freezer cooking Archives - Character Ink https://characterinkblog.com/tag/freezer-cooking/ Home of the Language Lady & Cottage Classes! Sat, 17 Jun 2017 22:42:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Amazing Breakfast Casserole https://characterinkblog.com/amazing-breakfast-casserole/ https://characterinkblog.com/amazing-breakfast-casserole/#respond Wed, 23 Dec 2015 16:07:03 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=4395 I used to have a couple of different egg casseroles in my freezer meal rotation. They were simple ways to make eggs for many, and it wasn’t uncommon for us to have the for a weekday breakfast simply because it was about as easy to stick four of them in the freezer as it was […]

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Amazing Breakfast Casserole

I used to have a couple of different egg casseroles in my freezer meal rotation. They were simple ways to make eggs for many, and it wasn’t uncommon for us to have the for a weekday breakfast simply because it was about as easy to stick four of them in the freezer as it was to make “yolky” eggs for seven kids on a given morning! Efficiency, mama, efficiency! 🙂

Unfortunately, my two favorite egg casserole recipes were loaded with carbs—one had shredded potatoes (or shredded hash browns) in the bottom and the other had toasted bread cubes. So I really haven’t made a lot of them lately.

Enter this amazing recipe. I made it for a ladies’ brunch, and a low carbing friend said, “This is so good. It’s a shame it isn’t low carb.” She thought it had to have potatoes or something else in it. But it doesn’t!

Amazing Breakfast Casserole

This recipe can also be frozen in 8 x 8 or smaller pans for smaller families, like some of the smaller pans shown here.

I will put the ingredients for one, but if you have read much of what I have written about household efficiency and kitchen/menu planning, you know I don’t like to make one of anything. So the ingredients for four (one for now; one for the freezer!) are in parentheses following each ingredient.

Each pan serves six to eight people well.

Amazing Breakfast Casserole

1 pound sausage, turkey or regular (4 lbs)

1/4 to 1/2 cup onion, chopped (1 to 2 cups)
1/4 to 1/2 cup bell pepper,chopped (1 to 2 cups)
6 eggs (24 eggs)
1 cup half & half or almond milk (4 cups)
1/2 cup water or chicken broth (2 cups)
2 cups cheese (8 cups)

Directions:

1. Brown and drain the sausage.

2. Saute onions and peppers in a little of the sausage grease until tender. (They will finish cooking in the casserole.)

3. Place sausage in bottom of greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. (If making for the freezer too, I use foil pans and just divide the meat evenly among four pans.)

4. Spread onions and peppers over the meat in the pan.

5. Mix eggs, half and half, water/broth, and cheese together.

6. Pour egg mixture over all.

7. Bake at 350 degrees convection for 30 to 40 minutes covered (regular oven 45 to 60); uncover last ten minutes.

8. Cover, label, and freeze remaining ones if you made four.

Amazing Breakfast Casserole

DATE: _____________________

1. Defrost in fridge overnight.

2. Bake at 350 degrees convection for 30 to 40 minutes covered (regular oven 45 to 60); uncover last ten minutes.

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Amazing Breakfast Casserole

 

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Philly Cheesesteak Casserole https://characterinkblog.com/philly-cheesesteak-casserole/ https://characterinkblog.com/philly-cheesesteak-casserole/#respond Tue, 15 Sep 2015 14:30:17 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3602 (With Freezer Entrée Options) Since I had my bout with very symptomatic pre-diabetes a couple of years ago, I have been trying to learn to cook and bake dishes with fewer carbs/lower glycemic index. About a year into this cooking (several months ago), I realized that one of the things that I missed the most […]

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(With Freezer Entrée Options)

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

Since I had my bout with very symptomatic pre-diabetes a couple of years ago, I have been trying to learn to cook and bake dishes with fewer carbs/lower glycemic index. About a year into this cooking (several months ago), I realized that one of the things that I missed the most were my one-dish meals.
I have been a *freezer cook* for twenty-five years now, and one of the greatest benefits of freezer cooking is pulling a nearly-complete meal out of the freezer, adding a salad, and calling it dinner. With lower carb cooking, this was seldom a reality for me.

 

Instead, I would pull a meat entrée (meat loaves, meat balls, marinated chicken breasts, cheddar coated chicken thighs, etc.) out of the oven then try to figure out what low carb/healthy sides I could put with it—while still keeping college and high school boys and my husband satisfied and full.
I missed the ease of the one dish entrée desperately, so I have been on a search for more “casserole-y” types of healthy entrees for the past several months. I have a few for you that will be coming up in the next few weeks—and this is one of those.
 
With some veggies already in it and the addition of cheese, I have what can only be described as a “nearly-one-dish-low-carb-entrée”! 🙂  And one that my guys like! Yay!
I wanted to add that this entrée can be completely assembled and frozen in 9×13 foil pans—oven ready. However, when I did that, the dish was pretty liquid-filled. Not sure if it had to do with the freezing or not, and by its nature (onions and green peppers), it is somewhat liquid-y anyway, but I changed it up and froze the prepped ingredients in separate bags to assemble and bake after defrosting. It only takes an extra five minutes, but it seemed to reduce the water-laden aspect of the dish some. If ease is more important to you and draining off some liquid is just no biggie, by all means, assemble and freeze as a casserole! (I do love my stacks of foil pans in my oven way more than assorted zip-lock bags!)

 

Oh, and as I put healthier entrees up, I will be doing just what I’ve done below (and in my mix recipes up so far): putting the regular recipe for one entrée in the main ingredient list and putting the recipe times four in bold-font parentheses for those who want to make four for the freezer.
(Do this. It doesn’t take four times the amount of time! You will be glad you did!)

 

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

(serves 4 or 5 hearty appetites)

 
16 ounces steak* (ribeye, skirt steak, or top sirloin) (4 {16 oz} steaks)
 
Marinade (makes 1 1/3 cup or 5 1/3 for freezer entrees)

  • ½ cup olive oil (2 cups)
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice (1 1/3 cup)
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce (1 1/3 cup)
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce (1 cup)
  • 3 TBSP Italian Dressing Mix (see Store Bought Stella if you do not have this mix on hand or follow the link for the recipe) (3/4 cup)

 
Other Ingredients

  • 3 medium onions, sliced (12 onions)
  • 3 green peppers, sliced (12 peppers)
  • 1 tsp garlic (4 tsp)
  • 1 tsp salt (4 tsp)
  • 1 TBSP Italian Dressing Mix (4 TBSP)
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (2 tsp)
  • 1 (16 oz) package of fresh mushrooms, sliced (4 pkgs)
  • 8 to 12 ounces Provolone or Swiss cheese slices (32 to 48 oz)

 
*Note: One of the three recipes that I used to develop this recipe called for a 12 ounce package of Hormel’s Thick Cut Beef for one entrée of this. See Store-Bought Stella note below the instructions for ideas for making this a quicker entrée.

 

Instructions for One Fresh Casserole
 
1. One hour ahead of time: Place defrosted meat in freezer so that it is easier to thinly slice it.
2. Prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients thoroughly with a wire whisk or in a food processor. Be sure all ingredients are completely processed together.
3. Cut meat against the grain into as thin slices as you can.
4. Place meat in the marinade. Sit in fridge to marinate for thirty to sixty minutes or until you have the rest of the ingredients ready.
5. While meat is marinating, cut onions, peppers, and mushroom into slices, sort of fajita style.
6. Remove meat from marinade and place all veggies along with the meat and listed seasonings into skillet.
7. Stir fry just until onions are translucent, adding more marinade for the “oil” as needed. Be sure beef does not fully cook as it will be cooking in the oven.
8. Transfer everything from skillet to 9x 13 pan.
9. Top entire casserole with slices of cheese. Cover with foil. (I usually place a layer of parchment over first, then foil so that the foil does not take off all the cheese when I remove it.)
10. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes convection (20 to 25 minutes regular) until cheese is melted.
11. Note: It is also possible to simply cook meat all the way through in the skillet, cover the entire pan of ingredients with cheese slices, cover, and continue heating until cheese is melted over all of the meat and veggies, making this a “skillet” dish.

 

 
Instructions for Four Freezer Entrees

 
1. One hour ahead of time: Place fresh meat in freezer so that it is easier to thinly slice it.
2. Prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients thoroughly with a wire whisk or in a food processor. Be sure all ingredients are completely processed together.
3. Cut meat against the grain into as thin slices as you can.
4. Divide meat among four one-gallon zip lock freezer bags.
5. Pour marinade over the bags evenly. Zip the bags, releasing the air completely.
6. Cut veggies up fajita style.
7. Toss the veggies with the remaining seasonings and divide them among four one-gallon freezer bags.
8. Divide cheese among four one-quart freezer bags (or just keep them in their package in your refrigerator until using this meal if they have a late date on them and you would rather not freeze them).
9. Secure two one-gallon bags together (one veggie bag/one meat bag) and one bag of cheese or place each set down into a two-gallon bags for a total of four entrees.
10. Label bags according to your desire (based on who is going to be cooking it, how often you make this entrée, etc.).

 

Here is a suggested label:

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
Raw meat and raw veggies DATE
Place drained meat and vegetables in skillet. Cook until onions are done. Use marinade for “oil” as needed. (Do not fully cook beef.)
Transfer all to 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with cheese slices. Cover with foil. Bake for 10 to 25 mins (convection vs. regular) until cheese is bubbly.

 

Pin It on Pinterest!

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

 


 

 

Recipe Labels & Variations

 

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe though some consider onions to be “moderate” carbs. The total dish is still extremely low carb.

 

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): While this is a very low carb entrée, you could make it a more moderate carb/family-friendly carb meal by using a low carb bread or bun, making a low carb garlic bread, serving with brown rice or quinoa for children, or making another side dishes (such as cooked carrots or a vegetable medley).

 

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): You may use two packages of Hormel All Natural Beef slices; cut into strips (you can use another brand equaling 12 oz of meat) without the marinade or precooking steps. You might want to sprinkle the beef strips with seasoning. If using these beef slices, you will need olive oil and some seasonings (sprinkles of Italian Dressing Mix?) when stir-frying the vegetables.

 

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this pretty whole-foods as written above—or make it even more homemade by using your own dried herbs.

 

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This would be considered an S entrée for THM followers. The fat in the beef, as well as the oil in the marinade and addition of cheese at the end, makes this a healthy S (but not too heavy).

 

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy option!

 

Gluten Free (GF): No fillers so no concern about hidden gluten.

 

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): Uses my Italian Dressing Mix!

 

Freezer Cooking (FC): This is a new freezer recipe in the past year for me. I am happily adding lower carb “casseroles,” one-pan, and crock pot freezer entrees to my repertoire that are not so carb-laden, but are still family-friendly!

 

 

 

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This Week’s Character Ink! Newsletter {July 3, 2015} https://characterinkblog.com/this-weeks-character-ink-newsletter-july-3-2015/ https://characterinkblog.com/this-weeks-character-ink-newsletter-july-3-2015/#respond Sat, 04 Jul 2015 13:44:44 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3144     Have you subscribed to our weekly newsletters yet?!  Here’s a peek at what you’ve missed! You can get weekly newsletters delivered to your inbox by signing up here 🙂     Over twenty-five years ago,  with four children eight and under, we learned the value of a timer. We began using them to teach […]

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Character Ink Newsletter no. 17

 

 

Have you subscribed to our weekly newsletters yet?!  Here’s a peek at what you’ve missed! You can get weekly newsletters delivered to your inbox by signing up here 🙂

 


 

Over twenty-five yTen Ways to Get Things Done FAST for Families (1) Timer Blitzesears ago,  with four children eight and under, we learned the value of a timer. We began using them to teach our children time management. We would have them do various tasks and set the timer so that they could see how long things take when they really applied themselves. For example, in setting up their morning routine charts,  we would have them run and do each task that was going to be on their chart as we timed them, then when we made the charts, we would put the time that it should take (based on our timing session) in parentheses following each line item on the chart. (This also helped us to know what was reasonable to expect in a certain time period.)  Read More→

 


 

 

Podcast: How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees and Starters

Donna Reish, author of forty curriculum books for homeschoolers and Christian schools and co-author/co-presenter of “Raising Kids With Character” Parenting Seminar (and blog), brings you another practical episode of Wondering Wednesday!

In this week’s episode, Donna explains her “cycle cooking” for freezer entrees and starters, including how to freeze entrees, how to freezer cook efficiently, how to utilize “meal starters” and “soup starters,” and much more. She takes the listener through all of her cycle types—shredded chicken, whole chicken breasts and fish pieces, crumbled ground meats, and shaped beef/roasts and teaches the ease in which a cook can get started and continue to fill the family freezer with meals.  Listen to the podcast HERE!

 

link-badge-itunes
Subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes!

 

 


 

Making thingLow Carb Pizzadillass with crepes or torts as the base is an amazing find for the low carber because these are either (1) easy to make (in the case of the crepes) or (2) easy to find (in the case of buying low carb tortillas). (Here are two of my faves to purchase: Mama Lupitas* (they are brownish but I like them best—and I usually prefer “white”—they have a more nutty taste and make better tort chips and crackers imho and Mission* (available in local stores too)—these are more acceptable to my teen sons.)  Get the recipe here!

*affiliate links

 


 

newsletter

 

 

Our newsletter archives on the blog are now full-color, and clickable!  A great way to re-read old newsletters!  Click here to check it out 🙂

 

 

 

 


 

Get the newsletters in your inbox…sign up here!

Character Ink Newsletter no. 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Podcast Handout for: “How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees” https://characterinkblog.com/podcast-handout-for-how-to-implement-cycle-cooking-for-freezer-entrees/ https://characterinkblog.com/podcast-handout-for-how-to-implement-cycle-cooking-for-freezer-entrees/#respond Fri, 03 Jul 2015 13:30:14 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3133 The following post is from this week’s podcast handout: “How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees”.   Shredded Chicken Meals Chicken lasagna Chicken strata Sour cream enchiladas Chimichangas Chicken noodle casserole Chicken tetrazinni Arroz con pollo   Starters Shredded chicken Chicken taco meat BBQ shredded chicken Hot chicken sandwich filling Chicken rice soup starter […]

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How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees and Starters

The following post is from this week’s podcast handout: “How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees”.

 

Shredded Chicken

Meals

Chicken lasagna
Chicken strata
Sour cream enchiladas
Chimichangas
Chicken noodle casserole
Chicken tetrazinni
Arroz con pollo

 

Starters

Shredded chicken
Chicken taco meat
BBQ shredded chicken
Hot chicken sandwich filling
Chicken rice soup starter
Chicken gnocchi soup starter
White bean chicken chili starter

 

Chicken Breasts and Fish Pieces

 

Meals

Chicken cordon bleu
Breaded fish fillets
Cheddar-coated breasts
Chick-Fil-A copycat
Parmesan chicken tenders
Marinated pork chops
Monterey chicken breasts
Smothered chicken breasts
Marinated salmon filets
Grilled flounder
Shrimp scampi
Chicken cacciatore
Marinated breasts

 

 

Starters

Monterey chicken bites
Garlic chicken bites
Chicken stir fry starter
Chicken sausage soup starter
Chicken flat bread (chicken pieces & veggies)
Pork chop cubes

 

 

 

Crumbled Ground Meats—Hamburger, Turkey, and Sausage

 

Meals

Spaghetti pie
Lasagna
Ground beef enchiladas
Cheeseburger potato or carrot soup
Taco pie
Cheeseburger pie
Mini cheeseburger pies
Pizza cups
Pizza casserole

 

 

Starters

Precooked hamburger
Sloppy Joes
Spaghetti sauce with meat
Taco meat
Egg roll skillet starter (sausage & onions)
Precooked sausage
Pizza toppings (onions, peppers, ground beef, sausage
Mexican pizza toppings
Pizzadilla starter

 

 

Shaped—Beef and More

 

Meals

Meatloaves
Ham loaves
Florida steak
Swiss steak
Salmon patties
Pizza burgers
Smothered steak
Philly cheesesteak casserole

 

Starters

Smoked sausage stir fry (sausage rounds, onions, peppers)
Braised beef cube mix (for stew and stroganoff)
Beef stir fry (onions, peppers, marinated beef bites)
Meatballs
Meatball sub starter (meatballs, veggies)
Shredded roast (for soups, BBQ, and pizzas/flatbread)

 

Listen to the podcast HERE! 🙂

 

 

Links:

 

 

 

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Wondering Wednesday Podcast: How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees and Starters https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-how-to-implement-cycle-cooking-for-freezer-entrees-and-starters/ https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-how-to-implement-cycle-cooking-for-freezer-entrees-and-starters/#respond Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:30:43 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3128 Donna Reish, author of forty curriculum books for homeschoolers and Christian schools and co-author/co-presenter of “Raising Kids With Character” Parenting Seminar (and blog), brings you another practical episode of Wondering Wednesday! In this week’s episode, Donna explains her “cycle cooking” for freezer entrees and starters, including how to freeze entrees, how to freezer cook efficiently, […]

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Podcast: How to Implement Cycle Cooking for Freezer Entrees and StartersDonna Reish, author of forty curriculum books for homeschoolers and Christian schools and co-author/co-presenter of “Raising Kids With Character” Parenting Seminar (and blog), brings you another practical episode of Wondering Wednesday! In this week’s episode, Donna explains her “cycle cooking” for freezer entrees and starters, including how to freeze entrees, how to freezer cook efficiently, how to utilize “meal starters” and “soup starters,” and much more. She takes the listener through all of her cycle types—shredded chicken, whole chicken breasts and fish pieces, crumbled ground meats, and shaped beef/roasts and teaches the ease in which a cook can get started and continue to fill the family freezer with meals.

Click here to download the printable handout.

SubscribeSubscribe to Character Ink! in iTunes to our Wondering Wednesday podcasts in iTunes.

 

Click here to see our previous podcasts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Podcast Handout For “Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking” https://characterinkblog.com/podcast-handout-for-ten-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-start-freezer-cooking/ https://characterinkblog.com/podcast-handout-for-ten-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-start-freezer-cooking/#respond Fri, 26 Jun 2015 20:58:06 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3060 The following post is from this week’s podcast, “Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking”. (1) What method do you think would work for you? a. Once a Month cooking b. Extra casseroles here and there c. Power Hour—a little in the freezer every week d. Cycle cooking  i. Big—a month of […]

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10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking

The following post is from this week’s podcast, “Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking”.

(1) What method do you think would work for you?

a. Once a Month cooking

b. Extra casseroles here and there

c. Power Hour—a little in the freezer every week

d. Cycle cooking

 i. Big—a month of a certain type of recipe (i.e. shredded chicken)

ii. Small—a few entrees but all the same type of recipe

 

 

(2) What do you want to end up with?

a. Full meals—add a salad

b. Meat entrees—add sides

c. Starters –just to get things going

d. Side dishes

e. Others—muffins, crepes, etc.

 

 

(3) What stage do you want your freezer entrees in?

a. Completely cooked—just thaw, heat, and eat (fully cooked meatloaves, meatballs, chicken breasts, shredded chicken starters, crumbled beef starters, etc.)

b. Somewhat cooked but still need finished (lasagna, most casseroles, enchiladas, etc.)

c. Raw—marinated but no cooking done, “thirty-five meals in two hours,” raw meatloaves and chicken breasts etc.

 

(4) What does your family eat a lot of?

 

(5) What looks good in the freezer section of the grocery?

 

(6) What can you afford?

a. How much can you buy upfront to get started?

b. What containers can you afford?

(7) How much space do you have?

 

(8) What kind of cook are you—social or loner?

 

(9) How often do you want to use freezer entrees?

 

(10) How homemade do you want to cook?

 

 

Links To Read Further:

Determining The Type of Freezer Cook You Will Be

Shredded Chicken Cooking

Ten Freezer Foods I Don’t Like to Be Without

 

Listen to the podcast HERE! 🙂

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Wondering Wednesday Podcast: Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer Cooking https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-ten-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-start-freezer-cooking/ https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-ten-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-start-freezer-cooking/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2015 18:43:01 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3053 Donna Reish, author of forty curriculum books for homeschoolers and Christian schools and co-author/co-presenter of “Raising Kids With Character” Parenting Seminar (and blog), brings you a practical episode of Wondering Wednesday! In this week’s episode, Donna answers some of the questions that she is often asked about freezer cooking—with ten questions you want to ask […]

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10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Freezer CookingDonna Reish, author of forty curriculum books for homeschoolers and Christian schools and co-author/co-presenter of “Raising Kids With Character” Parenting Seminar (and blog), brings you a practical episode of Wondering Wednesday! In this week’s episode, Donna answers some of the questions that she is often asked about freezer cooking—with ten questions you want to ask yourself before you begin freezer cooking. Donna gives you insights into freezer cooking by looking at areas such as what stage you want your freezer meals in when you defrost them, what containers can you afford, what types of meals do you want to end up with, and what kind of cook are you. By answering these (and several other) questions, you can be ready to dig in to freezer cooking and get organized for healthy meals for your family.

 

Click here to download the printable handout.

SubscribeSubscribe to Character Ink! in iTunes to our Wondering Wednesday podcasts in iTunes.

 

Click here to see our previous podcasts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wondering Wednesday Podcast: Five Tips To Be More Efficient in the Kitchen https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-five-tips-to-be-more-efficient-in-the-kitchen/ https://characterinkblog.com/wondering-wednesday-podcast-five-tips-to-be-more-efficient-in-the-kitchen/#respond Wed, 17 Jun 2015 20:06:42 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=3008 Donna Reish, author of Meaningful Composition, Character Quality Language Arts, and Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar as well as the Character Ink blog, brings you another episode of Wondering Wednesday. In this episode, Donna answers questions about efficiency in the kitchen. She gives her five top tips for becoming more efficient in the kitchen […]

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5 Tips To Be More Efficient in the KitchenDonna Reish, author of Meaningful Composition, Character Quality Language Arts, and Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar as well as the Character Ink blog, brings you another episode of Wondering Wednesday. In this episode, Donna answers questions about efficiency in the kitchen. She gives her five top tips for becoming more efficient in the kitchen including:

1. Using a crock pot

2. Having 10 meals that you always have ingredients on hand for

3. Cooking meat in the crock pot and freezing it

4. Making combination meals whenever possible, and

5. Putting something in the freezer each week.

Join Donna and she gives you inspiration and ideas for becoming more efficient in your kitchen.

 

Click here to download the printable handout.

Subscribe to our Wondering Wednesday podcasts in iTunes.

 

 

 

 

See all of our podcasts here!

 

 

 

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Low Carb Pizzadillas https://characterinkblog.com/low-carb-pizzadillas/ https://characterinkblog.com/low-carb-pizzadillas/#respond Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:30:00 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=2514   Once I got on to using crepes (and/or tortillas, depending on your preference) for so many things (advice from DJ Foodie of Low Carbing Among Friends), I went crazy! There are literally dozens of things to do with crepes (savory or sweet) and/or tortillas—low carb or other!   (So if you are not a […]

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Low Carb Pizzadillas

Once I got on to using crepes (and/or tortillas, depending on your preference) for so many things (advice from DJ Foodie of Low Carbing Among Friends), I went crazy! There are literally dozens of things to do with crepes (savory or sweet) and/or tortillas—low carb or other!

 

(So if you are not a low carber but just trying to make things more healthfully for your family, read on….using healthy crepes and torts is a great way to reduce white flour and high carb/starchy use and feed your kids healthier options without their knowing it! 🙂 )

 

 

Making things with crepes or torts as the base is an amazing find for the low carber because these are either (1) easy to make (in the case of the crepes) or (2) easy to find (in the case of buying low carb tortillas). (Here are two of my faves to purchase: Mama Lupitas (they are brownish but I like them best—and I usually prefer “white”—they have a more nutty taste and make better tort chips and crackers imho and Mission (available in local stores too)—these are more acceptable to my teen sons.)

Low Carb Pizzadillas

Low Carb Pizzadillas!

 

 

I will be sharing the dozens of ways I use the crepes and torts (see using crepes as noodles here)  on the blog in the future, but today I bring you a super alternative to frozen pizza for your family! (My teen and college sons will eat this readily for a party/movie night—that is a really good sign!)

 

You cannot pick this dish up like you can pizza or even quesadillas simply because it is too chock full of yumminess. But it is worth all the messiness and utensil-needing!

 

 

Here’s the scoop (very loosely!)

•Crepes or tortillas

•Pizza or marinara sauce

•Pizza ingredients: cheeses, veggies, meats (precooked)…whatever you like

 

1. Place one crepe or tort on a baking dish sprayed (and I use parchment…always parchment…no time for messy dishes!).

2. Put sauce on that crepe (according to how saucy you like your pizza).

3. Put pizza ingredients on top of sauce.

4. Top with another crepe or tort.

5. Bake at 375 for about 15 to 20 minutes convection (20 to 25 regular) until filling is gooey and crepes are golden.

6. Remove from oven and slice with pizza cutter into fourths. Serve with forks! 🙂

 

Recipe Labels and Variations

 

 

Low Carb (LC): With the homemade low carb crepes, this is an extremely low carb dish. I would guess that with those, a full double-crepe pizzadilla (which would be a lot of food!) to be one-twentieth of a personal pizza carb count! They are extremely low carb and quick to make. Depending on which low carb tortilla you use, the carb count on the torts alone (two per huge double tort pizzadilla!) would still only be between six and twelve net carbs. Technically, depending on how full you fill the crepes/torts, a full pizzadilla (with two crepes/torts) is probably two servings anyway….very filling. So yes, very low carb!

 

 

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This is one of my MOST family-friendly low carb recipes—especially with store bought, slightly higher carb torts (Mission). It is still going to be probably one tenth of a personal pan pizza carb-wise, so the carbs are still low even with the store bought, white torts. But the real kicker here is how “un-low-carb” this dish tastes. (Yes, that is a word when you are trying to feed teen and college boys!) Nutshell: low carb and kids love these!

 

 

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): You Stellas are in business here….you can quite literally buy everything in this dish and simply spend ten minutes assembling a bunch of them! Low carb tortillas; pre-cooked crumbled or link sausage; pepperoni;  pre-chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms; shredded cheeses; jarred pizza sauce. Go make this!

 

 

Homemade Hannah (HH): For you Homemade Hannah’s out there, try the homemade low carb crepe recipe! It is a homemade treat that gives homemade cooks a lot of homemade options! (Emphasis on the “homemade” there!)

 

 

 Freezer Cooking (FC): I definitely use my freezer cooking skills to do prep work for this. In other words, I always have these things for this dish in my freezer: crepes (just make and stack in a plastic bowl with parchment between…always parchment…) and freeze; pre-cooked hamburger or ground turkey; pre-made sausage patties or links that I cut up for dishes like this one; and more. Other variations of this use other freezer items I have on hand: taco meat for tacodillas (!); shredded chicken and pre-cooked chicken chunks for Alfredo-dillas (okay, getting a little carried away here!); etc. Somehow I always dovetail all new recipes with my long-term-love-affair with freezer cooking!

 

 

 Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): While this is not an Oldie Goldie recipe, it is a whole lot easier than my OG homemade pizzas!

 

 

 Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This is a definite S entrée for THM’s. And depending on which base you use and what your fillings are, you could probably even make it an E—with low fat meats, low fat cheeses, and the right fat count base. I could see making this an easy E with shredded chicken, veggies, and Laughing Cow cheese.

 

 

 Cycle Cooking (CYC):  Just like my Freezer Cooking, this is not in a “cycle,” so to speak, but I do the various meats and even the torts in my cycles. Ground beef and taco meat are in my crumbled beef cycle. Shredded chicken in my Shredded Chicken Cycle; chicken chunks in my Chicken Breast Cycle; and the crepes in my Basic Flour Mix Cycle. Cycle cooking, along with Freezer Cooking, makes everything faster!

 

 

 Sugar Free (SF): No sugar in the crepes or torts to speak of. Definitely choose a low sugar pizza sauce or marinara (i.e. not the luscious, sugar-laden Prego!). My experience has been that lower sugar sauces are often found in glass jars (i.e. often more expensive, lesser known brands) and generic brands. Check them out!

 

 

 Gluten Free (GF):  The gluten-free option for this recipe is to make the crepes using the Basic Flour Mix Gluten-Free option. Very doable!

 

 

 Low Carb Mixes (LCM):  The crepes are made using the Basic Low Carb Flour Mix. Love my Low Carb Mixes!

 

 

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

 

 

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The BEST Low-Carb Biscuits https://characterinkblog.com/the-best-low-carb-biscuits/ https://characterinkblog.com/the-best-low-carb-biscuits/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2015 13:37:37 +0000 http://characterinkblog.com/?p=2705 There is no doubt in my mind that in the eighteen months that I have been baking low carb, I have made at least twenty different low carb biscuit recipes! Agghh…..that is a lot of expensive flour and even more time than I care to think about.   The bottom line is that we are […]

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BEST Low Carb Biscuits
There is no doubt in my mind that in the eighteen months that I have been baking low carb, I have made at least twenty different low carb biscuit recipes! Agghh…..that is a lot of expensive flour and even more time than I care to think about.

 

The bottom line is that we are picky! We are used to home cooked/home baked foods with white and wheat flours. Casseroles, roasts with potatoes, homemade pizza, and pot pies were all dishes in my repertoire of recipes in thirty-four years of cooking and baking for a family of (eventually!) nine on one income.

 

And none of us have embraced the low carb baked goods with open arms! I talked about the idea of using as little low carb flour (even my Basic Low Carb Flour Mix) as possible while enhancing dishes with more familiar tastes, such as cream cheese, pumpkin, zucchini, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc. These dishes (and I have a ton of them coming throughout the summer!) have been much more readily accepted by my college and teen sons and hubby.

 

This recipe is a perfect example of that! Rather than having a 1 ½ to 2 cup low carb flour addition and the “regular” milk, butter, and baking powder that you often find in “normal” biscuits, this recipe has the flour “diluted” with cheese and cream cheese. And these biscuits are much tastier for it! 🙂

 

The recipe as given does not have as much rise (though the texture and taste are quite good!) as the biscuits with a little bit of sprouted wheat flour added. (See the side-by-side pictures below.) They really rise and have a very similar texture to soft white flour biscuits with just ¼ a cup of sprouted flour subbed for some of the low carb flour mix. It is, of course, up to each baker as to whether she can afford the extra two carbs per biscuit that the sprouted flour adds—and also whether one can tolerate gluten (though sprouted flour is definitely less glutenous and not as hard on digestion as regular wheat flour).

 

I don’t want to discourage you from making them as the recipe is first given—they really are the best very low carb biscuits I have had. However, the more “family-friendly low carb” version is just that—family-friendly. Try them both ways! 🙂

 

Low Carb Biscuits

BEST Low-Carb Biscuits

 

  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened (or sour cream or plain yogurt—may need more flour if mixture is too wet when using one of these)
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 TBSP butter (I am going to leave this out next time; I think the fat in the cream cheese and shredded cheese will be enough!)
  • ½ cup shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, cheddar, or “orange blend” for more savory biscuits; mozzarella cheese for sweet use)
  • ¾ cup Basic Low Carb Flour Mix (see FFLC note below)
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • Optional: 1 to 2 packets of sugar free sweetener (Truvia, Splenda, etc.) (I add this when I make the biscuits with mozzarella cheese and want to make a sweeter type of biscuit rather than too savory.)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º.BEST Low-Carb Biscuits
2. Whisk cream cheese with mixer (love my Kitchen Aid!).
3. Beat in the eggs and butter (if using).
4. Once cream cheese is incorporated fully with the eggs and butter (otherwise you will have little pieces of cream cheese here and there), add flour mix with soda and baking powder sprinkled into the flour mix.
5. Mix thoroughly, and then add shredded cheese at end.  (When I removed my mixing bowl from the mixer, I mixed further with a rubber spatula from the bottom as large mixers sometimes do not get all of the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl when mixing small amounts.)
6. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a parchment-lined (or sprayed with cooking spray) baking pan. I like to use a round pie pan and drop them in a “high heap” so that they rise better and do not spread out as much.
7. Bake in convection oven for twelve to thirteen minutes (regular oven 13 to 16 minutes). Allow to sit in pan for a few minutes after removing pan from the oven.

 

Makes eight medium-sized biscuits that are especially yummy with this awesome low carb, sugar-free strawberry freezer jam. (I use mozzarella cheese when I am going to have the biscuits for shortcakes or with jam.)

 

Low-Carb Biscuits with Sugar Free Strawberry Jam

 

 

Recipe Labels and Variations

 

 

Low Carb (LC): As mentioned above, these are very low carb. Be careful when choosing your shredded cheese. Some pre-shredded cheeses have carbs added to them (fillers, anti-clumping agents), and this will affect the carb count of the biscuits. As is, these are very low carb since the Basic Low Carb Flour Mix has only eight carbs in the ¾ cup of mix that this recipe calls for!

 

 

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): To make these more family-friendly, I used ½ cup of the low carb flour mix and ¼ cup of this sprouted white wheat flour. This adds almost-two carbs per biscuit. Again, the rise and texture of these is amazing, but whether you feel you can afford two more carbs per biscuit and/or whether you can tolerate the sprouted flour will make a difference in whether you choose this option. (FFLC’ers, see gluten-free note below too.)

 

 

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS: This is home-cooked baking—BUT SBS, rejoice! If you take the time to make the Basic Low Carb Flour Mix, eight of these yummy biscuits can be whipped up in a stand mixer in five minutes!
Homemade Hannah (HH): HH’s should love my baking mixes, including this Basic Low Carb Flour Mix! It makes home baking a snap!

 

 

Freezer Cooking (FC): These biscuits can definitely be frozen! (Check out the picture of my freezer bounty! Love to be prepared while others are eating high carb treats!) Just “flash freeze” on trays and then bag in zip-lock bags once they are frozen. (Or if you have freezer room, place them in plastic containers with parchment between…always parchment…I love parchment!)

 

 

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): This is drastically different than my old biscuit recipes, but it is way healthier!

 

 

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): I am waiting for the exact carb count on this from my tech girl, but I am thinking (according to rough calculations) that each one has approximately two to three carbs each (as recipe is given). This makes this an easy S for two biscuits! If you are not opposed to using sprouted wheat flour in an S setting, you can even get by with the FFLC version of these in an S setting.

 

My homemade low-carb biscuits in the freezer!

My homemade low-carb biscuits in the freezer!

 

Cycle Cooking (CYC): Again, while not in my “shredded chicken cycle,” etc., I do love to have a low carb baking day in which I bake a bunch of low carb goodies for my freezer! (See pic! 🙂 )
Sugar Free (SF): No sugar here! I have toyed with the idea of adding a packet of Splenda or Truvia to the dough to cut some of the saltiness of it. Let me know if you try that!

 

 

Gluten Free (GF): People who are celiac or who cannot tolerate gluten at all probably cannot use the sprouted wheat flour option for the fluffier version of these. However, the Basic Low Carb Flour Mix has a gluten-free option that works great for GF folks. Additionally, you may also use half of the flour mix and half gluten-free flour in this recipe to get a little higher and fluffier biscuits while still having a healthier flour alternative.

 

 

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): As mentioned, this uses my Basic Low Carb Flour Mix.

 

 

 

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

 

 

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