Favorite Freezer Foods is a guide to freezing food, freezer cooking and meal planning with recipes, instructions and community.

Fabulous Freezer Meals Review

Part of Jenny Stangers inspiration for this recipe book comes from disliking once a month cooking.

 She tried OAMC and quit, but instead of giving up on freezer cooking she adapted it to fit her lifestyle.

This book teaches you how stock your freezer with some basics made in bulk and with recipes that make enough to feed your family two or three times so you can cook once, have dinner ready tonight and get one or two more freezer meals stocked up for later. Every recipe has the yield at the top so you’ll know exactly how much it makes before you start cooking.

The recipes have a good balance between from scratch and shortcut recipes with timesaving prepared ingredients. My favorite aspect of the book is the Emergency Substitutions in case you run out of something or you are the make-everything-from-scratch type.

There are some recipes that call for prepared ingredients, like cream of soups or cake mix, not listed in the emergency substitutions but, if you’re so inspired, you can just google them and make them from scratch too.

These recipes also make use of your crock pot more than any other freezer recipe book I’ve seen so far. And using the crock pot means you can get other things done while dinner is cooking.

Included in the directions for preparing these fabulous freezer meals Jenny also tells you how to wrap and label the dish. I would suggest including the name of your freezer meal with her label suggestions so you don’t have to guess which meal your pulling out.

There are also call out boxes with great tips that help make life in the kitchen tastier, like always marinating meat before cooking, and easier, like putting onions in the freezer for 15 minutes so they don’t make you cry when cutting them.

The book starts with a chapter on Freezer Recipe Basics, with info on what freezes well and what doesn’t, storage times, packaging, organizing your freezer, supplies and defrosting and refreezing safety.

After that there is a chapter of “bulk recipes” to stock your freezer with which Jenny also uses as building block for meals. Some of these are super simple like cubed ham and chicken, browned ground beef, and cooked rice designed to save time when cooking and others make great sides like Refried Beans, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Onion Rings and Sweet Shredded Pork.

The Muffins and Breads chapter has a Mix-and-Match Muffin Mix Recipe that you can flavor to your hearts desire with directions to freeze them raw and bake them fresh. Other recipes include the gourmet Cherry Cheesecake Muffins and Chocolate-Chunk Pumpkin Bread and staples such as Wheat Bread, White Bread and Pizza Dough.

Fabulous Freezer Meals also has chapters on Drinks and Popsicles and Ice Cream Cakes which leaves me wondering why this info isn’t in every freezer cooking book. Jenny makes it easy to have homemade Fudge Pops and Jelly-Roll Ice Cream Cake instead of running off to the store. On top of that there’s still another chapter devoted to desserts.

You’ll also find recipes for breakfast, main dishes, school lunches, soups, salads and sides.

The index is sorted by both recipe names and ingredients and the book includes Emergency Substitutions and Alcohol Substitutions, both of which are great reference tools.

Don’t clear any space on your bookshelf, this is the kind of cookbook you actually keep in the kitchen.

This article was posted yesterday in the Deseret News. Thank you Valerie for the excellent review on my two new books.  I’m so excited for football season to start!

Fan fare: BYU-Utah rivalry now extends to cookbooks
By Valerie Phillips
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 3:47 p.m. MDT

Rise and shout, the cookbooks are out!

The Utah-BYU football rivalry is always hotly debated. Now you can put some of that heat to good use in the kitchen with “The Brigham Young University Cougars Cookbook” and “University of Utah Utes Cookbook,” both by Jenny Ahlstrom Stanger (Gibbs-Smith, $14.95 each).

Fans can cook up dishes dedicated to their favorite teams for tailgating and TV watching, such as Blue Zone BBQ Chicken Salad, Helaman Hall Hoagies, Whack-a-Coug Wraps and Mighty Ute Meatballs.

“They’re all winners for tailgate parties, and they all can serve large groups of people and are easy to transport,” Stanger said.

Some of the recipes are familiar favorites given fan-themed titles, such as BYU Hawaiian Haystacks or Utah Man Sliders, which are mini sloppy joes. The Crimson Night Chicken Puffs are a version of Savory Crescent Chicken Squares, which became a classic after winning the 1974 Pillsbury Bake-off. Dried cranberries give them their crimson appeal.

Stanger said she was approached about writing a BYU cookbook by editors at Gibbs-Smith Publisher, whom she met while seeking a publisher for her first book, “Fabulous Freezer Meals” (Brigham Distributing, $17.95).

Stanger, who lives in Elwood, is a BYU graduate in family life education, and has taught cooking classes at Thanksgiving Point and other venues.

After the BYU book, she was asked to do the Utes cookbook.

Stanger said the BYU book captures her favorite memories with food.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve attended BYU football games with my grandpa, my parents, and then as a BYU student.”

She attended BYU-Hawaii for two years and worked as an Especially For Youth counselor at BYU-Idaho, so she was familiar with both of those campuses, as well.

“I have a very good memory for food, smells and tastes. And it seems most of the BYU events I’ve been involved with, they have served similar food such as mint brownies, sugar cookies, sparkle punch or BYU Creamery ice cream,” she said.

The Popcorn Popping Balls comes from the song “Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree” sung at football games. Happy Valley Fudge was inspired by the “to-die-for” fudge sold in the BYU Bookstore, she said.

“The Carillon Bell Tower Breadsticks are similar to The Pizza Factory breadsticks sold down the street from BYU,” she said. “That’s where my husband first met my parents. It was on our second date, and it wasn’t planned. And I was rather embarrassed.”

The Snickers Salad may sound like an odd combination — it’s slices of apple and candy bar pieces smothered in whipped cream. “But it’s really good. It’s one of the best things I ate at BYU-Idaho.”

From now until Monday Aug 23, I am giving away two free copies of  “Fabulous Freezer Meals: Over 200 Great-Tasting Recipes to Save Time and Money” published by Walnut Springs Press in Salt Lake City, Utah!  If you already have a copy, this book also would make a great wedding present or gift for someone you love so please enter.

This book is a collection of delicious recipes for great-tasting dishes that freeze well and that your family will love. With the unique ideas in this book, you can quickly and easily stock your freezer, ensuring that a convenient, delicious meal is always just minutes away.

Each recipe uses everyday ingredients and includes easy-to-follow instructions for preparation and freezing. Featuring recipes for entrees, soups, sides, appetizers, beverages, and desserts, this fun, informative book will change the way you cook!

Fabulous Freezer Meals was written by Jenny Stanger, who has a passion for both family and food. For several years, she has taught cooking classes and has made frequent Guest Chef appearances on local television shows.

Contest details:

Anyone in the world can enter to win Fabulous Freezer Meals: Over 200 Great-Tasting Recipes to Save Time and Money up to THREE times.

For one entry, leave a comment about one of the articles on this post.   Example  I am excited to try making a Bento Box for my 1st grader next week!  I made some flower shapped cheese slices to put on crackers yesterday for a snack and they were  big hit!

For a second entry, click here to leave a quick review on  Amazon about what you think of this book.  I have two reviews currently, so your review would be much appreciated.  Then leave a comment on freezerdinner.com stating your name and that you left a review.  Example:  Jenny S, I left a review!

For a third entry, I like you! So please “like” Freeze it and Feast Later on Facebook. Once you “like” me or if you have already “liked” me in the past, in a NEW comment state your name, last initial and “I Like Freezerdinner.com”.
Example: Jenny S: I Like “Freezerdinner.com”

The two winners of Fabulous Freezer Meals: Over 200 Great-Tasting Recipes to Save Time and Money will be announced Tuesday, Aug 22nd. Please visit us then to see if you are our winner.   I will also contact the winners.

Thanks and have a fabulous week!

The Pizza muffins shown here have a cute tiger face punched out of seaweed sheet with a  craft punch.  Aren’t they cute?!

Pizza Muffins

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup diced pepperoni

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

4 green onions, chopped

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, basil, oregano and sugar. Mix in green onions, pepperoni and 1 cup cheese. In a smaller bowl beat the egg, then whisk in buttermilk. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups until half full. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese on top of muffins. Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the muffin comes out clean.

To make jumbo pizza muffins, use a jumbo muffin tin (sprayed with cooking spray) and increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Watch closely to make sure muffins don’t overcook and dry out. Insert a toothpick to check doneness.

Cool muffins, individually wrap in plastic and freeze in a large zip-top bag. Place one or two muffins in a lunchbox and they will defrost and be ready to eat by lunchtime. Yield: 20 muffins.

* One of my favorite sections in my book is the Emergency Substitutions section.  I am always out of something when baking.  A great substitution recipe for buttermilk (because I rarely buy it) is  for 1 cup of buttermilk: 1 cup of milk and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar

Creativity with food is a talent I have always admired and wish I was better at.   The other night after blogging  about  school lunches,  I started researching more ideas on how to make Hello Kitty sandwiches for my 1st grader.   In my research I came across some fun ideas.  Have you ever heard of Bento Boxes?  The picture above came from this bento box blog.

Bento Box lunches are very famous in Japan.   The simplest definition of bento is that it is the Japanese word for a boxed lunch. The lunch is usually 3 parts carbs, 1 part protein,and 2 parts fruits, veggies and sometimes a small treat. The foods are selected to provide a balance of colors, flavors and textures.

Looking at bento box pictures has inspired me to add more fruits and veggies of different colors.  Bentos are all so beautiful.  Oh man, I am so excited!

A whole new world of creativitiy with food has opened up!  My bento boxes will probably be nowhere near as cute as the ones posted here because of lack of time.  But, I do like how colorful and nutritious they are.  I also like the idea of adding a few flower shaped carrots, a smiley face and accessories to lunch.   Even something as simple as this one is still cute.  This picture comes from this site. A cute newlywed has started making bentos for her husbands lunch  This is one of her first bentos.

I’m in love with these cute tiger muffins.

There are lots of Bento Box Blogs out there with hundreds of ideas on how to put them together.   One of my favorites is called Happy Little Bento.   This cute Kailan bento is from there.

Look at those darling flower carrots!   Kailan is a hard boiled egg (a great source of protein).  Her edible face was made from these craft punches available at any craft store.  Who knew you can use them on food?

So, how do you get started?

You probably have most of the items in your kitchen already.  You need a box with a lid for the bento box.  You can buy bento boxes in all shapes and sizes.  I guess in Japan this year, bento boxes with fairy tale characters are very popular right now.   I bought this one for my daughter.  She loves cats and black and white.

This set includes a bento box with a double layer in the box, a chop sticks set, a band to hold the box together and a bag to put it all in.  I spent a year in China when I was 19, so because of my stories,  my 1st grader loves everything Asian.  She’ll be excited to show off her chop stick skills in he lunchroom.

You will also need cookie cutters, (the stainless steel ones are to cut shapes into veggies) and silicon cupcake dividers  keep wet foods from touching the dry food.  They are oven and dishwasher safe.  The ideas in these picture come from this site.

After that it just takes a few simple steps to make a darling bento.  Stacking veggies and fruit looks great and ham and cheese roll ups add more protien and will please even the pickiest eaters.

I ordered this book called “Yum Yum Bento Box” on Amazon by Crystal Watanabe, to give me some more cute ideas.  I am excited to learn how to make sticky rice balls.  I really like to eat them, I just haven’t mastered the skill yet to make them, let alone die them fun colors.

Did you know you can press hard boiled eggs into shapes?

After boiling an egg, if you quickly peel it before it cools, then you put it into a press and it will hold it’s shape. You can buy egg molds for $3 on Amazon.

Make sure the egg molds you purchase say they are for large or extra large eggs.  Some molds are made for quail eggs.  After your eggs are pressed, you can dip them in a cup of food coloring.  How fun!  I can’t wait to try it out.

You may be thinking that making bentos is way too time consuming, but I found a lady named “Biggie” that gives lots of bento speed tips on her blog for making quick bentos.  She teaches how to freeze sandwiches already made, how to use leftovers and make  quick inexpensive jello cups.  That way your bentos will be easy to assemble every morning.

After you assemble the food then comes the fun part.  There are bento accessories you can put in your bento!  Below are some cute little plastic character toothpicks.  You can also buy tiny sauce containers with animals on top.  The possibilites are endless.    I love these pandas that cost only a few dollars on ebay.

You can see how they are tucked in to this bento.  Adorable.

I would love to hear if you have ever made bento boxes before.  I can’t believe I’ve never heard of these until this week!  I’m sure grateful for the incredible bloggers that share these fun ideas with us.

My youngest is starting 1st grade and will be taking a school lunch with her every day to school.  She is an extreme introvert so I know by lunch time she will be exhausted and ready to come home.  I’m hoping school lunch will be like a giant hug from me to keep her going for a few more hours at school.  Any ideas you have to offer would be much appreciated.  I’ve been researching school lunch ideas for quite some time now.  Here are a few tips I’ve gathered.  I especially want to thank my sister-in-law for her ideas.  I’m really getting excited for school to start again.

The question is, how to make lunch easy to put togeter and afordable?  I would love to pay for my daughter to have hot lunch every day at school, but I’m worried about how heatlhy school lunch really is. After watching Jamie Olivers Food Revolution, I’m not so sure about school lunch anymore.  Yuck.

It will be a treat once in a while for her.  My favorite thing about school lunch when I was little was the cute little milk cartons (I loved it when we could choose chocolate milk) the rolls and the big peanut butter bars topped with chocolate frosting.  Mmm.  Those were so good.

Picking the right lunch box.  I’ve been advised to choose one that can fit both a water bottle and a thermos.  A 1 cup size thermos is large enough for a first grader.  I think a warm thermos with chicken noodle soup or cinnamon roll oatmeal would be a welcome site for lunch.  We’ll have to see what my 6 year old likes.  She’s a picky one.

These Ziploc press and seal containers are perfect for making a  fruitcup for each day of the week.  I like to buy a 106 oz can of pineapple or peaches from Costco (They are only $3 or $4 each.  I wish they sold one with Mandarin oranges for that price.  My kids inhale those.)  You can freeze pineapple in cupcake pans for 1 hour or until frozen and then store then in a large zip top bag in your freezer.  When getting ready for school lunch for the week place 1 cup of fruit in 5 ziploc press and seal containers and grab one each day when you’re filling up the lunch box. 

The second item I will put in the lunch box will be crackers, string cheese, jerky, nuts or a granola bar.  I’m not a big fan of store bought granola bars.  They are just too full of sugar for me and make me feel sick.  Below is a delicious granola bar recipe with all kinds of healthy yummy things in it.  You can add more healthy things like pumpkin seeds, flax seed, protien powder, etc..  Cater it to your childs taste. 

Chewy Granola Bars

Yield: Two 9 x 13 -inch pans (about 16 bars each)

Crust

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup finely chooped walnuts

2/3 cup (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) butter melted

Filling

4 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

4 teaspoons vanilla

2 Tablepsoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped dried berries

2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup shreddded coconut

1 1/3 cup granola or quick-cooking oats

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  For crust mix together 2 cups flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup walnuts; blend melted butter until crumbs form.  Press into 2 greased (or foil pans) 9 x 13-inch pans.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes until light golden brown.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy, gradually add  1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 brown sugar.  Then stir in the vanilla.  Add flour, baking powder and salt.  Then add dried berries, nuts, coconut and granola (or oats).  Pour over partially baked crust and bake for 20-25 minutes longer, or until the bars are set.  Cool for about 1 hour then cut into bars and roll in powdered suar.  Slice and place in zip-top freezer bags, or warp bars indivdually for a quick lunchbox treat. 

For the main dish in the lunchbox, I have lots of fun ideas in my new book “Fabulous Freezer Meals”.  Most recipes can be made quickly in the morning, or frozen for future lunches. 

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

Yield: 5 servings

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup ranch salad dressing

1/3 cup spinach pesto

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked (or canned) chicken

10 slices toasted whole-wheat bread

In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, ranch dressing; beat until smooth.  Stir in pesto and chicken.  Spread chicken filling on bread to make sandwiches.  Wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and place in a large freezer bag.  label the bag of sandwiches and freeze.

To serve:

Let sandwiches defrost overnight in the refrigerator and place with an ice pack in the lunch box or add to lunchboxes in the morning and let thaw until lunchtime.  Make sure sandwiches are eaten witing 2 hours of thawing completely.

Peanut Butter Granola Wraps

1½ cups peanut butter

1½ cups granola

½ cup chopped peanuts

3 tablespoons honey

8 medium (10-inch) whole-wheat tortillas

In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, granola, chopped peanuts, and honey; mix well. Spread tortillas with the peanut butter mixture so they are completely covered and the mixture is ¼ inch thick. Roll up tortillas and cut   in half. Serve immediately, or wrap well and freeze. Let thaw in an insulated lunchbox until lunchtime. Yield: 12 servings.  *Add jam is optional.

xxx

Pizza Muffins

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup diced pepperoni

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

4 green onions, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1½ cups buttermilk (a substition for butter milk is a scant or almost full cup of milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, basil, oregano and sugar. Mix in green onions, diced peperoni and 1 cup cheese. In a smaller bowl beat the egg, then whisk in buttermilk. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups until half full. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese on top of muffins. Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the muffin comes out clean.

I will be including treats once or twice a week (cookies, brownies or rice crispy treats).

I am going to try out a few fun ways to make the presentation fun.

 I love these ideas my friend Suzy in Hawaii posted on her blog. 

Isn’t this adorable?  It is a rolled sandwich with a hello kitty wrapper on it.  I think this would be  a pretty hot item in a lunch box.

My friend Suzy found this cute Japanese book at a library in Hawaii.  I love the ideas and can’t wait to try some of my own with fairies, Rainbow Brite and Littlest Petshop characters. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

I love their motto:

This article was printed today in the Daily Universe.  I will be on campus at BYU on August 19th from 4-6pm to sign books at the BYU Bookstore during Education Week.  Please come stop by and visit with me if you are in the area.

Photo is by Zac Williams from the Brigham Young University Cougars Cookbook reprinted with permission from Gibbs Smith.

Cookbook Faceoff: Cougars vs. Utes

By Amanda Taylor

The rivalry has made it to the kitchen. Thanks to two new cookbooks, Cougars and Utes alike can create themed snacks to support their team for the next big throw-down.
Jenny Stanger, a BYU graduate  used her many experiences at sporting events, camps and time as a student to compile the “Brigham Young University Cougars Cookbook” and “The University of Utah Utes Cookbook.”
“I have a very good memory for food, smells and tastes,” Stanger said. “It seems most of the BYU events I’ve been involved with have served similar food such as mint brownies, sugar cookies, sparkle punch or BYU Creamery ice cream.”
The food names are cleverly associated with familiar hotspots, foods or activities for each school.
“ ‘Y Mountain Trail Mix’ was inspired from many hot and sweaty hikes up ‘Y’ mountain,” Stanger said. “ ‘Holy War Hot Dogs’ were inspired by ‘J Dawgs’ on the corner of campus.”
In the Utes cookbook, the names range from “Rice Eccles Crispy Treats” to “Crunch the Cougars Nut Mix.”
Stanger, who has taught cooking classes throughout Utah, appeared as a guest host on several locally-based cooking shows, and is the author of “Fabulous Freezer Meals.”
“I will be doing a cook-off on ‘Good Things Utah’ with the hosts Angie and Nicea,” Stanger said. “Angie graduated from the University of Utah and Nicea from BYU. It is fun to be a part of the rivalry.”
Zac Williams, who didn’t attend either school, took the photos for the book. He said he tried not to take sides while shooting the cookbook.
“I do think the BYU recipes tend to taste a little sweeter, which is a nice perk as a food photographer,” Williams said. “I like all of the chocolate recipes, especially the ‘Famous Mint Brownies.’ I always try to use the real food that the recipes call for and not concoctions of strange ingredients just for the photography like most food stylists do.”
After creating and sampling each recipe, Williams did find one problem with the cookbooks.
“It was hard not to overeat during the shoot!” Williams said.
Stanger will sign copies of her books at the BYU Bookstore on Aug. 19 from 4-6 p.m.

The rivalry has made it to the kitchen. Thanks to two new cookbooks, Cougars and Utes alike can create themed snacks to support their team for the next big throw-down.
Jenny Stanger, a BYU graduate (who, as she said, bleeds blue) used her many experiences at sporting events, camps and time as a student to compile the “Brigham Young University Cougars Cookbook” and “The University of Utah Utes Cookbook.”
“I have a very good memory for food, smells and tastes,” Stanger said. “It seems most of the BYU events I’ve been involved with have served similar food such as mint brownies, sugar cookies, sparkle punch or BYU Creamery ice cream.”
The food names are cleverly associated with familiar hotspots, foods or activities for each school.
“ ‘Y Mountain Trail Mix’ was inspired from many hot and sweaty hikes up ‘Y’ mountain,” Stanger said. “ ‘Holy War Hot Dogs’ were inspired by ‘J Dawgs’ on the corner of campus.”
In the Utes cookbook, the names range from “Rice Eccles Crispy Treats” to “Crunch the Cougars Nut Mix.”
Stanger, who has taught cooking classes throughout Utah, appeared as a guest host on several locally-based cooking shows, and is the author of “Fabulous Freezer Meals.”
“I will be doing a cook-off on ‘Good Things Utah’ with the hosts Angie and Nicea,” Stanger said. “Angie graduated from the University of Utah and Nicea from BYU. It is fun to be a part of the rivalry.”
Zac Williams, who didn’t attend either school, took the photos for the book. He said he tried not to take sides while shooting the cookbook.
“I do think the BYU recipes tend to taste a little sweeter, which is a nice perk as a food photographer,” Williams said. “I like all of the chocolate recipes, especially the ‘Famous Mint Brownies.’ I always try to use the real food that the recipes call for and not concoctions of strange ingredients just for the photography like most food stylists do.”
After creating and sampling each recipe, Williams did find one problem with the cookbooks.
“It was hard not to overeat during the shoot!” Williams said.
Stanger will sign copies of her books at the BYU Bookstore on Aug. 19 from 4-6 p.m.