Mealprep: 40 recipes to stock your freezer and free your mind!

One of the best ways to eat healthy is to eat at home more. But for any busy person, this becomes a real challenge when it's 4:30 and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Prepping some ingredients and/or dishes ahead of time to stash in the freezer can save the day. Not only does it save you cooking time, it also saves you brain effort at the very time of day your brain is most overtaxed!

Sure, these mean a little more work on the weekend -- but you can do it at a leisurely pace, when you're rested and not rushed. Which I've found makes cooking so much more enjoyable! 

A week of dinners in the freezer, from The Kitchn. Recipes for: Baked Manicotti - Freezer Taco Kits - Twice-Baked Potatoes - Chile & Sausage Oven Frittata - Cranberry Pork Chops - Chicken and Wild Rice Bake. (Also includes side dishes, not listed here.) You can also find this same list of recipes with additional notes on how to turn prep day into a Freezer Meals Party.

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Here are tips for stocking your freezer with precooked and seasoned meats, which gives you more versatility than already-assembled dishes. Includes instructions (but not exact recipes) for twice-baked potatoes, two different ground beef mixes, a teriyaki marinade that you can use on any meat, poultry or seafood (lots of sugar in it, though), and shredded chicken plus broth. Also has a few nifty tricks for neater packaging.

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Here's Pioneer Woman's freezer cooking post. Not a lot of healthy stuff on the list, but I do love her tip for grilling whole chicken breasts and freezing them to have on hand for dozens of uses. I count about 11 main-dish recipes on her list, skipping the carb-laden ones.

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I also like this method for an easy way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts, from Small Home Big Start. 

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Eight healthy freezer crockpot meals in 75 minutes, from New Leaf Wellness. Well, really four different meals, double batch of each. Beef Roast and Carrots - Chicken Fajitas - Mexican Chicken Soup - Garden Veggie Soup with Ground Beef.

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10 meals in 1 hour - super organized and detailed; even includes shopping list! Really just five recipes; double batch of each. Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken -  London Broil - Quick Taco Soup - Orange Glazed Pork Chops - Creamy Italian Chicken

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10 meals in 1 hour, take 2; the no-bake version; includes five warm weather recipes that are cooked either on the grill or in the crockpot—no oven required!

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A planned/non-planned approach. No recipes here, but some pointers for stocking your freezer with ready-to-go meat and cheese portions, then how to plan meals the weekend or night before, taking into account your schedule, the weather, and what's in your fridge that needs to be used up.

And here are a few ingredients to have pre-cooked and ready in the freezer:

• Carmelized onions
• Roasted garlic
• Perfect brown rice, in the oven

And a few things to know about food safety and quality:

• Learn about safe food storage
• How to avoid freezer burn
• Tips on organizing your freezer

Sloppy Jo'tatoes!

What do you get when you make some sweet-and-smoky Sloppy Joe filling, and pile it on top of a loaded baked potato? A Sloppy Jo'tato!

One of our favorite things to eat in Kansas City is the "Barbecue Baked Potato," a loaded baked potato topped with pulled pork at Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, and that was part of the inspiration for this dish.

This would make a great family-friendly dinner, or a creative addition to a baked potato bar for a party or cook-out.

Sloppy Jo'tatoes Recipe

2 servings

1 or 2 russet potatoes
1 batch of Emergency BBQ Sauce (or a sugar-free sauce for Paleo/Whole30)
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
optional toppings: butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, chives or green onions

1. Bake your potato(es) however you usually do. (I used one large potato split between my husband and me. You could use one whole potato per person, if you like.) My method is to prick, butter, and salt the outside, then bake directly on the middle oven rack at 450 F for about 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix up a batch of my Emergency BBQ Sauce. Let it mellow over low heat while you complete the rest of the dish. (Or use about 1 cup of your favorite bottled sauce. But watch out for corn syrup and other nasty chemicals!)

3. Ten or so minutes before the potatoes are due to be done, saute the onion till translucent, then brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain off the excess fat, then add the BBQ sauce into the meat mixture -- just until it gets as saucy as you like it. Stir it together, and taste to adjust seasoning if necessary. Keep that mixture over low heat till your potatoes are ready.

4. Check your potatoes to make sure they're done. If not, a bit of time in the microwave might help finish them off. When done, split them open, mash slightly with a fork, and top as you like with butter, shredded cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese, and the Sloppy Joe mix. Then continue to top -- as you wish -- with sour cream, and chopped chives or green onions.

Not too happy with the photo I got,
but the taste more than made up for it!

Mmm-mmm-mm!

Here is nutritional info (via myfitnesspal.com) for one serving, based on using one large potato for two people, and only using about 2/3 of the BBQ sauce. Oh, and I also cut the sugar in the sauce from 1/4 c. of brown sugar to 2 T. of maple syrup.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 448
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21 g	33 %
Saturated Fat 12 g	59 %
Monounsaturated Fat 7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 135 mg	45 %
Sodium 377 mg	16 %
Potassium 977 mg	28 %
Total Carbohydrate 28 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	9 %
Sugars 11 g
Protein 36 g	73 %
Vitamin A	8 %
Vitamin C	30 %
Calcium	7 %
Iron	25 %

Mr. Steak Continental Burger: A Food Flashback!

Because my hemoglobin tested low last week, I've been trying to eat as much red meat as possible, but I've been wracking my brain for a hamburger dish that isn't mostly bread or pasta. I was thinking about hamburgers with mushroom sauce, and this prompted a food flashback.

Back in the early 80's, when we were dating and then newlyweds, my husband and I used to go to the local Mr. Steak once in a while. The menu favorite for both of us was the Continental Burger. I'm not claiming it would be health food, but it is, at least, a fairly low-carb way to eat a burger. For those who have never tried this delicacy, it was a hamburger patty with some juicy/creamy/mushroomy sauce in the middle, served open face on rye toast, with caramelized onions on top. My husband always ordered a side of deep-fried clams and ketchup for dipping, and a baked potato with butter and honey (yes, honey) on top. How's that for carb overload?! Back then, we could eat that way, though.

Now? Notsza much!

I remember that back then we tried to duplicate the Continental, but never succeeded. Thanks to that modern marvel we call Google, today I was able to track down what sounds like some plausible copycat recipes...

"I was a Senior Grill Chef at Mr. Steak in the early 70's.... The Continentals came pre-made. They were two thin oval patties of what we now call 80-85% lean ground (need that much fat to stay together) -- I think each patty was about a fifth of a pound. The filling was two things only - pasteurized process swiss cheese ONLY and fresh mushrooms. The 'shrooms and process swiss were diced to about 1/2" dice. Put about 1 to 2 tablespoons on one patty, cover with second patty and crimp edges gently but completely so there are no holes. Grill till medium, turning as little as possible, and use some kind of cover on top last 2 minutes or so to help cheese melt. That restaurant served them on buttered, then grilled on one side, light rye bread. The burger was served open face.... Everyone ate them with a knife and fork! They were hugely popular!! I love them, make them once a year or so."

"I worked at Mr. Steak for over 5 years. I have tried and tried to duplicate the Continental and ... have come up with a reasonable knock-off recipe. Take your ground beef and press it into two very thin and large patties.... Don't go crazy with a lot of filling, or it will leak when cooking. Then lay on a piece of 'processed Swiss cheese' -- not the real stuff! You want the fake processed Swiss cheese slices; they melt easily and are gooey; real Swiss won't work as well. Next, place about a Tbsp. of Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup on top of the cheese. Place the other patty on top and SEAL WELL. Grill -- and make sure while grilling you only turn this once or twice at the most. Flipping too much is taking a risk it will break open or ooze out the good yummy stuff inside.... It's been so long now, but I still crave them. Try the above and I guarantee you it will be close in taste and looks; not exact but close enough."

I think the ole' Continental Burger will be making an appearance in our kitchen some time this week! No fried clams, though.

All recipe info found here. 

Where to eat in Wichita: Fizz Burgers

I have to confess, when Fizz opened in my neighborhood and I saw the signs, I was so appalled at the logo that I had no interest in trying the place out! I mean, tell me that this doesn't look like it actually says "Pizz"!

Plus, that pistachio green color -- one of my favorites, but not one I want to associate with burgers!

Luckily, though, my hairdresser Annie (who works a few doors down) told me that they had really good burgers. So my husband and I tried it out, and it was instantly our new favorite casual spot. (The hubs still insists on calling it Pizz, though. Ha. Ha.)

They do have great burgers, but they also have a great chicken sandwich (try it with avocado, bacon, and garlic aioli) and good salads. I love the chicken tortilla salad; in fact, it's the inspiration for my own make-ahead Tex-Mex salad. (Sorry, no pic yet. Another one of those days when I was so hungry, I was halfway through the salad before I realized it!) In addition to the greens and chicken (alternately, you can order it with pulled pork), there's avocado, cheddar cheese, black beans, tortilla strips, red onion, and a very tasty dressing. 

But what Fizz is probably best loved for is their fries. They have some great traditional skin-on fries (my favorite kind!), shown here in a pic from their website with what looks like a mushroom and Swizz burger.

But what really puts them on the map is their sweet potato fries! (Did you know that sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than white potatoes? Crazy, huh?! Plus, they have a ton of Vitamin A.) I've tried s.p. fries at number of restaurants, and I definitely like these the best. They don't have that weird tang that you often get, plus they're not crusted with unnecessary sugar and/or cinnamon. You can also ask to have your order half-and-half: half regular fries and half sweet potato fries.

They have six different dipping sauces you can order with either kind of fries: Garlic Aioli · Roasted Garlic · Smoked Pepper Mayo · Ranch · Pecan · Ketchup · Spicy Ketchup. And they'll gladly bring you a bit of however many you want. But with the sweet potato fries, you gotta try the pecan sauce! It's a little sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Oh, and they also offer dozens of different unique soda pops in bottles. Wine and beer, too. Dessert is available: cute little cake pops. I've never tried one, but I gave my sister one and she said it was "the best!"

Locally owned. Open for lunch and dinner Mon. - Sat. Closed Sunday. :(

Fizz website