Soup Swap

I forgot to take pictures and I’m disappointed.  People brought yummy soups that I am so excited to pull out of the freezer, and we had a lot of fun visiting. I’m going to tell you what we did and what I’d do differently, if you want to plan your own swap. (and you totally should)

The directions were pretty simple: each participant needed to make 6 quarts (24 cups) of soup, and prepackaged them in 4 containers that held 6 cups of soup each (people can bring more if they want, everyone will go home with the same amount they brought). Some people brought the Ziploc type tupperwares, and a lot of people used freezer zip loc bags. Either is great. Have them label the containers clearly before coming, and bring enough copies of the recipe for each person who will be there.

After everyone gets there and you’ve all had a chance to eat some snacks and visit, we each went around and told about the soup we brought, then drew numbers to see who got to pick their soups first. We repeated the rotation until everyone took home as much soup as they brought.

What I’d do differently: Some girls suggested a great idea – have everyone bring enough soup for the swap, then extra in a container for everyone to taste before swapping. Genius. Use the mini Dixie cups for tasting. We’ll so do this next time. Also, we had some friends who wanted to come but couldn’t because of sickness, recovery from surgery – whatever. I think next time it would be great to have people bring an extra container of soup, if they can, so we can deliver it to the friends who were sick or recovering or just had a baby or fill in the blank, and couldn’t make it. Call it “Soup Swap and Service” or something. Oh – we had 10 people this week, but last time I think we had 15 or 16. I think 10-20 people works great, but you can do it with only 5!

I’ll be posting the recipes from this soup swap here. There was nothing that sounded just “fair” – everyone made recipes that I can’t wait to dig into, and there were some soups I didn’t get to take home that I was dying to try (I was #9 of 10 for picking!) that I’ll be making pronto.

Tomato-Basil Soup

My friend, Heidi, brought this soup to our soup swap this week and we LOVED it.  Nathan is a huge fan of tomato soup, but I can’t stand the stuff in the can.  This has a hint of orange that makes it more full flavored.  From the cookbook Fix, Freeze, Feast.  As written, this recipe makes 3 entrees, each which serve 4 people.

1/2 cup butter
3 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
1 t minced garlic (3 cloves)
3 lbs Roma tomatoes, chopped
8 c chicken broth
1 T lime juice
pinch sugar
3/4 c chopped fresh basil leaves
zest of one orange

Melt butter in stockpot over low heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 15 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, broth, lime juice and sugar; bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Stir in basil and orange zest.

Let soup cool slightly; transfer to a food processor and puree.  If you’re freezing for later, divide cooled soup into bags, seal and freeze.

 

Layered Fiesta Casserole

Sometimes I jump on here to look up a recipe I need, and am shocked not to find it, since it’s an oft made favorite.  We’re having this for dinner tonight and I was surprised I hadn’t posted it yet.  The original is from Kraft food & Family Fall 2005.  I love it because it’s fast, easy, versatile (leave out some peppers, throw in some black beans, add some Mexican rice) and freezes fabulously (and makes a great dinner to take to a friend!).  Tonight I’m making three of these, and sticking 2 in the freezer for later.

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed
12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, divided

Preheat oven to 375.  Brown meat with peppers, stirring frequently; drain.  Stir in salsa, tomatoes and corn.  Bring to boil.

Spoon 1 cup meat mixture in bottom of 9X13″ baking dish,  Top with 6 tortillas, overlappin gas necessary.  Spoon half of remaining meat mixture over tortillas, top with 3/4 cup of cheese.  Top with remaining 6 tortillas and meat mixture.  Cover with foil.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until heated through.  Remove from oven, uncover.  Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.  Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

**NOTES FOR FREEZING:

1) This works well in a 9″ round cake pan, which we usually have more of than 9X13s, and makes freezing easier.

2) layer your dish with foil, then saran wrap BEFORE you start to layer the food, and make sure there are “tails” of saran and foil coming over both edges.  Layer everything, cover with the saran and foil, and freeze BEFORE baking.

3) When the casserole is frozen through, take it out of the pan and then use your food saver (or zip loc) and label before freezing.

4) The extra 3/4 cup of cheese that you put on at the end of the recipe?  Stick the shredded cheese in a snack size zip lock bag and place it on top of the frozen casserole before you food saver (or zip loc) the food closed.

5) On baking day: peel off the saran and foil and place the frozen casserole in the pan you’ll be cooking it in to defrost, you won’t be able to get it off later without making a huge mess, and follow cooking directions above.

Shredded Salsa Beef

1.5-2 lb roast
1 onion, chopped
4 oz can chopped green chiles
1 cup chunky salsa
2 T brown sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1/2 – 1 cup water

Throw everything in the crockpot and cook all day.  Use 2 forks to shred the meat before serving.

Can be used for burritos, tacos, chalupas, quesadillas, salads, etc.

Perfect for freezing.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

We serve this on top of rice, with some frozen veggie on the side.  Can’t get easier than that.   Again,k this is a bit more time consuming when making it, but worth it in the end.

From Fix, Freeze, Feast – Makes 6 entrees, about 20 meatballs each

MEATBALLS
1 tray (about 6 pounds) lean ground beef
2 cups dry bread crumbs
2/3 cup milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced onion
2 T minced garlic (about 18 cloves)
1 T salt
2 t black papper

SAUCE
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 (106 ounce) can pineapple tidbits (NOT crushed), drained, juice reserved
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 cups red wine vinegar

Preheat your oven to 500.  Combine all of the meatball ingredients well and shape into 1″ meatballs, placing finished pieces close together on lightly greased baking sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes or until done.  Cool meatballs.

While meatballs are baking, mix the brown sugar and cornstarch in large pot.  Add pineapple juice, soy sauce and vinegar; stir.  cook over medium heat, stiriring occassionaly, until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Cool sauce.

Divide cooled meatballs and sauce evenly between freezer bags.  Divide pineapple tidbits evenly among bags.  Seal and freeze.

TO COOK ONE ENTREE:

Completely thaw in fridge.  Heat through – you can do it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes, in the slow cooker on low for 2-5 hours, or on the stove top until done.

*I added some onion and carrot to ours.  Green bell pepper would be good, too.

Mariachi Chicken Rolls

This is another one of our very favorites from the freezer.  It’s more time consuming when you make it, but it’s one of the first ones I grab when I go to the freezer to pick a dinner.  I have to remember to buy fresh chicken breasts to make this – you don’t want to defrost the Costco pre-frozen chicken breasts, assemble the dinner, and refreeze without cooking.  I had always read the cream cheese isn’t a good thing to use in a freezer dinner, but this thaws and works just great.

From Fix, Freeze, Feast – Makes about 3 entrees, about 4 servings each

1 tray (about 6 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken half-breasts
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can chopped black olives (about 1/2 cup)
3 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese, cubed and softened
3 cups prepared salsa

Combine pepper, scallions, and black olives in a small bowl and set aside.  Blend cream cheese and salsa in a large bowl with electric mixer. Set aside.

Rinse and trim chicken.  Slightly flatten each breast to make each one the same flatness.  Place 2 T of pepper mixture near the wide end of the breast, roll the chicken around the filling.  Repeat with remaning chicken pieces. 

To freeze: I wrap each chicken roll tightly in saran wrap.  It holds its shape while cooking this way.  I then divide the cream cheese mixture evenly into zip loc bags.  Then I combine one bag of sauce with the rolled up breasts and food saver each entree together.  Voila.

TO COOK ONE ENTREE:

Thaw completely in the fridge.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place chicken in an 8″ square dish and cover with sauce.  Bake, covered, for 1 hour or until chicken is 170 degrees.

Basic Red Sauce

From Fix, Freeze, Feast.  You could buy your own basic marinara, or use this.  It’s cheap, fast and easy to throw together and we have really liked the flavor.

SMALL BATCH
makes about 10 cups

1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
2 c hot water
2 T dried parsley
2 T minced onion
1 T minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
1 T sugar
2 t salt
1/2 t dried basil (I use more)
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried thyme
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

LARGE BATCH
makes about 40 cups, or 10 quarts, or 2 1/2 gallons
4 (12 ounce) cans tomato paste
8 cups hot water
1/2 cup dried parsley
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup sugar
2 T salt
2 T dried basil
2 T dried oregano
2 t dried thyme
4 (28 ounce) cans tomato sauce
4 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

Mix tomato paste and hot water in a large stockpot until smooth.  Stir in everything else and stir well.  DO NOT cook.  Use in your recipe, or divide into 1 gallon freezer bags for later use.

Manicotti

This is our favorite frozen dinner lately.  We serve it with some kind of yummy crusty bread or french bread and spinach salad on the side – yum. 

From Fix, Freeze, Feast  Makes 4 entrees, 4 servings each

1 container (48 ounces) cottage cheese (6 cups)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, about 12 ounces
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (8 ounces each) boxes manicotti (12-14 shells per box), uncooked
12 cups Basic Red Sauce, or your own Marinara sauce

1. Mix cottage cheese, eggs, mozzarella, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Stuff filling into manicotti shells.  Easiest way to do that: fill a pastry bag or zip loc with filling and pipe the filling into the shell that way – so much faster and less messy.

2. Spread 1/2 cup of red sauce in the bottom of each baking dish.  Place six or seven manicotti in each dish.  Divide remaining red sauce evenly over the four dishes of manicotti.  Wrap each dish entirely in plastic wrap.

3. Top with foil, label and freeze.

TO COOK ONE ENTREE:

Thaw one entree in the fridge or bake it straight from the freezer.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Remove plastic wrap and foil from baking dish and replace foil.  Bake 45 minutes if thawed, 1 hour if frozen.  Remove foil and continue baking (if necessary) until the noodles are tender.

Mexi-Stuffed Peppers

I’m starting to do large batch cooking – cook it at dinner the night we want to eat it, and throw the other 3 or 4 meals worth in the freezer for another week.  We really like this.  The original recipe is intended to make 24 servings – 4 meals with 6 servings each.  I’m going to post what I’d do for a single recipe, and then how I changed theirs to make my large batch version.  We ended up with 5 freezer bags – 4 with 4 cups of filling and 1 with 6 cups of filling.

Small Batch Recipe

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1 T minced garlic
1 cup fozen corn
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 – 15 oz can tomato sauce (2 cups)
1/4 cup taco seasoning
6 bell peppers
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Large Batch Recipe:

4 lbs ground beef
2 cups diced onion
1/4 minced garlic
4 cups frozen corn
6 cups cooked rice
4 – 15 oz cans tomato sauce (8 cups)
1 cup taco seasoning
On cooking day, you’ll also need for each entree:
6 bell peppers
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Brown beef, onion and garlic in large stockpot over medium heat until beef is fully cooked.  Drain.  Stir in corn, rice, tomato sauce and taco seasoning.   Divide between freezer bags.

On cooking day:

Thaw one bag (or use straight from the pan).  Preheat oven to 350. Prepare peppers for stuffing: wash, cut off tops and seed.  Fill each with meat mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Place on greased rimmed baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, or until filling is hot.

I figured that 8 oz of filling (probably too much to put into one pepper) is 9.5 WW points.

Adapted from Fix, Freeze, Feast

Tortilla Pie

From Light & Tasty Magazine, April/May 2002

Tortilla Pie

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian or Mexican diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley, divided
• 4 flour tortillas (8 inches)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a nonstick skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil; remove from the heat. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons cilantro.
Place on tortilla in a 9-in. round cake pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Layer with half of the meat sauce, one tortilla, all of the ricotta mixture, another tortilla and the remaining meat sauce. Top with remaining tortilla; sprinkle with cheddar cheese and remaining cilantro. Cover and bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.

241 calories, 8 grams fat, 1.8 fiber, 15 g carb, 14 g protein
Fast and easy and pretty good.   Serve with salsa corn (frozen or canned corn tossed with some salsa and microed – how easy is that?)

This is a really easy dinner to freeze ahead and defrost later.