Meat cupcakes

I've talked a few times about cooking in bulk and freezing, and have been asked about what I've made and how and I haven't ever written about it because it seems overwhelming to type out a bunch of recipies, so I figure I'll just do one or two as I do them so it isn't so much at once. If I knew how to do links I would type them somewhere else with a link, but I don't so they are all gonna be written out here! Joyce gave me this Deceptively Delicious cookbook, and while some of the recipies I'll not be trying (spinach in browinies? some things just should not be messed with if they are already perfect!) it has given me some inspiration to get creative! Usually we eat eggs for breakfast everyday ( I mean it, every day, it is weird!) and the author suggests putting some califlower puree in with them... I haven't done it yet, but I'll let you know how that one goes. So far I've made the homemade mac n cheese and added sweet potato puree in with the cheese mixture and it was delicious! Here's the recipie:

1 Tbs olive oil heated in a pan, add 1 tbs flour and stir until it browns and is thick (1 or 2 minutes). Add 1/2 cup milk and stir until it thickens (3 or 4 min) then add 1/2 cup veggie puree (I used sweet potato and it was great, she suggests califlower or butternut squash), 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese 4 oz cream cheese, salt pepper. Once it is all melted and creamy stir it into your cooked pasta and there ya go! I used gluten free quinoa pasta and left out the cream cheese because I didn't have any, but I would suggest using it for next time because when the cheddar cools it gets kind of grainy and I think the cream cheese would help it keep its texture. Anyhow, it was delicious and I had to force myself to stop eating it! This could be made ahead of time and frozen because pasta freezes just fine, if there is any leftover!

Pancakes!! These can be cooked in bulk and frozen or put in the fridge for breakfast all week... I just used bisquik mix like normal, but added in a cup of cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of butternut squash puree and it was so so so good. They were creamy and moist from the cottage cheese, and while you couldn't really taste the squash, it added flavor, not to mention the protein and vitamins all shoved in a kid friendly package!

Meat cupcakes! I usually make meatloaf and freeze the second portion of it since it is so easy to make in bulk but yesterday I got creative. To the ground turkey, eggs, breadcrumbs, ketchup, worchestershire sauce, and saute'd onion, garlic and celery I added about a 1/2 cup to a cup each (I didn't measure them I just dumped in what I had) of spinach puree, carrot puree and califlower puree with salt pepper and oregano. Part of it I put in an aluminum pan to freeze, but the other half I made cupcakes out of... I pressed canned biscuits into a cupcake tin to make little cupcake holders and bake according to their directions. When they are done I scooped meatloaf into each biscuit, topped with cheese and baked until the meat was cooked. I served it with ketchup and low and behold Mia ate an entire meat cupcake! I can never get her to eat any vegetables, and last night she ate a ton without even knowing it! ha ha I won! : )

I also want to pass along this recipie for banana bread, because it is the easiest and best thing ever. It literally took me 5 minutes to put together and I know this because I set the timer for 5 minutes on the meat cupcakes and the bread was ready to go in the oven by the time it went off! So in a food processor, blend up 2 super ripe bananas with one stick of butter 5 or 10 seconds until it is creamy. Then all at one time add 1 1/2 cups of flour (I use gluten free, but any will work), 3/4 cup sugar (I'm gonna try it next time with honey and see what happens to get rid of the refined sugar aspect), 2 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and if you want 1/2 cup nuts. Blend together a few seconds, then scrape the sides and blend a couple more seconds. You don't want to over mix it because the gluten from the flour can get weird, so just until it is blended is all you need. Then dump in a pan and cook until a knife comes out clean in the middle. I used a deep and skinny bread pan, so I cooked for 50 minutes on 350 degrees, then covered it with foil and cooked it another 10 minutes or so. It is so so so so good and so easy!

Ok that's all for now, I'll update with more freezable recipies as I get motivated to cook!