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Since I received several requests for the freezer meal recipes we used for making meals for the needy family in our church, I would love to share them in a series of posts. I would consider all of these excellent frugal and nutritious meals! We have used these many times over for freezer cooking!

Chicken Divan

2 or more cups cooked brown rice
2 bunches fresh broccoli, lightly stemmed & chopped
2-3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (see recipe below)
½ cup mayonnaise
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp curry
½ cup grated cheese
½-3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp melted butter, optional

Since canned soups often contain MSG, I have learned how to make it from scratch, see below. It is also a lot healthier this way, because you can use whole wheat flour and raw milk, if you like. Use one recipe of the soup to replace these cans.

Combine soup (whether canned or homemade) with mayo, lemon and curry. Keep the mixture relatively thin by adding further milk or water. Additional salt may be necessary. Gently steam broccoli until tender.

Grease a 13×9 pan. Layer rice, followed by broccoli and then the chicken. Pour creamed soup mixture over the broccoli. Sprinkle cheese on top. Combine crumbs and butter, sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. For freezer cooking, leave unbaked and cover to freeze. If frozen, you may have to cook 1 hr or longer.

Condensed Creamed Soup Substitute

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt or more to taste
12 fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 cups of milk (less for a thicker soup)

Heat butter and oil then add flour and salt, stirring to make a roux. Add mushrooms and cook about a minute, just to soften. Add milk and stir until thickened. This is a substitute (and a great one at that!) for two 10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup. To make cream of chicken, simply omit mushrooms, add 1 tsp. chicken base (a paste, like bouillon but without the MSG) and substitute half the milk with chicken broth or stock. To make cream of celery, substitute celery for the mushrooms and proceed as listed above.

I was really nervous about trying to make my own sour cream from my kefir, and even more nervous to taste it! But, amazingly enough, I did! And my husband did so as well. We had some fajitas for lunch a few weeks back, topped with homemade sour cream, and salsa. It was definitely not the texture of normal sour cream (although with more experimenting it has received a better consistency), but it had a pleasant taste, and worked quite well. The key is to not let it sit too long, otherwise it gets a little too sour!

I was inspired with this idea from Capturing Today. She explains how to make kefir and about using kefir to make sour cream and cream cheese here. I thought…use kefir for sour cream! Perfect!

Here’s how to do it:

1. Culture your kefir grains as usual. (Read more about this process here). I use raw milk, and kefir grains in a quart size glass jar. Covered and store in a cupboard for 12-36 hours.

2. Once it is complete, thickened nicely, line a strainer with cheesecloth or cloth napkin, over a large pot. Wet the cheesecloth slightly.

3. Remove the kefir grains and dump the contents into the strainer. Depending on the amount of liquid, allow it to sit for 8-12 hours. I found 7-8 hours to be sufficient to make a sour cream consistency. Start at beginning of the day, and taste it throughout the day. Overnight is too long from my experience. Leaving it longer allows it to dry even more and it takes on more of a cream cheese consistency, which also can be used as cream cheese, although we didn’t care for it that well. The resulting liquids that drain off are kefir whey, which is wonderful for soaking your grains, legumes, etc.

Hooray! Sour cream made from raw milk, and cultured with kefir grains! Can’t get much better than that! One less thing to buy in packaged form!

Ever had a collection of leftovers stuck beneath the blade in your blender, making it very challenging to clean? Here’s a little tip my mom taught me growing up:

1. Fill your dirty blender about 1/2-3/4 the way up with water and a little soap.
2. Put the lid on and place on the blender base.
3. Turn blender on and allow to wash itself!
4. Dump and rinse…and you should have a clean blender…saving a lot of extra scrubbing time and probably water at that!

Simple…

It’s Kitchen Tip Tuesdays! – What’s your kitchen tip?

Here is our frugal & nutritious dinner of the week (F & N for short). This is excellent as a side dish but can easily be turned into the main dish! We served it this last week along with baked cod (unfortunately, I am still working on my cod recipe, it was a little dry, so I won’t be sharing that yet) and a green salad.

Quinoa is a wonderfully nutritious non-gluten whole grain. Unfortunately, it is not our favorite…but I have been still exploring how to make it and cover its somewhat nutty taste. This is really rather tasty and the hubby liked it too! My friend Kimi shared all about the nutritional content of quinoa here.

1 teaspoon olive or coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I didn’t pull my broth out of the freezer in time, so I used water. I am sure it would taste even better with broth!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (I used way more than the original recipe on cumin! Probably more like 1 Tbsp to provide sufficient flavor!)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or make a homemade batch in the crockpot)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used dried, but fresh would be the best!)

Soaking Step (Learn more about the reasons for soaking your whole grains here): Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a strainer. Allow to sit in strainer over a large bowl and add warm filtered water to cover sufficiently. Add 1 Tbsp of an acid medium (whey, kefir, yogurt, or cultured buttermilk). Cover with plate or towel. Soak 12-24 hours. Rinse once again and add 1 cup broth, and proceed. I use less than the recipe calls for if soaking, because it absorbed water in the soaking stage, and will not need as much to cook. 1 cup was perfect.

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Thoroughly rinse quinoa. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

It’s Frugal Friday’s!

I came across this wonderful resource by Amanda Rose for learning more about the phytic acid in whole grains.

Phytic Acid & Mineral Loss in Grains & Legumes

A must read! Provided me with a lot of information that I was unaware of. More evidence to the necessity of soaking grains in order to be able to effectively absorb all the minerals and vitamins in the grains.

Here is one quote from the article:

Researchers have conducted experiments on mineral absorption that show clearly that phytates matter. A study of iron absorption in cereal porridges found in some cases a 12-fold increase in the absorption of iron when the phytic acid was removed from the food. Participants absorbed only about 1% of the iron in their
wheat porridge but that absorption rate increased to 12% when the phytic acid was removed (Hurrel et al. 2003).

She goes on to share some helpful tips and tricks for soaking/sprouting. She also mentions an interesting fact about oats. Soaking for 12 hours is not sufficient to break down the phytates. Her tip: Add fresh ground wheat to your oats before soaking! Interesting.

This same website offers a free e-course on the topic as well! I am starting it now!

Amanda has a newly published book, titled Rebuild from Depression which the above article is an excerpt of. Read more about it here.

As variety is the spice of life, why not incorporate it into the way you prepare your vegetables? I have found a fun way to add variety to my salads especially is to vary how I cut up the toppings. Why not try dicing, and then next time try julienned, and the next time grated! This is especially helpful when you are getting tired of the same vegi’s…but they have to be used up! (As is the case with our CSA produce bin…been a lot of the same stuff the last two months). So I chop my carrots, then I julienned them, then I grated them for three different salads!

This concept could apply in all food preparation…why not try a variety of preparation methods: saute, steam bake, roast, etc. Simple concept, but makes cooking a whole lot more fun!

Aaron appreciates the variety too! Funny how you only have to change the style of preparation and get a whole new dish!

Visit Tammy’s Recipes for further kitchen tips!

As Karis’ birthday is this coming Sunday, I have been trying to figure out a cake option! Looking for a non-glutenous cake recipe or any other ideas to celebrate her cute little 1st birthday…Any recipes out there to share? Would you consider forwarding it my way? I would greatly appreciate it!

I should note that Karis eats brown rice, millet, quinoa and oats, but not sweeteners yet. Not sure when I should add these or spices for that matter into her diet.

This is by far one of the most nutritious and yet frugal meals I make. A variety of beans cooked into chili with the grains in the cornbread provide a complete protein! Finding a good chili recipe is not an easy task, but with some experimenting, trial and error, I think I have come up with a very yummy version. It has a bit of kick to it, but a lot of flavor! My hubby loves this chili! If making for littles, add the spices at the end after taking some out for the littles, if desired.

Both chili and cornbread freeze well, so I make a large batch and freeze both in smaller portions. I keep chili in the fridge to use for different lunches throughout the week – baked potato bar, chili cheese burritos, nachos, chili over hot dogs, etc.

You can also make chili in the crockpot for an easy meal! See directions below.

1 lb. ground turkey, beef, or go meatless
1 29 oz. can tomato sauce plus 1 -15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 large can of diced tomatoes (29 ou.)
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, optional
2-3 Tbls. or more taco seasoning mix
4 cups cooked beans (I do a combo of black, pinto & kidney)
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup rapadura or natural sweetener (rapadura gives it a little sweetness to balance the flavor!)
1-2 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
3 tsp cumin
1-8-1/4 cup chili powder, as desired

Cooking beans - You can always choice the canned option, but cooking your own beans is simple and cheaper. Soak beans overnight in water (1 part beans to 6-8 parts of water) and 2-3 Tbsp. of whey/lemon juice/vinegar, if desired, to impart valuable enzymes. After soaking, rinse thoroughly and add fresh water to cover the beans (about 1 part beans to 3 parts water). Cook approx. 8 hours on low (I prefer in the crockpot). Use 4 cups for chili, or more as desired, and freeze the rest for other dishes or for your next batch of chili!

For Chili -Saute ground turkey in oil with onions and peppers. Cook until browned. Add the taco seasoning mix. Taste and add more as desired. (This is the key to good chili!) Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Makes 10-12 servings.

Crockpot Chili – If you want to get dinner prepared in the morning, try the crockpot version! Cook meat, onions, and peppers in a saucepan until browned. Place in your crockpot with remaining ingredients and allow to cook over low heat for 5-6 hours.

Cornbread

I love soaking Sue Gregg’s cornbread recipe and it is simply delicious! Read here about the valuable benefits of soaking your grains. We love it topped with a whipped butter and honey spread. This recipe can be used with whole grains ground in the blender or with flour in a regular mixing bowl. Yum!

Amount: 8″ Square Baking Pan (12-16 pieces)
Bake: 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 25-35 minutes

1. Place in blender; blend at high speed 3-5 minutes (the blender will “grind” the grain into a batter in the liquid medium. If it is a little gritty, blend more or let it set overnight for a smoother batter using the two stage soaking method.

1 cup kefir (my first choice!), buttermilk, sour milk, or yogurt
1/4 cup melted butter or olive oil
or 2 tablespoons each butter and oil (I use 2 Tbsp of coconut oil & 2 Tbsp olive oil or butter)
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2/3 cup whole kernel dry corn
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry grain or 3/4 cup kamut grain

If you would like to use flour, use 1 cup of cornmeal and 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour or kamut flour in replacement for the grain above.

Second Stage: Optional (Recommended) Cover blender or bowl. Let batter stand at room temperature overnight or about 12-24 hours.
Add 2 eggs & blend

2. Mix in thoroughly, but briefly, using blender and/or rubber spatula as needed:
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

3. Pour batter immediately into greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 25-35 minutes or until knife or toothpick comes clean out of center.