Asian Salad Large Family Recipe (12 servings)

8 oz. Brown rice noodles

1 lb Frozen baby white corn, thawed

8 oz. carrots, shredded
1/3 cup red onions, sliced

1/3 cup Fresh cilantro, chopped
3/4 cup Fresh cucumbers, peeled, chopped

1 Tbsp Fresh mint

2 Tbsp red cabbage, fresh, shredded

1 1/2 lbs. Frozen chicken breast, boneless, skinless, diced, thawed, cooked

¼ cup Soy sauce, low-sodium

1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp Fresh ginger, sliced

3 Tbsp Sweet chili sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sugar


Cook noodles about 5 minutes or until al dente. Stir occasionally. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Drain well. Pour noodles into a steam table pan (12′′ x 20′′ x 2½′′). Set aside

Combine corn, carrots, onions, cilantro, cucumber, mint, red cabbage, and chicken in a large bowl. Toss well. Set aside

Dressing: Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, lime juice, ginger, chili sauce, garlic, and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well. Set aside

Pour chicken and vegetable mixture over each pan. Toss well. Pour 1 cup (about 10½ oz) dressing over each pan. Stir well. Serve room temperature or cool in refrigerator before serving.

Makes 12 3⁄4 cup servings.

Pizza Bites and Meatball Bites

 

Pizza Bites

recipe and photo from Food, Folks and Fun via HodgePodge

1 tube of pizza dough (found in your grocer’s refrigerator section)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (about 20-24 pieces)
Sliced pepperoni
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese
Pizza sauce for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Divide the pizza dough into 20-24 roughly equal sized pieces. Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni. Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.  Serves 4.

Here they are, made into a caterpillar.

Meatball Bites

You can also make Meatball Bites. You can make these from the pizza dough, but I usually use biscuits in a tube instead.

1 can  biscuits

10 frozen fully cooked Italian-style meatballs - thawed and cut in half 

5 sticks string cheese - cut each into 4 pieces each 

grated Parmesan cheese 

Italian Spice Mix or dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder, cracked black pepper and salt

marinara sauce, for dipping

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut each meatball in half. Add one meatball "half" and one string cheese "piece" to each biscuit. Wrap the dough around it and seat the edges. Place the seam side down on a baking pan. I find that it works best to but the meatball first with the cut side UP, then the cheese. This will put the rounded part of the meatball on the top when it's all said and done. Season the "buns" with pepper, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F until golden brown. These are great dipped into a bowl of warm marinara sauce.

source: Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom

Mexi-Turkey Buger

Turkey burgers

Monterey Jack cheese slices

Hamburger buns

Fresh salsa or Pico de Gio

Chipotle mayonnaise

Cook burgers until done and topwith cheese and heat until melted. Spread Chipotle mayonnaise on buns. Place burgers with cheese on buns. Top with a generous amount of Fresh Salsa.

Options: Can use grilled chicken breasts or regular burgers instead of the turkey burgers.

Freezer Friendly Sandwiches: Freezer Meal Large Family Style

For each loaf of bread, you will get 6-7 sandwiches. You may increase this recipe as many times as you have freezer space.

For Cheese Sandwiches

Use two slices of bread and two slices of cheese. You can also add a slice of lunch meat to them like ham or turkey.

Mark “Cheese" or whatever is on it on individual Ziploc sandwich baggies. Put each sandwich in a zip-lock sandwich baggie and push out all the air, then place those in a large freezer bag.

For Cheese Sandwiches, Just Thaw and Eat: On the morning of the day you are ready to eat them, just pull one large baggie full of them out of the freezer and let it thaw.

For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Grill: Spread a thin layer of butter or margarine on the outsides of the frozen or defrosted sandwich. Then grill in a panini press about 4 to 5 minutes or on a grill for about 3 minutes per side, or until the outsides are golden brown.

For Toasted Cheese Sandwiches, Bake: Preheat the oven to 400F, and bake on a baking sheet for 5 to 8 minutes, flip and bake another 5 to 8 minutes. If you want them to have a toastier look, you can then turn the oven to broil, keep the tray on the middle rack, and broil for 1 minute. 

For Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

For each loaf of bread, you will need
1/2 jar peanut butter and 1/3 jar jelly. 

Lay out all slices of bread. Label sandwich bags.
Spread peanut butter on each side of bread. Spread jelly on one side. Place both slices of bread together.
Bag sandwiches into sandwich bags. Then place into another large freezer or bread bag and freeze.

On the morning of the day you’re going to eat them, just pull one large baggie full of them out of the freezer and let it thaw.

Shrimp and Bacon Corn Chowder

Recipe altered from my recipes 

Time:30-45 minutes

Serves:6

Ingredients:

6 bacon slices

1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

3/4 cup celery, chopped 

1 1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 cloves garlic or 1 1/2 teaspoons, minced

5-6 cups corn fresh or frozen, thawed

3 cups chicken broth

1/2-1 pound shrimp, peeled.

2/3 cup coconut milk

Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large pot cook the bacon until crispy, take out three slices to set aside for later. Add in the onion, celery, thyme and garlic. Cook until softened.  Add in corn and cook for 5 minutes. Add in broth and bring to a boil, cook for an additional 5 minutes. Take out 2 cups of the mixture and blend in a blender until smooth. Add blended mixture back into soup and add in shrimp. Simmer until shrimp is cooked, add in coconut milk and pepper and salt to taste. Chop up saved bacon and serve with chopped bacon as topping and sourdough bread as an optional side.

Freezer Friendly Pizza 🍕

And I am not kidding. This recipe comes from Lauren's Latest, and you should really go to her blog first as she has a step-by-step photo tutorial. 

This same dough can be made into pizzas tonight for dinner or frozen into frozen dough balls, frozen pizza crusts or frozen pizzas.

Makes 2-12 inch pizzas or approximately 2 1/2 lb. dough balls
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 1/2-3 1/2 cups bread flour {depending on the heat and humidity}

In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean.

For Frozen Dough: This is the point when you could freeze your dough. Divide into portions, place into freezer bags, seal removing all air and freeze. To use, remove from freezer and let sit out to get to room temperature and double in size; 6-8 hours. Then use as you'd like.

If You'd Like to Make Homemade Frozen Pizzas: Lightly grease the bowl and the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Roll the dough out onto a pizza pan
Cook your dough without the toppings for 7-8 minutes. Once your pizza crusts have been pre-cooked, you can add your sauce and toppings. Wrap each pizza thoroughly.
To Cook Your Frozen Pizza
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappings. Place pizza on a pizza pan. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.

If You'd Like to Have Pizza for Dinner Tonight: Lightly grease the bowl and the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Roll the dough out onto a pizza pan. Youd have to precook the dough. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappings. Place pizza on a pizza pan. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.

To Make Frozen Crusts: Turn dough into a warm, oiled bowl and cover. Let sit until doubled in size (around 45 minutes).
Divide dough and form six balls.  Cover and let sit for 10 minutes or so.  Then form into 10-12″ pizza crusts.
Bake at 500F for 2-4 minutes, or until they are just able to firmly hold their shape.
To serve The Frozen Crusts: Preheat oven to 425. Take crust directly from freezer and add toppings. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cheese is melted.