Meals to double and freeze - stocking the freezer for ease!

[pbresolin]

I find it so hard to cook in the evening (and I know a lot of you do too) because you never know what kind of tragedy will be going on around 5:00 in my house.

So, I have started cooking meals that are easy to double (or even triple) and freeze and so far it's working out very well. I'm getting my freezer stocked and on days when I have absolutely no time (or just don't feel like cooking) I can pull one out to thaw and pop it in the oven when I'm ready.

If anybody has any meals that are good to double and/or freeze I would love to have the recipe. It can be meat or veg. We eat everything here (just nothing with a can of soup or onion soup mix, please - DH won't have anything to do with it).

And if anybody wants the recipes that I have I would be happy to share.

Thanks!

[Christina]

This is one of my favorites for freezing! The recipe is automatically double as is and make anywhere from 5-6 per pan depending on how much you stuff in each one.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheddar...as/Detail.aspx

[pbresolin]

Perfect! We love Mexican dishes. Thanks!

[thejuliuss02]

Make pizza dough and prebake the crusts, then freeze. It's SO nice to pull one out on nights when you need a quick fix.

Chili
Lasagna
Soups
Spaghetti sauce and meatballs

The one below I really like because it is really yummy, and the recipes makes alot as called for. I've gotten about 24 rolls out of it, and 6 rolls easily made a meal for us. We also make about 4x the sauce, tweek it to personal taste and added ground beef to it. Dh doesn't believe in meals without meat, lol! Then just freeze in individual pans or line a pan with foil, freeze, lift out, wrap up and put in a freezer bag.

LASAGNA ROLL-UPS
(MICHELLE (AGMMOM), BBC EXCHANGE)


Makes about 28-32 rolls (2-3 rolls per serving). Can be frozen. Split into 4-8x8 (6 rolls each).

Sauce:
Double sauce part!! (or more)
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes (I used diced
2 C packed basil
1/2 cup olive oil (or less)
1 medium red onion
2 tbsp garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Filling:
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups Parmesan cheese or a blend of Italian cheese
1 C mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
Dash of nutmeg

Pasta:
24 lasagna noodles
Mozzarella cheese for topping

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sauce~ In a blender, puree the tomatoes with their juices and the basil until almost smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until tender. Stir in the tomato puree, oregano, sugar, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease to medium heat and simmer until sauce thickens slightly. Stir occasionally.

Filling~ Mix all ingredients together, stirring well.

Pasta~ Cook pasta al dente, drain, and cool slightly before using.

Assembly~ Lay out each noodle. Place about 1/4 cup filling on each and spread over the length of the noodle. Roll noodle up being careful not to add too much pressure (it will push the filling out). Place sauce in the bottom of pan—enough to cover. Arrange roll-ups over sauce. Place 1-2 tablespoon of sauce on each roll-up. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake, covered, at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

[mama2jack]

subbing

[pbresolin]

The roll ups sound great too. Thanks! As soon as I get a chance I'll be adding my recipes here too...

[cjbug]

Subbing, too! My hubby is coming up with a cookbook series right now because we have also had this problem--the "OH NO!! It's 5 o'clock and we have no idea what's for supper" problem!
I'm waiting in anticipation for Trish's recipes!

[frankelmama]

I did this locally with woman's group. The lady that organized it was amazing! You could choose from 10 meals and you could do as many or as little as you wanted. I made all 10 meals and did double of each one. So we ended up with 20 meals. It said each meal size was for 4 servings, but each one fed us (2 adults, 12yo, 8yo, 6yo, 2yo) as long as I added a filler (bread, cottage cheese, fruit, or whatever). It was WONDERFUL! I paid $80 something and got 20 meals. The lady that bought everything bought in bulk and did a LOT of work to get great deals. I'd love to do this again or even a smaller scale with some friends. I really wanted to have some of these meals frozen for when the baby comes in a few weeks. So I will go back and look at the meals we did and post them. Also looking forward to seeing all your recipes!

[pbresolin]

Ok, I'm back. I borrowed this book from a friend. Here's the link so if you want to get it out of your library you know which one it is. There's a whole section called "Investment Recipes" at the back of the book and it's great. However, I tried to do the chicken one and it took me like three days to finish (even though it said you could do it in a few hours - forget that if you have kids)!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/re.../dp/0670858765

So, what I have done is re-written the recipes so they are manageable and you can do them one at a time. All the recipes I have used from this book are delicious! Here are two of my favorites to begin with:

Chicken Cacciatore (Two 9 x 13 pans)

12 chicken thighs or legs
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion

3 28 ounce cans of plum tomatoes with juice
2 cups of chicken broth
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 strips of orange peel
2 bay leaves

Slice peppers and onion thinly and cook in olive oil until wilted.

In each of two 9 x 13 baking dishes add half the veggies, 1-1/2 cans of the tomatoes, 1cup of broth, 1 tsp of Italian seasoning, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 2 strips orange peel and 1 bay leaf. Arrange six chicken thighs in the pan.

Bake on 375 for 1 hour and 10 minutes turning every 20 minutes and stirring 3 or 4 times. Cool completely, cover with foil and freeze.

Coq Au Vin (Three 8 x 8 pan or two 9 x 13 pans)

12 chicken thighs or legs
4 slices thick bacon
2 10 ounce sliced button mushrooms
1 bag frozen pearl onions
3 cups red wine
1 cup chicken broth
4 rosemary sprigs
1 tsp salt

Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and cook over medium heat. Remove to paper towels. Divide between baking dishes.

Drain off all but 1tbs of drippings and brown uncooked chicken thighs two minutes on each side. Divide between baking dishes.

Add the pearl onions to the pan and cook over high heat, stirring often, until lightly browned. Divide between baking dishes.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring often, until soft and golden. Divide between baking dishes.

Add 1-1/2 cups of red wine, ½ cup chicken broth, 2 rosemary sprigs and ½ tsp salt to each baking dish and mix gently.

Bake 375 uncovered for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Cook completely, cover with foil and freeze.

When I get some more time I am going to add a couple more (hopefully tonight).

[pbresolin]

I love this one too. It's sooo easy to make and very yummy!

Easy Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes (I use instant)
4 oz (1/2 of 8 oz block) cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 cup beef gravy (I use Boston Market in the jar - yum)

Preheat oven to 375. Brown beef in large skillet. Drain. Stir in veggies and gravy. Spoon into a 9 inch baking dish.

Mix potatoes with cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Cover meat mixture with this and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar.

Bake for 20 mins or until heated through.

To double this, just double all ingredients and freeze the meat mixture in a freezable pan. Thaw in refrigerator when you want to use it and if using instant potatoes it just takes a couple of minutes to make them and spread them over the top. Then bake as directed.