Freezer Meals for March

It's that time again...to make meals for the freezer! I can't tell you how much this has changed my life for the better.  It takes the craziness out of meal time for sure.  There are so many ways that you can accomplish this: cooking all in one day, cooking over several days, or just doubling what you make and putting half in the freezer.  I tend to cook six meals over a period of several days.  The cooking all in one day (which I have done before) is overwhelming!  If you are wanting to start freezer cooking start slow!  You will be amazed at how much it frees up your time in the long run!

Here is what is on the menu for March:

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze: Before baking, flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months. To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.


Black Bean Pumpkin Chili (Scroll down to find the recipe)

Meatball bubble biscuits

1 16oz. can refrigerated biscuits
8 frozen cooked Italian meatballs, cut in half
2 sticks string cheese, each cut into 8 pieces
1 T. Parmesan
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 cup spaghetti sauce
Separate dough into eight biscuits. Separate each biscuit into two layers.  Press each biscuit layer to make a 3 inch round. Place one meatball half, cut side up, and one string cheese piece in the center of each dough round. Wrap dough about meatball and cheese, pressing edges to seal well. Place seam side down in a single layer in an ungreased 8 or 9 inch round pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. At this point you can freeze the pan.  To serve: Thaw and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 375 until the biscuits are cooked through and golden.  Remove from pan and serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.  Also you can make all the bubble biscuits and freeze them on trays and then transfer them to Ziploc bags.  It is better to dip them in a Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning mixture before putting them on the trays.  I made 96 of them this past weekend this way!  NOTE: you can also do pepperoni and cheese.

Mexican Soup with chips and cheese

I found two great recipes at Life as a Lofthouse that I want to try this month:

Sloppy Joe squares

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken