Honey Baked Pork Chops

Perhaps the easiest freezer meal recipe yet. It's also very simple to cook on the day you serve it but you do have to plan enough time as it bakes for one hour. J approved it so it's a keeper. :)

Honey Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

6 boneless pork chops

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 t. ground ginger

1 clove minced garlic

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Directions for Cooking Day: Place honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic and soy sauce in blender and mix well. (I actually just mixed it in a bowl with my tiny Pampered Chef whisk and that worked just great.) Place uncooked pork chops and honey mixture in a labeled freezer bag and freeze.

Directions for Serving Day: Thaw completely. Place pork chops and honey mixture in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until pork chops are cooked. Turn pork chops occasionally while baking.

Irish Soda Farls

I'm about a week late - I wanted to try this Irish recipe for St. Patty's day but I didn't get to it until today... It was very easy to make and it tastes kind of like a thick English muffin. Make sure you cook them over medium-low heat or they'll burn. "Farl" apparently means four - this bread is shaped into a disc then cut into four pieces and cooked.

Irish Soda Farls

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 C buttermilk

Preheat a heavy skillet or flat griddle on medium heat.

Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Work quickly to mix the milk into the flour mixture then turn out onto a well floured cutting board or counter. Very lightly knead the dough and form a circle. Flatten the circle, about 1/2-inch thick, and cut into quarters with a floured knife.

Sprinkle the base of the skillet with a little flour and turn the heat down to medium-low. Place the farls in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Split and serve with butter and jam.

Originally found on allrecipes.com.

Sesame-Crusted Salmon

We had this for dinner tonight and it was delish. I did screw up the sauce a bit though....I didn't read through the recipe (surprise, surprise) and I skimmed through the first step, so I added all of the cornstarch to the water. Instead of just making a new cornstarch/water mixture after I realized my mistake, I just added the mixture to the sauce and it made it REALLY thick. Like thicker than pudding thick. Heh heh...oops. But it tasted good anyway. And the salmon was excellent.

Sesame-Crusted Salmon

1/4 C. soy sauce
1/2 C. chicken broth
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 Tbsp water
1 egg white
2 pounds center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 C. sesame seeds
1/4 C. cooking oil

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, broth, sugar, ginger and garlic. In another small bowl, stir together the 2 teaspoons cornstarch and the water.

Whisk together the egg white and the 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Brush the skinless side of the salmon with the egg-white mixture then dip it into the sesame seeds to coat.

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Put the salmon in the pan, sesame-seed side down, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until just done, about 3 minutes longer for a 1-inch thick fillet. Remove salmon to a plate or dish and cover lightly with foil to keep warm.

Discard any oil from the pan. Add the soy sauce mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring. Whisk in the cornstarch-and-water mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute longer. Serve the salmon with the sauce poured around it. (Do not pour sauce over the salmon or you'll lose the crunch.)
Serves 4

Recipe from Cooking.com

Saucy Oven Pork Chops

Saucy Oven Pork Chops

6 pork chops

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dry mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

½ C water

2 T brown sugar

1/3 C diced celery, optional

Coat a broiler rack or shallow pan with oil and preheat the broiler. Broil the chops on the top rack until well browned. Turn them and brown the other side. Cool completely.

When cooled, mix all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Place cooled pork chops in a one-gallon freezer bag or rigid container. Pour sauce over the cops and remove excess air. Seal, label, and freeze.

To Serve: Thaw. Pour chops and sauce in a shallow covered baking dish. Bake at 350˚ for 30-45 minutes or until tender.

Serve w/rice and a green salad.

Ice Cream Shop Pie

This is a fun treat to have in the freezer!

Ice Cream Shop Pie

1 ½ C cold milk

1 small box instant pudding

1 (12oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Graham cracker crust

Beat milk and pudding mix with wire whisk until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Fold whipped topping and Ice Cream Shop ingredients. Spoon mixture into the crust. Cover and freeze until firm, about 6 hours, or overnight.

Serving: Remove from freezer; let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Store any left over pie in the freezer.

Ice Cream Shop Toppings:

Heath Bar Pie: Use French vanilla pudding. Spread 1/3 cup butterscotch ice cream topping on the bottom of the graham crust before filling. Fold 1 cup chopped Heath Bar (or other chocolate English-toffee candy bar pieces) into the pudding mixture. Garnish with additional chopped toffee bars, if desired.

Rocky Road Pie: Use chocolate pudding and a either a regular or chocolate graham crust. Fold ½ C mini chocolate chips, ½ C mini marshmallows, and ½ C chopped nuts into pudding mix. Serve drizzled with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Cookies ‘n Cream Pie: Use French vanilla or vanilla pudding. Fold 1 C chopped chocolate sandwich cookies into pudding mix.

Or any other fun combinations you can think of!

French Stew

I just divide this up into 2 bags when I freeze it since it serves 8 - two meals for the price of one!

French Stew

3 pounds round steak, cubed

1 can beef broth

3 large peeled and sliced carrots

1 (16oz) can whole green beans, drained

1 (16oz) package frozen peas

8 ounces frozen pearl onions

1 (16oz) can petite diced tomatoes

1 C water

1/3 C red wine vinegar

¼ C minute tapioca

1 Tbsp brown sugar

½ C fine, dry bread crumbs

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large crockpot. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Allow to cool, and put in freezer container.

To Serve: Thaw and heat until bubbly in a large pot.

Serves 8

Serve with crusty French bread

Chili Verde

Chili Verde

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies

1 tsp ground cumin

¾ tsp dried oregano leaves

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 (15oz) can pinto beans, drained

3 C chicken broth

1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)

1 tsp salt

2/3 C finely chopped onion (or heaping ½ tsp onion powder)

1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (11 ½ oz) jar salsa

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes; cook until no longer pink in small amount of water. Combine chicken with chilies, cumin, oregano, cloves, and cayenne pepper; refrigerate until needed.

Combine pinto beans, chicken broth, garlic, salt, and onion in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add chicken mixture to the bean mixture; simmer 10 minutes. Cool and freeze in gallon bag or rigid container. Put grated cheese in a quart size freezer bag and attach to the chili container.

To Serve: Thaw chili and cheese. Simmer chili 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top chili with salsa and shredded cheese and serve with warm tortillas.

Serves 5