Freezer Meal Recipes

Side Dishes/Sauces for the Freezer

Muffins
To freeze muffins, make your favorite muffin batter. Fill paper lined tins with batter. Place in freezer for a quick freeze. Once solid (about 6 hours), take muffins out and put them in a gallon size freezer Ziploc to save space. When ready to serve, heat oven to 375º. Place muffins in tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes if still frozen. (Or make adjustments to your recipe by cooking at same temperature for approx 10 extra minutes.)


Tempting Rolls
(These can be baked fresh, overnight or frozen and baked later)

1 ½ c warm water
1/3 c. oil
2 large eggs
1 ¼ T. yeast
¼ c. nonfat pwd. Milk
¼ cup honey or sugar
1 tsp/. salt
4 – 5 c. flour – part ww if desired

Mix water, oil, honey, eggs, salt and powdered milk in mixer for 30 seconds. Add half the flour and yeast. Mix until moistened. Slowly add remaining flour until sides of mixing bowl are clean.

Rest dough 20 minutes. Form into desired shapes. Put on cookie sheet and flash freeze. Put frozen rolls in a Ziploc and store in freezer until ready to use.

Put frozen dough on cookie sheet and spray lightly with cooking oil. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let thaw and rise 6 hours. Bake 15 minutes 350°.


Fresh Mex Tomatillo Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green Tabasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.
* Be warned... this makes a ton of dressing, but it will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.


Freezer Cole Slaw
1 medium head cabbage (about 2 pounds), shredded
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 large carrot, shredded
½ cup finely chopped green pepper

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and salt; let stand for 1 hour.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, celery seed and mustard seed. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cool.
Add the carrot, green pepper and vinegar mixture to the cabbage mixture; stir to combine. Transfer to large freezer bags; seal and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from the freezer 2 hours before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon.


Spaghetti Sauce
From Janet Wynn

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-2 lbs. Italian sausage (sweet, mild)
2-3 (28 oz.) cans tomato puree
1 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
2-3 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. sugar

Remove sausage from casing. Cook 5-10 minutes breaking clumps with spoon. Saute onion & garlic with sausage, 2-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 1-2 hours. Cool sauce. Store in qt. size freezer bags. Freeze and use as needed.


Classic Pesto
¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
7 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper

Toast nuts in skillet over medium heat. Transfer nuts to a plate. Add the garlic to empty skillet. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally until color deepens slightly. Let garlic cool, peel and chop. Process nuts, garlic, basil oil and ½ tsp. salt in food processor until smooth. Stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper. Freeze in freezer container and use as desired.


Gorgonzola-Pecan Butter
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup finely crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 Tbsp. pecans, finely chopped

Mix butter, Gorgonzola and pecans in medium bowl. Divide mixture into quarters and place each portion on a sheet of was paper. Roll paper tightly so that the butter takes the shape of a log; place all four butter logs in a freezer bag. Seal and freeze.
To serve completely thaw one butter log in the refrigerator. Toss with green beans or roasted red potatoes or put a pat on a freshly cooked steak.



Four Cheese Vegetable Lasagna
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 eggplant, sliced into ½ inch rounds
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
5 tomatoes, sliced
1 pint ricotta cheese
9 oz crumbled feta cheese
2/3 cup pesto
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 pkg no boil noodles
1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place eggplant slices on paper towels and salt with 1 Tbsp. kosher salt. Let sit for 30 minutes to draw out moisture (if you’re using a very small eggplant, this is not necessary). After 30 minutes, brush salt off and blot dry with paper towels. Add a drizzle of oil to skill and fry eggplant on both sides until tender. Meanwhile, place sliced tomatoes in 350º oven for 15 minutes to bring out flavors.
In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold pumpkin into ricotta mixture.
Spoon half of the tomato sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Lay two pasta sheets over the sauce. Arrange a single layer of eggplant slices over pasta and top with half the ricotta mixture. Cover with two more pasta sheets. Arrange the roasted tomatoes evenly over the sheets and spoon the remaining half the ricotta mixture over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with remaining two sheets of pasta. Pour remaining tomato sauce over all and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and freeze. To serve, thaw and bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.


Pizza
Using your favorite pizza dough recipe, roll out pizza crust. Cook in hot oven for 7 minutes to par bake. Cool and place crust in freezer. When ready to use, pull out crust, top with favorite toppings and bake in oven until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.


Pork Recipes for the Freezer

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham Recipe
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups ham, cooked
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
5 cups potatoes, scrubbed

Slice potatoes ¼ inch thick. Put in large sauce pan and cover with water and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to boil; boil gently about 8 minutes or until potato is just fork tender. Drain well. Melt butter in large sauce pan over low heat; blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk. Return to heat; cook until thickened and bubbly. Fold in ham, onion, green pepper and cheese. Layer potatoes and sauce mix in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for ½ hour. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Optional: could add cooked green beans or broccoli to the potatoes.


Spiced Pork Chops
½ cup flour
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. ground mustard
1 ½ tsp. paprika
½ celery salt
¼ tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. salt
Pinch of pepper
4 pork loin chops, ¾ inch thick
1-2 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
¼ cup packed brown sugar

In a shallow dish, combine first ten ingredients (all spices), place in Ziploc freezer bag. Combine Ketchup, water and brown sugar in separate freezer Ziploc bag. Place wrapped pork chops and seasoning bags in gallon sized freezer bag. When ready to serve, thaw pork chops. Dredge pork chops on both sides in dry seasonings. In a skillet, brown chops in oil. Place in greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Combine ketchup, water and brown sugar; pour over pork chops. Bake uncovered at 350º for 1 hour or until tender.


Fresh Mex Sweet Pork
2 lbs. boneless pork
3 cans Coke (not diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
Dash garlic salt
¼ c. water
1 can green chilies (6 oz.)
¾ can enchilada sauce –medium spiciness
1 c. brown sugar

Put pork in heavy zip loc bag to marinate. Add 1 ½ can of Coke and ¼ c. brown sugar. Marinate 2 hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, ½ can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crackpot on high for 3 – 4 hours or on low 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in pot. Shred pork.

In food processor or blender, blend ½ can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and 1 cup brown sugar. If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce back in crock-pot and cook on low for 2 hours.


Monterey Tortilla Casserole
6 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges
2 cups sweet pork, cubed
1 cup loose-pack frozen whole kernel corn
1 (16 oz) jar salsa
3 Tbsp. light sour cream
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, snipped
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 cup Mexican Chihuahua cheese (4 ounces) (we substituted Jack cheese)
Optional toppings: sour cream, fresh cilantro, chopped tomato, jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced

Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick coating. Place half of the tortilla wedges in the bottom of dish. Place remaining tortilla pieces on a baking sheet; bake in a 350º oven about 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, combine chicken, corn, salsa, sour cream, cilantro and flour. Spread over tortillas. Remove baking tortillas from oven and let cool. Once cool, place in freezer Ziploc bag. Wrap baking dish and freeze both tortillas and casserole. To serve, remove from freezer and bake casserole, covered in a 350º oven for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake about 20 minutes more or until heated through. Top with tortilla pieces and cheese; bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through. If desired garnish with additional sour cream, jalapeno slices, cilantro or tomato.

*You can also use chicken and add 1 (16 oz) jar salsa verde in place of regular salsa.


Beef Recipes for the Freezer

Cocktail Meatballs
From Janet Wynn

Meatballs:
2 lb. ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
3 eggs
1 pkg. Lipton onion soup mix

Sauce:
12 oz. Heinz chili sauce
16 oz. can whole cranberries
16 oz. sauerkraut (drain well & discard juice)
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz. water

Combine sauce ingredients and simmer for ½ hour.
Mix meatball ingredients and make meatballs. Brown meatballs in a little oil in a skillet. Place meatballs in Pyrex, single layer. Pour sauce over meatballs. Wrap tightly and freeze. When ready to use, thaw meatballs* and bake at 325º for 1 ½ - 2 hours uncovered. Serve over rice or noodles or just with a toothpick!

*If short on time, you can cook meatballs frozen – just lower the temperature slightly and cook a little longer.


Beef Ragu with Beans
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 large ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pounds ground beef
2 cans (14 ½ oz each) diced tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. sugar
1 can (15 ½ oz) cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 pound rigatoni, cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Place carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. In a large bowl, mix vegetables, ground beef, diced tomatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, sugar and beans. Add half of each: Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir until combined. Place mixture in a 6-qt slow cooker and cook 5 ½ hours on high or 8 ½ hours on low. Stir in remaining Italian seasoning, salt and pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. For 8 servings, toss half the meat sauce with rigatoni; serve with grated cheese, if desired. Reserve other half of the sauce for future meals. May be frozen, tightly covered, for up to 2 months.


Pepperoncini Roast
2 – 4 lb. roast
3 cubes beef bouillon
1 cup water
1 ½ tsp. oregano
2 cloves garlic
8-oz jar pepperoncini peppers with juices, mild

Dump in crock-pot and cook all day. Shred meat. Freeze in Ziploc freezer bags until ready to serve. To serve, thaw, heat and serve on hard rolls with mayonnaise and melted provolone cheese.


Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole
2 lbs. hamburger
½ small onion
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
2 (8 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 med. Size bag of tater tots

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Add the cream of mushroom soup and one can of water. Pour into a casserole dish. Add the cheddar cheese and the tater tots and stir. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is lightly brown.


Chimichungas
2-3 lb boneless chuck roast
2 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced green chilies
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. cumin
½ cup of salsa
Juice from roast

Slow roast meat until very tender. Sauté roast, oil, onion and chilies. Add seasonings. Roll in flour tortillas and brown on each side. Garnish and eat!


Chicken/Turkey Recipes for the Freezer

Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry
1 lb. cubed chicken, beef or tofu
1 ½ lbs. frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 cup sauce

Orange Sesame Sauce:
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. cornstarch

For sauce: In small bowl, combine juice, broth, oil and soy sauce. Pour into ice cube trays. Once frozen, place in freezer Ziploc bag.
For protein: Cube and place in freezer Ziploc bag

To serve. Thaw vegetables, protein and sauce. Add 2 tsp. cornstarch to sauce and stir. Heat 1 tsp. oil in skillet over high heat. Add protein and cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Move to clean bowl and set aside. Add 1 tsp. oil to skillet and add vegetables. Cook until crisp tender 2 to 4 minutes longer. Add protein back to pan. Add sauce to pan and bring to a simmer.


Teriyaki Chicken
1 cup-up chicken
Bread crumbs

Sauce:
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup water
1 tsp. grated fresh gingerroot
1 tsp. Accent

Mix sauce ingredients in gallon sized freezer Ziploc bag. Add chicken pieces. Seal, label and freeze. When ready to serve, thaw. Roll chicken in plain bread crumbs. Place on cookie sheet. Baste with remaining sauce. Bake in 325º oven for 25 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over, baste and bake another 25 minutes.


Bean Chili
3 cans black beans, drained
1 (4 oz) can mild green, chilies, drained
2/3 cup red onion, chopped
2/3 cup celery, chopped
2/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped
2/3 cup leeks, chopped (white part only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. oregano
1 stick butter
¼ cup flour
4 cups turkey or chicken shredded
4 – 5 ½ cups chicken broth
2 ½ c. thawed frozen corn
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup brown sugar

In a stock pot, sauté chilies, onion, celery, peppers, leeks, garlic and oregano in butter over moderate heat, about 15 minutes, until soft. Blend flour into cold chicken broth and stir into sautéed vegetables gradually. In blender, put 1 ¼ cups corn and puree. Add that and the remaining corn, meat, beans and spices; heat thoroughly.


Sweet and Sour Chicken
3 cups chicken pieces
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch or 3 Tbsp. Ultra Gel
½ cup each green pepper, onion and celery, chopped
1 cup pineapple tidbits, drained, juice reserved

In about 2 tsp. oil, sauté vegetables until tender crisp. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, pineapple juice and Ultra Gel or cornstarch. Add to vegetables and bring mixture to a boil if using cornstarch. If using Ultra Gel, there’s no need to heat. Stir until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in pineapple and chicken. Bag and freeze.

When thawed, heat through in saucepan or microwave and serve over brown rice.


Broccoli & Chicken Cheddar Casserole
2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 ½ cups chicken, cooked and cubed
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped
1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except bread crumbs. Pour into a buttered 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbly.


Desserts for the Freezer

Grandma Barratt’s Frozen Strawberry Dessert
From Becca Hatch

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup melted butter
2 egg whites
¾ cup sugar (or to taste)
1 lb frozen strawberries (I use the ones in the plastic tub), thawed w/juices
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ pt. whipping cream

In a 9x13 pan combine flour, sugar, walnuts and butter. Spread evenly in pan and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350º oven. You can also microwave for 2 minutes or 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until mixture is dry and crumbly. Let cool completely. Remove 1/3 of mixture and press remaining mixture into bottom of the pan.

In a separate bowl combine egg whites, sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. It will take 5-6 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix ½ pt. whipping cream until fluffy, then fold into strawberry mixture. Spread over crust, sprinkle with reserved crust mixture. Cover and freeze several hours or overnight.


Fruit Crisp
¼ - 2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups Fruit crisp topping
2 ½ - 3 lbs pounds apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, apricots, or plums, cut into 1-inch chunks

Toss together the fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Spread the fruit mixture with a rubber spatula into a pie plate. Sprinkle the frozen topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for about 40 minutes until fruit is bubbling.

Fruit Crisp Topping:
6 Tbsp. flour
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces and chilled
¾ cup pecans or whole almonds, chopped fine

Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut butter into dry mixture until mixture has a coarse cornmeal texture. Add the nuts.
Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and place in freezer until frozen, about 1 hour. Once frozen, place mixture in a freezer Ziploc bag. Pull out to use as desired. Makes 8 cups.