While Reid was out of town, I decided to make a bunch of freezer meals to prepare for the baby! It will be nice to pull these things out this fall once we are "on our own" in caring for 2 kids. I'm pretty impressed with how much I made, I gotta say! Here is what I ended up with...(and the groceries for all of this was under $100-not too shabby!)
20 bean and beef burritos
1 pizza dough crust
sloppy joe/meat sauce
cream cheese chicken casserole
stuffed shells casserole
white chicken chili
The burritos, cream cheese casserole and stuffed shells all came from my friend Katie. Here are those recipes if you are interested!
Brown Bag Burritos
2 lb. ground beef
2 cans refried beans (I make my own)
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
green chilis
20 flour tortillas (burrito-size)Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time. Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla.
Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel, then wrap in foil.
Refrigerate or freeze. I like to pack them in the tortilla ziplock bag.
When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. If you don’t use a microwave, skip the paper towel and just wrap in foil. Then heat burritos in the oven with foil. For a sit down meal they are nice topped with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. If you’re eating on the run, though, just grab and go!
Alysia’s Stuffed Shells
1 package jumbo shells
1 large Prego spaghetti sauce or 2 bottles of another brand
1-2 lbs hamburger
1-2 garlic cloves
White or yellow onion chopped
1 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella
1 c or MORE of parmesan cheese
¼ c. Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs
* maybe could add spinach
Salt, pepper, and parsley to taste
1. Preheat to 350
2. Boil jumbo shells until cooked. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Mince garlic and chop onion, then sauté in a little olive oil. Add hamburger and cook then let cool a bit.
4. In a bowl mix mozzarella, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
5. Mix in hamburger and then add 2 eggs
6. Pour a little bit of spaghetti sauce into 9x13 dish.
7. Stuff shells with meat/cheese mix and place in dish.
8. Pour sauce over shells until covered and sprinkle with parmesan.
9. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole
Chicken Fryer (or a bunch of chicken breasts)
2 cans Cream of chicken
Sm onion
8 oz. cream cheese
2 c. milk
1 c. small shell pasta - uncooked
1⁄2 - 1 stick of butter
Bread Crumbs
1. Preheat to 350
2. Boil chicken - remove bones and cut into bite size pieces
3. Mix soup, onion, cream cheese (cut into small cubes), milk, pasta, and chicken
4. Put into greased 9 x 13 pan
5. Mix butter and bread crumbs and sprinkle on top (if freezing wait until baking to add)
6. Bake for 1 Hour (check it at about 50 minutes)
The meat sauce is one of my dad's recipes. It works great over spaghetti or for sloppy joes!
Dad's Meat Sauce
2 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of tomato soup
salt/pepper to taste
1 can mushroom pieces
2 Tbs chili powder
Brown the hamburger and onion, drain. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve over spaghetti or buns.
This white chicken chili is probably the recipe I make most often. It's so easy and delicious and everyone always likes it! I have made it so many times and changed the recipe so much--this is how we like it!
White Chicken Chili
4 cups cooked chicken breast - diced or shredded (I actually put it in the blender or food processor sometimes)
1 cup chopped onion
1 tbs minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth (or more if you like it more soupy)
2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 cans great northern white beans
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chilis
1 cup corn (optional)
Saute onion and garlic in butter. Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and simmer for 1 hour. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream and grated cheese on top!
