Which Skillets Do You Like Best?

CSN stores, the wonderful online store that sells everything from modern bedding to kids' toys to kitchen accessories has generously offered to let me review one of their items again. I would really like to either buy some skillets or pots and pans to enable me to cook a little faster during freezer cooking days. (As it is now, I only have two pans that are large enough for freezer cooking; I have to stop several times during the day to wash them.)

I am looking at these Rachael Ray skillets. We have tried stainless steel in the past, but I don't like how much oil I have to use to keep the food from sticking. We are also trying to move away from Teflon.

I would love to know, do you have a favorite brand of pots, pans and skillets? I would love some recommendations.

Stacked Tacos OAMC

When I talk about freezer cooking or once a month cooking (OAMC) people often tell me they are worried that the food won't taste good after it comes out of the freezer. However, I find that if you make recipes specifically tailored to freezer cooking, they taste as good as they did when you first put them in the freezer.

The above meal, Stacked Tacos, is a freezer meal, and yet it looks (and tastes) fresh and delicious. This is another recipe I got from 30 Meals in One Day. (This one came out of the Lunch Is Ready cookbook.)

Stacked Tacos

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups salsa
1 - 10.75 oz. can tomato soup
1 - 1.25 oz. package taco seasoning

-In a large saucepan, brown ground beef. Drain fat.

-Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir. Let simmer for 1 hour.

-If freezing, place in two Ziploc freezer bags, seal and freeze.

-To serve: Thaw and heat up filling. For each serving, cook 3 corn tortillas in hot oil for about 15 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels.

-Layer hot tortillas, meat, and cheese. Top with lettuce, tomato and avocado.

Note: I am trying to lose weight, so instead of frying the corn tortillas, I broiled flour tortillas in the oven for a minute or two on each side. (Watch this closely! I had to discipline my son while preparing these and came back to a black tortilla and smoke pouring out of the oven. Ooops!!!)

Serves 12, or 6 per Ziploc bag of frozen mixture.

I shared this post at $5 Dinners, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, What's On the Menu Wednesdays, Ultimate Recipe Swap, Recipe Swap Thursdays, Thursday Recipe Spree, Homemaker Mondays, The Grocery Cart Challenge, Food on Fridays,

Freezer Cooking Demystified - Ask Your Questions

I got an e-mail from a reader asking for more details about freezer cooking. She said she would like to start freezing meals but did not really know where to start. She was also concerned about the taste of the meals after they came out of the freezer.

My love of freezer cooking built slowly. The first few months I really did not like doing it, but over time, I have come to really appreciate it.

However, the reader's question got me thinking. Do you have a question about freezer cooking? Do you have a concern? Are you thinking you would like to start but don't really know how?

If so, please either leave me a comment or e-mail me. (You can find my e-mail on my profile page.) I would love to write a post or two demystifying freezer cooking.

September Freezer Cooking Wrap Up

I didn't make a lot to freeze this month because the freezer is already quite full. In fact, I can see a pantry challenge coming soon! Here is what I made:

3 loaves Lighter Meatloaf (oops! we already ate one!)
2 bags cubed chicken for stir fry
1 bag Sweet & Sour Chicken
20 Pizza Rolls
3 bags Southwest Stew
2 bags BBQ Chicken
20 Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

If you are like me, you are probably scrunching your nose up at the thought of vegan cupcakes with no eggs, butter or milk. I would have been doing that too before my dairy intolerance.

Let me tell you, though, these cupcakes are so moist! They are delicious. My family eats them without frosting; that is how good they are! Another nice feature is that my kids and I could lick the bowl without getting salmonella.

If you are planning your own freezer cooking day, here is what my plan for September looked like.

Southwest Stew OAMC

This weekend we actually had a day when the temperature only reached the high 60s. I love weather like that! So, my freezer cooking plan had several autumn recipes for September. After spring, fall is my favorite season.

I found this recipe in my Dinner Is Ready cookbook. To read my review of that cookbook and others in the series, go here.

To see more great Once a Month Cooking recipes from Dinner Is Ready and the other two cookbooks in the series, go here.

Southwest Stew:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup onion, chopped

1 tsp. garlic, minced

2 - 14.5 oz. cans Mexican tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn

1 - 15 oz. can pinto beans (I used dry beans to save some money)

1 cup picante sauce

3/4 cup beef broth

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

-Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.

-Add tomatoes, corn, beans, picante sauce, beef broth, cumin, pepper and salt

-Bring to a boil

-Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

-Remove from heat and allow to cool.

-Place in freezer bag, label and freeze.

-To serve: Thaw. Heat to boiling.

6 servings.

I shared this post at $5 Dinners, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, Mouthwatering Mondays, Delicious Dishes, Two for Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Thursday Recipe Spree, The Grocery Cart Challenge, The Nourishing Gourmet

September Freezer Cooking Plan

We have had my mom visiting this weekend, and it has been busy but fun! She is leaving tomorrow morning, and since we have nothing planned for Labor Day, I am going to have a mini freezer cooking day.

I am not cooking alot this time because we still have several freezer meals containing dairy that I can't eat. All the meals I will make this time are dairy free; sometimes I will serve them to the whole family, sometimes I will eat them while my family finishes the rest of the freezer meals.

Here are the meals I plan on making:
Pizza Rolls (minus the cheese)
Lighter Meatloaf
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Skillet BBQ Chicken
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Southwest Stew
Banana Muffins
Stir Fry Sauces
(I'll try to share some of these recipes with you in the next few weeks. The three chicken recipes come from 30 Meals In One Day.)

Here is the plan:
Sunday
-Take the beef and turkey out to unthaw (the chicken is already unthawed in the fridge)
-Soak pinto beans overnight in the refrigerator
-Cut all of the veggies up

Monday
-Dice all of the chicken
-Make all of the filling for Pizza Rolls, let cool
-Wash skillet and beginning making Southwest Stew. Let simmer 30 minutes
-Mix all ingredients for Lighter Meatloaf.
-Bake Lighter Meatloaf in the oven for 60 minutes.
-Stuff Pizza Rolls
-Wash large bowl from Lighter Meatloaf & skillet from Southwest Stew
-Put all of the ingredients together for Skillet BBQ Chicken and let simmer 35 minutes.
-Mix together stir fry sauces and put extra chicken in baggies for stir-frys later.
-Make the Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes & bake
-Wash large bowl and mix up the batter for Banana Muffins.
-Make the components for Sweet & Sour Chicken and put in a bag to freeze
-Take out cupcakes and put muffins into the oven.
-Let all remaining meals cool and then package for freezing.

--Relax! and be happy another month of freezer cooking is done!

By the way, if you have a deep freezer, be sure to check out my Freezer Totes giveaway!

If you are looking for more OAMC freezer cooking recipes and monthly cooking plans, be sure to check out my freezer cooking section.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

This yummy recipe came from Holly Clegg’s new cookbook, Too Hot in The Kitchen—Secrets to Sizzle at Any Age.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins
1/3 cup canola oil
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1 cup grated carrots

-Preheat oven 350 degrees. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray

-In mixing bowl, mix together oil and sugar. Gradually add eggs, beating well

-In bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and add alternately with crushed pineapple to sugar mixture, stirring only until combined. Stir in carrots. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

-Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I shared this post at Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, $5 Dinners, The Grocery Cart Challenge, Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Pork Steamed Dumplings

When I found out I could no longer consume dairy, I faced a freezer full of dairy laden frozen meals. I made these tasty treats on Saturday night. They are from my Holly Clegg Freezer Friendly Meals cookbook (I modified them a bit)and are delicious!

They do take a bit of time to stuff, but I just watched Suze Orman Saturday night and I had them all stuffed in 30 minutes. Now I have a freezer full; I plan to eat these while my family finishes up the dairy loaded meals.

Pork Steamed Dumplings
2 lbs. ground pork
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 c. chopped green onions
60-90 won ton wrappers (depending on how full you stuff them)

-Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

-Place about 1 tsp of the pork mixture in the center of each won ton wrapper and gather up the corners, pinching them together at the top. Pat the edges with water to make them stick.

To prepare and eat now:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and arrange dumplings in steamer basket over the boiling water. Cover and steam about 20 to 25 minutes or until the pork mixture is entirely cooked.

To freeze:
Freeze for one hour on a cookie pan and then place in a Ziploc bag.

To prepare after freezing:
Bring a pot of water to boil and arrange dumplings directly from the freezer in the steam basket over the boiling water. Cover and steam about 25 to 28 minutes or until the pork mixture is entirely cooked.

Enjoy!

Once a Month Cooking and Vacations

We frequently go to visit my mom three hours from home, and a few times a year we stay for an extended period. When we are visiting, we are always very busy seeing relatives and taking the kids out to do fun activities. Without a plan, we can end up spending a lot of money on eating out, especially since my mom doesn't like to cook and doesn't like us to cook because she doesn't like all of the dishes we dirty.

Enter freezer cooking.

Now, when we go to her house for an extended period of time, we pack up several freezer meals in our cooler and eat them throughout the week. We don't have to worry about cooking (and messing up my mom's kitchen), and she gets a nice, home cooked meal every night. It definitely works for us!

To see some of the other ways freezer cooking has benefitted our family, read my guest post at Life as Mom, "How Freezer Cooking Changed Our Life."

If you are interested in trying out once a month cooking, enter my giveaway for Dinner Is Ready Cookbook and software. It will help you plan and execute a freezer cooking day.

August Freezer Cooking Wrap Up

I didn't quite accomplish all that I planned, but I did get a good amount of food into the freezer. We have enough now for roughly 17 breakfasts and 20 dinners, plus the sides. I am quite happy with that!

This time around I used Deanna Buxton’s 30 Meals in One Day system, and I loved it! It made my cooking so much more organized. Read my review and enter to win your own Dinner Is Ready cookbook and software here. Here is what we ended up with:

Main Meals
10 Honey Mustard Turkey Burgers
23 Beefy Cornbread Muffins
24 individual servings of Cola BBQ
3 Meals of Slow Cooked Chili
2 Meals of Stacked Tacos
10 Thanksgiving Burgers

Side Dishes
2 Gallon Size Bags of New England Baked Beans
2 small loaves Corn Bread
2 small loaves of Blueberry Banana Bread

Remember the griddle I asked your opinion about? I ended up going with the Presto electric one per your suggestions, and I love it! It made my freezer cooking so much faster this month.

Breakfast
48 blueberry pancakes (recipe coming in the next few weeks)
24 breakfast sandwiches

Beefy Corn Bread - OAMC

Today's recipe is another one I found in the 30 Meals in One Day system. This recipe comes from Lunch Is Ready. (If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my Dinner Is Ready cookbook and software giveaway.)

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 c. frozen corn

1/4 c. salsa

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 c. corn meal

3/4 c. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3/4 c. milk

2 tbsp. canola oil

-Brown ground beef with chili and cumin until no longer pink. Drain fat.

-Stir in corn and salsa

-Line the cups of a muffin tin with foil baking cups

-Spoon meat mixture into muffin cups; fill about 2/3 full

-Top with cheese

-In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt

-Beat eggs in a small bowl

-Add milk and oil

-Add to the cornmeal mixture stirring just until moistened

-Spoon batter over cheese to cover

-Bake at 375 for 15 minutes

-Allow to cool

-Set pan in freezer until frozen

-Remove from pan and place in a gallon size freezer bag

To serve:

-Thaw upside down on a microwave safe plate

-Remove foil liners

-Microwave until heated through.

We all liked this recipe, but my daughter especially liked them. We will be making these again for future freezer cooking days.

I shared this post at Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, $5 Dinners,

Dinner Is Ready Cookbook & Software OAMC Giveaway!

UPDATE--The winner is Chisum's Crew trinitygsd@ Congratulations!

I have been freezer cooking for several months now, and I have made no secret of the fact that while I love the results, I don’t really enjoy the actual days that I am cooking up all of my meals.

However, recently I had the chance to try the 30 Meals in One Day system (R.V. $95) by Deanna Buxton, and I loved, loved, loved it! Included in this system are--
-3 cookbooks—Dinner Is Ready, Lunch Is Ready and On the Side
- 30 Meals in One Day Software and User’s Manual
-White Recipe Labels

Deanna began freezer cooking in 1999 when her four children, ages 4 to 12, were involved in baseball. She would get home too late to cook and was frustrated to be feeding her family fast food or making them wait until she could cook a full meal. The first time she cooked 30 meals in one day she was exhausted and vowed not to do it again! However, she soon refined her method, and began teaching her method at women’s groups. By 2002 she had published her first book, Dinner Is Ready.

There are many reasons why I love this system. First, both the Lunch Is Ready and Dinner Is Ready cookbooks contain 14 chapters at the beginning of the book that lay out all you need to know about freezer cooking and making it easier on yourself.

I have been doing Once a Month Cooking since last fall, but I learned quite a bit by reading these chapters. I took the author’s advice to shop on one day and prep all of my vegetables before the actual freezer cooking day. That made such a difference in my cooking time! Before I would chop my onion at the beginning of the freezer cooking day; this time, I just had to reach for the chopped onions in the refrigerator.

This system also advocates choosing separate methods of cooking—for instance, pick two slow cooker recipes, two assembly recipes, two oven recipes, two stove top recipes, etc. and the cookbooks are broken down into the different methods of cooking.

But what really puts this system over the top is the software. Install this software into your computer and choose the recipes you are planning on cooking. The software creates a grocery list for you that tells you all the items you will need broken down by section in the grocery store and the exact amounts of what you will need. You can also use the software to add other items not related to your freezer cooking that you will need to buy at the grocery store.

If you are new to freezer cooking, this is the perfect system to get you started. If you are a veteran, you will still learn some information from this system. No matter your knowledge level, this system will help streamline your freezer cooking days. My only wish is that the books contained the nutritional information.

Curious what the recipes are like in this book? In a word, tasty, but one that we really enjoyed was Cola BBQ.

Buy It
If you would like to buy it, use the code CAROUSEL to receive free shipping.

Additionally, if you make a purchase on the 30 Meals in One Day website before the giveaway and end up being the winner of this giveaway, Deanna will refund you the $32 it would cost to buy the cookbook and software on their website.

The Giveaway:
Deanna Buxton has offered to give away the Dinner Is Ready cookbook and software, a retail value of $40.

To enter this giveaway, simply go to 30 Meals in One Day, go to the recipe section and come back here and tell me which recipe you would like to try.

Additional methods of entry:
-Become a follower on my blog or state that you already are, if that is the case.

-Blog about this giveaway or write about it on Facebook or Twitter

-Follow me on Twitter

This giveaway will end on Monday, August 16th at 9 p.m. CST. The winner will be chosen via random.org. Make sure you include your e-mail address when you enter.

I received the 30 Meals in One Day system for review purposes. (Thank you!) All opinions are my own.

Cooking Up Veggies in One Batch

I noticed over the last few weeks that veggies were creeping into my weekly food waste more and more often. I would use half a bag of spinach and then would be too busy to cook up the rest so it would go to waste.

To combat that problem, I have started cooking my veggies in one batch. Today for lunch we had broccoli on the side; I only needed half of what I bought, but I cooked the entire batch of broccoli that I bought last week. We ate half and I put half away. Now, when I pull out a freezer meal for dinner, I just need to pull out the already cooked broccoli and microwave it for a minute or so. This makes meal preparation a snap and eliminates much of my veggie waste. Works for me!

Cola Barbeque

Sorry I didn't get this up Friday; I wanted to post this great new recipe we tried for freezer cooking. My husband is going to take it to work for lunch as a sandwich instead of using lunch meat.

Cola Barbeque
1 - 3 lb. beef roast
1 - 24 oz. bottle ketchup
1 - 12 oz. can soda

-Put roast in a roasting pan on a piece of heavy duty foil large enough to wrap the entire roast in.
-Stir the ketchup and soda together and pour over the roast.
-Wrap up and make sure there are no areas it can leak.
-Cook at 300 degrees for 4 hours.
-Allow to cool, then shred and mix back up in the sauce.
-Freeze in a muffin tin for individual size portions.
-Pop them out of the muffin tin and place in a freezer storage bag.

Makes 10 servings

This recipe comes from Lunch is Ready!

I shared this recipe at Life as Mom, $5 Dinners, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Stockpiling Moms, I'm Lovin It Fridays and The Grocery Cart Challenge.

My Freezer Cooking Plan for This Weekend

This weekend I am having another freezer cooking bout. This time I am trying out the 30 Meals in One Day system. (Enter my Dinner Is Ready cookbook and software giveaway for a great OAMC program!)

Here are the meals, sides and breakfasts I plan to prepare:

Meals
Honey Mustard Turkey Burgers
Beefy Corn Bread
Cola Barbeque
Pork Chops, Carrots and Gravy
Slow Cooked Chili
Stacked Tacos
Thanksgiving Burgers

Sides
New England Baked Beans
Cheddar Biscuits
Corn Meal Bread










Breakfasts
Breakfast Sandwiches
Pancakes

Here is my plan of attack:

Thursday
-Grocery shop
-Make New England Baked Beans in the slow cooker
-Soak the beans overnight for Slow Cooked Chili
-Put the meats in the refrigerator to unthaw

Friday
-Cut up 7 cups of onions
-Chop 2 cup green bell pepper
-Brown 6 lbs. ground beef
-Start Slow Cooked Chili in the slow cooker
-Prepare Stacked Taco mix on the stove top

Saturday
-Bake 18 eggs for Breakfast Sandwiches
-Put Cola Barbeque in the oven at the same time
-Prepare Cheddar Biscuits & put in the oven when eggs are don
-Brown ground beef for Beefy Corn Bread
-Assemble Beefy Corn Bread and put in the oven when biscuits are done
-Prepare Corn Meal Bread & put in the oven when Beefy Corn Bread is done
-Cook pork chops
-Put PorkChops, Carrots & Gravy on the stove to simmer for 1 hour
-Assemble Honey Mustard Turkey Burgers & put in freezer bag
-Assemble Thanksgiving Burgers & put in a freezer bag
-Shred the Cola Barbeque & put in the freezer
-Do dishes and collapse on the couch!

Sunday
-Cook Turkey Sausage patties
-Toast & butter English muffins
-Assemble Breakfast Sandwiches
-Make pancake batter
-Cook pancakes

I'll share my results and some of the recipes with you next week!

Works for Me--Reusing Freezer Bags

There are many ways to save money, but I read somewhere that the best way to save money is on the little things. Saving $2000 off the sticker price of a car is great, but it is only a one time savings. If you break your gourmet coffee habit and don't buy coffee out everyday for several years the savings is also significant. If you save money on many little things, well, the savings just multiple.

I have been freezer cooking for several months now, and one easy way I save money is to rewash the large gallon size freezer bags I use. If I put 10 muffins in a freezer bag, once the muffins are gone, I wash it by hand and hang it up to dry. When I am doing my next freezer cooking day, I just scratch out the old contents’ label and write a new one. It may not be pretty, but that doesn’t matter. (Note—I never reuse the bags that have stored raw meat.)

Homemade Pizza and Pizza Rolls OAMC

When I did my monthly cooking a few weeks ago, one of the recipes from Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals cookbook that I tried was Italian Pizza Rolls. These did require some work, but they were delicious! (And they were also the first freezer meal for the month to be eaten up.)

Italian Pizza Rolls
1/3 c. finely chopped carrots
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 pound ground sirloin
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 cup shredded, part skim mozzarella cheese
9 to 10 egg roll wrappers

-In a non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, saute the carrots, onion, green pepper and garlic for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add the sirloin, cooking until browned. Remove from heat and sitr in tomato sauce, oregano, basil and Mozzarella cheese.

-Place about 2 tablespoons in the middle of each egg roll wrapper. Fold the lower bottom third up, fold the 2 sides toward the center and then roll up.

-Do not bake before freezing. Freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to freezer zip-top bags, label and freeze.

-When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove rolls directly from the freezer and place on a non-stick baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes; turn rolls over and continue baking for another 5 to 6 minutes or until crispy and browned.

I ended up with leftover filling, so I froze it. The other night I made homemade pizza crust (substituting some of the white flour for whole wheat), layered on pizza sauce and some mozzarella cheese and finished with the leftover filling. Then I baked it at 375 for 20 minutes. It was a hit at our house.

Two freezer meals from one filling. It doesn't get much better than that.

Breakfast Sandwiches - OAMC

When I was pregnant for Delaney, I ate way too many Egg McMuffins. After I got tired of those, I switched to Burger King's Ham, Egg and Cheese Croissanwich. If only I had found this recipe back then, I could have saved a ton of money and eaten a better diet.

Breakfast Sandwiches (OAMC)

24 English muffins, toasted and buttered

2 dozen eggs

24 ham, bacon, Canadian bacon slices or sausage patties

24 slices cheddar cheese

--Scramble eggs in a large skillet. If you want a uniform shape, cook in greased canning rings.
--Assemble sandwiches with one egg, one slice of meat, one slice of cheese.
--Wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap, then freeze and place in zip-top bags.

I made these during my freezer cooking bout in May. I read in the comments (I found the recipe in recipezaar.com, now food.com) that one person just mixed all of the eggs in a 9 x 13 pan and baked them and used them in the sanwich to save time. I tried that tip, but the little squares were a bit odd, mostly because the floor in our old apartment building slopes so half the squares were much larger than the other half. I think I will try a different method when I make these again.

And, though the original recipe calls for American cheese, I preferred the batch we made with mozzarella cheese and would only make those kind next time. (They were less greasy.) I used sausage but next time would buy flatter rounds of sausage.

These were the first item eaten up entirely from our May freezer cooking day, and my husband has requested them again for my August freezer cooking day. Yum.

I shared this post at $5 Dinners, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Life as Mom and The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Freezer Cooking Wrap Up

Well, I had a busy three days of cooking, but here is what I ended up with for our freezer meals for July (sorry about the pictures; I took them in the late afternoon, and darkness was the unfortunate result):










24 Banana Butterscotch Muffins (Yum!!)
24 Blueberry Banana Muffins
3 Loaves Lighter Meatloaf
Empanadas (x2 meals)
2 pans Chicken Enchiladas
2 mini loaves garlic cheese bread
Stuffed Shells (x2 meals)
Turkey Burger Sloppy Joes (x3 meals)

Chicken & Broccoli Mix (x2 meals)

Italian Pizza Rolls (x2 meals)

1 pizza topping (leftover pizza roll filling I can just place on pizza dough with cheese)

1 Chicken & Bacon sub

Turkey Croquettes (x3 meals)

Combined with the dozen or so freezer meals I have all ready in the freezer from previous freezer cooking sessions, my family now has a nice variety of meals to take us through July until I start freezer cooking again. Excuse me while I go sip some ice tea and go watch tv (just kidding!)

Empanadas - OAMC

This recipe is a little more work than some of my other OAMC meals, but it is SO worth the effort. I found it in my Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals.

1 lb. ground sirloin

1/4 pound lean pork

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/3 c. finely chopped green olives (I omitted this)

1/4 c. finely chopped golden raisins (I omitted this)

1/2 c. salsa

3 tbsp. fat-free sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2 (10 biscuit) cans refrigerated flaky biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium non-stick skillet, cook the sirloin, pork, onion and garlic over medium heat until done, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Add the chili powder, cumin, olives, raisins, salsa, sour cream and salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Separate each biscuit in half by tearing aprart the layers to make 40 rounds. With a rolling pin, roll out each biscuit half on a lightly floured surface or press with hands into a 4-inch circle. Spoon meat mixture evenly in center of each buiscuit circle. Fold dough over filling to form a half, pressing edges with a fork to seal. Place filled biscuits on a non-stick baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Freeze up to 2 to 3 months. When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350 degress and place frozen on a non-stick baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes

I shared this post at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, $5 Dinners, and Delicious Dishes.