The Everything Freezer Meals Cookbook (25 page)

Freezing Day

In large skillet, fully brown the ground beef and drain. Add remaining ingredients, except juice, to ground beef. Add enough apple juice to moisten and hold mixture together. Cook over medium-low heat until all fruit is soft, about 30 minutes. Cool. Freeze mincemeat in freezer bags in 2-cup portions.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost mincemeat in the refrigerator overnight and use as desired. A 2-cup portion is the right amount for making a pie.

PER QUART

Calories: 3,005 | Fat: 100g | Protein: 84g | Sodium: 1253mg | Carbohydrates: 480g | Fiber: 24g

The Spice Mace

Mace, made from the hull of the seed used to make nutmeg, is a spice that many are unfamiliar with. Mace has an aroma reminiscent of a combination of cinnamon and pepper. Milder in flavor than nutmeg, it can be used as a nutmeg substitute. Mace is used in both sweet and savory recipes.

Because meringue tends to get tough when it is frozen, this pie is baked in two steps. The first step, the chocolate base of the pie, is completed on Freezing Day. On the day you plan to serve the pie, you will complete the second step, the meringue topping.

Freezing Day

In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and cocoa. Add egg yolks, then slowly stir in milk. Place over medium heat, and add butter. Continue to heat and stir 3–5 minutes until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Allow to cool. Pour into pie crust and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost pie in the refrigerator overnight, or at room temperature for 1–2 hours. In mixing bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat until stiff. Spread meringue on pie and bake at 350°F about 10 minutes until browned.

Perp ie

Calories: 2413 | Fat: 126g | Protein: 47g | Sodium: 1688mg | Carbohydrates: 291g | Fiber: 8.5g

Add variety to your chocolate chip cookies by throwing some chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts in the batter at the same time you put in the chocolate chips. You can also vary this recipe by using white chocolate chips, or half peanut butter chips and half chocolate chips.

Freezing Day

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar until it becomes light and airy. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture, and beat well. Add flour to butter mixture and beat only until blended. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by the heaping teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 8–10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack, wrap well in plastic wrap, or put in plastic container, and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost cookies at room temperature for 1–2 hours and serve at room temperature.

PER SERVING

Calories: 151 | Fat: 8g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 112mg | Carbohydrates: 19g | Fiber: 0g

Chocolate Chip Substitutions

There is a wonderful assortment of other chips available to today's baker that can be substituted for traditional chocolate chips. Besides several varieties of chocolate chips, like white, semi-sweet, special dark, and milk chocolate, other flavors include butterscotch, peanut butter, carob, and even cherry.

Vary this recipe by using pecans or almonds instead of macadamia nuts. You can also stir in ½ cup of peanut butter chips or top the squares with toasted coconut.

Freezing Day

In a saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over medium-low heat. Stir in sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each egg. Add flour, salt, vanilla, and nuts. Mix well. Grease and flour a 10" x 15″ jellyroll pan and pour in batter. Bake at 400°F for 10–15 minutes. Cool completely and cut into squares. Wrap chocolate squares well with plastic wrap and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost at room temperature 1–2 hours and serve at room temperature.

PER SERVING

Calories: 274 | Fat: 16g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 195mg | Carbohydrates: 31g | Fiber: 1g

Marble It!

Before you put the squares in the oven, try marbling them. In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to beat 8 ounces cream cheese with 1/3 cup sugar. Put small spoonfuls of the cream cheese over the top of the chocolate squares batter. Use a knife to pull the cream cheese through the batter, making a marbled effect. Bake as directed.

To make Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies, form the dough into a ball but don't flatten. Bake at 350°F for 9–10 minutes. When cookies come out of the oven, press a chocolate kiss into the middle. Let cool.

Freezing Day

Cream together shortening, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture. Mix dough (it will be very thick). Form into small balls and put on baking sheet. Press the balls down with a fork. Bake at 350°F for 9–10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned. Cool and freeze in a plastic container.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost cookies at room temperature for 1–2 hours and serve at room temperature.

PER SERVING

Calories: 200 | Fat: 11g | Protein: 4g | Sodium: 125mg | Carbohydrates: 22g | Fiber: 1g

Peanut Butter Basics

Peanut butter is nearly 100 percent peanuts; there are very few additional ingredients or additives. The biggest difference between most commercial peanut butters and natural peanut butters is that natural peanut butter does not have hydrogenated oils added to keep the peanut oil from separating from the peanut paste. Natural peanut butter usually needs some mixing prior to use.

Homemade fruit cakes taste far better than store-bought fruit cakes. They are a traditional holiday treat, and make great gifts for your family and friends.

Freezing Day

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 300°F for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool. Wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost fruit cake 2–3 hours at room temperature and serve.

Perc ake

Calories: 3402 | Fat: 144g | Protein: 42g | Sodium: 1457mg | Carbohydrates: 504g | Fiber: 21g

This makes a cool summertime treat that kids love and is also a delicious addition to a breakfast or brunch.

Freezing Day

Combine pineapples, bananas, blueberries, sour cream, sugar, and nuts in a large mixing bowl. Fold in Cool Whip. Fill muffin tins with mixture and freeze. Once frozen, remove from muffin tins and put in a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Remove from freezer and allow to soften for 15–30 minutes before serving.

PER SERVING

Calories: 349 | Fat: 17g | Protein: 5g | Sodium: 109mg | Carbohydrates: 51g | Fiber: 4g

This is a great recipe to let the kids make since it's a fun hands-on cooking project that is simple to make and yummy to eat.

Freezing Day

Mix together peanut butter, Cool Whip, and chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl. Put in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and roll into balls. Put coconut on a plate. Roll the balls in coconut. Flash freeze on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Transfer to freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

No need to defrost — eat straight from the freezer.

PER SERVING

Calories: 76 | Fat: 6.5g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 30mg | Carbohydrates: 4g | Fiber: 1g

Delicious Toppings

For recipes that call for shredded coconut as a topping, consider using one or more of these alternatives: crushed graham crackers, crispy rice cereal, cocoa rice cereal, crushed nuts (such as peanut, cashew, pecan, pistachio, or macadamia nuts), crushed candy bars, crushed Oreo cookies, or crushed chocolate chip cookies.

Make muffins out of this recipe by baking in paper-lined muffin or cupcake tins at 350°F for 35 minutes. You can thaw them as you need them if you freeze the muffins individually.

Freezing Day

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In separate bowl, cream shortening with sugar. Beat in the egg. Alternate adding sifted ingredients and applesauce to butter and sugar mixture. Stir in raisins. Pour into greased square pan and bake at 350°F for 45–50 minutes. Cool, wrap with plastic wrap, and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost cake at room temperature for 2–3 hours. Top with a cream cheese icing.

PER SERVING

Calories: 524 | Fat: 18g | Protein: 5.5g | Sodium: 416mg | Carbohydrates: 87g | Fiber: 2.5g

Serve on a small plate topped with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa powder or drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Freezing Day

In saucepan, melt butter. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix. Press into the bottom of an 8″ × 8″ pan. Add peanut butter chips and chocolate chips on top of the crust. Pour condensed milk over top. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Let cool, cut into squares, wrap well with plastic wrap, and freeze.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost at room temperature for 1–2 hours and serve.

PER SERVING

Calories: 815 | Fat: 47g | Protein: 14g | Sodium: 461mg | Carbohydrates: 122g | Fiber: 2g

These cookies are perfect for the holidays. Make them ahead of time so you'll have one less thing on your to-do list when the holidays roll around.

Freezing Day

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add flour and vanilla. Mix well, then stir in pecans. Form dough into small balls, then press down to make a cookie. Bake at 325°F for 25 minutes. Once out of oven, dip the top of the cookie in the powdered sugar. Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag.

Reheating Instructions

Defrost at room temperature for 1–2 hours and serve.

PER SERVING

Calories: 89 | Fat: 7g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 39mg | Carbohydrates: 6g | Fiber: 0.5g