Veggie Beer Cheese Soup

This soup is SO GOOD that after downloading this sad photo, I handed the digital camera to Goose and am letting her go to town taking random pictures so I can type the post - I don't want to forget what I put in it! Original recipe can be found here at Allrecipes.com.

Veggie Beer Cheese Soup

2 cups frozen carrots
1-16 oz pkg frozen broccoli & cauliflower
about 2 medium onions
about 1/4 cup butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
12 oz beer
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups of milk (or half & half)
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon Seasoned salt
Bacon for garnish

Thaw carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in colander under warm running water. Chop in a food processor in two batches until the pieces are as small as you'd like - mine were pretty teeny. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large-ish soup pot, I think mine is six quarts, over medium heat and add vegetables. Chop onion in food processor and add to veggie mixture. Add more butter if needed.

Cook several minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are getting reasonably soft. Add garlic towards the end of the cooking time. Add broth and beer, simmer ten minutes or so.

Meanwhile, melt 1/3 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in flour [I use a spoon instead of a whisk, but my soup wasn't as smooth as it could have been...] and cook and stir until mixture is light brown, 3-4 minutes. Add milk a bit at a time, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened. [I'm admittedly not patient when it comes to this.] Add cheese a handful or two at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Add cheese mixture to vegetable mixture. Stir in spices and sauces. Simmer about ten minutes, then adjust seasoning as necessary. Garnish bowls of soup with bacon.

This yielded about 12 cups, I'd guess. I froze two quart bags and there were another three "grownup" servings plus one for the Goose. Just the thing on a chilly night!

I'm linking up to Made By You Monday - go check out what everybody else is making at Skip to My Lou!

Chili With Things You Never Thought To Include

Fall is officially here in Nebraska, and that means chili! I love to make a big batch and freeze the extra. You can simmer it on the stove or in the crock pot . . . I haven't yet tried it on the grill but I bet it would work in the proper container!

One of the things I love so much about this recipe is how forgiving it is. The batch you see pictured was prepared mostly one day, but I stopped before adding the carrots and just after adding the spices. The next day, I put it in the crock pot on high so the carrots could cook through and it was just fine. "Carrots?!?" you say? Yup. Read on. There are a TON of notes on this, sometimes I just can't help myself . . .

Chili - adapted from a fun cookbook called Quickies for Couples

* 1 lb hamburger, browned (I brown several pounds at a time and freeze it)
* 1 large yellow onion, diced (I use my chop wizard or the food processor with an onion from our garden)
* 3 garlic cloves, minced (I use bottled, you can get away with 1 Tbs garlic powder if it's all you have) * 1 - 15 oz can chili beans (I've not yet tried to recreate the spice mixture in these)
* 1 - 15 oz can great northern beans (I sub homemade cooked black beans from dried - I make a big batch and freeze extras)
* 1 - 46 oz jug of Spicy V-8 (this was the first year I tried using home-canned spicy tomato juice and it was awesome!)
* 4 large carrots (I used ones from our garden)
* 2 c corn (I am blessed that my parents freeze a bunch for us using a process similar to Amy's Sweet Corn Harvest post, though they microwave the corn to cook it)
* 2 green peppers, diced (I used four or so green pepper pucks and just tossed them in frozen)
* 1 Tbs chili powder
* 1 Tbs cumin (adds GREAT flavor - if you've never used it, you really should try it!)
* 1 Tbs oregano (did you know this really is used in Mexican cooking as much as Italian?)
* 1 tsp thyme
* 2 tsp salt
* 2 Tbs sugar (very important - it helps balance the acidity from the tomatoes)
* salt and pepper to taste - you'll need more salt if you use homemade beans from dried

I know that ingredient list seems long, but it's worth it!

Brown the hamburger over medium heat (or thaw/warm it, if frozen) along with the onion. Add garlic, and cook a few minutes, then reduce heat to low. We like the taste of beans but not so much the texture in chili, so I either run them through the food processor or mash them with a potato masher. Add them and the V-8 or tomato juice to the hamburger mixture, cover and simmer.

Peel carrots if necessary (if you're using garden carrots, you can sometimes just give them a good wash) and shred on a box grater - or I just chop them up a bit and put them in the food processor with the same steel blade I used to chop up the onions and puree the beans. Add to the pot along with the corn and green pepper. Stir in the spices. Simmer, covered, over low heat for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Personally, I think the long simmer is to meld the spices, which can also be done while the chili is cooled and refrigerated or frozen - so feel free to skip that step if you'd like . . . it just won't taste quite as good as it will the next day. (I know Katie has a post that touches on this but I just can't find it right now!) Since I've tinkered with the recipe so much, it yields more than the six servings noted in the book; I'd guess closer to 8, maybe 10 servings, depending on size. We love a big sprinkle of cheese on top!

For a ton more bean and legume recipes, visit Katie at Kitchen Stewardship's carnival of super foods this week. Yum!

Porcupine Meatballs

One of my favorite meals at my grandma's house when I was little was porcupine meatballs. Of course, it may have been influenced by the macaroni and cheese and homemade bread she served with it - and I'm sure there was some sort of vegetable, but it has certainly faded to the background. If my memory serves correctly, once I grew up I asked for the recipe and she just used tomato sauce. That doesn't quite fit with my grown-up palate (or the memory, but I digress), so I set out to create my own.

I've actually combined two recipes, one that I found somewhere for the meatballs themselves, and another for the sauce. Perhaps I'd better back up - in case you aren't familiar with porcupine meatballs, they contain rice, which kind of sticks out like little quills.

This time, I used four pounds of hamburger, and I tried making the meatballs larger than usual . . . the scoop I used was probably about 1/3 cup, though I probably only had about 1/4 cup of mixture in there. I then put the meatballs on cookie sheets and baked them instead of browning them in a skillet. Since I had 44 total meatballs, I divided them 11 to a batch and froze three batches and cooked the other one.

Being me, I was out of white rice so I used brown . . . and during the simmering part, I cooked it and cooked it and cooked it. Still wasn't done. So the next day, I put the meatballs and sauce in the crock pot and THEN the rice finally got done. But the meatballs pretty much fell apart! Can't win for losing, and it tasted great. I've added white rice to the shopping list, though.

So. Recipes!
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Porcupine Balls

2 pounds hamburger
1 cup regular uncooked white rice
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery salt (optional - I never have it)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix well, shape into about 20 balls, brown.

Mix 15 oz can tomato sauce, 1 cup water, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, pour over balls. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until rice is tender.
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And here's the meatballs and sauce recipe that *I* like for the sauce (more on that in a bit):
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Barbecued Meatballs - from a former co-worker's mother who is a good cook! And it's an honest-to-goodness freezer cooking recipe.

Meatballs
3 pounds hamburger
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup cracker crumbs (~27 saltines)
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder

Sauce
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (see my riblet post for a link on why it's OK to use - no crazy chemicals!)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped onion

Meatballs: combine all ingredients (will be soft) and shape into walnut-sized balls. Freeze in single layer on wax-lined cookie sheets until firm, remove to air tight container and return to freezer.

Place frozen meatballs in 9x13 pan. Combine all sauce ingredients in bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour over meatballs. Bake at 350* for one hour.

Notes: may want to make half again the sauce amount if you like saucy meatballs. Sauce can also be used on meatloaf.
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My problem? Hubs thinks the sauce is too sweet. I can see his point.

So this time I experimented with a mixture of BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire. I used about 1 cup BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup ketchup, about 3 tablespoons brown sugar, several good shakes of Worcestershire, and some water to thin it, though I'm not sure I needed it. In actuality, I intended to use more ketchup but ran out. I thought the sauce smelled too BBQ sauce-y, but the flavor wasn't quite as strong. Still, I intend to use a higher ratio of ketchup next go-around. And, with three pounds of meatballs in the freezer, there WILL be a next time . . .

Chicken Salad in Pita Pockets

Tonight's kitchen experiment was a bit unintended, though it came together well - albeit a bit late. For whatever reason, I decided to marinate and grill two packages of chicken this week, so I had a lot of cooked chicken. A friend of mine makes the most delicious chicken salad, and thinking about it gave me a hankering for it. I've also wanted to try my hand at making pita pockets - and the two certainly go well together! The recipe:

Maxine's Chicken Salad

6-8 cooked and cooled boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 green onions (white and green parts)
3 stalks celery (use the ends too)

In food processor, chop chicken, remove, and then chop onion & celery together. Add to the chicken. Add Miracle Whip until desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (sparingly...you want just enough so that you get barely a taste after a bite of salad!) and basil to taste.

May add red grapes and/or chopped nuts if desired. Or, for a change, serve with chopped tomatoes & bacon on top.

Maxine notes that you really do want to chop the chicken and celery separately - or else you end up with green chicken! I don't keep Miracle Whip on hand, so I used mayo and added a bit of sugar and vinegar.

Unfortunately I didn't plan ahead well enough, and Hubs had to head out to mow hay before I finished the pita pockets. Too bad, because they're pretty good! I used a recipe from Tammy's Recipes. There is a whole wheat version as well, but I figured I'd better start easy. My biggest problems were that I can't roll out in a circle, and keeping Goose from doing too much damage as she was standing on the chair, "helping" me. If I'd have given it just a bit more thought, I could have used extra cooling racks to bake more than two at a time and spent just a bit less time in front of a very hot oven.

I think I'll make these again, though I'd double the recipe (now that I'm more or less comfortable with it) and put the extras in the freezer. To keep me humble, I tried giving Goose a bite and all she got was chicken salad, which she'd have spit out if she knew how. Must be a texture thing? Who knows.

We hit a used book sale this morning in one of the nearby "cities" (they're really just pretty big towns) and came out with a lot of books for just under $25. When I went to organize them, I was pleased to discover that I remembered correctly - I had volume one of a set of children's books and found volumes two through five. In fact, it made me wonder if I ought not try to talk Hubs into going back tomorrow to see if I can complete any of my other sets! Something tells me he won't go for it, and rightly so, I suppose . . .

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Using Freezer Paper

Previous posts have noted that I like to brown, divide, and freeze hamburger, make ahead casseroles, make and freeze sloppy joes, freeze chicken in marinade, freeze raw chicken breasts, and now I'll show you how I wrap big hunks of raw meat for longer-term storage.

Many frugal minds agree that you can help your grocery bill by watching for things your family enjoys (and you use a lot of) to go on sale, then stock up as space and usage allows. I like to use my crock pot, and I've discovered that Goose loves to eat shredded pork, which was on sale last week. I bought several packages, and also some freezer paper and tape.

To prepare the pork roasts, I cut off as much fat as I can without wasting too much meat. (It isn't exactly wasted at our house - it goes to the barn cats!) North Dakota State University has a link which shows how to wrap meat for freezing. (Doncha know there, eh? Angela and Annemarie are probably the only people that will get that . . . ) I prefer the butcher wrap, myself. I then labeled with the type of meat, date frozen, and weight, and put four of them in the freezer. The fifth one went in the crockpot for tomorrow's lunch.

The original recipe comes from A Year of Crockpotting. My tweaks are as follows:

Crockpot Pork Sandwiches

3-4 pound pork roast (bone-in is fine)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup beer

Place meat in crock, sprinkle spices and brown sugar over it. Add Worcestershire, mustard, and honey, pour in beer. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (Steph did 12 hours overnight and it was a bit overdone but plenty edible). Serve over rice or pasta, or as we do, as sandwiches.

Since I'm cooking it overnight, I'll shred it in the morning, and refrigerate the drippings/juice so the fat can come to the top and harden, then I'll skim that off and return the meat to the juice.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Link Roundup, Mowed Lawn Version

Hubs mowed our lawn today, and I helped a bit. I think it's been six weeks that our mower has been in the shop (we think they lost our number, and since it wouldn't fit in the trunk of my car, *I* wasn't going to call . . .) - though Hubs has mowed a few times with the riding mower. Let's just say the garden is well-mulched now.

Kitchen Tip: Seriously, file this under "I can't believe it worked" - before Goose and I left for church tonight, I lit the grill on one side and put a frozen casserole on the other side. It was one of my baked spaghetti casseroles. By the time we got home (around two hours after I threw it on), the edges were warm enough to eat, though the middle wasn't quite hot. It was only in the mid 80s, today, too!

To go with it, I softened some butter in the microwave and stirred in some shredded mozzarella then some Garlic Bread Sprinkle. I spread that on some hamburger buns that were getting a bit old, and put them on the grill on low. Once the cheese was melted, the bread was sufficiently crispy on the bottom and it was good! I was glad to not have to use the oven, too.

****MAKE****
Don't know that I'll bother to make the stars, but I marked this post at Alphamom for the sidewalk chalk recipe.

Homemade bubbles, this time at Make and Takes. Another one here at Sparkle Power. And this one at Living a Better Life.

I've seen these little baby gifts around (this one at Kate's Kitchen), a little bag that will hold a travel case of wipes and a diaper, sometimes perhaps a travel changing pad as well. However, those of us who are in love with our cloth diapers would need a bigger bag! (and a wet bag of some sort . . . )

Had to double check - I found this finger paint recipe at Pepper Paints - I posted one a while back on poster paint.

These sun prints are interesting, but I found myself wondering if one couldn't do something similar with a dark colored piece of construction paper and a south-facing window, plus more patience and the ability to leave it be for a while. (The Light Garden)

No Time For Flashcards posted on making your own post office and toddler shopping list. Fun!

This huge indoor drying rack at Engineer a Debt Free Life provides an interesting alternative to a clothesline. It would be rather practical in the wintertime when one needs moisture in the house, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to sacrifice THAT MUCH space for it. Priorities, I suppose.

How cute is this sweet pea tipi?!? (or teepee - depends on your region, I suppose) (@ Chasing Cheerios) I love the idea of making something like that more or less permanent.

Solar ovens are fascinating to me right now (here's one at SolarNow.org) but refer to my casserole on the grill above and I wonder if I need it. Of course, we do have to buy the propane.

Make your own bath toys at Plum Pudding.

This homemade rain at Salt and Chocolate was so intriguing that I had to click through. Something tells me that if I put a swimsuit on Goose and handed this to her, she'd love it!

Very cute backpack made from a towel at The Idea Room (via Lori).

For the toddler/preschool/homeschool set: toddler activity bags and phonics bags here, here, and here (Chasing Cheerios and Muses of Megret).

****EAT****
More popsicle recipes, found at Tipnut.

I'll probably never make these, but these sweet burgers and fries are ADORABLE. (Bakerella, who else?)

I keep stumbling across Muffin Tin Monday where you serve your toddler's lunch in a muffin tin on Mondays per whatever theme they have. Wonder if Goose would eat better that way? She might be a bit young to be charmed by the concept. Today, she ate her peas and left most of her pizza.

These lollipop firework cake toppers are so cool! I'm thinking flowers . . . (@ Wisdom of the Moon)

****DO****
Our pantry is a large cupboard, which is more than many have. Still, if we ever build a house, I would love a walk-in pantry, and ideas on how to organize it are always a good thing. Scroll down the comments to the one from Kay Brooks for good info.

****DON'T DO :>)
Trying to resist adding to my reader: Teach Mama. Argh! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold out!

More Yumminess

This afternoon, Goose and I "splish-splashed" in her wading pool and she honed her soap bubble-blowing proficiency since we didn't have to worry about dripping bubble solution all over. (I know I have a recipe for homemade bubbles somewhere - I need to look for that!)

As a recovering vegetarian, I'm pleased to announce that I survived grilling chicken for the first time! I used the boneless skinless breasts that I mentioned here that were in Amy's marinade.

In a word, delicious!

I will definitely be using this again! And, in the spirit of freezer cooking, I will freeze uncooked chicken breasts in the marinade and they will marinate as they thaw then be ready to throw on the grill! I do think they'd be quite good in the crockpot, and I will be trying them that way.

I also made a broccoli cauliflower salad, and for dessert, we had banana boats from Frugal Family Fun Blog. Also very delicious!

My broccoli salad recipe comes from a hospital (really!). I used to be on the regional health board and we met in one of the hospital's meeting rooms with a catered supper. This dish was so good, I wrote and requested the recipe. I halve the original recipe, so that is what I'll give you. Feel free to double it!

Veggie Salad with Cheese and Bacon

5 cups fresh vegetables, chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use fat-free)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon vinegar

Combine vegetables, cheeses, and bacon. Stir together remaining ingredients for dressing, mix well. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat. Cover and chill.

Suggested veggies include: broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, radishes, carrots, onion, green pepper

Personally, I stick to broccoli and cauliflower, and I cook it a bit first, otherwise we seem to get awfully rumbly in the tumbly. :>)

A Good Day To Be Alive

Yesterday was a fantabulous day. It was cool without being cold or rainy, just enough breeze to keep away the bugs that are out already. Goose and I went for a short walk around town in the morning, then after her nap, we walked out to the farm.

On top of that, I weeded much of my gourd patch - it's about 15'x5', with approximately five gourd plants. The rest is solid weeds! I squatted almost the whole time, so combining that with the walk, I didn't think I'd be able to get out of bed this morning. So far, so good.

We started the day off with pancakes - I have been using the recipe on the container of powdered buttermilk, but it's finally used up. Since Kim's recipe for honey maple syrup (scroll down a bit) was so good, I think I'd probably better try her pancakes next, too. (We halved the syrup to make sure we'd like it - and since we're half the size of her family!) It was delicious - thanks, Kim!

What's a day in the kitchen without some sort of incident? I cooked my bone-in chicken breasts in the crock pot during the evening night before last, and took them out to let them cool a bit. Then I forgot to put them in the fridge - they just sat on a plate all night. Surprisingly, my cats left them alone (my mom just fell out of her chair at that bit of info) so I had Hubs shred them up and I used them to make Chicken and Rice.

As an aside, one of the links I provided on cutting split breasts noted that she got about 2 cups of shredded chicken from two split breasts. After I cut the meaty breast piece off, I noticed there was another meaty piece, like a chicken tender - long, skinny, and narrow. (This is probably actually where chicken tenders come from!) So I cut that off, too, and threw it in with my marinades. I then ended up with about three cups of shredded meat from eight split breasts, just enough for this recipe.

Chicken and Rice

Cook 1 1/2 cups rice in water per package directions. (I have been using brown rice, I'm still not quite used to it in here, though.) Saute one onion, chopped, and 1 cup celery in butter. Combine rice, onion mixture, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups chicken broth (I usually use less), 3 cups cooked diced chicken, 1 can water chestnuts (I usually run them through the handy chopper) and one can mushrooms.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then cover with crushed potato chips (I usually don't have any plain ones, so I skip this) and bake another 15-20 minutes until heated through. Yield 8-10 servings.

Tweaks - I have dumped it all in a crockpot and cooked it on low for a few hours, and I have just heated it through on the stove. That's probably why I use less chicken broth. Yesterday, I actually dumped everything in the rice cooker and let it cook that way. It took two cycles, though.

After cooking, I put about half of it in the freezer for another meal and we still had some leftovers after eating it for lunch.

Goose and I are supposed to go to the nearby "city" for a Nebraska Friends of Midwives potluck at the park, and it's raining! We don't really have a backup plan, so I'm thinking we'll just go and get a little wet and have a good time.

Chipotle BBQ Chicken

The initial recipe for this came from either a Frugal Friday post or a Kitchen Tip Tuesday post (back when you could post recipes there). Can't find it now. Here's how I made it:

Chipotle BBQ Chicken

~2 pounds chicken breasts
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 red pepper, chopped
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (from a can)

Put all ingredients in gallon ziploc bag, freeze until needed. To prepare, thaw in refrigerator, turning and squishing occasionally to marinate meat. You have several options for cooking:

- in crock pot on low for 8 hours
- in Dutch oven on medium low for an hour
- in covered baking dish at 350 for an hour.

Just don't overcook it or let it dry out. You can also add a can of chunk pineapple instead of the juice, but we're not crazy about fruit with meat. When I go to prepare it, I will probably throw in a chopped onion as it was in the initial recipe and I just didn't do it this time. Last time I made this, I actually used the bone-in part of the chicken and put it in the crock pot. Worked great. I'll post another recipe on something for your leftover pineapple juice, too!

I also made up a bag of chicken to freeze using Amy's marinade and I can't wait to try it, although I may throw it in the crock pot rather than grilling it.

Making Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

No, I'm not part chicken. Nor do I butcher the lovely ladies that run around the yard at the farm. (I told Hubs long ago that I can't eat anything that has a name. Sorry, dear.)

You know how I mentioned before that I'm a recovering vegetarian? Raw chicken is THE WORST in my mind. (Well, there are actually a lot of things categorized as THE WORST, but that's really up there.) So I use plastic or latex gloves when handling it. Plus it's easier to slip them off (carefully) and go attend to a certain 2-year-old having a fit than to stop and wash up. Ahem.

I didn't invent this method, but I sure do like it. Basically, you pull off the skin and cut the nice, meaty breast off, then cook up the part with bones, pull off the cooked meat, and use it in recipes. And you also have some nice boneless skinless chicken breasts to do whatever you do with them. Amy at Finer Things has a picture tutorial here, and I initially saw the idea here on a Frugal Fridays post.

Previously, I have flash frozen the breasts and boiled the bone in part and then frozen that (or put it in recipes and frozen it). This time, I put the breasts in marinade and tossed them in the freezer and I have the bone-in parts in the crock pot. We'll see how it turns out. I'll put the recipes in the next post.

Runza Casserole - Freezer Cooking

Tonight's contribution to the freezer was Runza casserole. If you don't live in or near Nebraska, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, and I'm sad for you! Runzas are actually a single serving bread pocket with hamburger, cabbage, and spices inside. There are other versions that include cheese, swiss cheese and mushrooms, and an Italian version. Pure deliciousness! I've also seen recipes for something quite similar called bierocs.

They can be made at home a number of ways, with your own dough, thawed frozen bread dough, all the way down to canned biscuits. They're great for freezing and eating later - in fact, I can remember real frozen Runzas being sold for fundraisers.

I'm still not so good with dough. I'm working on it, but just not there yet. This is an easy way to get a similar deliciousness. I'm still tweaking this, but here's how it's written.

Runza Casserole

2 lbs hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 small head cabbage, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz shredded cheddar
salt, pepper, garlic powder, celery salt to taste
2 tubes crescent roll dough

Brown hamburger, drain if necessary. Add onion and cabbage, cook 10 minutes. Add soup and spices, mix well.

Lay one tube crescent rolls in bottom of 9x13 pan (ungreased). Press to cover the bottom as needed, pinch perforations to seal if you wish. (It really doesn't matter.) Pour meat mixture over dough and spread out. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with other package of rolls. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or untill dough is golden brown. (Picture is before baking.)

I never can find a small head of cabbage, so I chop it all and freeze the extra. Tonight, I tried chopping it with a knife as usual - I quartered it, cut out the core, and sliced thinly then chopped. It was a huge pain and the pieces were bigger than I wanted. I then got out the food processor and pulsed the remaining. This is what it looked like. I ended up dumping that which I chopped by hand in the processor and chopped it, too. I then split it in thirds, two packages of four cups for the freezer and four cups in with the hamburger.

For seasoning, I used seasoned salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Several months ago, I made a few batches of condensed cream of mushroom soup. Not sure where I found the recipe, offhand. Amy at Finer Things has a post on how she did it here. I used the approximate equivalent of two cans, I think.

Finally, I used one 8x8 pan, one can of crescent roll dough, and half the hamburger mixture. I put the other half in a gallon freezer bag - I may have been able to squeeze it in a quart, but it would have been tight.

I baked the one 8x8 pan, I have one more pan's worth in the freezer ready to go, and two bags of cabbage for two more double batches. Yum!

Freezer Cooking - Sloppy Joes

Another meal I like to make ahead and put in the freezer is sloppy joes. Depending on your region, they may also be known as yum-yums. While it's convenient to open a can or jar of pre-made stuff, a former co-worker gave me this recipe:

Sloppy Joes

1 lb hamburger
one onion, more or less, chopped
one green bell pepper, more or less, chopped
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1/4 c ketchup
1 T mustard
1 T brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger, onion, and green pepper, drain. (Can saute onion and green pepper separately.) Add remaining ingredients, and heat through. Can also make up and put in a crock pot on low for a few hours for a potluck.
Last night, I decided to make up five pounds of hamburger for sloppy joes, since that's what will fit in the biggest skillet that I have. There was a minor incident, but that's another post.

I use my potato masher (pictured above, obtained at an antique store!) to break up hamburger as it browns. Being a recovering vegetarian, I prefer meat to be in small chunks. I started with frozen hamburger, so I added some water to create steam and help thaw the meat on all sides. (ooh, that'll be my Kitchen Tip Tuesday post for the week!)

Once the hamburger was all browned, I drained it. If I'd have thought ahead more, I'd have chopped and sauteed the onions and green peppers (the latter of which, by the way, I forgot to buy). I didn't, so I just added some onion powder when I stirred in the rest of the ingredients. I found I was short on ketchup, but added a bit more brown sugar for sweetness and it's just a little less soupy. I have frequently used green peppers from our garden that I have chopped and frozen with good results. I just happen to be out of last year's peppers. (This really is exactly how my life goes.)

Quintupling the recipe (times five, right?), I ended up with three 3-cup packages for the freezer, three cups that I put in the refrigerator to eat this week, and about another cup or cup and a half that we ate last night. Plus I only had to wash dishes once!

What's your favorite recipe for sloppy joes? While I like this recipe, I'd prefer to get away from using the tomato soup. I have tried tomato soup recipes but neither Hubs nor I care much for tomato soup by itself. Plus I'm not sure if I've seen a recipe for the condensed version in quantity - i.e. one that is meant to be preserved and diluted when consumed later. (Mom, you should click through and leave the recipe for EJ's Yum Yums. I don't remember what's in them!)

Freezer Cooking - Baked Spaghetti

For at least a year, I've eyed various posts, blogs, and sites regarding Once A Month Cooking. I love the concept, but as mentioned previously, I don't actually have that big of a recipe rotation that I'd want to eat over and over. I do have a number of recipes that I prepare in quantity, though - one of my favorites is Baked Spaghetti.
The original recipe came from Tammy's Recipes. I'm a natural born tweaker, though. For one, I have found that this recipe divides into multiple pans that are a much better size for our small family. I prefer angel hair pasta because it cooks so much faster. We also prefer ricotta cheese over cottage cheese - I've even made my own ricotta!

Usually, I have way too much pasta. This time, I tried 12 oz angel hair, and doubled everything else. I then spread it among two 8x8 pans and one 8" round deep dish pan (it was in the oven already when I took the picture). I'd say I didn't have enough pasta. Perhaps I usually stuff it into two pans? I'm not sure.
I would note that you definitely don't want to skimp on butter - and you want to make sure it melts before adding the cheese. Stirring sticky cheese into sticky pasta is difficult at best. The ricotta seems especially difficult to mix in and I wonder if it would help to let it come to room temperature before adding it. I also seemed to have extra mozzarella in with the pasta, and I'm sure I actually used less. While I believe it is difficult to hit the range of "too much cheese", it is possible.

Finally, I had about 1 2/3 cup of meat sauce left over, which I froze. I could have added it to the pans, but have you seen a two-year-old after eating spaghetti - especially when it has too much sauce?

To freeze the extra, I put heavy duty foil into my pans first, then filled them. I popped them into the freezer (uncovered), and then after a day or so, I pull the foil up over the casserole and pop the spaghetti-cicle out of the pan and into a gallon freezer ziplock bag. I write something cryptic on it like 3 CHZ BK SPAG and the date, and it goes back into the freezer.

Since I work two mornings a week proofreading our local paper, I love to use this sort of meal on those days. In theory, I ought to pull one out the night before and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. In reality, things do not thaw quickly in the fridge for me. So, in the morning before I leave, I put the frozen casserole in the oven and set it to come on around 10 AM at 350 degrees, with the theory that it will be hot and ready to eat at about noon. It usually works. :>)

This dish goes well with Tammy's Italian Cheese Bread if you have time. If you don't, here's a very good substitute:

Figure 1-2 pieces of bread for each person and I usually tack on an extra or two just in case. I lay them on a piece of foil* and then butter the top side. I then add some, most, or all of the following: oregano, parsley, grated green can Parmesan cheese, garlic powder (or better yet, Garlic Bread Sprinkle), shredded or sliced mozzarella, or shredded Parmesan. Broil until cheese melts and bread toasts to desired level of crispiness. (My dad prefers his burned. My mom would put a solid 1/2" of sesame seeds on hers if I kept them in the house.) I like to take them out before they're quite done and then run them through the toaster for a bit. It toasts up the back side that is otherwise too soft in my mind. Yum! This is also a good way to use leftover hamburger and/or hot dog buns - just use them instead of bread. If you want to get really fancy, use a loaf of french bread and split it or slice it. Either way is delicious.

* I don't like to wash pans - nor do I even apparently like to pull them out of the cabinet to lay a piece of foil on. But, I will warn you that two rows of three pieces of bread are about as big as you want to go. How do I know this? I dumped two rows of four pieces of bread on the door of my oven. Goose said "mess!" She was right.