Sweet & Sour Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken pieces
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained

Directions:
In about 2 tsp. oil, saute bell peppers until tender crisp. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, and corn starch. Add to green peppers and bring mixture to a boil. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in pineapple and chicken. Bag and freeze. When thawed, heat through and serve over rice. This is also yummy when served with fresh tomatoes.

Bag Label:
Sweet & Sour Chicken    Date:___________
Thaw. Heat through and serve over rice.
(Optional: serve with chopped fresh tomatoes.)

Sweet Asian Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe

SWEET ASIAN CHICKEN

Makes 3 entrees, 4 servings each

Ingredients:

1 tray (about 6 lbs.) boneless, skinless chicken half breasts

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 tsp. curry powder

3 Tbsp. minced garlic (about 25 cloves)

2 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3 gallon freezer bags, labeled

Directions:

1.  Rinse and trim chicken as desired.  Divide chicken evenly among the three freezer bags.

2.  Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and curry powder in a medium bowl.  Divide marinade evenly over chicken.

3.  Measure 1 Tbsp. minced garlic and 3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper into each bag.

4.  Seal and freeze. 

Bag Label:

Sweet Asian Chicken      Date:___________

GRILL Directions: Thaw. Prepare med-low fire. Cook chicken, turning every 5 minutes and basting frequently with the marinade, for about 30 min, or until chicken is heated through. Do not baste last 5 min & discard remaining marinade.

STOVE TOP Directions: Thaw. Cut marinated chicken into 1/2-inch strips. Heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil over med. heat. Stir-fry chicken for about 25 minutes, or until done. Serve with soba noodles or rice and sweet Asian coleslaw. 

Ham Fried Rice Freezer Meal Recipe

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups diced ham (thick deli sliced, diced)
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1/2 pepper)
1 cup frozen petite peas
3 cups cooked rice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 eggs

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except eggs. Pour into freezer bag. When thawed, add about 1 Tbsp. oil in frying pan over medium heat. In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Fry scrambled eggs in oil, then add rice mixture. Stir fry until heated through.

Bag Label:

Ham Fried Rice     Date______________

Thaw.  Add 1 Tbsp. oil to frying pan over

med. heat. In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs.

Fry scrambled eggs in oil, then add rice

mixture. Heat through.

Sesame-Soy Sirloin Freezer Meal Recipe

Sesame-Soy Sirloin
from Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik, adapted by Angela

Ingredients:
6 lbs sirloin steak
½ c soy sauce
¼ c lime juice
2 T sesame oil
2 T brown sugar
3 T minced ginger
3 T minced garlic
3 T sesame seeds
3 t crushed red pepper flakes
a few grinds of black pepper

Directions:
Combine soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Divide steaks evenly among freezer bags (3 is suggested, but I like to do 6 because we don't eat that much meat in one sitting). Divide sauce evenly over steaks. Divide ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and pepper flakes evenly among bags. Give a few grinds of black pepper to each bag, then seal and freeze.

To cook: Completely thaw. Preheat grill to a medium heat. Cook for 7 to 9 min on each side, depending on how you like your steak. Baste if desired during the first half of cooking with the marinade.

Royal Thai Thighs Freezer Meal Recipe

This is yummy, especially if you like Thai food. I made it last night and Tom said it was better than the Thai restaurant!

Royal Thai Thighs
from Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik, adapted by Angela

Ingredients:
8 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 green onions, chopped
1 8-oz bottle hoisin sauce
½ c peanut butter (Honey roasted is good.)
½ c water
¼ c soy sauce
¼ c sesame oil
¼ c lemon juice
8 t minced garlic
8 t minced ginger (Fresh is best!)
2 t crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
Mix green onions, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and lemon juice in bowl. Divide chicken thighs into 4 gallon-size freezer bags. Divide sauce evenly between the 4 bags. Add 2 t each garlic and ginger to each bag. Finally, add ½ t red pepper flakes into each bag. Seal and freeze.

To cook, completely thaw in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put chicken with sauce into sprayed baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 45 min or until chicken comes to internal temperature of 180 degrees F. Serve over Basmati rice.

Apricot Curry Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe

Apricot Curry Chicken

Amie

Ingredients:

1 package onion soup mix

2 tsp curry

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1 small jar apricot preserves

1-2 lbs raw chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9 X 13 baking dish, mix together soup mix, curry, Italian salad dressing, and preserves. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and bake 35-45 min, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

***FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS***: In a large freezer-safe baggie, add soup mix, curry, Italian salad dressing, and preserves. Mix together well. Add chicken and seal the bag, making sure to get as much air as possible out (to prevent freezer burn).

***TO COOK FROM FROZEN***: Thaw. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add chicken and sauce to a 9 X 13 baking dish. Cover and bake 35-45 min, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe

Sweet & Sour Chicken

(recipe from Allrecipes.com)

Make enough to have leftovers – not much more work, plus better the next day! Serve with sweet & sour sauce over steamed rice. Serves 8. Reheat leftovers in 350˚F oven for 15-20 min.

Ingredients:

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground white pepper

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 egg

1 ¼ cups water

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1 (8 oz) can pineapple tidbits

2 bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, white pepper, cornstarch, and egg. Add 1 ¼ cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated.

2. Heat oil in skillet or wok to 350˚F. Fry chicken pieces in hot oil 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels.

3. When ready to serve, layer green peppers, pineapple tidbits (reserved from sauce recipe), and cooked chicken pieces on a platter (or do buffet style). Pour hot sweet and sour sauce over top.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

(recipe from Allrecipes.com)

This can be made in advance and keeps up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) can pineapple tidbits (or 1/3 cup pineapple juice)

1 ¾ cups water, divided

¾ cup white sugar

½ cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup cornstarch

2 drops orange food color (optional)

Directions:

1. Drain can of pineapple tidbits, reserving the juice (about 1/3 cup). Discard tidbits.

2. In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, vinegar, 1/3 cup pineapple juice, and orange food coloring. Heat to boiling. Turn off heat.

3. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.

***FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS***: (Chicken) After chicken is cooked and drained, allow to cool to room temperature. Place one layer of chicken on cookie sheet (do not cover!) and freeze about 1 hour (this is to prevent the pieces from sticking together). Chicken pieces can then be placed in a freezer-safe container. (Sauce) Place cooled sauce into a freezer-safe baggie. Lay flat in freezer.

***TO COOK FROM FROZEN***: (Chicken) Place chicken on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in a 350˚F oven for about 25 minutes, turning once. (Sauce) Thaw under warm running water. Heat in microwave until hot.

***ADDITIONAL ITEMS***: Give baggie of uncooked rice and 8 oz can pineapple tidbits. Must buy fresh peppers.