Freezer meals!

I love freezer meals! Who doesn't? I do this from time-to-time, whenever the mood strikes. Or whenever I'm over run with vegetables fresh from my garden. Hooray for fresh veggies! I recently tried the following new recipes. I had not planned on doing a big batch, so I didn't think to photograph my successes. Next time.

I'll update here as I pull them out, and let you know how they turned out!

Chocolate zucchini muffins (Uh oh! Cannot find this recipe!)

Crock pot chicken in a hurry (with wings and thighs)

Crock pot chicken cacciatore
Result: It's not the fanciest recipe so I wasn't expecting too much, but I was still pretty disappointed. I used veggies fresh from my garden, and my favourite tomato sauce (I haven't canned my own yet). It smelled awesome but it was really bland. 2/3 girls liked it, which is great, but I'll pass next time.

Crock pot marinated pork
Crock pot pork loin and veggies

Crock pot italian turkey soup
Result: Delicious! We're not big bean-eaters, but everyone at this up! Addison asked for seconds! I made it according to directions, and froze in two freezer bags. I served one bag at a time, and it was not enough. Next time I will double it and use two bags as one serving.

I also froze six cups of caramelized onions, an additional ten cups of shredded zucchini, and made amazingly awesome delicious yummy lemon zucchini loaf. The latter, however, did not make it to the freezer before it was eaten entirely. This may have happened twice. I've heard it freezes well. I need to try again when I'm home alone, so my family can't sneak in.

Apple cider baked chicken

I made the marinade when I got up at 7 am and pulled it out to put in the oven around 3. We all loved this, especially Addison! I've never seen her eat that much of anything!

Apple cider baked chicken

Servings: 6-8
Prep time: 10 minutes + marinade (4-24 hours)
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes + marinade
Ease of difficulty: Easy
Variations: The original recipe says you can use store bought or home-made Apple Cider. I had store bought on hand. I forgot to pick up fresh herbs so I used a pinch of dried Thyme. I also used skinless, bone-in chicken thighs.
Source: Gimme Some Oven

1 large onion, peeled and cut into eights
1 large lemon, sliced into thin rounds
2 cups apple cider
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6-8 chicken legs or thighs
2 large apples, each cut into eights
1 lb small red or Yukon Gold potatoes, halved

Place a gallon-size heavy duty Ziploc bag into a large bowl. Place the onion and next ten ingredients into the bag, combining well. Add the chicken to the marinade. Close the bag, place in the fridge to marinate 4-24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange the chicken pieces in a large roasting pan skin-side up. Pour all of the marinade, including onions and lemons, over the chicken. Tuck the apples and potatoes around the chicken. Cook for 1 hour 15 min, stirring once halfway through to re-coat everything with the marinade.

Arrange chicken and potatoes on a platter and sprinkle with thyme to garnish.

Lemon and Brown Sugar Chicken

Lemon and Brown Sugar Chicken

Servings: 2
Time: 25 minutes
Ease of difficulty: I was pretty worried about doing bacon in a pot, or burning the sauce. It was all easier than I thought, and I had a screaming toddler at my feet.
Variations: You can't screw this up.
Source: Bless This Food

1 lb chicken breasts
1 cup flour
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
2 tblsp canola oil
1 lemon (juiced) or just use lemon juice (approx)1/2 cup dark brown sugar (approx)
Pre heat oven to 350

Trim the fat from your chicken. Combine the four, paprika & salt in a shallow dish. Coat each chicken breast with the flour mixture.

Heat the oil over medium/high heat in a cast iron skillet (if you have one)
Place each chicken breast into the hot oil & brown on both sides (4-5 minutes should do it)
Remove the chicken breasts & set aside.

turn the heat down loa & pour the lemon juice into the pan & stir to deglaze (if all the juice cooks off- ad a bit more. you should have about 1/4 cup worth of liquid in the skillet)
Put the chicken breasts back in the pan & turn to coat.
Sprinkle the brown sugar on top (make sure each piece has a good of sugar on it)

Put the skillet in the oven & bake for around 20 minutes (until the chicken is done)

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Lemon Rosemary Chicken Bake
Servings: 4
Time: 40-50 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy peasy
Variations: Use any cut of chicken
Source: Sparkling Ink

• 8 chicken legs
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound (450 g) potatoes
• 10 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• fresh rosemary
• coarse salt & pepper
• glass of dry white wine

Put chicken legs into a roasting dish. Cut potatoes and lemon into wedges. Add in the wedges and peeled garlic cloves. You can half some of the largest cloves. Add in olive oil, coarsely chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and toss until all the ingredients are evenly coated. Pour in a glass of dry white wine. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 40-50 minutes until tender, fragrant and beautifully browned.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Servings: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy
Variations: Use pork instead of chicken, or pasta instead of rice
Source: Tina P

• Skinless, boneless chicken cut in cubes

Sauce:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2/3 cup water or pineapple juice/water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tin pineapple chunks (drained)
• Green pepper, cut into chunks (optional)

Brown chicken, turning frequently. Lower temperature and cook until no longer pink, turning. Mix sauce together, whisk well and pour over cooked chicken. Heat through on medium-low. Add pepper. Serve over cooked rice.