Monday, October 24, 2016

Freezer Meals

So I'm finally sitting down and posting recipes for our freezer meals. I know I'm slow. Just busy, busy, busy. Sorry.

Her is a list of the meals that I froze

Eggplant casserole 200 cal
Shrimp and Asian Cabbage - 240 cal
Oven fried pork chops with mashed cauliflower and green beans - 350 cal
Salmon with roasted asparagus and Asian zoodles - 210 cal
Roasted Turkey Loin, honey sirracha carrots and Brussel sprouts 310 cal
Hamburger patty with mashed cauliflower and green beans 344 cal
Deer back strap with squash noodles and creamed spinach - 480 cal
Smoked chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus - 370 cal
Smoked chicken with mustard greens and roasted broccoli with balsamic reduction sauce 335 cal
Smoked chicken with zucchini casserole and creamed spinach 520 cal

Now for a list of the recipes

Eggplant Casserole


4 large eggplants, peeled and chopped into cubes
20 large mushrooms, chopped
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 onion, chopped
1cup Parmesan cheese
8 oz lean ground meat
Cajun seasoning to taste

Spray  large pot with olive oil spay. Brown ground meat and drain and put back in pot. Saute onions in pot until translucent. Add chopped eggplant and mushrooms. Cook on med heat until tender, about 10 min, stirring often. Mixture will be liquidity. Use potato masher or hand held blender to break up large pieces of eggplant. Add seasoning to taste, cheese and bread crumbs. All liquid should be absorbed after adding bread crumbs. Stir well and serve

This dish is an ugly gray color when finished but it is a family favorite.  Easy, healthy and tasty. Don't let the look of it turn you away.

8 servings
200 cal/serving

Mash Cauliflower


3 heads cauliflower, steamed and drained
4 TB butter
3/4 cup real bacon bits
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 T ranch seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl. Mash with potato masher until desired consistency and serve
Easy peasy.

10 servings
154 cal/servings


Honey Sirracha Roasted Carrots


3 lbs petite carrots, chopped in half
3 TB Honey
3 TB Sirracha hot sauce
3 TB Olive Oil

Mix honey, sirracha and olive oil in a measuring cup. In large mixing bowl mix carrots and honey mixture. Place on foil lined baking sheet (it may take two baking sheets - you want them in a single layer) Put in a 400 degree oven and bake for 20 min or until tender.

10 servings
116 cal/serving

Green Bean Bundle Casserole


This is my take on green bean bundles, I'm too lazy to make the bundles so I throw all the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake. Same great taste with a lot less work. Win win.

3 lbs fresh green beans, stemmed and snapped*
4 TB butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup real bacon bits
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put green beans in 13x9 pan. Mix all other ingredients in large measuring cup. Pour over raw green beans. Bake for 30 min or until green beans are tender and sauce is bubbly.

*This recipe can be made with canned green beans or frozen green beans.  We like it best with frozen or fresh.

12 servings
141 cal per servings


Creamed Spinach


8 8oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 cup almond milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, grated
1 8oz pack 1/3 less fat cream cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and place in 13x9 casserole dish. (the cream cheese will be lumpy, that's OK). Bake for 30-45 min stirring once or twice while baking until all is melted, bubbly and creamy.

11 servings
167 cal/serving

This is one of our favorite sides.


Asian Cabbage 


3 pkg shredded coleslaw
1 med carrot, shredded
1.25 teriyaki sauce
2 TB sesame seeds
1 oz sesame oil
Asian Ginger Dressing

Heat oil in large pan, add sesame seeds and saute for 2-3 min until toasted. Add carrots and slaw and saute for a few min until just barely tender (I like there to still be a crunch) Add dressing and stir well.

9 servings
133 cal/serving


Zucchini Casserole

5 med zucchini, shredded
4 TB butter, melted
3 large eggs
1/4 cup egg white
1 pkg onion soup mix
3 TB ranch seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together except cheese and bread crumbs. Put into greased  small casserole dish. Mix cheese and bread crumbs and sprinkle on top.  Bake at 350 for 30 min until bubbly and top is brown.

8 servings
156 cal/serving

Asian Peanut Squash Noodles


9 med Yellow squash - cut into noodles*
 3 TB PB2
4 TB melted butter
4 TB Teriyaki Marinade

Steam squash until aldente - I like a crunch. Mix other ingredients together and pour over drained noodles.

*I bought Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer off amazon for around $30.  There are several to choose from.  I love mine. Use it often - especially when we are trying to be healthy.

Oven Baked Pork Chops


7 large  thin cut pork chops
3 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup egg whites
1 cup unsweetened Almond milk

Season pork chops to taste (I use Cajun seasoning and mustard on mine). Mix egg whites and milk in one bowl and put bread crumbs in another. Dredge seasoned pork chops in milk mixture then bread crumbs. Place chops on greased foil lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min or until no longer pink and breading is browned. Slice each pork chop in half.

14 servings
120 cal per serving


For the meats I used:

Salmon fillets I bought frozen from Aldi, Sauteed each in skillet w/soy sauce
Smoked chicken thighs I smoked in my smoker
Seasoned pork loins I baked in oven
Hamburger patties - I just seasoned the ground meat and didn't add eggs or bread crumbs to not add calories
I also grilled shrimp that I put with the Asian Cabbage.

For the remaining roasted vegetables:

I drizzled olive oil (approx 1-2 Tablespoons per pan and seasoned with different seasonings depending on the vegetables. It's what ever you prefer. I used rosemary garlic, Greek, Cajun, ranch. Just tried to make it different. For the sweet potatoes I just used salt and pepper.

I drizzled some balsamic reduction sauce we bought at our local grocery store and drizzled over the normal green beans (not the green bean bundles) and the roasted broccoli.  Very good and doesn't add many calories. Very worth it.

I bought some freezer containers from webstaurantstore.com. I bought he 24 oz Black 9"x 6 1/4x 2 3/4" 2-compartment rectangular microwavable heavy duty container with lid - 150/case. With tax and shipping it was $50 which breaks down to be 33 cents/ container.  They are cheaply made but can be reused. Goes from freezer to microwave without a problem and are also dishwasher safe.  Some did break after the first use but most hold up for a few uses.

I put each meal in the container and then put each container in a gallon size ziploc and labeled the ziploc with contents of container.

I put up over 100 meals plus some individually wrapped meats.  It took me 3 full days of cooking but that was at the end of Jan and we still have some meals left. I only cook about twice a week since then.  It is well worth the 3 full days. The kids love it. Home cooked meals of their choice in no time with out the clean up.

The cabbage and squash dishes do put off extra water when heated up but can be easily drained. Not a deterrent for us.

I will be putting up some more meals in a couple of weeks and will try to do some different ones for varieties sake. Hopefully, I won't take so long to get it to the blog.

Hope this helps anyone wanting to tackle the freezer meal fad. I'm glad I did and will continue to do it.

Latest update from the Nettles

So, it's been awhile since I've been on my blog. Busy year. Adjusting to the new place, new job, 2 in college now (still not used to that). Lots of changes in the Nettles' household. We have not been dieting or eating like we should. We did collectively lose 236 pounds before we stopped being so dedicated to eating right. The move, surgery for Royce, thyroid problems for me and back issues for Joe kind of got us off track.  Some of us kept off the weight, some of us gained but all have evened out now and are pretty much maintaining.  Some of us would still like to lose a little but haven't found the will power to be so dedicated with all the changes that have taken place.

Anyway, I've decided to change the focus of the blog to recipes for a crowd.  We provide the meal every Wednesday night after our church service so I have had to be creative and cook for a crowd (more than my normal crowd that is).  I plan and cook a meal for 25-30 people each week. We don't always have that many but I'm old school and was always taught "better to have to much than not enough."

I plan to start posting once a week some of the meals we have at our Wednesday night meetings with recipes and maybe pictures if I can remember.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is the only way I can get my kids to eat   Sprouts

2 lbs of Brussel Sprouts, cleaned and stems removed
 (I get the kind you can steam in the bag - they are already cleaned)
2 T Olive Oil
Rosemary and garlic seasoning mix to tasted - about 2-3 tablespoons

Place Brussel sprouts in a 1 gal zip close bag. Pour olive oil in bag. Shake well. Add seasoning and shake well again making sure seasoning is well distributed.  Pour onto ungreased baking sheet.  Cook on 375 on top rack for 20 minutes until crisp.

Servings per recipe: 6
Serving size: about 1 cup
Calories per serving: 75

You can change up the seasoning to anything you want. Most seasonings do not change the calorie count so get creative. I like to add spice to it with pepper flakes or blackened seasonings. 
Sometimes I add more seasoning after putting the Brussel sprouts on the pan for more flavor.

Stuffed Eggplant

We u'sed to have this all the time as a child but I don't think I've made this for my family ever. So tonight is the night for something new.

Stuffed Eggplant

5 med eggplant
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs ground turkey
Slap ya Mama seasoning to taste
Worchestire and pepper corn burger seasoning to taste
salt to taste
2 cups Panko bead crumbs
2 T. Colby jack cheese grated for each boat
1 T. Parmesan cheese for each boat

Slice eggplant long wise in half to make boats. Scoop out inside of eggplant leaving about 1/4" around the edges. Set aside

Spray large sauce pan with olive oil spray and turn on medium heat. Place chopped onion in pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Put ground turkey in sauce pan and cook until browned. Drain.

Put turkey mixture back into saucepan and add eggplant you scooped out of the center and seasonings. Cook until all is tender. I use my hand blender to make it smooth once eggplant is tender.

I used my broiler pan. Cover the bottom with water and place grill pan on top. Place each eggplant boat on the grill pan. Evenly fill each boat with the meat and eggplant filling. Cover with foil and cook in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and top each boat with 2 T Colby jack and 1 T Parmesan cheese. Cook another 10 min. Serve and enjoy.

Servings per recipe: 10
Serving size: 1 boat
Calories per serving: 338 


Stuffed eggplant with a side of roasted Brussel sprouts (1 cup)
for a total of 410 cal)
Not a very colorful meal but very tasty

Monday, September 22, 2014

Warm Coleslaw

The original recipe was adapted from Paula Dean's Warm Coleslaw Recipe
Warm Coleslaw

Dressing
3 TB apple cider vinegar
2 tsp splenda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp siracha

Mix well. Set aside

olive oil spray
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 TB poppy seed
4 cups shredded cabbage coleslaw mix
1/2 cup real bacon bits

Spray pan with olive oil and heat on medium heat.  Cook onion and peppers until slightly wilted. Add cabbage and cook until slightly soft - just 2-3 minutes. Add vinegar dressing, bacon bits and poppy seeds. Mix well. Serve warm.

Servings per recipe: 8
Serving size: 1/2 cup
Calories per serving: 40




Chicken Cardon Bleu Spaghetti Squash

It's been a few months again since I've been able to post.  The move from GA to MS has gotten us way out of our routine.  We are trying to get back into it and trying to start eating healthy again.  We all gained a little weight during this transition but now we are back to where we left off. A total of 236 lbs down for the family.  We have a total of 90lbs left to lose.  A lot closer than when we started.
Anyway, here is our latest new recipe.

Chicken Cardon Bleu Spaghetti Squash

2 spaghetti squash
1 TB olive oil
4 cups cooked and shredded chicken
8 slices deli ham, chopped
1 large onion, diced
Salt to taste
Italian seasoning to taste

Cream Sauce
2 TB butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups almond milk
1 cup grated Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Poke holes with a fork or knife.  Place in oven directly on rack and cook for 1 hour.  Let cool for 15-20 minutes. When cool, slice in half long ways and scoop out seeds with a spoon.  Then rake inside of squash with a fork and scoop out into a bowl. Set aside.

Heat pan on medium heat. Place olive oil in pan. Put in onion and ham. Cook approximately 3-4 minutes. Mix in shredded chicken and heat until warm. Mix in spaghetti squash and set aside.

To make cream sauce, put butter in a medium sauce pan and melt. Add flour and mix well. With wire whisk mix in milk slowly making sure to get all lumps out.  Once sauce is smooth, add cheese and continue whisking until cheese is melted. Add to spaghetti squash mixture and mix well. Serve and enjoy. You can add parmesan cheese to each plate after serving - add another 20 cal/serving.

Servings per recipe: 8
Serving size: 1- 1 1/2 cups
Calories per servings: 297







Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Finally, a new recipe

It's been a long time since I updated or added a recipe.  We've had lots of changes in the last few months, sickness, surgery for my 17 y/o and movRe to a new state - which also includes new house, new job, new friends.  It's been busy but we are finally settling back in to a new routine and back on the diet.  The race is on.  A contest dad started to help motivate the kids.  Girls must lose 10lbs in 8 weeks and boys must lose 20lbs. For every 1 lb over the goal they get $10 and dad gets $10 for every 2 lbs over his goal - he loses quicker than we do. Well money must talk in this family because it has motivated - plus dad has been trash talking.

So here is a new recipe we tried today.  It was great.  A definite do over.

Asian Chicken Salad

2 bags Asian Chopped Salad Blend
1 Rotisserie Roast Chicken
4 Med Avocados, cut into chunks
1 Red onion, diced
1 bag frozen sweet kernel corn
1 bottle Ginger salad dressing

Take skin and chicken off bone. Discard the skin and shred the chicken. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to make sure dressing is well dispersed through the salad.  It is delicious.

Serving size 1 1/2 cups
Servings per recipe 10
Calories per serving 392

You can cut down the calories by using canned chicken or just boiled chicken breast or by using shrimp.
Also the avocados bring 1000 calories to the entire dish (250 per avocado) but to me its well worth those calories.