DUMP CHICKEN

I found a website that has a bunch of "dump chicken" recipes that sound easy and yummy. Here is the one I decided to try for dinner tonight!

Spicy Sweet Glazed "DUMP" Chicken

2 tsp. minced garlic
2/3 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tsp. tabasco sauce
1 1/2 lbs. chicken pieces (can be frozen)

Put in ziplock bag and freeze. For immediate cooking: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients into a large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run clear (45-60 min. for chicken pieces, or 20-30 min. for chicken breasts).

To cook from frozen: thaw overnight. Preheat oven to 350. Empty the contents of bag into large baking dish and bake until juices run clear (45-60 for pieces and 20-30 for chicken breasts).

I doubled the recipe, but NOT the tabasco. I think my kids might not love it that hot. I tasted the sauce and it reminds me of buffalo wing sauce. You could taste the tabasco, but it was not overpowering.

Nutrition information: 277 calories; 12 g total fat; 16 g protein; 28 g carbohydrate; 70 mg cholesterol; 1145 mg sodium.

*Note: I made mine with 0 pt. jam (no sugar) and pulled the skin off the chicken pieces. WW points=thigh 3 pts., drumstick 1 pt.

March Freezer Dinner

BACON-WRAPPED CHICKEN

Ready in 1 hour or less

Ingredients:
12 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 cartons (8 oz each) whipped cream cheese with onion and chives
2 tablespoons butter
salt to taste
12 bacon strips

Flatten chicken to ½ inch thickness. Spread 3 tablespoons cream cheese over each. Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt; roll up. Wrap each with a bacon strip. Place, seam side down, in a greased pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.Freeze these uncooked.

Frozen Potato Wedges

These were great! They cooked from frozen in about 1/2 hour. They were crispy and yummy and just right! Yahoo. I also did twice baked potatoes and froze them. They are dinner tonight! No more rotten potatoes in the basement waiting for me to decide to cook them....cook, freeze, eat whenever we want. Now, that's what I'm talking about :p

Jauary Freezer Meal Recipes

Okay, I admit it. I am trying potatoes in the freezer for the first time. But I found a link where a woman describes how she does all kinds of potatoes for the freezer and I am giving it a shot. These are the best oven fries I have ever eaten, I will let you know how they do in the freezer! After all, wouldn't it be wonderful to pull out precooked fries (homemade and yummy) to go with a meal, or maybe even Roasted Red Potatoes?? I will let you know! This is my mom's made from scratch Sloppy Joe recipe too...love the curry! Enjoy.

Sloppy Joes
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and brown. Drain off grease (if necessary) and add 1 T. flour.

Add:
2 cups ketchup
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Simmer on low heat for 2 hours. The longer you simmer, the thicker it will be.

From freezer: defrost overnight and warm on stove. (Add a little water, if needed.) Serve on hamburger buns.

Oven Fries (wedges)
6 unpeeled, medium sized potatoes cut into 6-8 lengthwise wedges
Canola Oil (just enough to coat potatoes)
Spices:
1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. sugar

Wash potatoes and leave skins on. Slice into eighths, lengthwise. Put oil, potato wedges and spices in gallon sized Ziploc bag and toss until evenly coated (or stir together in large bowl). I add a little sugar to the spices to help brown and crisp the wedges. Place on non-stick baking sheets or baking sheets sprayed with non-stick spray; bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. (These will only be partially cooked.) Place on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool. Place on clean cookie sheets and freeze solid. Place in labeled freezer bags and return to the freezer.

To cook from frozen: DO NOT DEFROST!! Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, turning halfway through. Cooking time will depend on the size of the fries or wedges. The oven fries can also be finished in a deep-fryer.

Freezer Meals

OK, so as if I need one more "group" to be a part of....book group, card group lunch, card group make and take.....LOL. Anyway, I am now part of a freezer meal group! Once a month (or every 6 weeks, I think) you meet and swap (just like card group only with food!) homemade frozen dinners. I just made mine today! Of course, since I had my old energy-hog freezer hauled away about a year ago, I had to purchase a new freezer first! But it was delivered on Monday and is up and running and beautiful! I made crock pot ham and potato casserole x 20. There are 10 people in our group and all but 1 of us want half meals (which means they get 2 of whatever meal I make and the full meal gets 1 double sized one). It was crazy trying to figure out how many pounds of ham=30 cups! But it turned out perfect! And the really wild thing is that in the past two weeks, everything that I needed for my recipe just happened to be on sale at one store or another! Here's the recipe in case you want to try it!

Crock Pot Ham and Potato Casserole

1 1/2 cups ham, cooked and cubed

2 cups cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen hash brown potatoes (32 oz.)

Mix ham, 1 cup of cheese, pepper, salt, evaporated milk and cream of chicken soup together with frozen hash browns. Place in greased 3 1/2-5 qt. crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 1/2 an hour before done, sprinkle last cup of cheese on top.