Bring on the New Year

In the middle of December a friend on Facebook posted "I should have given birth to snakes or something else that doesn't require to be fed every day. "   I read this and said "I hear ya sister".     On days that I work I come home and immediately become Uber mom delivering my kids to activities.  Dinner is often a stress filled after thought that I hate!!!!    

My kids went back to their regularly scheduled programs this past week but being I work in another district I had the full week off.   Inspired from my sister Ally who when finding out she was pregnant and knowing it sucks for 10 months spent her last weekend feeling good making a freezer full of meals to last her family a few months.   I dived into the same endeavor and a couple days later and about 6 trips to Harmons (I underestimated how much cheese and sour cream I would need)  my freezer now looks like this.

I did about 4-6 dishes off the following recipes that are simple to put together and I know freeze well.   I bought a gigantic bag of fresh tortillas at Costco which I love but never buy because most of them will go to waste.  A couple of my sisters were asking me for the recipes so I'm putting them here in they want to reference them.     I highly recommend the Freezer Beef Burritos.  Ally gave me this recipe and they are Oh so yummy.   I bought I deep fryer on Black Friday for a few bucks and popped one in after I wrapped it and it made the best Chimichanga.  

Pauline's Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 Pound cooked and shredded Chicken
1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
2 cups cheese
Broccoli

Directions
Cook rice in water and set aside
Steam Broccoli and set aside
Layer as follows.  Rice, Chicken, Cream of Chicken soup, Sour cream Broccoli and then cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Freezer Beef and Bean Burritos

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 15 BURRITOS

You could most definitely substitute brown rice for the white but you'll need to increase the liquid according to the package directions and cook for much longer (around 40-45 minutes).

INGREDIENTS

• Rice:
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans refried beans
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium finely chopped onion
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• lime juice (I love lime juice so I use about 2 whole limes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• about 15 flour tortillas (we really like the Costco uncooked variety)
• lots of shredded cheese
• sour cream
• fresh chopped cilantro (we like a lot! I usually chop and use an entire medium sized bunch)

DIRECTIONS

1. For the rice, bring the broth, rice, garlic, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 16-18 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat, keeping it covered, and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a large, 12-inch casserole skillet, heat the vegetable oil until hot and rippling. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano and chili powder and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces while cooking. Drain any excess grease if needed. 
3. Stir in the cans of refried beans and chicken broth and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Add lime juice to taste and salt. If serving immediately, follow the instructions in the next paragraph. If freezing for later, let the beef and bean mixture and the rice cool to warm room temperature before proceeding. 
4. Wrap the tortillas in between damp paper towels and microwave until the tortillas are soft, about 1 minute (or cook tortillas if using the refrigerated uncooked tortillas). Arrange the tortillas on the counter and spread about a tablespoon of sour cream down the center of each tortilla. Divide the rice, beef and bean filling and cheese evenly among the tortillas. Add cilantro to your liking. Fold the sides of the tortilla toward each other over the filling while lifting the bottom edge over, rolling into a burrito shape. Serve immediately (if desired). 
5. For freezer burritos, wrap each burrito in plastic wrap. Place burritos in a gallon-sized freezer ziploc bag. To reheat, unwrap the burrito from the plastic wrap and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Poke the burrito with the tines of a fork all over and continue microwaving in 30-second increments until heated through.

With the freezer full of meals and my house is clean I think I'm ready to start back to work.  Life is full but at least I won't be spending it in the kitchen for the next couple of months!