Visit the Frozen Food Aisles!

Create moments of togetherness during March, and bring your family to the table for Easy Home Meals. There's no better time to make memories over supper than during the 27th annual March National Frozen Food Month. Not only will you create quality time with the ones you love, but you will also be able to spend smart without sacrificing quality.

Enter the Easy Home Meals
$10,000 Sweepstakes!

You can enter this exciting Easy Home Meals Sweepstakes for a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000, or one of 5 first place prizes worth $1,000 each. Just go to www.EasyHomeMeals.com. The contest ends on April 30th. For details, rules, and to enter, click here.

Mr. Food’s Featured Recipe

Mr. Food joins the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association to share his tips for quick ‘n’ easy cooking, plus his delicious recipes that will have your family asking for more.

Mr. Food, a.k.a. Art Ginsburg, has a huge following. He’s been showing folks how to whip up practical and delicious dishes for more than 30 years now through a syndicated television segment airing in markets across the country. Visit www.mrfood.com for great food information and recipes, and to see when his show may air in your market.

Southwestern Meatball Soup
6 Servings

2 (14-ounce) cans ready-to-serve beef broth
1 (16-ounce) package frozen fully-cooked beef meatballs
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup coarsely crumbled tortilla chips

1. In a large saucepan, combine broth, meatballs, corn, salsa and cumin, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 7 to 8 minutes.

3. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle evenly with Cheddar cheese and crumbled tortilla chips, and serve.

Why Frozens?

When you think about meal time, you shouldn't be stressed about pleasing each member of your family, getting all the right ingredients from the grocery store, getting it all home and on then on the table in time. With Frozen Foods at your fingertips, you can throw those worries out the window.

Frozen Foods are great to work into your regular routine:

• The picking, the cleaning, the prep - it's already done for you.
• Nothing's ever out of season in the frozen food aisle
• One stop shopping: no need to cruise down more than one aisle, all the ingredients are in one place
• Easy, quick prep
• Easy, quick clean-up
• It doesn't spoil and go bad

Frozen Foods are fresh! Using a flash-freezing technique, vegetables and fruits are frozen at harvest and fish are frozen when caught.  This technology maintains freshness, quality and nutrition – and you don’t have to worry about chemical preservatives.

Frozen Foods offer you consistent portion control, helping to establish healthy eating habits among family members.

Frozen Foods, with their shorter preparation time, provide you and your family with more together time.

And, it doesn't end there. As the weather begins to warm, it's time to start thinking about those summer months and getting in shape. What better way to kick start your healthy eating than with many of the items from the frozen food aisle? The portion control and nutritious selections will taste great, and get your family's healthy habits on track.

March Frozen Food Month 2010
is Brought to You by these
Leading Manufacturers

Look for their tasty products in your frozen food aisles.  And click on any brand logo to visit their websites for additional meal solutions and product updates.

A Great Family Meal in Minutes!

ASIAN CHICKEN STIR-FRY

1 9 oz. pkg. or 2 cups, frozen chicken breast strips
1 can mushroom soup
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 16 oz. bag any frozen vegetable combination
4 cups hot cooked instant rice
 
Mix chicken, soup, soy sauce and garlic in skillet. Heat to boil. Add vegetables; cover and cook over medium heat until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot rice. Serves 4.

LEMON KIWI TRIFLE

1 frozen pound cake, thawed
2 8 oz. containers of lemon yogurt
1 8 oz. container frozen or refrigerated whipped topping
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups strawberries, sliced
2 cups kiwi fruit, sliced
 
Cut pound cake into 1/2" cubes. In medium bowl, combine yogurt and whipped topping; mix well. Place 1/3 of the pound cake in bottom of 2 1/2 quart glass bowl. Sprinkle with 1/3 of orange juice. Top with 1/3 yogurt mixture and 1/3 of each fruit. Repeat for total of 3 layers. A beautiful party dessert!

When you are preparing any meal, it is good to remember the basics on food safety. Foodsafety.gov has these reminders:

• Clean: Wash not only your hands, but any surface that you might be using during food prep
• Separate: Do not cross contaminate. This can happen if you use just one surface (like a cutting board) for each part of your meal. If you don't keep meat, fish and poultry away from foods that don't need to be cooked, you may be putting yourself at risk for food-borne illnesses.
• Cook: Always make sure you follow the cook time properly, and cook everything at the right temperature.
• Chill: After your meal, refrigerate or freeze your leftovers promptly.