If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you know that last Thursday my children and I spent the day at our first “freezer meal” day AND Survived. Last summer I made several freezer meals before my son was born (smack dab in the middle of harvest), and it was a godsend. When my friend and I decided to have a freezer meal day I knew it would be very helpful, but I wasn’t sure my two children would feel the same way…
I unfortunately did not really take pictures of the event but I will try to next time.. I will try to post pictures of the prepared freezer meals as we gobble them up 🙂
Mostaccioli Hot Dish
Ingredients
1 ½ lb. ground beef (cooked) ½ c. chopped onion
Dash of minced garlic ½ tsp. of salt
2 jars of spaghetti sauce 1 box of Mostaccioli noodles
4 c. mozzarella cheese (divided) parmesan cheese
Directions
-Cook Beef, onion and garlic together
-Cook and Drain Spaghetti
-Mix Spaghetti, beef mixture and 1/2 of cheese
-Pour mixture into a greased pan
Defrost in refrigerator overnight (or morning until evening)
Bake covered at 350 for 1 hour, uncover and top with 2 cups of cheese and bake 15 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving
Taco Soup
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (cooked) 1 med. onion chopped 1 can corn drained
1 can black beans drained 1 can navy beans drained 1- 8 oz can tomato sauce
2- 14 oz cans diced tomatoes 1 sm can diced green chilies 1 package taco seasoning
Directions
Add all ingredients to bag and freeze.
Thaw slightly and add contents to crock pot.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until done.
Serve with shredded cheese, chopped green onions and Fritos
Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef 1 small onion chopped 1-19oz. can enchilada sauce 2 c. shredded cheese
8 flour tortillas
Directions
Brown hamburger and onion, stir in ½ c. sauce and 1 c. cheese,
spread ½ c. sauce on bottom of 9×13 pan,
spoon ¼ c. meat mixture onto each tortilla,
roll up and place seam side down in pan,
top with remaining sauce and cheese.
Cover and freeze.
Defrost in refrigerator overnight.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Ingredients
1.5 pounds lean ground beef 1/2 cup 2% milk (or whatever you have on-hand)
2 large eggs 1 package onion soup mix
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs 1tsp seasoned salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup Simply Heinz ketchup
1/2 teaspoon Worcheshire sauce Cooking spray
Directions
Combine beef, milk, eggs, onion soup mix, breadcrumbs & salt
Spread mixture into greased pan (or zip lock bag for crockpot)
Combine & mix brown sugar, ketchup, Worsheshire sauce
Spread on top of meat mixture in pan (or put it in a small zip lock bag for later )
Bake at 350 for 90minutes-2 hours or until cooked through (Cook on low for 8-10 hrs in crockpot)
** To shorten the cooking time, defrost the meatloaf overnight in your refrigerator the night before you’re going to cook it.
Lasagna Roll up
Ingredients
2 eggs 1 lb hamburger
1- 15oz container of part-skim ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
8oz mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded and divided (about 2 cups shredded total)
1- 24 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce
12 lasagna noodles (You only need 9, but I recommend cooking extra in case any of the noodles break or stick together.)
**A 1 lb box of lasagna noodles typically contains 19-20 pieces
Directions
Cook & Drain lasagna noodles
Brown Hamburger
Mix eggs, parmesan cheese, 1/2 of mozzarella cheese
Grease pan & cover with 1/2 of sauce
Combine the remaining sauce with the browned hamburger
Arrange noodles on wax paper in assembly line. You’ll need to do this quickly before the noodles stick together.
Top each noodle with 1/4 cup cheese spread and 1 rounded tablespoon of sauce mixture
Roll-up each noodle and place in prepared pan. (It’s OK if some of the cheese spread and sauce oozes out the sides. Since you’re assembling on waxed paper, the clean-up with be super easy.)
Top roll-ups with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.
**To reheat, cook in a 350 degree F oven for 2 hours or until hot and bubbly. (You can cut down on the cooking time by thawing overnight in your refrigerator.)
Tator Tot Hotdish
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped (about one cup)
2 tsp Garlic Garlic 1 bag frozen vegetable (about 4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt 4 slices of American cheese
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Directions
Add ground beef, onions, and garlic to a pan and cook on medium-high heat until beef is cooked through and onions are translucent..
Mix beef with cream of mushroom soup
Cook vegetables (I typically use my Pampered Chef Micro Cooker in the microwave for 5 minutes, using just a tiny bit of water to the cooker)
Grease pan and spread beef & soup mixture over pan
Place cooked vegetables over beef
Place slices of cheese evenly over beef and vegetable layers
Top with tator tots
Defrost in refrigerator
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes
Hints for FREEZER Meals
-Cook meat ahead of time
-Make sure everything is freezer safe
-Most meals (at least the ones I am sharing will keep up to 3 months in the freezer)
Next Month (October) 8 Easy Chicken Freezer Meals
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