Baked Ziti - Freezer Meal

Found this recipe on Pinterest while looking for meals that I could make quickly for us and for my brother and sister-in-law who had just had an adorable baby girl.

My Niece Addie Jo

This dish is seriously the BEST pasta dish I've ever had. It was FULL of flavor. This will be a freezer meal that I will be making every other month now.


Baked Ziti

1 pound dry ziti pasta (or really any kind of pasta would work - I used Penne pasta)
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef (season with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and minced garlic)
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
8 slices provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes; drain.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 8x8 inch pans with non-stick cooking spray. Layer as follows in each pan: 1/4 of the ziti, 1/4 of the sauce, 4 slices of Provolone cheese, 1/2 of sour cream,  1/4 of ziti, 1/4 mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake covered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.


You can eat one for dinner now and freeze the other for dinner another day! Or you can freeze both. (I made one for us and one for my brother and sister-in-law who just had a baby)

To freeze this meal: Follow the instructions above, except for the last step of cooking it. Cover the assembled ziti with foil and stick in the freezer (I usually use 2-3 layers of foil just to keep out the freezer burn). It will last in the freezer for about 30 days. When you are ready to eat it, remove from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw 24 hours in advance. By allowing it to thaw in the fridge, you can cook it at the regular time and temperature (350 degrees for about 30 minutes).

These fill the 8x8" pans to the top, so I cooked mine on a large cookie sheet just in case they bubbled over.

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

Layer 5 - Now Repeat

Finished Minus the Cheese Topping

Chicken Cacciatore - Freezer Meal

Chicken Cacciatore

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (I added thighs also)
1 {26 oz} jar of spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped


There are 2 different ways you can make this.

1. You can load all the ingredients into a gallon sized Ziplock bag, lay it flat, freeze, and cook it in the crockpot at a later date.

2. Layer the ingredients in a foil pan, seal and pop in the freezer.

Crockpot Cooking Method: Cook from frozen on high for 8 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Oven Cooking Method: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles if desired. We ate it just in a bowl without the noodles.


Notes: You can pretty much add any veggie that you'd like to this. Next time I'm going to add mushrooms and more veggies.

Barbecued Meatballs - Freezer Meal

Barbecued Meatballs

Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 cups oats (quick-cooking or old fashioned — can also substitute bread crumbs)
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds raw ground beef (since you’ll be freezing this recipe uncooked, you’ll want to make sure the meat is fresh, not frozen)

Barbecue Sauce:

2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Shape into one-inch balls and lay on a cookie sheet.

To freeze: Freeze uncooked meatballs on a cookie sheet for one hour. Remove from cookie sheet and transfer to airtight ziptop freezer bags.

To serve: Thaw meatballs overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Put in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Drain.

While meatballs are cooking, combine Barbecue Sauce ingredients together in a saucepan on the stove. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour Barbecue Sauce over meatballs and bake for 10-20 minutes longer, or until done.

Crockpot Taco Soup - Freezer Meal

Crockpot Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 Bag Frozen whole kernel corn, no need to thaw
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
12 oz chicken or vegetable broth
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained
1 package of taco seasoning (1.25 ounces)
2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts


Preparing: combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag. Flatten down so there is little to no air. Freeze.

Cooking Method: cook in crockpot on Low for 6-8 hours or High for 4-6.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, sour cream, &/or crushed tortilla chips

Make-Ahead Freezer Egg McMuffins

I'm always looking for things that save me time, keep me from having to cook all the time AND are healthy. This recipe is awesome! I make up 12 sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches at a time. Then wrap them, put them into a ziploc bag and place them into the freezer. Then we warm them up for breakfast when we need something quick.

Make-Ahead Freezer Egg McMuffins
Makes 12

2 Packages English Muffins (I use Sour Dough)
1 Dozen Eggs
12 Slices of Cheese (I use Cheddar)
12 Organic Sausage Patties (You can use bacon, Canadian bacon, or no meat)

Spray your pan of choice with olive oil. I use a muffin top/whoopie pan because the eggs come out almost the same size of the English muffins and they are the perfect thickness. Add your 12 eggs to the 12 slots in the pan you are using. Add black pepper and sea salt to your liking.

Bake eggs at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes (in a whoopie pan - if you are using a muffin pan I would cook them for 25-30 as they will be much thicker), until set. Although we normally like our egg yolks a little runny, I cooked these completely since I'd be freezing them. That's the way McDonald's makes them, too.

The baked eggs are easy to lift out with a small spatula. I just use my fingers since the whoopie pan is so easy to get them out and isn't a deep pan.

While the eggs bake, prepare the muffins by splitting them open and adding cheese slices (I folded in the corners of my cheese slices).

Add the baked eggs when they're ready and add the sausage patties to the top of the egg (or whatever meat you are using). Put the top of the muffin on and the sandwich is complete.

 

Wrap each individual sandwich.

Here are the instructions for wrapping them:


Wrap for microwave reheating. Wrap individual McMuffins in dry wax paper deli sheets. That way, you can put the wrapped sandwiches directly in the microwave for reheating. (You can also use pieces of wax or parchment paper.) After they're all wrapped, put them in freezer ziploc bags and freeze them. It takes under a minute to reheat a thawed McMuffin at full power in the microwave. A frozen one takes about 2-3 minutes at half power (turn it over after each minute).

Wrap for oven reheating. Wrap them in aluminum foil if you prefer to reheat them in the oven. This is a good option if you want to reheat several at one time. It takes approx. 30-40 minutes to reheat frozen McMuffins in a 350 degree oven. If they're thawed, it only takes about 15-20 minutes. The outside of the muffin gets crispy when these are warmed in the oven.

Feeding a crowd? Make up a bunch of these in advance, wrap them individually in foil, and reheat them all at once in the oven. They're easier to manage if you arrange them on large baking sheets for putting in and out of the oven. You'll need to increase the baking time a bit if you're reheating larger quantities.