Ideas for meals that freeze well

[PrincessArky]

I am looking for things that I can freeze and just heat up during the week. To be honest I am just tired of being in the hot kitchen every day of my life lol

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[Pepsi4me]

Beef stew & Chili freeze well.

[LitWtch]

Pasta freezes well when you toss if with olive oil - then you can add any sauce you like.

[Army-Mom]

I freeze almost everything. I have even fried extra chicken and froze it..spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, chili..soups.

[BBELEAZAHR]

I was thinking the exact same thing today LOL I freeze homemade tamales all the time since they take so long to make

[ttistin]

Lazy Lasagna

Makes two.
(serves 4 - 5 people; 2 times)

12 oz. lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (crushed)
2 (15 1/2 oz.) jars spaghetti sauce
2 cups cream-style cottage cheese (or Ricotta)
12 oz. mozzarella, sliced (or shredded)

Add oregano to spaghetti sauce. In two 10x6x2-inch baking dishes, spreading one cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of each dish. Then make layers in this order: uncooked noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella slices and remaining spaghetti sauce; repeat. Wrap pan in foil; label and freeze. To serve: thaw completely (takes about 1 1/2 days in the refrigerator.) Bake tightly covered at 350 F for about 45 minutes, or until edges are bubbly and center is hot. Take cover off during final 10 minutes of baking time. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

There's no need to pre-cook the noodles since they'll cook in the sauce while the Lasagna bakes. Just make certain that the noodles are completely covered with sauce. Some people recommend adding a small amount of water to the sauce (about 1/2 cup), but I personally haven't found that necessary with this particular recipe.




Site I found with more recipes

[ttistin]

Frugalmom.net

http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/

recipezaar.com

[LitWtch]

I love lasagna after it has been frozen!

[flute]

This freezes well::

Simple Beef Meals
About 3 hours, 54 servings of 5 meals

MAKES: Meat & Pasta, Zesty Chili, Picadillo Casseroles, Salisbury Steaks w/vegetable gravy, Chicken Soup w/ tiny meatballs

Grocery list:
2 lbs carrots
2 lbs. zucchini
2 lbs. onions
1 garlic head or jar minced garlic
8 1/2 lbs. ground beef
parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
4 cans (28-29oz each) crushed tomatoes
2 jars brown gravy
4 cans (32 oz. total) chicken broth
32 oz water
flour tortillas (10 in pkg)
2 oz. box onion soup mix
16 oz. pkg. bow tie pasta
16 oz. pkg spaghetti
15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans
chili powder
cinnamon
1 can bread crumbs
salt
vegetable oil
pimento stuffed olives ~ 1/4 C to 1/2 C
red wine vinegar
10-12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs
16 oz. frozen chopped spinach

TO BEGIN: Chop and cook aromatic vegetables. These will be used to flavor all the recipes.
Chop 2 lbs onions (about 6 cups), 2 lbs carrots (about 6 cups), and 2 lbs zucchini (about 7 cups). Heat vegetable oil in 8 qt. pot. Add vegs & cook over medium high heat 15-20 minutes until almost tender. Yield: about 12 cups cooked vegs. Transfer vegs to a large bowl.

Meat sauce: Mince 8 large garlic cloves or use 4 tsp. minced garlic from jar. Put 3 lbs ground beef and 1 TBSP. minced garlic in 8 qt pot. Cook 7-10 mins over med-high heat, breaking up meat, until no longer pink. Stir in 6 cups of the cooked vegs, 4 (28 oz) cans tomatos, 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce, and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low. Simmer uncovered 15-20 mins for flavors to develop. Remove from pot: 7 cups for the meat sauce, and 8 cups for the picadillo casseroles, (refrigerating or freezing) leaving 7 cups in the pot for the zesty chili.

1st Recipe: Meat & Pasta--Take the 7 cups from refrigerator or freezer and serve over cooked hot pasta. Makes 7 cups, 7 servings.

2nd Recipe: Zesty Chili--Drain 2 (19 oz) cans kidney beans. Stir into 7 cups basic sauce left in pot with 2 or more TBSP chili powder. Cool, then refrigerate chili in airtight containers up to 5 days. Reheat and serve with sour cream or shreded cheese, chopped onion and tomato. Makes 10 cups, 7 servings

3rd Recipe: Picadillo Casseroles-- Lightly grease 2 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie plates or 2 9 inch round shallow baking dishes. In large bowl, mix 8 cups meat sauce, 1/4 C- 1/2 cup sliced pimento stuffed green olives, 1 TBSP sugar, 2 TBSP red wine vinegar, 2 tsp. chili powder, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Spread 2/3 cups
sauce in bottom of each baking dish. Cover each with a flour tortilla, spread each with 2/3 cup sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat these layers 3 more times, ending with Cheese. Cover with foil and refrigerate up to 4 days. To prepare: Bake 30-35 mins at 375 until bubbly. Makes 2 casseroles, 6 servings each.

4th Recipe- Salisbury Steaks with vegetable gravy-- -In a large bowl, put 4 lbs (8 cups) ground beef, 2 cups dried bread crumbs, 1 box (2 oz) onion soup mix, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup water and 1 TBSP minced garlic. Mix until blended. Pack in 2 ungreased 11x7 inch baking pans. Bake 20-25 mins until firm to touch and no longer pink in center. Cool. In medium saucepan, mix 2 cup of vegetables, 2 jars brown gravy, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 mins for flavors to blend. Cool. then pour into 2 4 cup containers. Wrap the uncut steaks tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up 5o 3 days. To prepare: reheat, covered 20-25 mins at 350. Cut into 8 portions before serving. Warm gravy and pour over top. Makes 2 pans, 8 servings each

5th recipe-- Chicken Soup With Tiny Meatballs--- Bring 8 cups chicken broth and 8 cups water to boil. Add 16 ounces tiny bow tie pasta and cook 5 minutes. Then add a 16 oz bag frozen chopped spinach. Simmer 5 minutes longer. Mix remaining 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1 tsp minced garlic until blended. Form small meatballs and drop into soup. Simmer 5-7 mins or until meat is no longer pink in center. Stir in remaining 3 cups vegetables and heat through. May refrigerate up to 4 days. Makes 24 cups, 12 servings.

[MsLynn]

Beef stew & Chili freeze well.

i take stew and put it in the "good" freezer bags, then when you're ready to reheat.. just drop the bag in boiling water... don't now if anyone else remembers the old "boil in bag" stuff we used to get when i was a kid. but these work just like them.

[stresseater]

We have a vacuum sealer and it is the BEST. We freeze everything and the bags can be used as boiling bags so I can literally cook dinner in the microwave and it's like I'd been slaving all day over the stove.