Guest Author - Kris Bigalk

When you're cooking for twins, sometimes it works best to cook on Saturdays and then freeze everything into family or individual portions.

Some of the dishes I've made and frozen into portions include:

- Chili
- Chicken noodle soup
- Oven-fried chicken
- cookies (almost any recipe works)
- muffins
- cupcakes
- pancakes and waffles
- pot roasts (in the crock pot)
- spaghetti sauce
- lasagna
- sweet potato hotdish
- beanie-weenie casserole
- macaroni and cheese and other pasta mixes
- bread made in the breadmaker


Here are some recipes I make for my family that freeze and thaw well.

Meatloaf
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 pound ground pork
1.5 cups oatmeal
1 cup apple juice or tomato juice
4 Tablespoons dried basil
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey

Blend all the ingredients together and shape into a loaf. Decorate with ketchup before baking, if desired. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until meat thermometer reads 160 or above. Cool. Cut into slices. Place each slice between two small sheets of wax paper and then into a freezer bag and freeze.

Roasted Chicken
I usually buy two chickens, since roasting two at once takes the same amount of energy and time as doing one.

Buy two roaster chickens (around 4 pounds each). Wash and pat dry. Preheat oven to 375. Place chickens in roaster pans. Coat the outside of the chicken with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried basil and oregano. For more interesting flavor, cut up an apple and an onion into quarters, and insert them into the chicken cavities (be sure to remove any giblet bags!). Put chickens in the oven for 20 minutes per pound, or until meat thermometer reads 180 or above. Cool. Cut up chicken into pieces for older children, or strip the bones of the meat for younger children. Freeze in individual portion bags.
*If you decide to strip the bones and have the carcass left, start a large pot of boiling water and place the carcass in it. Then add carrots, celery, and any other vegetables you like. Boil the carcass and the vegetables on low for four to six hours, and you'll have some delicious chicken broth to freeze.