Update: Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly

I forgot to take a picture, but this is definitely worth a mention. I made my 2nd bag a while back of Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup I had stashed in the freezer.  This time I made some adjustments and it turned out better than the first time I made it! At the time of cooking, instead of adding uncooked chicken, I added some shredded precooked chicken I already had on hand in the freezer.  I usually pull off the dark meat from a rotisserie chicken and stash it away in the freezer for another day, such as this one!  I also added a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.  I cooked this on low for 3 hours. An hour before I wanted to serve it, I broke up sticks (into thirds) of whole wheat linguine pasta - about a fourth of a box.  Cook an additional hour on low. Serve hot. And boy is this a hearty, warm soup for a cold, rainy, miserable, "I don't feel good", or otherwise crummy kinda day ;) And the best part is - all you had to do was pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the crockpot to cook!  I love make ahead meals!!

Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly!

We're supposed to get a blizzard tonight.  Yes.  You read that right!  There's just something about the warning of snow that makes me crave soup.  I made this soup from Mama and Baby Love's ecookbook - you can find yours here!  It's the first ecookbook I've ever purchased and I wasn't disappointed.  All of her recipes are freezer friendly and 95% of her recipes are grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.  Annnnnd it's only $9.99.  Totally worth the splurge in my book!

Try this recipe of hers and you'll be hooked.  Although hers called for making it with a whole chicken, I used some cubed frozen chicken breasts I had on hand.  It was hearty, made the house smell heavenly while cooking all afternoon, and most importantly was scrumptious to eat.  Love. 

Mama and Baby Love that is ;)

Cranberry Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly!

Yesterday, I posted about Mama and Baby Love's ecookbook.  Here's another of her recipes today.  I prepared it along with her Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken - chop once, make as many things as you can!

Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly

Earlier this year I bought my very first ecookbook.  It takes up no space and is available wherever my computer or smart phone go --- which is, one or the other, always with me.  I think I may be in love.  It's this one from Mama and Baby Love and the cookbook is well worth your money.  It's chocked full of healthy freezer friendly meals!

This happens to be the first recipe I made of hers and it was delicious!  Can I tell you that I stretched two chicken breasts into four HUGE meals (1 dinner, 2 people + 1 lunch, 2 people) for my family.  You should try this one too!  And can I say... I'm stoked that the recipe made 2 big bags for my freezer... because one is waiting on me when I want to do nothing after this busy holiday season ahead!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

One of our favorite pizzas by far!  And it's so easy!

Take your favorite pizza dough and follow directions for cooking.  
Top with barbecue sauce in place of marinara.  A little goes a long way!
Sprinkle with a little shredded mozzarella, cooked chicken (I used the meat from 2 chicken legs from a rotisserie chicken, but have used a chicken breast I precooked), sliced onions (I used 2 shallots this time, but have also used red onions), thinly sliced red bell pepper, and crumbled feta, to taste.
Top with a little more mozzarella.
Finish baking... and...

Dig in!

Cheers to quick cooking this holiday season,

Honey Glazed Spiced Chicken: Crockpot & Freezer Friendly!

I am was so stinkin' excited to try this new chicken dish.  I am always looking for a new and different way to do chicken because we eat a lot of chicken around these parts.  Unfortunately this is one of the dishes I lost thanks to Miss Sandy.  Thankfully it's so easy I can whip it up again really soon!

- Stay tuned for finished pictures! - 

Citrus Chicken Strips: Freezer Friendly

I promise you.  These babies couldn't be easier to make... and eat!  The hardest part - for me at least ;) - is slicing the raw chicken into strips.  You marinate these gems, cook them up, then freeze them into portioned sizes.  That way you can pull them out of the freezer, reheat them, and you're ready to go!  So far, we've used them as salad toppers for a Greek-type salad and a Mexican-inspired bean and corn salad.  Let's talk about easy!!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder: Pinterest Love ♥

I have been on a freezer cooking frenzy lately.  I've been inspired, thanks to Pinterest.  And I can't advocate enough - one afternoon (or two... with a little one ;)) of cooking has given me enough food to fill my refrigerator's freezer.  We now have meals on the ready - and this month is a crazy one for us!  Follow along - I'll be posting the recipes that are in my freezer.  I hope you can find them useful for the upcoming holiday seasons!

This recipe isn't a freezer meal, but one I found while browsing.  And it was perfect for our first rainy, didn't get out of the 60's kind of day!  I've also read that you can easily adapt this to a crockpot version.  I will be keeping a close eye on this one in the coming months!

Breakfast Burritos: Freezer Friendly

Y'all.  Let me tell you what.  I made these babies last night and was so stoked when I calculated the costs... $1.50 each.  And in one cooking session, I made enough to have 14 breakfast burritos for DH and I to have in the mornings.  If you're like us, any extra way to stretch a buck is always appreciated.  Imagine my surprise this morning when I heated mine up and found that Little One also enjoyed this breakfast treat!!  I ended up making it with organic hash browns, organic uncured bacon (no nitrates), and organic eggs.  So I was stoked that they only cost $1.50.  And boy, were they yummy!  You should totally make these... soon!  Help keep your wallet and tummy full with these filling and delicious burritos :)

Cilantro Lime Chicken: Freezer Friendly

Another great recipe... make one, take one!  We had this one night this past week and I just dropped off the frozen one to sweet family #2 this morning :)  I hope they like it as much as we did!  I'm telling you what - I'm totally into these meals I've been doing lately where I pull out all the ingredients one time and have two meals when I'm done.  Let's talk about that math!  Does 1 = 2?  For sure this time around.  Hope you enjoy this spin on annnooootther chicken dish!

Macaroni & Cheese with Tomatoes: Freezer Friendly

This week I've been making some recipes to take to another sweet family with a new addition!  There must be something in the water because babies are popping out around here like crazy.  Rest assured, I drink milk!  Haha :)  I stumbled on a great website with some freezer friendly meals and this recipe sure didn't disappoint.  It was creamy, a little sweet from the tomatoes, and crunchy from the breadcrumb topping.  It was very satisfying and would make a great main or side dish.  This recipe is also easily doubled - which I did - and it made FOUR 8 x 8 inch dishes of macaroni and cheese.  My kind of recipe for sure!  I baked one, froze one for me, and froze two to take!  You've gotta give this one a try ;)

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon & Bacon

I was sent this recipe and decided to give it a whirl!  And of course I couldn't follow it as-is ;)  I changed it to include... drum roll please... BACON!!... after seeing this recipe.  Oh yum.  Instead of too lemony (like some of the reviews suggested) it had a slightly lemony, slightly smokey flavor combination.  I was in love!  But know that this was not love-at-first-sight.  It took some interesting oven baking, but it ended up being worth it in the end.  And because I was flustered at the end of 3 separate cooking times (for a one pot meal!) I didn't even take a picture of the end result. Boo. It ended up being tasty and I will try the flavor combination again definitely!

Freezer Cooking first: Teriyaki Chicken

I'm taking a meal to a sweet family with a new addition.  Build your own tacos to be exact.  You know, meat, taco shells and all the fixin's.  I decided I would take them something to stick in their freezer too.  I mentioned this website in an earlier post and pulled it out finally to use this weekend.  The recipe makes two bags {read: batches} and was oober easy to throw together. For two batches: medium - large bag of carrots (I used 3 large handfuls of carrots for each bag) red onion cut into large chunks 2 large cans pineapple, undrained 4 garlic cloves (I used a heaping teaspoon of garlic for each bag - I was running low!) 4 chicken breasts (I added an extra  small chicken breast to her bag since it was going for a family of 4, not including precious baby :)) 1 cup teriyaki sauce 2 gallon sized freezer bags Directions Prepare your two bags.  First, write directions on the bag. (Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce {or water} to crock pot. Cook high for 4 or low for 8.  Serve over rice.) Then split the ingredients into each bag.  Shake it up.  Remove as much air as possible. Seal.  Put in the freezer.   To use from the freezer:  Remove from freezer the night before you want to use.  Let it thaw in the refrigerator over night.  Then prepare in the crockpot. Hers is ready to be delivered to her today.  I kept it in the refrigerator so that she could decide whether she wanted to place it in the freezer or not. Mine has found a home in the freezer for future use! The Verdict To be determined...  I'll let you know how it tastes! As far as ease of preparation, I'm super stoked at how easy it was! I've never made a complete crockpot meal to stick in the freezer before.  The lady from the blog swears by it and freezer prepares her meals a month in advance.  Wouldn't it be nice to have that much freezer space! Stay tuned!

Pita Pizzas

This was a surprise hit for our family!  It's a versatile and delicious little bite of goodness.  You have to try these.  Yes, totally go get the ingredients and make them tomorrow! Look how cute they are!  Pardon the weird lighting in the pictures - I guess that's what sticky baby fingers on the camera lens does for you ;)

Hawaiian Chicken

50.  That's right folks, my daddy is currently vacationing in his 50th state: Hawai'i!!  A goal I hope to accomplish too one day.  So in honor of my parents mini vacation, today I give you Hawaiian Chicken - a spin on the lazy chicken recipe.  

Here's how easy it is - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3:

1) Pull out a can of crushed pineapple and a bottle of barbecue sauce out of the pantry and 3 frozen chicken breasts out of the freezer.

2.  Dump everything together in a crockpot.  Cover and heat on high for 4 hours or low for 8.  (I usually do low for 4 and high for 2, depending on how much time I've got.)  

3.  Go do whatever else you need to do.  And dinner is ready when you are!

The Verdict:

This is one of our standby recipes because I usually always have the ingredients on hand.  Sometimes I shred the chicken in the sauce and sometimes we eat it whole.  I usually always serve it over rice and with some kind of microwavable vegetable.  Now I have to be honest, I didn't love the Hickory Smoke flavor of the barbecue sauce.  Our favorite to use is John Boy & Billy Barbecue sauce, but we can't find it where we live now.  Regardless, this sweet and tangy dish leaves the chicken moist and the sauce is a great companion!

"Lazy Chicken" Salad

I made this recipe Wednesday.  Have I mentioned how crazy it is to get Little One back on schedule after being gone?  Oh yeah, and we're moving in a few weeks.  Why do I like to do all the crazy life events at one time?  Haha!  Anyway... I was wanting something light, quick, and easy.  So this recipe hit me and it is in honor of Auntie Lo.  We were talking about chicken salad while we were at home and she likes hers with grapes.  I didn't have any grapes on hand, but I certainly substituted an alternatively sweet fruit... apples.  Hope you enjoy this crazy easy, refreshing, sweet and savory recipe! Homemade, gourmet chicken salad - and it couldn't be easier!

Easy Summer Vege Pasta Salad

Helloooooooo. Whew. What a crazy busy couple of weeks!  We were helping prepare and then celebrating Auntie's wedding for the past 2 weeks.  I used some of my recipes and cooked for the fam while there.  But, I am sorry to leave you hanging.  Thank you to the faithful that keep checking.  Here are some new recipes! So, needless to say, with this weather and trying to get back on a schedule this week, I've been making quick and easy, light and refreshing suppers. Doesn't it look all fresh and delicious!? It was!

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

I tried this recipe tonight based on a recommendation from a dear friend.  And I must say, it didn't disappoint!  It was simple and easy even if I didn't follow the directions exactly... surprise surprise!  I thawed out some chicken breasts I had frozen in the freezer and the other ingredients I already had on hand - so preparation was a snap.   I added it with some asparagus risotto and dinner was ready in 45.  Oh yeah, and there's enough for lunch tomorrow.  Super stoked! (In your best Homer Simpson voice)  Mmmm.... meeeellllltt in your moooouuuuutttthhh.

Couscous Salad with Salmon

Enter Daylight Savings time and you'll get a big fat helping of laziness on my part around here!  So much so that I let the tomatoes I bought on Wednesday go bad... I had planned out a freezer friendly recipe to cook on Thursday.  Yeah, I froze the chicken thighs and used the ingredients I'd bought for other things.  I was going to use the tomatoes tonight in the couscous salad.  Boo.  Anyway... it turned out quite tasty this time around!  You really can add just about anything to couscous to make it your own.  And that is exactly what I did.  The best part... it took just minutes to have dinner together thanks to some salmon I had already cooked on Friday.

Parmesan Chicken

Now, this is one of those recipes that I had to master before DH and I were married  :)  Or at least that's the story he likes to tell.  Haha!  My mother-in-law makes this recipe.  It is an easy way to make all sorts of chicken.  I've made it as chicken strips, chicken nuggets, and if you have the time - I'm sure you could use the whole chicken breasts.  The less time I have though, the smaller I cut my pieces usually. Mmmm, makes my mouth water just thinking about it!  One of the best parts... they freeze great!  Pop them on the top of salads, eat with veggies and potatoes, eat with some sweet potato fries... and more! Hello Parmesan Chicken.