Today I’m making easy freezer meals for beginners. Lots of casseroles and hamburger patties. Comfort food at its best! This is easily enough food for one week of meals, plus a bit extra.

*A note on reheating frozen casseroles. Frozen - bake at 350 for 2 1/2 hours, or 1 hour if thawed. Remove foil to brown 15 minutes before it’s done.

Here are some of the recipes; everything is approximate, as I usually don’t measure. It’s just a dash of this and a squirt of that!

To make a roux:

1/2 c. butter 1/3 - 1/2 c. flour
3-4 c. milk / broth salt & pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, whisking to combine. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. I browned my roux for the brown gravy, but that is not necessary with a white sauce. Then add the milk or broth, depending on if it’s a white sauce or a gravy.

Shepherds Pie:

ground beef (1 1/2 - 3 lbs) onion, diced
garlic, minced salt & pepper
frozen corn mashed potatoes
gravy - making a roux with leftover meat drippings

In a large pot, brown beef, adding onions and garlic for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Rice meat with a slotted spoon and reserve. Make a roux with leftover meat drippings. For extra flavour I added Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, ketchup and horseradish. You can add anything or nothing. It will still taste good!

Add beef back to gravy. Mix. Pour into casserole(s). Cool. Top with frozen corn and cooled mashed potatoes (boil, mash with butter and milk, salt & pepper). Top with foil. Label & date. Freeze. To reheat, bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours, approximately.

Spaghetti Sauce:

ground beef (1 1/2 - 3lbs) onion, diced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced garlic, minced
mushrooms, sliced salt & pepper
herbs oregano, basil, thyme) bay leaves
3-6 large cans diced / crushed tomatoes
can tomato paste 1 tbsp honey

In large pot (or 2, depending) brown beef. Add vegetables and herbs. Cook for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add bay leaves, canned tomatoes and honey, reserving tomato paste until later (I find it gets in the way of cooking, because it thickens so much).

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for one or several hours (my mom cooked her sauce on low heat all day!). Once cooked, add tomato paste to thicken. Adjust seasonings to taste. Use for spaghetti or lasagna.

Lasagna

Spaghetti sauce lasagna noodles
grated mozzarella cheese
can of pasta sauce (optional)

In 1-2 casseroles, add can of pasta sauce to bottom layer (or use spaghetti sauce). Add one layer of noodles, then spaghetti sauce, cheese. Keep layering until you have the desired amount. Top lasagna with cheese. It is best to do this when the sauce has cooled so cheese doesn’t melt.

Bacon Chicken Ranch Stuffed Shells

chicken meat, diced ricotta cheese
bacon, crumbled 2-4 eggs
1 pkg ranch seasoning onion, diced
herbs (chives, optional) garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

pasta shells grated cheese
white sauce (roux) with ranch seasoning added

Make the filling. Amounts will depend on how much you are making. I would use 1 container of store bought ricotta per casserole. Refrigerate until ready to stuff shells.

Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Undercook slightly so shells don’t fall apart. Cool under cold water to stop cooking, and so they are easy to handle. Drain.

Make white sauce. Amount will depend on how much you are making.

Pour white sauce in bottom of casserole. Stuff shells with chicken-ricotta mixture. Layer in casserole. Top with cheese. You can add a second layer of shells, if desired. If using second layer, top with more white sauce and another layer of cheese.

Cover with foil. Label. Freeze. To reheat, bake in preheated oven at 350 for about one and a half hours, or one hour thawed. Remove foil and brown top for a few minutes on broil (watch carefully!).

Hamburger Patties:

3 lbs ground beef garlic powder
1-2 eggs ketchup
Worcestershire sauce Bread crumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients (amounts will depend on how much you are making). Form into patties. Freeze on baking sheet. Once frozen, move into freezer bags. Date and label. You can cook these from frozen on barbecue or stovetop. Make sure to cool thoroughly before serving.

Here is my video for homemade ricotta cheese:
[ Ссылка ]

Here is a link to deli containers (associate link):
[ Ссылка ]

Thank you for watching!

свернуть