Have you seen our Freezer Meal Cooking Series?

It is really fab! We give you all the details about  freezer cooking including starting a group!

• Why Freezer Meal Cooking
• How to Start a Freezer Cooking Group
• How to Shop for Freezer Cooking
• How to Assemble Freezer Meals
• Our Fabulous Recipes

We have decided to bring you along for our freezer cooking adventures. We will be having our next freezer cooking day on Saturday April 24th! If you want to get a group together this week you can join us for Fabuless Freezer Cooking! We have a group of FIVE! So get together your fab five and you will be able to follow us EXACTLY! Make sure you read the freezer cooking series above and then have your fav five read it too so you are all ready for cooking day!

HOW?

We are going to do all the PREP WORK for you!

• Make the Menu
• Provide the Recipes
• Make the Shopping List (This part is a ton of work!)
• Assign the PREP WORK
• Plus tips and photos along the way!

Sorry we can not be there to hold your hand at the store.

Mark April 24th on your calander and check back later this week for the menu and recipes!

CHICKEN AND BEEF FAJITAS

1 FAMILY

3 Chicken breast, &/or 1 med steak, sliced thin and frozen
½ Red onion, sliced
2 Bell peppers (variety of colors if wanted)
Fajita spice packet
Oil
1 c. grated cheddar
Sour cream
8 Flour tortillas
Black olives

6 FAMILIES

18 Chicken breasts (9lbs), &/or 6 med steaks, sliced thin and frozen
3 Red onion, sliced
12 Bell peppers
Fajita spice packet
Oil
6 c. grated cheddar
Sour cream
48 Flour Tortillas
Black olives

TO FREEZE:
Put meat, cheese, onions, olives, and peppers into 5 separate bags. Put these bags into a gallon-sized bag along with spice pack and tortillas.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
Thaw. Sauté meat in oil, if any meat pre-cooked, sauté the uncooked meat first, then adding other just before spices. Add spice pack, onions, and peppers, Serve with sour cream, cheese, and olives. Avocados or mangos may be added as well.

**If both chicken and beef is used, may decrease number bought for this dish as it provides several fajitas.

Welcome to Fabulessly Frugal!

Are YOU ready to start saving hundreds of dollars a month on your groceries? We are here to help you! Every day we are posting about deals around town that will save you MONEY! We will tell you where the deal is, and what coupons to use, and where to find them!

• Get started by reading our Coupons 101 post. We give you the basics of getting started!

• Review coupon lingo here.

• Want to start couponing tomorrow? YOU CAN! Simply print coupons from the internet! We’ve got a full pictorial of how to do this.

• Want something a little more hands on? We teach classes here in the Treasure Valley! We will come to your home and teach you and your friends and family HOW to do what we are doing. {email us if you’re interested in hosting a class at fabulesslyfrugal@gmail.com}

• Read our post about the Albertsons sale that starts TOMORROW! We’ll be getting PASTA for free, cans of tuna for $.10 each, and Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt for only $.13 each! These are just a few of the items we’ll be paying pennies on the dollar for! Go read about it here.

• If you want to become a “professional couponer” like we are, and get 4, 5, or even 6 Sunday Newspapers {for the coupons of course!}, so you can build your stockpile, check out our Newspaper Subscription Deals with The Idaho Statesman or The Idaho Press Tribune. {Be sure to let them know you want the FABULESSLY FRUGAL deal!}

• We’ve put together alot of information in our “Coupon Tip Tuesday” series. Go check it out when you’re ready!

• You may also enjoy learning about another way to cut your grocery bill… read our Freezer Cooking Meal Series! We teach you how to get a group started and even give you recipes!

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Disclosure

Here is one of the first freezer meal recipes we’ll be posting!

This pizza is soooo yummy! And I was so excited to learn about the crust! For $1.50, you can purchase some already made pizza dough back near the deli at Winco (or use thawed out Rhodes bread loaves and split in half). It makes a fabuless crust and is makes making homemade pizza sooo much easier!

So here is the recipe!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 FAMILY
1 pizza crust (store bought or homemade)
2 c. mozzarella cheese
½ Red onion
2 Chicken breasts
2-3 c. BBQ Sauce
Cilantro

6 FAMILIES
6 pizza crusts
12 c. mozzarella cheese
3 Red onions
12 Chicken breasts
12-18 c. BBQ Sauce
Cilantro

TO FREEZE
Cook chicken and cut into small slices or shred. When pizza dough is room temp, roll, or hand press onto foil pizza pan (I love my stone too – so hang on here with me), spread out BBQ sauce, top with chicken and onion; finish with sprinkling cheese and cilantro. Wrap with foil.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
It was super easy to take my pizza of the disposable foil pan and put it on my pizza stone. Bake @ 400 for 20 min (from frozen).

I wish I had pictures of this beautiful pizza! I just loved it! When we prep the pizzas, we each put our own together, as some don’t want cilantro (this makes it delish though!), or I’ll only put onions on half, and so on.

Oh guess what Cathy I have pictures………….

This one is right before baking!

We ate half of it before I got a chance to take a picture.

Stay tuned next week for another Fabuless Freezer Meal Recipe!

SALMON CAKES
1 FAMILY:

3 cans salmon

1 1/4 cups crushed ritz crackers

2 eggs beaten

1/2 red pepper finely chopped

2 Tbsp chives

2 tsp dill

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

lemon juice

oil for frying

6 FAMILIES:

18 cans salmon

7 1/2 cups crushed ritz crackers

12 eggs beaten

3 red pepper finely chopped

12 Tbsp chives

12 tsp dill

6 tsp Tabasco sauce

lemon juice

oil for frying

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING:

In a small freezer bag combine red pepper, chives, dill, lemons juice and tabasco. Label a sleeve of Ritz crackers and 3 cans of salmon for the pantry.

TO PREPARE: On hand: 2 eggs and oil. In a medium bowl break up the canned salmon with a fork. Add about 1 cup cracker meal and work through the fish. Add the eggs, pepper, chives, dill, tabasco, and lemon juice. If the mixture is too wet add more cracker meal. Form 3-inch patties about 1 inch thick. You should have 8-10 cakes. Fry in hot oil in a single layer until golden, 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on a

paper towel-lined plate. Really great with salad greens with a lemon flavored dressing.

CROCK POT BBQ BEEF

ONE FAMILY

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 Tbsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 (16 oz) bottle Baby Rays BBQ sauce
3 to 4 lb. boneless roast

SIX FAMILIES
48 oz tomato sauce
6 Tbsp pepper
3 tsp oregano
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
6 16 oz bottle Baby Rays BBQ
18-24 lb boneless roast

PREPARE FOR FREEZING: Combine tomato sauce, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and pinch of sugar, add BBQ sauce. Place sauce in gallon freezer bag.
Place roast in a roaster or pan that can catch drippings and cover with lid or foil. Cook roast at 350 for 5-6 hours. Let cool. Divide if needed and place in freezer bag with sauce and freeze.

PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Thaw. Warm in oven at 350 for 1-2 hours. Slice and serve on hamburger buns or your favorite bread.

Thanks Heather

Southwest Chicken Wraps

ONE FAMILY

3 cups chopped chicken (4 breasts)

1 cup of your favorite Salsa

1 ½ t chili powder

¼ t garlic powder

1 C shredded cheddar

1 14 ½ oz can of black beans

8 flour tortillas

SIX FAMILIES

18 cups chopped chicken (24 breasts, 12 lb)
6 cups of your favorite salsa
3 T chili powder
1 ½ t garlic powder
6 C shredded cheddar
6 14 ½ oz cans of black beans
48 flour tortillas

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING: Slow cook chicken in crock pot for 5-6 hours or until it reaches shredding consistency. Combine with salsa, chili powder and garlic powder and bag for freezing. Bag cheese and tortillas for freezing and place beans in pantry.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Thaw. Heat chicken mixture on stove over med heat until heated through, about 3 min. Remove from heat, add drained and washed beans and cheese. Serve in warm tortillas and top with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. Tortillas should be allowed to thaw completely and then can be warmed in microwave or on the stove.

Notes: This is extra good with the raw tortilla’s you can buy at Costco.

It is extra frugal if you make your own tortilla! (It’s easy!)

ONE FAMILY
3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz can green chilies
2 cans white kidney beans

1/2 tsp cilantro

2 cloves of garlic-crushed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano

1 FAMILY
4 Breasts of chicken
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing packets
1 c. milk
1 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp dried minced garlic

6 FAMILIES
24 Breasts of chicken
6 packages Hidden Valley Ranch dressing packets
6 c. milk
6 c. mayonnaise
12 Tbsp dried mince garlic

To simplify this recipe and make it more frugal simply use one bottle your favorite FREE Ranch Dressing from your stockpile and add 2 T of minced garlic. It is easy and FABULESS!

TO FREEZE
In gallon-sized baggie combine ingredients, except chicken. In separate, small bag, place approx. ½ c. of mixture. Place chicken in remaining mixture in gallon-sized bag and place small bag inside.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Thaw large bag enough to get small bag out and place small bag in fridge, while allowing chicken to continue to thaw. Grill or broil chicken. In last few minutes of grilling chicken, baste chicken breasts with mixture from small bag.

TACO SALAD

ONE FAMILY

½ lb ground beef
1/3 of an onion
Taco seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 c. grated cheese

Chips

FOR 6 FAMILIES
3 lbs ground beef
1 onion
½ c taco seasoning
6 cans (90oz) kidney beans
6 c. grated cheese
Black olives
Chips

TO FREEZE
Brown meat, onions, and taco seasoning together. Divide meat mixture, black olives, and cheese into 3 separate baggies. Put the 3 bags into one bag and freeze. If kidney beans are purchased in bulk, divide those and freeze with the rest. If individual cans purchased, each person gets one. Divide out chips, do not freeze.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING
Warm meat mixture on skillet and serve over lettuce and tortilla chips. Top with sour cream, salsa, olives and guacamole, if desired.

HERB-GARLIC BURGERS

1 FAMILY
Herb-garlic butter:
3 Tbs finely chopped, mixed fresh herbs: parsley, basil, oregano, chives &/or tarragon leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c salted butter, softened
Burgers:
1 ½ lbs ground sirloin or ground round or ground chuck
coarse salt
black pepper
6 deli hamburger buns (such as Kaiser)
melted butter (to brush buns with)

6 FAMILIES
Herb-garlic butter:
12 Tbs finely chopped mixed fresh herbs: parsley, basil, oregano, chives &/or tarragon leaves
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. salted butter, softened
Burgers:
6 lbs ground sirloin, ground round, or ground chuck

coarse salt
black pepper
24 buns
melted butter (if desired to brush buns with)

Directions
Place all the herbs, garlic, pepper, and butter in a small mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until slightly fluffy. (can be done w/food processor) Place a 12″ square piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper on your work surface and mound the flavored butter in the center. Roll herb butter into cylinder shape within plastic, twisting the ends to compress the butter. Chill the butter in the refrigerator or freeze until firm. Butter will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Burger Preparation: Make hamburger patties, but for each one place your thumb in the middle and press an indentation almost through (but not quite) to the other side of the meat.
Unwrap formed butter and cut crosswise into 1/4-1/2″ discs. (You will be using approx. 4 tablespoons Herb-Garlic Butter per 1 1/2 pound of ground meat)
Form hamburger patty fully around one butter disc, pressing gently to seal the disc into the dead center of the meat.(too much pressing will make your burgers dense and tough) Place burgers on hot grill (preheated to high if using a gas grill). Grill burgers until cooked to doneness, (about 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium-done). Do not serve for about 5 minutes, to allow flavors to fully meld.

PIZZA CALZONES

1 FAMILY
1 Loaf Rhodes dough, thawed and cut in two (or dough of choice)
Toppings as you wish (pepporoni, canadian bacon, sausage, olives, pepper, mushrooms, onionMozzarella
Parmesan
Prego Sauce

6 FAMILIES (each family gets 2)
6 Loaves Rhoades dough, thawed and cut in two
See topping above or choose any other you desire

TO PREP: Thaw dough, Brown meat, onion, and garlic together

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZE . Let dough rise until really puffy. Roll out dough and put sauce, cheese, and toppings on one side only. Fold plain half over filling and pinch edges well to seal.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Grease pan. Place frozen calzone onto the pan , cover with plastic wrap. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator ½ hour before baking at 350 for 20 min.

If you haven’t checked out our Freezer Meal Cooking Series you must! It is a great way to save money on your grocery budget. We show you how to get a freezer meal cooking group together, how to do your shopping and how to organize your group on cooking day.

Here is another recipe that you can use in your freezer cooking! It is from one of my favorite, my favorite recipe blog Picky Palate!
I actually learned about Picky Palate from Cathy one summer when she was made some of Jenny’s fabulous browine recipes for a BBQ. Speaking of brownies you have to try my favorite ones The Carmel Filled Magic Brownies.

2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

½ Cup finely diced white onions

½ Cup finely diced red bell pepper

2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 12 oz can chunk chicken, drained (from Costco)

¼ Cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

¼ Cup Verde Salsa (I use Herdez brand)

2 Tablespoons prepared ranch dressing

½ package wonton wrappers (I used the brand Nasoya, found in produce section of grocery store)

1 egg white whisked with 2 Tablespoons water

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2. In large bowl add onion mixture, chicken, cilantro, salsa, ranch, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

3. Place 1 Tablespoon chicken mixture in center of wonton wrapper. Brush bottom edge with egg white wash, fold over filling and press edges together firmly, forming a triangle shape.

4. 2 options of cooking. 1st is place about 1 inch of canola or vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. When hot, place 4 wontons at a time into oil. Cook 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown. 2nd option is place wontons on a baking sheet; bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until crispy, flipping once half way through cooking.

5. Serve with Ranch dressing or salsa if desired.

TO FREEZE: Prepare as stated above. Place wontons in freezer bag and freeze.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING: Bake from frozen at 350 for 15 minutes.