Chicken Freezer Meals

I posted on Facebook recently that I had tackled 40 pounds of chicken and put it all away in the freezer in freezer meals. This is what we will be eating for the next month when I won't want to be standing up and cooking.  Several people wanted the recipes, so here you go . . .

Asian BBQ Chicken

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs lime juice (about 1 lime)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp curry powder

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Reserve a couple of spoonfuls of the marinade in a small bowl and place the rest, with the chicken, in a zip-lock bag. (If your chicken pieces are extra large and you feel like you need a little more marinade, you can always add a bit of water to stretch it.)

Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, but overnight is best. (or place in ziplock and freeze until ready to cook)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.

Web Page: http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com

Caesar Chicken

2 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins

2 (16 oz.) bottles Creamy Caesar Salad dressing

2-3 cloves freshly pressed garlic

grated parmesan cheese

optional: lettuce, box of croutons OR cooked pasta

Place frozen chicken into freezer bag; add garlic and one bottle of dressing. Coat chicken well. Squeeze air out of bag and freeze. Chicken will marinate as it defrosts in refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove chicken from bag and place in Stoneware Rectangular Baker. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (30 minutes for tenderloins). Using Deluxe Cheese Grater, grate cheese and set aside.

SALAD: Slice chicken and serve warm over lettuce, tossed with half of second bottle of dressing, parmesan cheese and croutons. Or serve chicken over cooked pasta and top with grated cheese.

Source: "Power Cooking" Recipe

Cheesy Chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 garlic clove, crushed

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Mix the soups together with garlic and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is tender. (Any leftovers freeze in ziplock bag and just thaw and warm)

Serve over rice or noodles

Servings: 8

Source: http://busycooks.about.com

Chicken in a Pastry

This was the first fancy meal I learned to cook as a teenager at a church meeting.  It quickly became my family's favorite meal.

1/2 cup butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup flour, white

4 chicken breast, boneless, skinless

1 egg

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs flour, white

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp dill weed

Blend ½ cup butter and cream cheese. Stir in flour and mix until it leaves the sides of the bowl. Divide into 4 parts, wrap in wax paper and chill at least 1 hour.

Saute chicken breasts in butter for 3 minutes on each side and salt and pepper to taste. Roll chilled pastry thin and wrap chicken. (if freezer for another day place on cookie sheet and freeze.  Then transfer to a ziplock bag and put back in freezer.  When ready to use place on cookie sheet and place in fridge until thawed)

Place on cookie sheet and brush top with beaten egg and 1 teaspoon water. Prick pastry with fork and bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Dill Sauce -- In a saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 2 tablespoon flour and stir 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add dill weed. Serve dill sauce over pastry.

Ginger Chicken

1 egg white , beaten lightly

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

3 scallions, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 Tbsp ginger, finely minced and peeled

2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs ketchup

4 tsp white vinegar

4 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

2 tsp cool water

In a medium bowl, mix together thoroughly egg white, cornstarch and 1/2 tsp salt.

Cut chicken breasts into 3/4-inch cubes (this is more easily done if the chicken is partially frozen.) Toss chicken in the egg white mixture. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.

Place on a small plate or bowl scallions and ginger.

In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, salt, ketchup, vinegars and soy sauce.

In a cup, mix together thoroughly cornstarch and cool water.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until hot. Add 1/2 cup oil. Swirl the oil around the pan until very hot but not smoking. Add the chicken and quickly stir and flip in the oil to separate the pieces. Cook lightly. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil in the wok. Set aside.

Reheat the wok over high heat. Swirl the remaining oil around the pan (there should be 2 to 3 tablespoons) until it is very hot but not smoking. Add the scallions and ginger. Stir and toss vigorously until slightly brown, about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir until heated through. Stir the cornstarch mixture, then pour it slowly into the sauce, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring until the mixture is thickened. Return the chicken to the wok. Cook, stirring thoroughly to mix, until heated through.

Remove to a serving dish. Serve immediately. Great with Fried Rice.

Source: The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking Cookbook

Mexican Chicken

2 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins

16 oz jar mild or medium salsa

2-3 cloves freshly pressed garlic

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 ½ oz can sliced black olives, drained

sliced or grated Monterey Jack cheese

Place frozen chicken into freezer bag. Combine remaining ingredients except cheese. Pour sauce into bag and coat chicken well. Squeeze air out of bag and freeze. Chicken will marinate as it defrosts in refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove chicken from bag and place in Stoneware Rectangular Baker. Pour excess sauce from bag over top of chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (30 minutes for tenderloins). Using Deluxe Cheese Grater, grate cheese onto chicken; bake 10 minutes and serve.

Ranch Style Chicken

4 - 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 lb Thick cut bacon

Bacon grease

1/2 cup Honey

1/2 cup Dijon Mustard

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup Canola oil

Mix together honey, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and paprika. Whisk it together until smooth.

Next, rinse the chicken breasts under cool water and pat them dry. Put in zip lock bag and pound breasts so they have uniform thickness.

Next, just add all the chicken to the bowl with the marinade. You’ll want to cover this with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. (I place the chicken and marinade in zip lock bag and freeze until ready to make)

While the chicken is marinating, go ahead and fry up some bacon. Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease, and go ahead and clean out the skillet. Otherwise, it’ll get too smoky.

When you’re ready to prepare the chicken, preheat the oven to 400° degrees.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade into the sink. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high to high heat. (We want to sear the chicken, not cook it completely.) When the grease is sufficiently heated, add a batch of chicken to the skillet. Don’t overcrowd the skillet—just 3 pieces is usually enough. Watch the chicken, and when it starts to get brown/black on one side…Flip it to the other side. Cook just until brown/blackish areas appear. Each side should cook for a maximum of 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat with all the chicken breasts, then set them on a large baking sheet.

Go ahead and throw the pan of chicken into the hot oven for about ten minutes to continue cooking. Then remove the pan from the oven…And lay a couple of bacon slices over each chicken breast. Next, grab some grated sharp cheddar and sprinkle it over the top as generously as you’d like. Just return the pan to the oven for an additional five minutes, or until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Then serve immediately…

Web Page: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

The Foot

This has been my view for the last 48 hours.  After having had my foot hurt since April (4 months) and trying everything we could to avoid surgery I finally gave in.  So Wednesday morning after dropping the kids off to their first day of school we headed to the hospital for same day surgery.  The foot doctor removed the heel spur that started this whole process, removed the nerve that was inflamed and cut about 2/3 of the plantar fascia away from the bone.  He told me I'd be in a splint for a week, but I wasn't expecting this much bandaging to occur.

From this angle you can see just how much extra padding there is on the foot.  I had hoped to get some glitter toes before the surgery, but time ran out.  So I get to stare at my lovely ugly freakish toes without any glitter on them for another few days.  I cannot put any weight on it for an entire week.  So I am enjoying being forced to stay in my room for a week.  It is very odd having to ask for almost everything.  Luckily I have an amazing husband who is very kind and patient.  And the kids have been great to help out as well.

On Wednesday I should be upgraded to the Boot again for another month.  But at least then I'll be able to get around.  And after all this is said and done I should be able to return to normal activity, finally.  I've been babying it for 4 months hoping it would heal on its own, so it better be better!

And They're Off!!!

Packed, loaded and ready

First Day of School 2009!  Jessica - 6th grade, Ashley - 4th grade, John - 1st grade

I celebrated by coming home and fixing the broken toilet with Mark, I know you are all jealous!
Now Mark and I are off to the hospital for my Plantar Fasciitis surgery, yippee!!!

Family Reunion

The official last party of the summer of 2009 was Mark's families Family Reunion.  Sometime in the last few years Salem Pond has become the official location for this reunion.  Mark's Great Grandma's house was right by Salem Pond.

In the middle of August we were not expecting the high temperature of the day to be only 73 degrees.  We braved the rain on the drive down hoping it would dry up, and it did.

The ducks were waiting for us

Evan somehow became the official cook.  I can't tell if he is hiding from the camera, or telling Grandma not to oversee the cooking

Ashely, JaCee Jo, and Isabel stayed wrapped in their coats while feeding the ducks.

This was the beautiful view from our picnic spot.

Kris watching out for her grandson, Ethan.

Had it not been so cold, I'm sure someone would have pushed Evan over the edge of the bridge into the Pond.

Daniel and Rebekah hanging out

I'm not sure who was more scared of the bridge, John or Grandma???

But they made it to join Evan, Daniel, Mel, Jean and Carole

This was our humble picnic spot view from the bridge

And of course we had plenty of good food.  And even had Aunt Loise and Uncle Lowell join us

Fishing was a big hit of the party.

Even if they were little biters and were just catch and release

And a Neva party would not be complete without games and prizes for the grandkids!
The sun finally came out as we cleaned up.  The official water fight was bypassed in lieu of the cold temperatures.  But it was still a fun time!

And on the way home we squeezed in a little shopping.  Jessica needed a new mattress and we didn't want to make a second trip.  So we made it fit

End of Summer Fun

It is hard to believe the summer is ending. But school starts on Wednesday, so it is official.
 Here is a recap of the fun we had the first couple of weeks of August

Normally I would not consider going to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens when the temperatures are in the high 90s, but since I can't walk long distance anyways I knew I'd be getting an "old lady" cart.  So the kids and I enjoyed a beautiful stroll (roll) through the Gardens.  They are incredibly beautiful despite the heat.

Mark found some work that had to be done in the Gardens so he met us half way through to cool us down.

The kids were very grateful for the cool down.

The fish were hungry in the Koi Pond.  The bigger ones were jumping out of the water to get the food.




The first weekend in August is time for "Cherry Days" in Santaquin.  Mark refuses to call it by it's new name "Orchard Days"  To him it will alway be "Cherry Days"

And of course there has to be a parade

We met Grandma on Main Street so we had a prime spot to see Grandpa in the Parade

He is the handsome one in the middle.
The best part of a small town parade for the kids is the amount of candy that is thrown out.

John's excitement was uncontrollable when he caught a piece right in his hand.

The second weekend in August is always the Kearns Fire and Ice Festival.  We have the luck of having some great friends whose backyard backs up to the football field where they shoot off the fireworks.  So we bring the kids and have a great dinner and then hang out until fireworks time.

With 12 kids among the 3 families we kick the kids out to the backyard early.  And they love the glow sticks

The fireworks are incredible when you are that close.  The wind was blowing this year so the ash fell on top of us.

But it was worth it!  It is the best fireworks display we see all year with our prime spots!

Date Night

Catch up time -- on July 25 Secondhand Serenade came to Thanksgiving Point for a concert.  I had heard some of their music on the radio and told Mark I wanted to go.  That weekend turned out to be a very busy weekend, but I still went ahead and DRAGGED Mark to the concert.

This was the view

From here

The evening was beautiful and the weather cooperated.  They had 3 intro bands.  We laid on the grass and enjoyed the music and all the people watching.  We were definitely some of the 'older' people there.  It was very crowded up by the stage

But back on our little hill we it was great.  Mark even admitted he was glad we were there.  It is so great having a child old enough to babysit so we can actually get away just the two of us sometimes.