Ice Cream Cake

Not all freezer meals have to be for dinner!  I made an excellent ice cream cake for my husband's birthday that can easily be made in advance.  I posted more pictures of this "cake" on my craft blog:  sewincrediblycrafty.blogspot.com

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream "Cake" (I doubled the recipe)

1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping warmed

1 tub cool whip divided

1 pkg (4oz) jellow chocolate instant pudding (I used Cookies & Cream)

12 Orea Chocolate sandwich cookies

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches (When I doubled the recipe I got 12 Cookies & Cream sandwiches plus 12 vanilla sandwiches)

Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl.  Stir in 1 cup whipped topping with a wire wisk until it's well blended.  Add in the dry pudding mix, stir 2 minutes or until well blended.  The consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on what brand you purchase.  If your fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, add in 1/4 cup milk.

Chop Oreo cookies roughly into chunks.  Stir into the pudding mixture.  Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches side by side on a 24x12 inch piece of foil; top with half of the pudding mixture.  Repeat the layers.  Top the pudding mixture with the remaining 4 sandwiches.  The layers create a neat striped effect when sliced.  Frost the top and sides with the remaining cool whip.  It doesn't have to look perfect.  Bring up the foil sides.  Double fold top and ends to loosely seal the packet.  Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.  Let stand at room temperature to soften before serving.  Makes 12 servings.

Chicken Enchiladas

I posted my enchilada recipe in 2008, but you can click here and go right to it. I always make extra and freeze them.

One thing I did differently this time is that I took the chicken and marinated it in olive oil, lime juice, kosher salt, seasoned pepper, garlic, and cumin for an hour. Then I browned the chicken in a skillet, diced it on a cutting board, sauteed diced onions in the same pan I cooked the chicken in, and then added the rest of the ingredients. It was pretty yum-o-riffic and I think I'll do chicken that way more often and just slice it on top of a salad or something.

Spinach Chicken Lasagna

I made this recipe up about three years ago when I had to bring dinner to two different families and feed mine in one night. It was really easy! This recipe freezes beautifully in an 8X8 pan covered with foil. I love using the cheese ravioli instead of lasagna noodles. You can also tweak it to make more of a "lasagna" taste and use meat ravioli and ground beef instead of chicken. Another way I like to tweak this recipe is to add in a layer of ricotta (or you can put cottage cheese in a food processor and it works, too) mixed with garlic and oregano. YUM!!!!

2 lbs chicken, diced, and then sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onion and oregano

1 bag fresh spinach, rinsed and dried (you can also use frozen spinach, just thaw first)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 bag frozen cheese ravioli

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce (you can also use marinara if you desire)

Assembly:

Place 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of the dish and spread around so it covers the pan.

Layer 1/2 ravioli, 1/2 chicken, 1/2 spinach, and 1/2 cheese.

Cover with sauce.

Layer the rest of the ravioli, chicken, and spinach.

Use the rest of the sauce

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

To freeze:

Cover with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil.

To serve:

Thaw in fridge for 24 hours, then bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until done.