7 cups flour

1/2 bag chocolate chips

Melt the butter in the milk in a saucepan.  When it is warm, not hot, pour it into the yeast and sugar.  Let set for 5 minutes.  Add eggs, mixing well.  Add salt and then the flour 2 cups at a time until well blended. (I use a Kitchen Aide mixer)   Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.

Roll out one portion of the dough into a circle about 12" in diameter.

Here is where little hands can help (but be sure you have extra chips or you will run short).  Cut the circle of dough into  16 pieces like a pizza.  Add chocolate chips to each triangle and roll them up from the outside in, placing each crescent roll on a greased cookie sheet.  (Because these are mini sized I used 3 cookie sheets total.)

Set the cookie sheets in a warm place and let rise 2-5 hours or until doubled in size.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Place on a cooling rack to cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.  After flash freezing them, I do it on the cooling rack, then put into a gallon sized plastic bag for storage in the freezer.  Take out of the freezer and let them defrost for 15 minutes before serving, or if you want you can heat them up for a few seconds in the microwave and serve warm.  I grabbed 3 on the way out the door this morning and ate them in the car with my latte...HEAVEN!!!!!

pizza pockets-freezer meals

These were crazy good!  Even the baby boy crawled up his high chair, grabbed one off a plate and proceeded to eat the entire thing!   Money Saving Mom.com is the page where I found the idea. (http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-homemade-pizza-pockets-day-8.html) I adapted the filling to my family and what was in my freezer.  We used a turkey polish sausage, cheese, spaghetti sauce and veggies to fill them.  I marked the 'no cheese' pockets with an X for my dairy free girl.

Dough:
2 Tbsp. dry active Yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. Olive oil
5 cups flour

Filling:
1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 turkey polish sausage link cut into slices like pepperoni
diced veggies
shredded cheese

Mix the first 3 ingredients in your kitchen aide or mixer.  Leave to sit and dissolve for 5 minutes.  Slowly add the flour, salt, and lastly oil.  The dough will pull together and be slightly sticky.  (I left mine to rise for an hour while I ran to the store to get shredded cheese ;)  Arrange your filling ingredients on the counter near your floured rolling surface.  Pinch off dough and shape into a ball in your hand, mine were about the size of a clementine orange.  Roll the ball into a flat circle with a rolling pin.

 Add a spoonful of filling/cheese to the center and fold over dough closing up the side and pinching seams.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool and store in a container or bag in freezer.  Reheat in toaster oven or microwave.  Makes 16-18 pizza pockets depending on your size.

Chicken Noodle, Cream of Chicken and Chicken Chili...3 soups...1 chicken!

This just might be my favorite blog yet!  I love to multi task, but I have found lately with our crazy schedules it helps to multi cook, too.  I started making 2 soups a few months ago, today I decided to try 3 and it worked brilliantly.  Now I shouldn't have to cook all week!  Here is what I did: 

 Begin by baking a whole chicken during breakfast.  (I baked mine for 2 hours on 350 degrees) 

Remove from oven and set out to cool. 

After I placed the chicken in the oven I set the vegetable steamer to steam my rice, it takes 50 minutes for 2 cups.  You can prepare your rice however you usually do it.

I enlisted a teenager to cut up my veggies and we organized them with their soup ingredients.

We sauteed the first two soups veggies side by side and added the rest of the ingredients as we cooked them, focusing on one soup then the other step by step.

I poured all of the Chicken Chili's ingredients into a large storage bowl with lid and placed it into the fridge.  This one will be ready to go when we are ready for a new soup option.  All I will have to do is dump it into a pot and cook for 1 hour.

#1 CREAM OF CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

1 cup sliced/chopped onion

1 cup of sliced/chopped carrot

1/4 baked chicken (mostly white meat due to the higher fat content of this soup)

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

3 TBSP butter

2 TBSP flour

2 cups whole milk

2 cups steamed rice

Saute onions, carrots and chicken in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.  Add broth and water and bring to a boil.  In a separate small pan melt butter.  Add flour and stir for 3 minutes.  Slowly add milk and stir until thickened.  Add slowly to soup pot and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add rice and simmer additional 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to thicken as it cools slightly.  It is ready to enjoy!

#2 CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

1/2 baked chicken- shredded

1 cup onion chopped

1 cup carrot chopped

1 cup celery chopped

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 bag noodles

Saute the veggies and chicken in a little oil and garlic salt.  Add broth and water, bring to a boil.  Continue to cook for 30 minutes.  I add the noodles right into the pot and cook an additional 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and serve!

#3 CHICKEN CHILI

1/4 baked chicken

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can mild chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can corn

I put all the ingredients into a storage container.  When we are ready for this soup in a few days I will pour into a pot and cook for 1 hour.  Remove from heat and enjoy!!!

So, there it is, 3 soups from one chicken.  Everyone's taste buds have been appeased and now I shouldn't have to cook dinner all week!

Chocolate covered Cherry Banana Bread (Dairy free)

Who doesn't love banana nut bread?  How about chocolate?  I added my favorite two foods together one day and now I wonder what took me so long to figure this out!!!  I just use my Grandma Seyer's recipe for banana bread, left out the nuts, added dried cherries and 2 Tbsp. of Cocoa and poof....chocolate covered cherry banana bread is the BOMB!  (This is what I like to make now when taking a meal to someone instead of brownies, because it is so much healthier.)

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY BANANA BREAD

1 stick of softened butter

 (or 1/2 cup shortening for dairy free version)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

4-5 ripe bananas

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 TBSP cocoa powder

handful of cherries, cranberries, or nuts (optional)

Mix butter (or shortening) and sugar until fluffy.  Add bananas one at a time, mixing well after each.  Add eggs  and vanilla, blend.  Combine the dry ingredients into a bowl, slowly add them to the banana batter.  Fold in your berries or nuts.  Spoon into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.  (Prepare honey butter while you wait.)

 Remove from oven to cool.  Cut and enjoy!

*HONEY BUTTER, I usually serve this with honey butter when I want to really WOW my guests.  Just soften some butter and mix in honey in a small dish.  Put back into fridge to firm up.  It tastes so good on banana bread, muffins, and cornbread :)