Freezer Cook with Me | December 2017

Join me as I assemble freezer meals for my family today. I purchased beef stew meat and ground turkey at the grocery store and was able to assemble 8 freezer meals with what I made in this short cooking session.



You will notice that many of these recipes include the same, or similar ingredients. This is intentional. When doing a large cooking session like this, I choose recipes based on similar ingredients for efficiency purposes.

I hope you enjoy today's video.




Beef Stroganoff
makes 3 freezer meals

2 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1 packed onion soup mix
2 cans golden mushroom soup
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
2 cups chopped mushrooms

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Ladle the mixture into gallon freezer bags. Label and freeze. To cook in the slow cooker, take out one freezer bag the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Cook on low 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours. To cook in the Instant Pot, you don't even need to thaw it, simply put the frozen food in the pot and pressure cook it on high for 20 minutes. I have tried both ways and this meal is delicious! Serve over egg noodles or rice and garnish with parsley.

*Please note: if you do not want to use beef, substitute mushrooms for the meat.



Beef Tips with Gravy
makes 2 freezer meals

2 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
1 cup beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or suitable substitute)
1 medium chopped onion
1 1/2 Tbs chopped garlic
1/4 cup brown gravy mix

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Divide between gallon freezer bags. This should make about two meals. Freeze. To cook, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. You can thicken the sauce with 1 Tbs cornstarch and 1 Tbs water mixed together, then mixed in the beef dish about 1/2 hour before the cooking is finished if using the slow cooker. If you are using the Instant Pot, you can cook from frozen 20 minutes on pressure cook. This dish is great served with rice, steamed green beans, dinner rolls and a fresh salad. My husband loves this meal!

For the next two meals, I have cooked 2 1/2 - 3lbs ground turkey with chopped onion, garlic and garlic salt.




Turkey Bolognese (sauce only)

Makes two freezer meals.
Divide the following ingredients between two freezer bags:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey
2 large jars marinara sauce
2 Tbs minced garlic
Chopped mushrooms
chopped greens (spinach, chard or kale)

Please note: use as many vegetables as you like. If you are using less meat, use more mushrooms or other vegetables to bulk up the meal. Freeze for up to three months. When ready to cook, thaw overnight in the fridge. Cook in slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for three to four hours. For the Instant Pot, cook direct from frozen for 20 minutes on pressure cook. (I cooked this in the Instant Pot last week and it was delicious!) Serve over noodles.




Kid's Favorite Cowboy Casserole
makes 1 large casserole

1 lb ground turkey mixture
1 1/2 cups corn
1 cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
garlic salt to taste
1 chopped onion.
1 package tater tots, frozen

Mix the turkey, corn, mushroom soup, sour cream, milk, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, garlic salt and onion together in a bowl. Pour into an aluminum baking pan. Layer tater tots on top. Cover with aluminum foil and label your dish. Freeze for up to three months. Cook from frozen in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for around 1 1/2 hours. Times may vary depending on your oven. Right before taking the casserole out, sprinkle shredded cheese on top to melt. Children love this dish! It's a crowd pleaser.

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Comment of the Week
Cindie M. writes:
Oh, Thank You, Jennifer for the great printables! Another great video! At the risk of sounding melodramatic, you have literally changed my life since I started following you on youtube and your blog. I just finished reading all 3 of your books....should be required reading for every woman who wants to elevate every part of her life. You have renewed my love of classical music...you have challenged me to practice poise, even in the mundane parts of my day...you have inspired me to look presentable always, even when I do not feel like it...you have encouraged me to embrace art and culture in new ways (I took a painting class with my grown daughters & LOVED it! My husband & I are going to the ballet to see the Nutcracker next week! I have started buying myself fresh flowers every 2 weeks & arranging them myself!) Won't bore you with more, but you get the picture. Thanks for all you do, my dear!

Cindie, I absolutely loved your testimonial. Everything you wrote is why I continue to do what I do. Thank you for being such a great supporter of my work! Have fun at the Nutcracker!

I hope today's video inspires you to do freezer cooking for your family. It's an integral part of meal planning for us and I am always grateful to have a homemade meal on hand for the days when I do not feel like cooking from scratch.

Please let me know what your favorite meals are to freeze. Also, please let me know if you have any cooking requests for future videos. See you on Thursday!


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Shepherd's Pie Freezer Meals (Makes 3)

Our week of cooking continues on The Daily Connoisseur, with today's Shepherd's Pie recipe. Shepherd's pie (or to be technical, cottage pie, since this recipe uses ground beef) is great for feeding a large crowd of people. This recipe makes three extra large pies. I love to have these on hand in the freezer to bring out when unexpected guests arrive. Shepherd's pie is lovely served piping hot with a side salad and dinner rolls. It's a hearty dish that is welcome comfort food during the fall and winter seasons!

This meal is adapted from my Great British Cooking cookbook.

Shepherd's Pie (Cottage Pie)

(Makes 3 large pies or 6 small pies)

extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 lbs ground beef
4 6oz cans tomato paste
3 Tbs bouillon (chicken, beef or vegetable)
3 Tbs flour
3 cups broth
1 cup water
4-6 cups frozen mixed vegetables
6 cups mashed potatoes

Cook the chopped onion with a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat in a large pot until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Place the ground beef into pot and cook until brown. Drain the fat from the cooked meat and return the meat to the pan. Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the bouillon and flour and stir until incorporated. (You may omit the flour if you prefer... it just thickens up the mixture more.) Add 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes more, but do not allow the mixture to get too dry.

Divide the meat mixture in the bottom of three disposable aluminum foil baking pans (or 6 small pans for smaller portions). On top of that, place a layer of mixed frozen vegetables (or you could use frozen corn, or any combination of chopped fresh vegetable). Finally spread a layer of mashed potato on top. I like to make my mashed potato the day before so there is not too much work to do the day of assembly.



To freeze: Cover your pans with aluminum foil and label them with the date and cooking instructions.

To bake: Thaw in the refrigerator the night before. Then bake at 350�F for one hour, or until the pie is fully heated through.

To bake from frozen: Place frozen pie in the oven at 350�F for 1 hour 30 minutes. Add additional time, if needed, to cook thoroughly.

You may sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if you wish. It's nice to place the pie under the broiler for one minute before serving, to make it golden brown.

Check out today's video in order to see the recipe being made. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar, or visit my YouTube channel.

Comment of the week
Lucia writes:

I am having some friends over to do "Investment Cooking" i.e.: making things for the freezer. I think we've found out menu! As always, thanks for sharing. I just love your posts.

Lucia

Hi Lucia, what a wonderful idea! Getting together with your friends to do an afternoon of cooking would make the process so much more fun. Enjoy!


I hope you enjoy today's recipe. Come back on Friday for my overnight oats recipe. See you then!




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3 Easy Chicken Freezer Meals

You know my motto: being chic is being prepared.

Today I'm sharing another freezer cooking session with you. Why do I like freezer cooking? (It doesn't exactly sound like the chicest of activities!) I like to schedule an entire afternoon to cook delicious homemade meals for the freezer, because they always come in handy. You never know when you will have unexpected company, or when you will be too tired to cook, but still in need of providing a healthful dinner for your family.

In today's video, I take 5 lbs of chicken breast, and with it, make 3 chicken pot pies, 2 chicken enchilada casseroles and one chicken crockpot chili.

I hope you'll check out this week's video. I go really fast in the video, so I have listed the recipes for you down below. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

Before I share the recipes with you, here is my secret for perfect shredded chicken. Take your chicken breast (in the video, I'm using 5 lbs, but you can use any amount) and place it in a crock pot (I use the All-Clad Slow Cooker) with enough broth to cover the meat. Do this at night before you go to bed. Set it on low for 8 hours (when it finishes cooking, the crock pot will just keep it warm for you). When you wake up in the morning and are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the broth, and place it in your KitchenAid mixer with a little bit of the broth. Mix the chicken with the paddle attachment, until it is shredded. So easy!

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Aug 19, 2016 at 12:38pm PDT

Now, that I've prepared my 5 lbs of shredded chicken, I'm going to use all of it in the following recipes:

Chicken Pot Pie
(makes 3)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (you can use the broth from the slow cooker)
2 cups low fat milk
6 cups of veggies (I use steamed carrots, celery, cooked potato and frozen sweet corn, but use any combination you like)
4 cups shredded chicken
6 pie crusts (I use pre-packaged)


Melt one stick of butter in a large pot and add the chopped onion. Stir until the onion is soft. Add the flour, and cook until the white powderiness (is that a word?) is no longer visible. Now add 2 cups of chicken broth (from the slow cooker) and 2 cups of low fat milk. Stir until creamy, about 5 minutes.

Now add your vegetables to the creamed bechamel. I used a combination of chopped carrot, chopped celery, boiled and chopped potato and frozen sweet corn. Before placing the vegetables in the sauce, I lightly steamed the carrot and celery and boiled the chopped potato for about 7 minutes. I added the frozen sweet corn as is. You want to cook your vegetables slightly, but not too much, so they aren't mushy. (You could probably get away with not steaming the carrot and celery at all, but because I have small children, I wanted the carrot to be soft.)

You could add any combination of vegetables you like. If you are really short on time, you could just add 6 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. I have done that in the past, and it turned out great!

Now, add 4 cups of shredded chicken (add more if you like a meatier pot pie). Add salt and pepper.

Distribute the filling into three pie tins lined with a bottom crust. Place the top crust on, trim the edges with a knife, and seal with a fork around the perimeter of the crust. Cut some slits into the top to vent, and you are done!

To prepare the pies for the freezer, cover them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. If you use plastic wrap, don't forget that it's there. Be sure to remove it before popping it into the oven!

To cook a pie, thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, bake the pie at 350�F for one hour. Leave a layer of foil on the pie for the first 30 minutes so the crust doesn't burn.

To bake the pie from frozen, bake at 350�F for 1 1/2 hours. All ovens are different, so you will need to check the pie and add time as needed.

You may brush an egg white or some melted butter on top of the crust to make it golden brown.

This chicken pot pie is so delicious! Served with a salad, it makes a hearty meal.



Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(makes 2)

1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
6 cups shredded chicken
2 28 oz cans of green enchilada sauce
6 cups of chopped greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard)
corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican or cheddar)

Heat some oil in a large pot and cook the chopped onion, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 6 cups of shredded chicken and stir to incorporate. Add 2 28oz cans of green enchilada sauce. Stir. Add 6 cups of chopped greens (I use spinach, kale and swiss chard in this video). Cook over medium heat until the greens have cooked down. Now assemble the casseroles. Start with a layer of the chicken mixture as a base, then add a layer of corn tortillas. Add a layer of the chicken mixture and then sprinkle the cheese on top of that. Repeat until you reach the top of the casserole, sprinkling cheese on top.

To prepare for the freezer, wrap the baking dish with aluminum foil. I use aluminum foil disposable baking pans.

To cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cook in a preheated 350�F oven for 1 hour.

To cook from frozen, cook in a preheated 350�F oven for 1 1/2 hours, making sure to check that the casserole is cooked through before serving.

This is delicious served with salsa and sour cream. Garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped green onion.


Chicken Crock Pot Chili

3 to 4 cups shredded chicken
2 15oz cans tomato sauce
1 large chopped onion
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 15oz can white cannelini beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
2 to 3 cups chopped greens (spinach or kale)

Place all ingredients in a Ziploc freezer bag. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place in the slow cooker in the morning. Cook on low 8 hours, or high 4 hours. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onion.



News
Used York City cites inspiration from Lessons from Madame Chic in her post on NYC Fall Wardrobe Staples.

Book News

At Home With Madame Chic and Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic are now available in Taiwanese from Cube Press and Citic Publishing, Ltd. Look at these beautiful covers!

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Oct 7, 2016 at 2:00pm PDT

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Oct 7, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

Comments of the Week
Of the Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, Suze writes:

Thank you for the recipe. It turned out great and my 4 year old loved it so much that I sent a bit in thermos for lunch today!

Hi Suze, wonderful news that your child loved the soup! As parents, the relief we feel when our children actually like a vegetable dish is satisfying, isn't it?

I hope you enjoyed this week's video, and feel inspired to spend an afternoon making freezer meals for your family. It's a lot of work, but it pays off in the end.

I'll see you on Wednesday and Friday again this week for more recipe videos. It's a week of cooking on The Daily Connoisseur. See you then!



Visit my Author Website

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Twitter @JL_Scott

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FTC: This is not a sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.