Roasted Chicken Lasagna - A freezer Meal

Whoever said that women can "have it all", was either crazy or had a lot of help.

I was sitting in the Pediatrician's office yesterday with a four-month-old who keeps screaming and refuses to sleep because of a bad ear infection. It's his third one in two months and the antibiotic wasn't working so I agreed to give him shots three days in a row. (Made for a super fun for 4th of July weekend!) During the second course of shots, I broke down and cried right along with my son. This working mom thing is kicking my butt and somedays, I think I'm totally going to lose it. On the plus side, one of the nurses wasn't very nice and the sight of me sobbing drove her out the door.

So why am I sharing this tale of woe? Well, I figured that the only real solution to my being overwhelmed is help and since that is in very short supply, I came up with another idea - make as many meals as I can ahead of time and freeze them. That way when I've been up with the baby, worked and driven the freeway and I hear "What's for dinner?" as soon as I walk in the door - I can say "Chicken Lasagna. It's in the freezer."

This is an "unfinished" casserole because you don't add the cheese when you're freezing it.

Ingredients:

• 1 purchased whole roasted chicken
• 1 28-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 9 dried lasagna noodles
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

1. Remove chicken from bones and cut into bite -sized pieces. (Or you can cook a 1lb of chicken breasts in a crock pot and use it instead.)
2. Combine spaghetti sauce, undrained tomatoes, and chili powder. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a lasagna pan or 13x9 pan that sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (I've found that buying the cheap disposable lasagna pans at the Dollar Store is a huge time saver and works better.)
3. Add 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Cover with chopped chicken. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the chicken.
4. Top with 3 more noodles. Cover noodles with sauce.
5. Mix cottage cheese, garlic and egg. Dollop mixture on top of sauce. Top with remaining noodles. 
6. Pour remaining sauce over all of it.

If you decide not to freeze at this point, then bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with mozzarella and then bake ten more minutes or until bubbly.  If you do freeze it, defrost it in the refrigerator before baking as directed.

Fish Tacos with Chili Aioli

Sometimes you can get frozen fish at a discounted rate because it's nearing its expiration date. In this case, we purchased frozen Cod for about 50% off. It's the ideal fish for making fish tacos.

This recipe comes from my Super Suppers book. All of the recipes in this book can be made ahead of time and frozen to be eaten at a later time. If you have kids, a job and are on the verge of losing your mind - I highly recommend this book! (I can't be the only working mom that wonders if she should book a room at the looney bin :) Every recipe I've tried has been great, including this one. 


Ingredients:

• 1 lb fish fillets (I used frozen Cod that had been marked down)
• 1 tablespoon Chili powder
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 medium sized flour tortillas
• fresh cilantro
• Salsa
• shredded Cheddar cheese

Chili Aioli:

• 1 cup of Mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground Cumin

(The Chili Aioli sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days ahead of time.)

Preparations:

1. Mix chili powder and salt. Sprinkle over both sides of each fillet.
2. Add butter and oil to fry pan that's on medium heat.
3. Fry fish fillets until they flake apart. 
4. Combine all of the Chili Aioli ingredients and mix well. 
5. Warm tortillas and fill with 2 tablespoons of fish. Top with salsa, cheese, lettuce and Chili Aioli sauce. 

If you want to make this ahead of time, prepare the fish as directed and place in freezer bag. You can store for up to a month. Note that the sauce however, can only made at most, two days in advance

Easier than Paula Deen's Chocolate Pecan Pie

On Hulu, there are short cooking videos on how to make various dishes and hosted by several famous tv chefs. I watched one with Paula Deen and I thought at some point I should try to make the chocolate pecan pie she and her guest host were raving about it. Better I never did because a) they never showed a list of the ingredients and b) it didn't look that great.

Here's a recipe that is easier than her's that takes very little time and effort especially if you use a ready made pie crust. My only issue with this recipe is that it states to bake it for 35 minutes but that is not enough time. I baked it for 40 and it was still doughy and had to put it back in for additional time. So keep in eye on this pie. If it's not done at 35 minutes then crank the heat on the oven or add some time.

Ingredients:
1/cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 8 inch unbaked pie shell

Preparations:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and chocolate chips until mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from heat. 
3. Add eggs, pecans, sugar and coconut. Stir until well blended. Pour into pie shell.
4. Bake at 350. (See my comments above about time.)

This recipe comes from:

Easy Apple Crisp

Everytime I make this for company or get togethers - it's a huge hit and it's very easy.

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 - 20 ounce can of apple pie filling

Preparations:

1. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour and butter
2. Press 2/3 of mixture into greased 9x13 pan
3. Pour apple pie filling over mixture
4. Top with remaining oat mixture and bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Mom's Homemade Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
3 slices of bacon (optional)

Preparations:

This actually makes enough for two meatloaves or one really big one. The kids really loved it.

1. Mix all of the ingredients. except for ketchup together.
2. Bake as one loaf or two at 375 for 30 minutes or until internal temperature read 155F

Chicken and Green Chile Enchiladas

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked chopped chicken
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 green onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 - 10 3/4 ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 - 7 ounce can diced green chile peppers, undrained
12 - 6 inch corn tortillas

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven at 350.
2. Combine chicken, 2 cups of cheese, onions and chili powder
3. In another bowl - combine sour cream, soup and peppers
4. Stir 1 cup of the sour cream mixture into the chicken mixture
5. Spread 1/2 cup of combined mixture into greased 9x13 pan
6. Fill tortilla with 1/2 cup of chicken mixture, roll tortilla and place in pan. Repeat process until all tortillas are filled.
7. Cover tortillas with soup mixture and two cops of cheese.
8. Bake uncovered for 35-45 (until bubbly)

Easy Family Lasagna

I didn't read the fine print when it came to becoming a wife and mother. If I had, I probably would have had a better understanding of the guilt that comes with not being able to keep the kitchen clean and wanting to order take out instead of slaving away in the kitchen on a hot summer night.

I bought this cookbook called Super Suppers and it helps me make good meals in less time. It even offers recipes that you can make ahead of time. On those hot summer nights when it's 90 plus degrees outside, I can make dinner ahead of time and just pop it in the oven. Talk about a stress reliever....

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried Italian mixed herbs, crushed
2 jars of Pasta sauce (if each jar is 1lb 10 oz)
1/2 cup water
6 dried lasagna noodles
1 16 ounce container of cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

Brown ground beef. Add Italian seasoning and onion. Saute.

Add pasta sauce and water, bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.

Take 1 cup of this mixture and spread it across the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Layer 3 uncooked noodles over it. Add 2 cups of meat mixture on top of it.

Mix cottage cheese, garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Layer evenly over meat mixture.

Add 3 more uncooked noodles over it.

Cover with remaining meat mixture. Top with mozzarella.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Servings: 12