First let me explain that I have the best MIL. She is my friend, more like my best friend, and a always there no matter what I need. Since we are doing mothers day at her house on the 17th I want to do something really nice. My plan is to cook a dinner that freezes well that I can split into 2 freezer bags that will each serve 2 people. That way she can have a quick dinner for her and my step FIL 2 times. So what I have been thinking about is to make beef stew, cornbread, and a dessert that will freeze well. So do any of you girls have a recipe for good cornbread that will freeze well? I prefer to make it by hand, but a mix will work to. If not how about any good bread recipe that freezes well? And dessert. Whats a really good dessert that freezes well, and not much work to defrost and eat? She works hard. She works full time 40-60 hours a week, then does chores around the ranch (tons of animals to take care of), and a night or two of cooking would mean a lot to her. I want to give her that. Thanks in advance for your help.

Awww, you are an awesome daughter in law. I hope my three boys will marry people who love me that much! :giggle

As far as the dinner goes, stew sounds delicious :drool and I LOVE cornbread but I have never tried to freeze it before, so I don't have any advice to offer on that one. Have you ever frozen it before? If it's possible to freeze it, I'll have to start doing that! :lol

This is a recipe for a sweeter cornbread :drool

NGREDIENTS

* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 1/4 cup cornmeal
* 1 1/3 cups milk


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8 inch skillet.
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, salt, butter and vanilla until creamy. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and cornmeal. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with the milk. Beat well until blended.
3. Bake in preheated oven for about minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

You can also use a muffin pan just check for doneness fter about 15 mins.


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Another semi sweet cornbread recipe but not as sweet as the first:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 egg
* 1 cup milk
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil (a tad more for more moistness which you'll definitely need for freezing)



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

You can also do these in a muffin pan for around 15 mins or until golden and done.

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Buttermilk Cornbread and this one supposedly DOES freeze well!

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 pound butter
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Make a double batch, remove one from the pan after cooling, wrap it up and pop it in the freezer.


I hope those helped! Any of them would probably freeze well, I"ve just never personally tried it before. You can add more oil/liquid for a less crumbly cornbread and also increase or decrease sugar to taste.