SUPER Menu Monday (Freezer Meals!)

Pioneer Woman's CPK-Inspired Taco Pizza
Changes: I did not make the dough; the Publix deli does a fine job o' that, thankya. And we added avocado right before serving! (Also, don't let her 2 hour prep time scare you. It only takes that long if you make your own dough. Otherwise this was fast and furious! And verrrry tasty.)

This is a "super" edition of Menu Monday, because I'm taking advantage of the holiday to make double batches* of four meals that have previously passed the Official Freezer Test. As in...the taste and texture have to stay the same.

*Since we are only a party of two, I usually cut most recipes in half. So a "double" batch for us is really just the full-size recipes linked here.

So after today, we'll have one set of dinners in the fridge, ready for the week, and another set of dinners in the freezer for another time.

If you have a sous chef (or perhaps just some wine) and some music, it can be a fun day of cooking that really pays off when you get at least 8 nights of not having to cook! So, I thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to give it a go. :)

I'll get two going on the stove and two in CrockPots. To better organize, I like to set everything out, grouped by recipe. Then you can prep all the veggies and seasoning blends at the beginning. Since several of these have long simmer times, it's not too crazy to have them all going at the same time.

• White Bean Chicken Chili 
• Stove. 
• No fennel. 
• Use kale instead of chard. Add during re-heating.
  
  
• Baked Spaghetti Sauce 
• CrockPot.  (If using, brown the beef first and use about half as much water as the recipe calls for.)
• Super easy and yum.
• I leave the sauce separate and boil noodles/assemble when we're ready to use it.
  
  
• Pulled Pork 
• Example of method here. 
• Discard fat, shred, add BBQ sauce and simmer.
  
  
• Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Filling
• Saute chunks of chicken (or bake & shred), onions and garlic. Add diced tomatoes + tex-mex-y seasoning + 2 cans o' black beans. Simmer. Not really much of a recipe...
• I hear you can pre-roll and freeze enchiladas, but I just freeze the filling. (In case it strikes me to use it for some other purpose, I guess.)

I use a combination of gallon freezer bags (lay flat to disperse contents for easy freezer storage) and plastic containers (lay plastic wrap across the top of the food and press down to reduce the amount of air touching the surface...if that makes sense).

Then, I make a list for the front of the freezer so that I remember what exactly is in there. When I use one of the meals, I cross it off.

Since I admitted to trying to clean a shadow out of our carpet yesterday, I figure Andrew won't mind if I share a funny on his part from the grocery store. While I look at the list, I usually ask him to pull from the shelves. When I asked him to get the cannellini beans for the chili, he said:

"....a can of WEENIE BEANS?" lol

Happy Labor Day!