Freezer Cooking for June – Part 2

I finally finished up my freezer cooking for the month. Due to having company last week and lots of other things to deal with I was not able to get back to it until today. Last week I did the hamburger meals ( http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/2012/06/freezer-cooking-for-june-part-1.html ) and I made 5 chicken meals for the freezer. No new recipes… I made 2 batches of Cajun chicken http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/cajunchickenforfreezer.htm , 2 batches worth of Ranch Chicken http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/2012/03/ranch-chicken-for-freezer.html , and 1 batch of Honey Dijon Chicken http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/crockpothoneydijonchickenfreezer.htm.

Today my focus was on ham. I bought a 6.25 lb ham from Costco last week…

From this I made:
2 Bbq Ham and Cornbread Casserole
2 Pineapple Ham
1 Creamed Ham

I started by cutting my ham up into bite size pieces…

And cooking 1 ½ batches of brown rice http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/cookingwithbrownrice.htm  ..

I started with the Bbq Ham and Cornbread Casserole. You can find the recipe here: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/bbqhamcornbread.htm  (I’m making a double batch of this recipe). I mixed the ingredients together for the casserole for freezing and will make the cornbread batter on the day I serve the meal.

I started by chopping a large onion and slicing a can of olives. I used 1 quart of corn (as this is what I had on hand)…

Then I sautéed the onion in a bit of olive oil until it was soft…

In a large bowl I combined 5 cups of ham, the sliced olives, the corn and the sautéed onions..

Then I added the bbq sauce

And the water

Then divided the mixture between 2 gallon size zip lock bags. On serving day I will defrost this and put it into a 9x13 pan and make the cornbread batter, pour over the top and bake according to the recipe.

After this I moved onto the Pineapple Ham. Here is the recipe:

Pineapple Ham Freezer Recipe
4 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
½ of a red or green pepper, chopped
5 cups ham, cubed
can pineapple chunks, drain juice but save for recipe, you will need 1 ½ cups pineapple juice. If you do not have the full 1 ½ cups add water
1T cider vinegar
2 T Sucanat or brown sugar
2 t yellow mustard
2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a large frying pan over medium high heat melt butter. Add onion and peppers. Cook until veggies are soft. Add ham and pineapple chunks. Stir and cook until ham is heated up. 

In a small bowl combine pineapple juice (drained from can) with vinegar, Sucanat (or brown sugar), mustard and cornstarch. Stir to combine well. Add this all at once to ham and veggies and heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. When it has cooled put it into a gallon size zip type bag, label and freeze.

On serving day, pull out of freezer to defrost. Reheat on stove top or microwave. Serve over/with brown rice. Add a green salad for a yummy meal.

I began by sautéing the onions and peppers in the butter. I then added the pineapple and ham…

I used a 2 cup measuring cup to drain my pineapple juice into. I add a little water to make 1 ½ cups. I then added the vinegar, Sucanat (or brown sugar), mustard and cornstarch and mixed this well. I poured this mixture into ham mixture.

Stir and bring to a boil and let simmer until heated through and sauce is thickened. Let this cool and then divide between 2 gallon size zip type bags. Label and freeze..

The last meal I made was Creamed Ham:

Creamed Ham
This makes a large amount creamed ham, if your feeding less people than I am, you can divide this between 2 zip type bags for the freezer. 

½ cup butter
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium to large onion, chopped
4 cups diced cooked ham
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 cups milk
1 t salt
1t seasoning salt
½ t pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas

In a large frying pan on medium high heat melt butter. Add celery & onions. Cook until veggies are tender. Add flour and stir and cook for a few seconds. Add milk all at once. Stir well to remove any lumps. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let it cook for a couple of minutes until mixture thickens and flour it cooked. Add salt, seasoning salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and ham. Stir to combine, let this come to a boil and thicken. Add peas. Remove from heat and let it cool. After it has cooled put it in a gallon size zip lock bag, label and freeze.

On serving day, pull creamed ham out of freezer and let defrost. Heat creamed ham on stove top or microwave. Serve over brown rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, or cornbread and add a tossed green salad and/or fresh fruit for a complete meal.

For this meal melt the butter in a large frying pan and add onions and celery. Cook until onions and celery are soft and add ham. Heat until ham is hot and add flour. Stir until flour is mixed well…

Add milk and seasonings …

Cook until hot and thickened. Add peas…

Let this cool. Put in zip type gallon size bag. Label and freeze. On serving day, defrost, heat on stove top or microwave and serve over brown rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, or cornbread.

That sums up my June freezer meals. I ended up with a total of 16 meals that will certainly be a help to me for the next few weeks!