OAMC Recipes and Tips

TIPS:

When you freeze entrees in zippered bags, you can save a lot of freezer space. You lay them flat to freeze on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. When they are frozen, you line them up in your freezer like books on a bookshelf. That is what I did before getting my separate chest freezer. And I could fit 30 meals in my freezer for our family of four at the time. You can do this!

Quart-size and sandwich-size bags fit in most small office crates. If you have a whole bunch of cooked beans or rice, ground beef and onion pre-cooked, chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, and smashed bananas, you can file them away in crates that pull out of the freezer easily so you can see what’s under them or behind them.

Cheesy Broccoli n’ Bacon Soup

1 c. chopped onion
Oil for sautéing onion
20-28 oz. pkg. frozen broccoli
2 10 ¾ oz. cans cream of celery soup
10 ¾ oz. can cream of mushroom soup (or use cream of chicken if you prefer)
8 oz. American Cheese (like Velveeta) cubed
2 soup cans of milk
¼ lb. bacon, cut in ¾ inch to 1 inch pieces and cooked

1. Sauté onion in oil in skillet until soft.
2. Combine all ingredients except bacon in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 3-4 hours.
4. Add bacon and serve or freeze.

To freeze: Cool. Place in quart or gallon-size freezer bags and lay flat to freeze. Don’t forget to label contents and date.

To serve: Heat until bubbly. Serve with French bread or in bread bowls. So yummy!

I’ve also done this on the stove when both crockpots are in use. When doing the stovetop method, I sauté the onion in a little oil or bacon grease in the bottom of the pot I’ll be cooking in. I have the broccoli out on the counter so it can start to warm up while I’m doing this. Then I add all the ingredients to the pot and stir it occasionally to keep the cheese from burning. It takes about an hour this way. But you can stir it while you’re making . . .

Super Easy Chicken Fajitas

2 cups of cooked chopped chicken (white meat or dark meat—your choice)
16 oz. of your favorite salsa
6-8 oz. mozzarella cheese grated
10 flour tortillas

Combine chicken and salsa. Dump in a one gallon freezer bag. Lay flat to freeze. Freeze cheese in separate bag.

To serve: Thaw cheese in fridge. Thaw tortillas on counter. Thaw bag of chicken fajita mix in fridge night before planning to serve or in a sink of running warm water day of (with the bag still sealed).

Place ¼ c. of fajita mix in center of tortilla. Sprinkle grated cheese on it. Microwave for 45 seconds. Roll up and serve.