Freezer Food Friday (on a Monday)

Sausage, Kale and White Bean Stew

This dish became one of our favorites in late winter and throughout our very cool spring season this past year. It is crazy quick and easy to make and has a fantastic flavor. We have tried out several different kinds of sausage in it and haven't quite settled on one we like more than another. My only recommendation if you know that the sausage you are using is a little more on the greasy side, you may want to cook off the sausage in a separate pan and drain the grease so that your soup isn't an oil slick. This soup could easily be converted into a vegetarian dish by using a veg-head sausage.

I think we usually add a little bit more lemon juice than the recipe calls for once we are at the table and great a little parm cheese on top for fun. I like the side of cheese bread to dip in the broth as well - but plain 'crunchy bread' with butter would be yummy too.

 I can easily make this soup on an evening after work (something I have done several times in the past) as it is super quick, even with the chopping of the greens and opening the cans of beans :).

Cannellini Stew W/Sausage and Kale

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

• 4 (2-ounce) sausages of your liking, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (above in the picture I am using a chicken sausage)

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

• 2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained

• 4 cups bagged chopped kale

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese

• 6 (1-ounce) slices French bread baguette

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sausage; sauté 1 minute. Add water, broth, and beans; bring to a boil. Stir in kale, black pepper, red pepper, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

While soup simmers, sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese over each bread slice; broil 1 minute or until cheese melts. Serve toasts with soup.

If freezing, poor soup into a heat resistant bowl and place in the fridge until cool. Transfer to a zip lock baggie, squeeze out extra air and place in the freezer. To thaw, place in fridge (placing the zip lock bag in a bowl just in case there are punctures in the bag) and then reheat on the stove.

Freezer Food Friday: Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

The butternut squash is such a pretty color in this dish, what a wonderful pop of orange! Surprisingly, I followed the recipe on this one. It comes from an old Cooking Light and I can't believe I never gave it go before. Between the smell of roasting butternut squash and rosemary and then the bacon in the oven a little later; I had a grumbling and hungry tummy by the time these were heading into the freezer. I wound up using three tin foil 'cake' pans to hold all the past this made instead of the single dish that is instructed. And I have no doubt that each of those will be perfect for feeding Daddy-O, MrO and myself for dinner when the time comes.

As before, I wrapped the pans with plastic, pressing out as much air as possible then covered in tin foil (with written instructions on how to prep) before putting them into the freezer. I am going to guesstimate the cooking time here that will be needed when we go to re-heat. probably between 15-20 minutes w/ the foil on and another 5-10minutes with the foil removed. I did remember to spray the pans down this time prior to filling them... easy to forget when you aren't throwing them directly into the oven.

~~~

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

Ingredients:

¾ tea salt, divided

½ tea dried rosemary

¼ tea fresh ground black pepper

3 cups (1inch) cubed peeled butternut squash

Cooking spray

6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)

8 ounces uncooked mini penne

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

¾ cup shredded sharp provolone cheese

1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. (I actually gave the 'baking the bacon' method a try here and I think I am a convert. I lined the baking sheet with foil, placed my cooling racks on top and then lined the racks with the bacon. Set the oven at 400 and let cook for about 10 minutes. I flipped the bacon over at that point and cooked for another 5 minutes.) Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. (see my instructions above for how I froze and will reheat. I will update once I have given one of these a go in the re-heating process to get you all a more definite time for this part).

Presto-pesto

We heart pesto in this house. MrO will eat more pasta then you think is manageable for such a little dude when it is covered in the yummy green stuff and Daddy-O and I could probably have it at least once if not twice a week and be okay with it. Over the weekend we were visiting Daddy-O's sister and she had a ton of basil that needed trimming in her yard. We cut a bunch and brought it home with us.

After a good washing and plucking the leaves off the stems, I placed the pile (probably about 2 loose cups full) of the basil into my food processor along with 2-3 cloves of garlic and a pile of shredded Parmesan cheese. I gave it a good whirl while slowly pouring in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil and made the green paste that we love.

I placed the pesto into ice cube trays, covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. Once they are solid I will pop the cubes out and put them in a zip lock bag for later use. I don't use any nuts in my recipe (often pine nuts are used in pesto recipes) due to the fact that we have some nut allergies in the family and I just don't really like the flavor it gives. I also don't leave out the cheese even though I am freezing it. I have read that freezing with the cheese makes the pesto bitter, but this is the way my mom always made it and I have never noticed a bitter flavor before.

Enjoy over pasta, spread on a sandwich or drop a cube of pesto into your soup or risotto- yum!

Mushroom Madness Monday

A Triple M Monday for you- this week is a veg head friendly set of recipes or at least a bit more friendly to those who don't eat red or ground meat. Next week's installment of Triple M will be anything but vegetarian friendly, as I take you down the Meat Madness road with (meat)loaves and (meat)balls, stay tuned...).
This week though, this weeks Triple M is all about Mushrooms-
Mushroom Pasta Bake and Mushroom and Chicken casserole.

I must say that my house smelled amazing this Sunday morning as I made these two dishes that I am going to share with you today.
A-maze-ING.

I can hardly wait to dig into these. My freezer is getting pretty full and I think I maybe nearing the end of my cooking spree- but I like that I have been able to crank out quite a number of meals for us and I might have to make a habit of doing this in the future. So satisfying.

I think I might be confusing MrO though, since Saturday morning, as he ate his requisite 'two-berries' (blue berries) and butter and jelly toast he was watching me chop and saute and said, "Dinnnnnnner TIME". um, well.... sort of kid.

So are ya ready for the Mushroom madness?

 I will start you off with Mushroom and Chicken Casserole.The original recipe is from a Thanksgiving issue of Cooking Light and calls for turkey (as a means to use up all those t-day left overs). But since I only had chicken around I swapped it out, poultry for poultry, I figured. I used a canned turkey gravy that I happened to have stashed in the pantry (from who knows when) and I really like the Farmhouse brand rice (we use the Mexican and Spanish rice all the time) instead of Uncle Ben's. Pairing this with the recommended cranberry sauce when serving sounds just about perfect. Next time I might add in some artichoke hearts or something fun like that.

Mushroom and Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben's or Farmhouse)

• 1 ounce French bread or other firm white bread, cubed (I used pre-made bread crumbs, about 1/3-1/2 cup)

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted and divided

• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

• 1 cup turkey gravy (I used canned)

• 1/2 cup 2% low-fat milk

• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage (omitted this ingredient because I didn't have it handy)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Cooking spray

• 3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°. (if you are making this to freeze you can skip this step)

Prepare rice according to package directions, omitting fat and seasoning packet. Set aside.(I left the seasoning in...)

While rice cooks, place bread in a food processor; pulse 15 times or until fine crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Add 1 teaspoon butter to processor; pulse until combined. Add cheese to processor, and pulse until combined. (skipped this step since I was using pre-made crumbs)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of butter, onion, garlic, and mushrooms; sauté 7 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients (through pepper). Add cooked rice; stir.

Spoon rice mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.

If freezing cover in plastic wrap and press out as much air as possible. Cover thoroughly with foil and make sure to put prep instructions either directly on the foil or on a note along with contents of the baking dish for later reference. (Thaw completely in the fridge, remove plastic and replace foil. bake covered for 30  minutes and remove foil cook until bubbly, 10-15 more minutes)

If making for eating right away, bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce.

The second recipe I am going to share reminded me of making a basic mushroom risotto, but instead of using the risotto pasta I used regular noodles. This recipe could probably be added to, zucchini, artichoke hearts, or asparagus, for instance would all be a really good fit. You could probably add in chicken, I had some extra cooked bacon that needed to be used so I chopped that up and tossed it in- ruining the vegetarianism of the dish, but....

This will be really good with a green side salad and some crunch bread I think. Again, I must thank Cooking Light for the original recipe.

Mushroom Rigatoni Bake

8 ounces uncooked gigli or radiatore pasta

2 teaspoons butter

1/4 cup sliced shallots

8 ounces sliced shiitake mushroom caps

4 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese, divided

Cooking spray

Thyme sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well. Set cooked pasta aside.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic; sauté 8 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Place flour in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring mixture to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add 1/2 cup cheese, stirring until melted. Add pasta and mushroom mixture to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine.
Spoon pasta mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
If freezing for later, cover in plastic, cover in foil and mark accordingly.
To prepare frozen casserole, thaw completely in fridge. Remove plastic and replace foil. Bake for 30minutes covered and 15-20 minutes uncovered.
If baking off right away, place in a 375° for 30 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Freezer Food Friday: Breakfast Casserole

The original recipe for this came from cooking light. I modified a bit according to what I had in the fridge- I think you could totally add veggies and leave out the meat or add bacon if you didn't have sausages around etc. I also didn't have enough white bread to make the four cups so I cut up some wheat bread heals I had been saving for bread crumbs and added them to the mix. I think it will work just fine (I hope!).

~~~~

Breakfast Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups 2% reduced fat milk

1 cup (4oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped basil (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup green onions, I think you could sub in or add mushrooms shredded zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts...)

1/2 teas. dry mustard

1/4 teas. salt

1/4 teas. fresh ground pepper

8 large egg whites

4 large eggs

2-3 large sausage links (I used Italian Pork - we grilled it off since we were already grilling dinner and then I sliced it small)

4 cups (1/2 in cubed) white bread (~ 4.5 oz) This is where I used about 2 cups whole wheat bread heels and about 2cups crunch french bread.

Cooking spray

PREP:

(If you are going to just make these and not freeze preheat your oven now to 350)

Combine the milk, 1/2 cup cheese, basil/green onion and what ever veg you want to add, and next 5 ingredients (through eggs). stirring with a whisk

Divide sausage and bread evenly between 2 (8x4 inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray (ACK! I think I forgot this step... ut-oh). Poor egg mixture evenly between pans. Top each with 1/4cup cheese.

(if baking off now) Cover each pan with foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

To freeze unbaked casserole: Prepare thru step 3. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in Freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked casserole: Thaw completely in fridge for about 24 hours, Preheat oven to 350 . Remove foil; reserve. Remove plastic wrap; discard. Cover casserole with reserved foil; bake at 350 for 40min. Uncover and bake an additional 50 minutes or until bubbly.

* I like to write on the foil what the contents of the pan are and how to prepare - you could also add this on a little note. This is especially important if you are gifting these meals to someone else. They are going to need to know what to do with it and how to properly prepare the food you have so graciously made for them.