Celebrating Derek's Heritage Part 1: Paternal Side

Yesterday, January 26, was Australia Day.  This is an important day that we celebrate every year because Bryan is half Australian.  His father (Derek’s Grandpa) was born and raised in Australia and Bryan still has family there.  Below is a link to more information on Australia Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day

Our original plan for dinner was to call Outback and order dinner.  Bryan would pick it up on the way home.  But, I was surprised with a snow day and schools were closed so I was able to stay home and plan a homemade dinner menu.  This meal was prepared together.  It was a fun experience to prepare our pieces of the meal in the kitchen while Derek played with his pots and pans.  It has been a long time since we have been able to do that.

Earlier in the day, I made Anzac Biscuits.  However, we decided to use chocolate chips and it made them very chocolatey.  I guess it’s a tradition with a twist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZAC_biscuit

I also made cheese scones.  They were so easy to make!

We began with a Bloomin Onion  (Outback recipe) that Bryan made.

Next, we had our meal.  Bryan grilled steak and Shrimp on the Barbie (Outback recipe).  I made pureed carrots with ginger.

Since dinner was prepared later than our normal dinnertime, Derek had already eaten.  However, he wanted to sit with us so we gave him a plate with a shrimp, a spoonful of carrots, and a piece of scone.  He did not eat any of it.  I was not surprised because these are not things he generally prefers to eat.  He also did not like the Anzac Biscuit. 

Unfortunately, we did not get to celebrate with Derek’s Grandpa this year, but he was in our thoughts as we ate our meal.  We sent some Anzac Biscuits over to their house today.  It was great to celebrate Derek’s heritage on his paternal side of the family.  Within the next few weeks we plan to explore his maternal side of the family with a German meal.

Cooking Frenzy!!!

I went back on my crazy cooking spree again today!  It’s been a long time since we have had normalcy in our home (since before Christmas) so it was important to me to get some meals in the freezer for when Bryan returns home permanently and we have family dinners again.  I use disposable pans to make my meals and cover them with foil.  Then I put them into freezer bags that are labeled with the meal, the date it was made, and how long I have to use it.  These meals get put into the rotation when I create my monthly schedule.  In addition to prepared meals, I have packs of chicken and other meats in the freezer that can be made into something else.  This time around I did not marinate my chicken before freezing it. 

I made a total of 13 meals and one dessert in about 4 hours.  It is not difficult to do, it just takes planning and self-discipline.  One of my priorities is to have home cooked, meals for my family.  This is one of my ways of making sure that happens.

This is what I did:

I started with planning what I wanted to make.  I tallied up how many onions, how many cans of soup, how many pounds of meat etc. that I would need.  Then I checked my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to see what I already had. Next stop, Costco.  After getting what I could from there, mostly the meat, I headed to the grocery store to finish filling my order.  This included getting any foil pans that I might need.

On cooking day, I gathered my recipes and all of my ingredients.

Then I began my cooking!  This is the order in which I prepared the meals:

Spaghetti Pie

1 package of spaghetti (a pound)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup butter, cubed

2 cups sour cream

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 lbs. Ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, sausage)

2 cups water

1 can (12 oz.) tomato paste

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook spaghetti, drain and place in a large bowl.  Add eggs and Parmesan cheese.  Transfer to 3, greased, 9-in. pie plates.  Press onto the bottom and up the sides to form a crust.  Set aside.
2. Saute onion in butter until tender.  Remove from heat and sir in sour cream and Italian seasoning.  Spoon into the crusts.
3. Cook meat over medium heat until no longer pink, drain.  Stir in water and tomato paste.  Simmer, uncovered, 5-10 minutes or until thickened.  Spoon over sour cream mixture.  Sprinkle with the 2 cheeses.  (I did not measure the cheese, I used more J )
4. Cover and freeze for up to 1 month. 
5. To use frozen pies: completely thaw in the refrigerato.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake, covered, on 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

**I found that I had extra meat mixture so I reserved it for my next recipe.

Pizza Pasta Casserole

2 pounds of ground beef (you could use turkey or chicken)

1 large onion, chopped

2 jars (28 oz. Each) spaghetti sauce (*I found this was too much sauce)

1 package spiral pasta, cooked and drained

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

8 ounces of sliced pepperoni

1. Cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta. (*I eyeballed the sauce so it wasn’t too much.  I also added in the extra meat from the first recipe.)
2. Transfer into 2 greased 13x9 inch baking dishes.  Sprinkle with cheese and arrange pepperoni over the top.  Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.
3. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Bake, uncovered, on 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

**I halved this recipe and then divided the ½ into 2 8-in. square pans.  That is a better sized portion for my family.

Enchilada Casserole

1 ½ lbs ground beef (you could use turkey or chicken)

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup of water

2-3 Tbls chili powder

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

2 cups of salsa, divided (I found that it takes more salsa than this)

10 flour tortillas (8 in.) cut into ¾ in. strips

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (15 ¼ oz each) whole kernel corn, drained

4 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Cook beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink.  Drain, stir in water, chili power, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
2. Place ¼ cup (I used more) salsa in 2 greased 8-in. square baking dishes.  Layer each dish with tortilla strips and more salsa.
3. Divide the meat mixture, sour cream, and corn between the 2 casseroles.  Top with remaining tortillas, salsa, and cheese.
4. Cover and freeze for up to one month.
5. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in refrigerator for up to 24 hrs. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake, covered, on 350 for 35 minutes.  Uncover and back for 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

4 cups of cooked chicken, cubed

1 cup of chopped celery

1 Tbls. chopped onion

4 Tbls. Parsley

2 cans of cream of chicken or cream of celery soup

1 can of milk

½ cup melted butter

4 cups of herb stuffing mix

Combine all ingredients, put in an aluminum lasagna pan and back 20 minutes at 400.

**I divided the recipe into 2 8-in. pans to make 2 meals.

Chicken Green Chili

1 quart of chicken broth

1 ¼ pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 large handfuls of tortilla chips, plus more for serving

2 Tbls. Oil

about 1 cup of scallions

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 15 oz can of red beans, drained

1 cup of jarred green salsa

1. In a deep skillet, bring chicken broth and chicken breasts to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and poach the chicken, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
2. Crumble handfuls of tortilla chips into a food processor and add 3 cups of hot broth; let them sit to soften.  Reserve the remaining broth.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the scallions, oregano, and cumin.  Cook until scallions are soft, about 2 minutes.  Pour the remaining cup of broth into the scallion mixture, then stir in the beans and salsa.
4. Puree the chips and broth until smooth then whisk into the bean mixture.  Shred the chicken and add it to the chili.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until heated through.
5. I divided this in half into 2 containers to freeze for later use.
6. To use frozen chili: Thaw in the refrigerator then heat in a saucepan.
7. Serve with extra tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream…whatever your favorite toppings are!

Meatloaf

1 ½ lbs. Ground beef (you could use turkey or chicken, but it doesn’t turn out as well)

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup carrot puree

2 Tbls. Olive oil

2 stalks of celery, chopped

½ onion

2 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbls. ketchup
1/3 cup milk

1. Heat olive oil and saute onion and celery.
2. Meanwhile, mix other ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add the celery and onion mixture and combine well.
4. Divide into 2 loaf pans.
5. Bake for 30 minutes on 350. Remove and drain.
6. Cool, cover and freeze.
7. To use frozen meatloaf: Thaw in refrigerator overnight.  Bake, uncovered, on 350, 30-45 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Ice Cream Cake

1 box of 12 ice cream sandwiches, any variety (you will use 11 sandwiches)

1 container of Cool Whip

candy topping of your choice (or crushed cookies, or sliced fruit)

1. I used an 8-in. square pan, put one layer of ice cream sandwiches down. (*the size of the cake varies depending on the size of your ice cream sandwiches)
2. Spread with Cool Whip, sprinkle on topping of your choice.
3. Layer the rest of the sandwiches.
4. Top with Cool Whip, sprinkle on more topping.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil.
6. Freeze

**be creative!  Examples: Oreo sandwiches with crushed Oreos.  The one shown here is made from Neapolitan sandwiches (vanilla, strawberry, and banana ice cream) and I used chocolate chips.  I thought about adding sliced strawberries or bananas to this one.

Give credit where credit is due:

Recipes for: Spaghetti Pie, Enchilada Casserole, and Pizza Pasta Casserole were from Taste of Home Fall Freezer Meals, Oct. 27, 2010

Chicken and Stuffing is from my friend Mindy

Chicken Green Chili is from Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine

Meatloaf is a combination of my mom’s recipe and Jessica Seinfeld’s from Deceptively Delicious

Ice Cream Cake is from my friend Heather

**Healthy Eater Tip: Use whole-wheat pasta and reduced fat sour cream and cheese as well as reduced sodium soups and broths when preparing the meals to make them more healthful.