Recipes I Like

I'm starting to stock the freezer in anticipation of baby's arrival, and I thought I'd share some of my favorite big portion recipes that make enough for dinner tonight and freeze well for dinner some time in the future.

Chipotle Spinach & Potato Enchiladas with a Creamy Tomatillo Sauce

To make the enchiladas:

4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbs olive oil
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup white cheese (monterrey, manchego, etc)
corn tortillas

Boil potatoes until soft. Sautee onion, garlic & olive oil until onions are carmelized. Drain potatoes and spinach. Combine spinach, potatoes, onion mixture, chipotles, sour cream and cheese in large bowl and mix well. Soften tortillas (the Mexican way to do this is to heat some oil in pan and fry each tortilla until they're soft. Sometimes I do this, and sometimes I just warm them in the microwave to cut down on calories and time. Flour tortillas do better heated in the microwave than corn). Fill tortillas and roll them up, place them seam down in a baking dish. Makes enough to fill two big baking dishes.

To make the sauce:

6 tomatillos
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp sugar
juice from one lime

Husk the tomatillos and boil in water until soft (they'll go from an apple green to an olive green). Combine softened tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, sugar & lime juice in a food processor and mix until soupy. Stir in sour cream until smooth. Divide sauce between two enchilada dishes and cover the enchiladas with sauce.

You can now tightly cover and freeze one tray of enchiladas for a later time, and pop the other one in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

FYI: To save time once, I tried making the sauce out of the ready-made green salsa and adding sour cream, and it didn't turn out nearly as good. The ready-made stuff has too much salt or vinegar or something. Just make the homemade stuff. This whole recipe is kind of a pain because it takes forever and makes a huge mess of your kitchen, but it's worth it. Promise.

Chicken Pot Pie


2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
24 - 32 ounces of chicken broth
4 pie shells
1 cup of half & half (fat free works fine)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

Bake bottom pie shells in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Boil chicken in broth until cooked through, skim fat, save broth. Cook and drain frozen veggies. Sautee onion and celery in butter. Gradually add flour and stir until smooth. Slowly add 2 cups of reserved chicken broth, a little at a time, stirring continually to make a gravy. Add half and half and stir until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Divide chicken and veggies in half and layer in the cooked pie shells. Divide gravy mix between two pie shells and cover chicken & veggies. Top with pie shells and add vents.

You can freeze one pie now and bake the other in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

BBQ Pulled Pork


1 lb pork shoulder or pork butt
1 can Coca-Cola or root beer
1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

Add pork to slow cooker, cover with soda and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Drain meat from soda & discard soda. Pull pork apart with a fork and knife to shred and mix in bbq sauce.

You can use this to make pulled pork sandwiches, and it'll make 6 or so sandwiches and still have some left over. Then all you need is some mac n' cheese, cole slaw and baked beans and --- wallah! -- summer BBQ in January.

BBQ Pork Quesadillas with Pineapple & Mango Salsa


Using the left over pork from the above recipe, make quesadillas (you'll need tortillas, refried beans, cheese, and maybe a little chopped onion and jalapeno). Spread the beans, pork, etc. on one tortilla, cover with another tortilla and grill like a grilled cheese sandwich until cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Using a pizza cutter, cut the quesadilla into triangles.

To make the salsa:

1 cup chopped pineapple
1 cup chopped mango
1-2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs chopped red onion

Combine all of it and serve with quesadillas.

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You can't freeze this recipe ahead, but it is SO.GOOD. If you like cinnamon rolls but could do without the icing, you'll love these:

Sweet Cinnamon Biscuits


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease and lightly flour a 9" round baking pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and mix well. Stir in vegetable oil. Add buttermilk and stir until just blended.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Roll the dough into a 15 x 8" rectangle. Spread butter over the dough. Combine sugar & cinnamon, and sprinkle over dough evenly. Roll dough up like a jelly roll and pinch seam to seal it. Cut the roll into 1 1/2" slices and arrange in baking dish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.