Friday, July 24, 2009

Batchin it!

I had some extra time on my hands (really, I am just procrastinating on writing lesson plans!) so I decided to do a bit of batch cooking for the start of the school year. I used my last freezer meal earlier this week (gasp!) and felt a little vulnerable. You know, getting caught without a backup meal plan if I was too lazy to cook! I tried out all new recipes today, so I can't tell you how they taste. Anita shared them with me. Here's the menu:
Little Cheesy Meatloaves
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground beef or chuck
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste

In a bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion, and salt. Add meat and mix well. Shape into eight loaves, place in a 9x13 baking dish. Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper. Spoon over meatloaves. Cover with saran wrap and aluminum foil and freeze.
Thaw. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Little Saucy Meatballs
Make crumbs in a blender using 1 whole wheat bread, dry or toasted, torn into pieces, parsley.
Combine thoroughly in mixing bowl, shape into 18-20 2 inch balls and brown on all sides in nonstick pan:
1 lb ground turkey
bread crumb mixture
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup lowfat milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Add one cup water, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.
Blend together and stir into pan with meatballs, bring to a boil, stir one minute to thicken lightly:
2 cups water
2 T arrowroot powder
1 t Worcestershire sauce
Cool and freeze. Thaw and reheat. Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.
A Sue Gregg recipe

Almond Lemon Chicken
Slice each chicken piece in 3 or 4 lengthwise strips and marinade in the remaining ingredients 2 hours or longer:
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast
5 T lemon juice
3 T prepared mustard
2 T olive oil
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper
Saute nuts in butter until golden in fry pan and remove from pan:
2 T melted butter
1/2 cup almonds, slivered or chopped
Drain chicken, saving marinade and brown on both sides in same pan, 6 to 10 minutes, blend in broth and cook until broth is about 2/3 the volume:
reserved marinade
2 cups chicken broth
blend of 2 T each cold water and cornstarch
Stir in:
Sauteed almonds
2 T orange marmalade
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Place sauce and chicken in baggie. To serve, thaw, heat and serve over rice.
A Sue Gregg recipe

2 comments:

Roan said...

Anita's Little Cheesy Meatloaves are a family favorite around here. I hope you enjoy all of your new dishes!

Anita said...

Hope your family enjoys the recipes!! I haven't done any of those in a while. We tend to get tired of some things and then I rotate others, then go back around!