Cheesy Potato Casserole

No picture today, the casserole disappeared before I remembered to take a picture.  I will try to get one soon!

Cheesy Potato Casserole

32 oz. bag shredded hash browns-frozen
1/4 C. minced dried onions
1 1/2  C. sour cream
2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
2 C. Corn flakes--crushed
1/4 C. butter or margarine
2 C. milk
1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. chicken bouillon powder


In a large bowl, combine hash browns and minced dried onion.  Set aside.  In a pan, over medium heat, whisk together milk, flour and chicken bouillon.   Heat, stirring constantly, till mixture thickens.  Stir in cheese.   Pour cheese mixture over hash browns and mix thoroughly.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place in greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Melt butter and add to cornflake crumbs.  Sprinkle over the potato mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly around the edges and the top is lightly browned.

~To make this for the freezer, place uncooked potato mixture in a gallon sized bag.  Place cornflake mixture in a small bag and attach to larger bag.  Freeze.  Thaw mixture overnight before adding to casserole dish and baking as described above.

~This is a great recipe for potlucks!

Keeping Track

One of the hardest parts of bulk cooking is keeping track of all the food once it's in your freezer!  There is nothing worse than finding a meal that has been floating around the dark corners of your freezer for a couple of years, especially when you put so much time and effort into making the meal in the first place. 

I have tried many ways over the years of tracking what is in my freezer, but the easiest is to simply use a freezer inventory page.  You can hang your page on the freezer, in the cupboard, on the side of your fridge or in your home management binder.  Placing your inventory in a page protector allows you to use dry erase markers to mark and re-use your page.  You can also use a dry erase board, but I have found that things sometimes got erased by people bumping the board or a "helpful" toddler trying to clean up.

To use the inventory, simple write down the entree or item name on a line and make a slash ( / ) mark for each item in the freezer.  When you take the item out of the freezer make another slash to  make an  ( X ).  This is useful for keeping track of all of your frozen fruits and veggies.  No more digging around in your freezer wondering if there is really a bag of corn left for corn chowder, now you can know at a glance (provided you teach ALL members of the family to mark of anything they remove from the freezer) and no more frostbit fingers.

Here is a printable freezer inventory just for you!

Just click the picture to open, save on your desktop and print as a full page. 

I even use on of these sheets to keep track of all of my canned goods during canning season.  It is great to know at a glance what I have without having to run around an open cupboard doors or running to the basement when menu planning for the month.

Hope this helps you keep track just a little bit easier of all of your freezer contents!

Easy Peasy Lemon Bars

Three ingredients, fast, easy and freezer friendly--a perfect springtime recipe!

Easy Peasy Lemon Bars

1 box Angel Food Cake mix (1 step)
1 can (15 oz.) Lemon Pie filling
Cream Cheese Frosting (canned or homemade)

Mix together Angel Food Cake mix and Lemon Pie filling in medium bowl, just till combined.

Spread mixture in a greased jelly roll pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool in pan.  Spread with cream cheese frosting and cut into squares.

These bars freeze beautifully.  Just freeze on  cookie sheets till hard and then package in freezer bags.

To thaw: take out of freezer 15 min. before serving (although I have been known to eat them frozen on occasion).

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and butter together with a mixer.  Add vanilla.  Slowly add powdered sugar.  You can add a little water or milk if the frosting is too thick.

-You can freeze the leftover frosting.  To thaw, bring to room temperature and beat with mixer till smooth.

Roll-out Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is my favorite recipe for sugar cookies.  It is simple, virtually foolproof and doesn't require refrigeration which means when the baking bug bites, you can have cookies fast! 

 You can cut out your cookies and freeze the shapes for baking later,simply layer between waxed paper on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid and then place in bags.  Frozen cookie dough is prone to breaking so handle gently.  Place frozen cookie dough on cookie sheets and bake as directed.

Vary the extracts for your favorite flavor.  I love almond extract in these!  You can also tint the dough with a little food coloring.  Try peppermint extract and a little red food coloring for candy cane shaped cookies, maple flavoring and leaf shape cookies for fall, or lemon flavored cookies for Easter.


Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

1 C. butter or margarine
1 C. sugar
1 Large egg
1 tsp. extract (vanilla, almond, peppermint)
2 tsp. baking powder
3 C. flour
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar with mixer.  Add in egg and extract.  Add dry ingredients one cup at a time.  The dough will be very stiff.  DO NOT REFRIGERATE!  Divide dough in half. (you can work in a little food coloring for colored dough).  Roll out dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out with cookie cutters.  Bake approx. 12 minutes  or until LIGHTLY browned.

~Sorry, no picture today, we are still working on rebuilding the wall in our living room and everything is crazy.

Freezer Sloppy Joe Recipe

Freezer Sloppy Joes Recipe

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

3/4 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. onion powser

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and drain off fat.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Package in quart size freezer bag.

Notes:  This recipe lends itself well to being doubled or tripled.  I have actually made this in 10 lb. batches for parties.   If you press the meat flat in the freezer bags and indent with your hands you can break off a chunk without thawing the whole bag.  Another option is to scoop into buns and wrap individually for quick meals on the go.

Freezer Garlic Bread

This is one of my standard freezer cooking recipes, you can use french bread, texas toast, homemade bread or whatever you like!



Freezer Garlic Toast

 Butter or margarine, softened 2 sticks
Olive oil or vegetable oil 1/2 C.
 Garlic powder 1/4 C.
 Italian seasoning 1/4 C.
Parmesan cheese, optional 1 C.
 Italian bread, sliced 1” thick 2 loaves

Assembly Directions: In a medium size bowl, mix together the butter, oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning with a spoon. Add Parmesan cheese, if desired. You want the mixture to be a nice spreadable consistency. If it’s too thick, add more oil… maybe a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is spreadable. Spread both sides of the bread slices with the mixture and put them on a cookie sheet.

Freezing Directions: Put the cookie sheet of bread slices in the freezer. When they’re frozen, package the slices in a gallon freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze.

 Serving Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the needed number of garlic toast slices on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. For even toasting, turn the pieces halfway through the baking time.

Comments: Add more or less garlic powder based on your personal taste. Same with the Italian seasoning. This is a tasty and economical alternative to the expensive garlic toast you buy in the freezer section at your local grocery store.