Recipe Rundown

Okay, so in this post, I did a bunch of freezer recipes. They were the EASIEST batch of freezer recipes ever because they required no cooking. I just put a bunch of ingredients into freezer bags, froze, and for the most part dumped from the freezer into the crock pot. It has been wonderful. I also promised to give the rundown of each recipe once we had eaten them all. I made double batches of almost everything, and we have sampled them all. There is one bag of most of the others still in the freezer. Here is how they turned out:

Mongolian Beef - this one was good. I made some rice and the roasted broccoli from Pinterest (the only way I cook broccoli now). The boys, especially Connor, gobbled it up.
Green Chile Pork Stew - this one is okay. It is pretty spicy which I liked but the hubs and boys don't really do spicy.
Teriyaki Chicken - this one was really bland to me, but the boys loved it. Jake and Connor ate it up. I served it over rice. I would make it again if just for them.
Sweet & Spicy Meatballs - this was not bad. I think if you made it with homemade meatballs it would be pretty good. But I have a recipe for meatballs that I usually use, and I like the other sauce better.
Honey Garlic Chicken - I wanted to like this one, but I thought it was kind of gross.
Chicken Caccitore - We have had this before, and we will have it again. It was super easy, smells great when cooking, and served over fettuccine with freshly grated cheese - yummy.
Island Chicken - this chicken had good flavor. I think this one would be good served in a salad
Maple Dijon Chicken - this one is all over Pinterest called man-pleasing chicken. Well, Jason and the boys did like it. It was good. I did not do this one in the crock pot. I thawed and baked.
Pesto Chicken (you are only doing the chicken from this recipe, not the pasta) - this was one of the winners as well. It was dinner tonight. We have eaten the second bag. I served it over angel hair pasta with pesto and freshly grated cheese.

These recipes have all had common themes of pasta and rice, it has seemed. Jason has worked a bunch lately, and it has been so nice to throw a bag of something in the crock pot, fix some rice (in the microwave) or pasta with a baby on the hip, and steam or roast another veggie to go along with dinner. Easy, peasy.

Summer is coming, and I did sort of a summer themed meal for our small group this week. We had some BBQ dishes. I did baked beans (I think they were a Pioneer Woman recipe), those crack potatoes that are all over Pinterest (seriously, yum), along with pulled chicken and pork. As I looked at the "menu" I needed something a little more light and fresh. I found this recipe for Fresh Corn Tomato Salad from the Food Network. This little recipe will go into my "summer staple" rotation. It was super simple, and really good.

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 ears fresh corn, husked (about 4 cups corn kernels)
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 bunch scallions (white and green), thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, I used the little balls of mozzarella
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

Whisk the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing.

Shear off the corn kernels with a sharp knife over a bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, scallions, and mozzarella. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let set for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Before serving tear the basil over the salad and stir.

I know that once the corn and tomatoes are actually in season this will be even better. Yay for summer food. Of course, it is February 10th, and here in South GA the gnats are already swarming in 70 degree weather. You know, it will feel like summer by the end of next month - haha.

People have asked how the freezer recipes were coming, so I hope this helps. It surely didn't take up much space in the freezer, and it was super easy. Also, this would be really easy to divide into small batch type meals if you are cooking for one or two.