Freezer Rols & Split Pea Soup

 

Hey ladies!  This month I thought we could all get cozy with some warm rolls and hot soup!  The rolls are baked a little in advance so you only have to pop them in the oven for a bit right out of the freezer.  The soup recipe is one that came from a sweet friend of mine from medical school, Julie Jensen.  She brought this lovely soup to us when we had just had Lincoln.  I had never cared for split pea soup until this recipe.  I hope you find it equally satisfying! 

Taste of Home Freeze & Bake Rolls 

Recipe Yield:  48 rolls

Ingredients

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast (or about 5 tsp.)

• 1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)

• 2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided

• 1-1/2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 4 teaspoons salt

• 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• Butter, melted

   

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 2 teaspoons sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add milk, oil, salt and remaining sugar. Stir in enough flour to form a stiff dough.
2. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
3. Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four portions. Cover three portions with plastic wrap. Divide one portion into 12 balls. To form knots, roll each ball into a 10-in. rope; tie into a knot and pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Place dough knots 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets; brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 20-30 minutes.
5. To serve immediately, bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes. To freeze for later use, partially bake at 300° for 15 minutes. Allow to cool; freeze. Reheat frozen rolls at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Yield: 4 dozen. 

Julie Jensen's Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Recipe Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 - 16 oz pkg split green peas, rinsed
• 2 cups sliced ham
• 3 carrots, sliced (I actually used parsnips instead since I had them on hand)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper
• 1 1/2 quarts hot water (I adjusted this to 1 1/4 because after the first batch I found it a bit watery)
• 2 - 14 oz cans chicken broth (I used fat free)

Directions

1. Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given in ingredient list
2. Finish by pouring in water and chicken broth. Do not stir. 
3. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until vegetables are soft. 
4. Remove bay leaf. 
5. Mash peas to thicken soup, if desired.
6. If you want to freeze any, cool completely and then freeze in freezer bags.
7. To serve after frozen, thaw completely and reheat on the stovetop! This one freezes REALLY well.

Nutritional information: Per 1 cup serving: Calories 133; Total Fat 5.3g; Cholesterol 14mg; Sodium 1465mg; Total Carbohydrates 10g; Dietary Fiber 0g; Protein 9g.

Recipes from Meal Swaps #1 and #2

Mom's Slow Cooker Chili
(from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/02/10-slow-cooker-freezer-meals-in-less.html)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (you could also use ground turkey)

1 onion, diced

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce

1/4 cup water

1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans

1 packet chili seasoning mix

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon sugar

Directions:

Brown ground beef with chopped onion. While they are browning, combine all other ingredients in resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. When the browned hamburger and onion has cooled down, add it to the rest of the ingredients in the freezer bag and zip closed.

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours. Top with shredded cheese and crackers or Frito's corn chips.

Chickpea Curry

(adapted from CHICKEN CURRY from mamaandbabylove.com/2011/04/05/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker-recipes/)

 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1.5-2 pounds chicken thighs, or breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces (I substituted 2 cans lo-sodium chickpeas)
• 2 cups chopped peeled sweet potatoes
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 2 cup coarsely chopped mango or 2 cans of chopped mango
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 zucchini chopped, about one cup
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup per bag - make your own 
• .5 cup raisins (for garnish)
• .5 cup peanuts or cashews (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Divide everything into two separate one gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freeze
2. To cook, take out of freezer and set on counter for about 30 minutes, then dump contents of bag into slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours
3. If you want, you can add 1/2 cup of chicken stock to have more sauce, but the liquid from the frozen meat and vegetables melting should give you enough liquid to work with

Every slow cooker is different, so just watch yours the first time you make it.

 

Extra tips:

 

  I have to tell you, I was so excited to try this recipe out.  The ingredients are 'whole foods', the food in the bags was so beautiful... it had to be good, right?  Well, I was disappointed that it was bland -- it definitely would have been better with about 1 teaspoon salt added.  Maybe it was the lo-sodium chicken stock I used?  And when we made it, I forgot to add the garnish at the end, so maybe that would have helped.  Anyway, I will try others of her recipes in the future because I like the idea of using minimally processed foods.  

 

  The other thing I didn't realize until looking into making swap meal #3, was that recipes from mamaandbabylove are meant to make 12 servings!  No wonder she said to divide it up into 2 bags!  And no wonder it easily fed my family of 2 adults and 3 kids + 4 adults we had for company + leftovers!  Keep this in mind if you use her recipes in the future!

 

  This is why I say I'm still getting the hang of this serving-size thing.  The sixsistersstuff site doesn't mention how many servings their recipes make (and I haven't made my own chili yet, so I still don't know from experience...), so that is a fore-warning for swap #3 recipe from me (beef stew): I hope it makes at least 6 servings! Everytime I just follow a recipe it has been a stab in the dark as to the serving sizes, so this is my official and last apology for the craziness of my meal sizes!

 

OK!  That's it!

Hearty Beef Stew

 (from Sixsistersstuff.com, or http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html)

Ingredients:

1 pound beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup (I used 1 reduced sodium, 1 reg sodium)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours).