Bountiful Basket Freezer Meals

A few weeks ago it occurred to me that a great way to use all the vegetables in my Bountiful Basket would be to create freezer meals.  I often don't get a chance to use all the veggies when they are at their freshest.  Creating meals and freezing them seems like a win win.  Fresh vegetables and meals that are ready to go. 

Not all the veggies in a bountiful basket will freeze well.  So here are the ones I am planning on using:

Spinach

3 Zucchini

Cabbage

I think I will create a freezer meal for each of them.

Spinach artichoke dip chicken

Pork chops with zucchini casserole and stuffing

Cabbage burgers

Spinach artichoke dip chicken

For this one I think I will just wilt the spinach in some garlic and butter.  I will add that to a spinach artichoke dip recipe like this one.  Before cooking it I plan on freezing the mix.  When I am ready to cook I will probably place several chicken breasts in the crock pot, cover them in the dip and cook until the chicken is done.  

Pork Chops with zucchini casserole and stuffing

This will be another crock pot meal.  I found this recipe that looks easy and yummy.  I think it will be easy to mix the soup, sour cream and the veggies together and freeze them.  When I am ready to cook I can mix the stuffing and the butter together.  Then layer half the stuffing, pork chops, veggies and soup, and last the other half of the stuffing.  Cook until the pork chops are done.

Cabbage Burgers

This one is a favorite.  I found this recipe some time ago and have made them two or three times since.  I like to use my pizza dough recipe, but am sure the frozen bread dough would be good too.  They freeze beautifully and make great lunches on the go.

There you have it.  Three freezer meals from the Bountiful Basket veggies this week.  

Meal Planning For Those Who Hate Meal Planning

I don't know if you have ever seen one of those blogs that manages to put out a meal plan for an entire month.  I hate those blogs.  Well, not really.  I just hate it when people are so confident in what they are making for dinner three weeks from now?  Who does that?  I sometimes have trouble deciding what to make for dinner the same day.

Since I an not a planner, but I still like to stay organized, I thought I would share with you my method of figuring out what I can make for dinner on any given day.  This might just change your life.  Or it might not.  If it helps make your dinner planning a little easier, I'll be satisfied.

1. Make a list of starter ingredients.  A starter ingredient is one that I base my meal around.  For me this usually involves some sort of frozen meat (frozen because I stock up when it's on sale).  If I buy a Bountiful Basket one week, it might involve fresh vegetables.

2. For each starter ingredient, plan a meal.  For example if I have ground beef as my starter ingredient I might put Shepard's Pie.  If I have green peppers, I might put stuffed peppers.  Cabbage might be Cabbage Burgers.  Chicken might be Crock Pot Massaman Curry.  You get the idea.

3.  For each meal, list the ingredients that you don't have on hand and will need to pick up at the store.

That's it!  I even made a handy printable so you can try my method.  Download it here.  You can see one of the printouts pictured above with sparkles because using it is so magical.  There is no guarantee, however, that the sparkles will appear when you use the printout.  In fact, they probably won't.  Please don't be disappointed.

I like to to tape my lists to my fridge so I can refer to it when I am trying to come up with dinner.  I can quickly decide what I have on hand, and make a grocery list for what I might want to make later.  I cross things out as I make them and replace the list when my adjustments and scribbles become bothersome.

If you try my method or my printout, please leave a comment and let me know how it goes.

Weekly Meal Think

I will be 15 weeks pregnant this week and I am finally able to start thinking about cooking again.  Yea!!

So here is what I am thinking about making this week:

• Cashew Chicken.  I have some celery and mushrooms that need to be used up.  I think I'll make it with chicken thighs since I found some on managers special for $0.71 per pound.  Woot!
• Pasta with Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce.  This is a Rachel Ray recipe that we love.  I've simplified it a bit for us, but it's really good.
• Chicken Enchiladas.
• "Best Chicken in the World" with sweet potato fries on the side.  This is new recipe that I saw on Pinterest want to try. 
• Homemade Pizza.

I should also be able to put away a few freezer meals as I can freeze the extra Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce and the enchiladas make a ton.

Weekly Meal Think

Here are some things I am thinking of making this week:

I really need to use up the zucchini from the Bountiful Basket.  It's nearly the last vegetable in the fridge.  So I am thinking of making my friends zucchini soup.

I also have a few carrots and celery so I am thinking of making a chicken pot pie.  I'll attempt a whole wheat pie crust and use canned chicken to save on what's in the freezer.

I have been looking for some new recipes with beans and rice, but most of them are mexican related.  I'd really like to expand my repertoire of bean recipes.  Inspired by this sweet and sour bean recipe, I am thinking of trying to use beans as a replacement in chicken recipes.  It sounds weird I know, but I think that the recipe I used for this peach jam chicken recipe would be good.

I am also thinking of making something less food storage related like a creamy pesto pasta.

What are you making for dinner this week?

Weekly Meal Think

I didn't make half the things from last week's meal think.  But then that is why I don't call it meal planning.  Less pressure.  Less guilt when I fail.  I did, however, make the refried beans and the stuffed peppers.  So, yay for me!  I didn't post the peppers because I forgot to take a picture.  (That's almost a tongue twister.)

That means the asian pork meatballs are back on the menu.

I'm scrapping the minestrone in favor of my friend Heidi's creamy zucchini soup, which sounds delicious!  It has cream cheese in it how can it not be?  With cream cheese in the freezer, I can't resist.

Heidi also suggested this lemon chicken, which also sounds fabulous.  I think I should make it before I run out of chicken.

I still have a head of lettuce to use up, so I should make a salad of some kind.  I haven't decided.

The other thing I have been fixating on is a cassoulet.  I tried one last year with dehydrated vegetables and it was mediocre at best.  That is probably one of the things Bryce didn't like and yet failed to tell me.  I am thinking about trying a different version instead.

Weekly Meal Think

For the first few weeks of SREII meal planning shouldn't be too different than normal because I have a fully stocked kitchen and I picked up a Bountiful Basket on Saturday.  (I should say I had my basket delivered thanks to my awesome Sis.)  So really I can plan meals around the veggies from the basket and the meat I have in my freezer.

Asian Pork Meatballs with brussel sprouts in place of the cabbage.  I'll have to grind my own pork since all I have are a few pork chops in the freezer but it should work.

Stuffed Green Peppers.  I'll have to grind some chicken for this one and use evaporated milk in place of the cream.

Minestrone Soup.  This is a family recipe that I think would be good with the zucchini from the basket.  Any other thoughts on what to do with zucchini?  Maybe I could just throw it in some spaghetti sauce.

Squash and Pumpkin Muffins with the summer squash.

Lettuce wrap tacos.  I don't have a recipe for this one.  It's basically a taco where you  use lettuce in place of tortillas.  It's healthier.  And I think this will be a meatless meal with homemade refried beans.

A night of pizza pockets should round things out.

Weekly Meal Think

I'm still trying to get organized enough to put together a meal plan.  But I got a Bountiful Basket this week so I already have a few things in mind.

• Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
• Summer Squash Bread (because summer squash is not my favorite and I still have some frozen from last summer so sticking it in a sugary bread sounds nice.)  Although this squash dressing sounds good too.
• Stuffed pork chops with cream cheese and spinach--something like this only in pork.  Maybe rolled in bread crumbs and baked.  I'll wing it.  
• Since my hubby doesn't like cukes, I am thinking Asian Refrigerator Pickles for myself to snack on.  Maybe it will help me put down the chocolate and peanut butter.  Probably not.
• Zesty Taco Casserole.  I had some cottage cheese I needed to use up so I made this and froze it.  I think we'll probably eat it this week.  I am curious how it will turn out.

Well, there you have it.  My musings about food.  It's looking a little bit vegetarian over all but that never hurt anyone.  Anyone else have plans for meals this week?

Weekly Meal Think

Here are the things I am thinking about making for dinner this week.

Mongolian Beef (only with elk) and broccoli (left over from last week since I never made it).
Pumpkin Pasta with garlic bread.
S&B Golden Curry with carrots and potatoes.  If you haven't tried this, it's super yummy and so easy.
Roast Chicken and Potatoes with homemade pear chutney.
Pizza.

And I still have a head of cabbage from the Bountiful Basket last week.  Anyone have a good cabbage recipe?

Weekly Meal Think

Here is what I am thinking of making this week.  I say thinking rather than planning because sometimes I change my mind.  If there is a plan and I deviate I feel like a failure, if there is no plan and I deviate then I feel creative. No need to set myself up for failure.

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken (but I will use peach jam instead) and roasted asparagus
Lettuce wraps with Asian crunchies
Mongolian Beef (with Elk) and steamed broccoli
Chicken Spaghetti casserole with Country green beans
Stuffed green peppers with tomato basil cream sauce (but I don't have turkey so it might be Elk)
Homemade pizza

You might have noticed that all the veggies are those from the Bountiful Basket this week.  Well, except the broccoli.  Wish me luck!