TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham shares tips for preparing and freezing a week's worth of meals in advance.
Quick-n-Easy Lasagnas
Ingredients:
2 jars commercial spaghetti sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano
lasagna noodles, cooked
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese, shredded
Preparation:
Stir oregano into spaghetti sauce. Take two large baking dishes and spread a cup of sauce in the bottom of each. Build layers of noodles, cheeses and sauce until the dishes are full.
Cover one lasagna dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Freeze the second lasagna dish and enjoy later.
Yield: 2 lasagnas
Mary Ellen's Frozen Burrito Filling
Ingredients:
two 15-oz. cans black beans, drained
two 10-oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
32 oz. picante sauce
2 cups frozen corn
2 tsp. ground cumin
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Separate the mix into portion sizes, then place in freezer bags and freeze. Simply thaw, heat and spread on a fresh tortilla.
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
12-oz. pkg. large pasta shells
2 lbs. ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1 Tbs. chopped parsley
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Preparation:
Cook shells according to package directions, drain and let cool on a sheet of wax paper. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and fill each shell with the mixture.
Place shells on a baking sheet and freeze. Wrap each shell in plastic wrap, then fill large freezer bags with the wrapped shells.
To serve, place desired number of shells in a baking dish, cover with commercial pasta sauce, and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.
Tips
- Another way to save time is to marinate meats and poultry in the freezer. Just place meats in freezer bags and add the marinade before sealing them.
- After bringing chicken breasts home from the grocery store, divide them up into freezer bags and pour salsa over them. When you need a quick meal, just remove the chicken breasts from the freezer, let thaw, and place in a casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese during the last five minutes of cooking time.
- Why not make three meals at once? When making a dish that calls for ground beef, cook up a few extra portions of meat. Divide the meat into three portions and add taco seasoning to one, spaghetti sauce to the second and sloppy joe seasoning to the third. Have one meal for dinner and freeze the other two.
- Always allow casseroles to thoroughly thaw in the refrigerator before re-heating. Before leaving for work in the morning, transfer that night's meal from the freezer to the refrigerator.
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