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What to Stock in Your Freezer?

Tips and Ideas for Freezing Meals

10 Recipes for Freezer Meals

1. Chicken Stock or Broth
   Place roast chicken with chopped carrots, a quartered onion, 1-2 celery leaves and 2 bay leaves in a large soup pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook and simmer on medium-low 1 hour. Drain broth in freezer container. Allow to cool. Shred chicken. Use the shredded chicken for a casserole or other dish. When broth is cool store in freezer for a quick soup starter. You can also do this with Vegetable Stock by just adding vegetables such as carrots, celery, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, parsley and bay leaves. Cook the same as above and drain all vegetables and save broth for a freezer meal soup starter.



2. Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
   This recipe can make a large amount. Let simmer in your crock pot and then freeze in smaller containers. Use for sauce on spaghetti noodles, pizza sauce, pasta sauce for lasagna, etc:
   2 Tablespoon olive oil
   1 onion, chopped
   1 garlic clove, crushed
   1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
   ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
   1 lb. Beef
   Heat oil in pan and sauté onion and garlic. Stir in herbs and cayenne. Add beef and cook until browned. Set aside.
   Pour next ingredients into crock pot or large soup pot.
   28 oz + l small can of tomatoes equals 5 Cups chopped tomatoes that have been run through a blender.
   1/4 Cup ketchup
   2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
   2 teaspoon dried oregano
   1 Cup beef or vegetable stock
   salt and pepper
   Mix in bowl.
   Cover pot and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes or place in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours on low. Allow to cool completely and then freeze in desired proportions.



3. Meatballs
   1 lb. hamburger
   1 egg
   1/2 Cup dry bread crumbs
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   1/8 teaspoon pepper
   1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
   In mixing bowl, mix by hand or with a spoon all ingredients together until well blended. Form into meatballs and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Put into freezer for 30 minutes until frozen then remove and stick into freezer bags. This recipe makes about 30 small 1/2 inch-1 inch meatballs so double or triple for a larger batch.
   
   Freezer meals for meatballs can be meatball soup, strognaff meatballs with egg noodles, add to spaghetti sauce, sweet and sour meatballs, meatball sandwiches or add to kids lunches with a small container of sauce to dip.
   
   
4. Pizza Bites or Small Calzones
   Pizza dough store bought or homemade
   8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut in cubes
   Slices of pepperoni or pepperoni chunks
   Ham chunks or ham cut up in small pieces
   1/4 cup olive oil
   1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
   3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
   2 cups pasta sauce
   Roll pizza dough onto a floured surface and roll into a large rectangle. For easier handling cut in two batches. Cut into approximately 4 inch squares. On top of each square place a pepperoni and ham slice or chunk and a cheese cube. Wrap dough around meat, fold sides in and roll up. Press together. Place on cookie sheets. In small bowl mix olive oil and seasoning together. With pastry brush brush oil over pizza bites. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Use all dough and bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Use pasta sauce for dipping. These are great for kids lunches or easy freezer meals. They freeze well and can be taken out individually.



5. Muffins
   Stock up your freezer with homemade muffins and quick breads. They are great snacks for kids lunches and can be served with scrambled eggs or egg casserole for a "breakfast for dinner night."

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A great product for freezing meals is to invest in a FoodSaver. This will lock in and vacuum seal your freezer meals.


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6. Double or Triple Soups
   Try any of these three soup recipes for a soup that makes a great freezer meal and can be frozen individually for lunches.
   
   Pizza soup recipe
   
   Chili recipe
   
   Minestrone Soup
   Sausage or hamburger
   1 Cup carrot, diced
   1 small zucchini, diced
   1 onion, diced
   ½ Cup chopped celery
   2-15 oz. cans chicken broth
   16 oz can kidney beans
   28 oz. diced tomatoes
   1 ½ Cup water
   2 Tablespoons basil
   2 Tablespoons oregano
   Parmesan cheese
   Cook sausage and onion together. In saucepan, add chopped vegetables, sausage, chicken broth, tomatoes, kidney beans, water and spices. Simmer until carrots are tender. Serve with Parmesan cheese. To freeze allow to cool and store in freezer containers.



7. Enchiladas
   These are great doubled or tripled. Then freeze individually for lunches or as a whole extra freezer meal for a just pop in the oven kind of night.
   4 Cups shredded chicken
   8 oz. cream cheese, softened
   1/2 Cup salsa
   Cream of Chicken soup
   1 cup milk
   1 cup shredded cheese
   Salt and pepper
   Stir ingredients in bowl.
   In separate bowl mix 1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup (depending on how much you are making) and 1 cup milk. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sauce mixture to shredded chicken. Spoon chicken mixture down center of each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in greased baking dish. Pour sauce mixture over top and top with shredded cheese and salsa. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
   If you want to make a larger amount you can add 1-2 Cup of cooked rice to chicken mixture.



8. Sloppy Joes
   1 pound lean ground beef
   1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
   1/4 cup chopped celery
   1 green pepper chopped
   1 cup ketchup
   1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
   1 Tablespoon brown sugar
   1 teaspoon yellow mustard
   1/8 teaspoon black pepper
   Saute beef, onion, celery, and green pepper in pan until beef is no longer pink. (My kids prefer having the celery, pepper and onion pureed in the blender. If I have a carrot on hand I add that in too. Then I cook with the hamburger. )Add kethup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard and pepper to hamburger. Simmer for 10 minutes. If freezing allow to cool and place in freezer containers. Serve with rolls for sandwiches or here is a casserole idea:
   Sloppy Joe Casserole
   Layer in baking pan as followed.
   Sloppy joe mixture
   Green beans
   Cooked mashed potatoes
   Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese is melted.



9. Lasagna or Manicotti
   Another dish that can be doubled easily. Then freeze individually for lunches or as a whole extra freezer meal for a just pop in the oven kind of night.
   
   Manicotti with Cheese filling
   1 box manicotti noodles
   8 oz. mozzarella cheese
   2 Cup cottage cheese
   ¾ Cup grated parmesan cheese
   2 Tablespoons parsley
   1 egg, beaten
   1/2 teaspoons Salt
   ½ teaspoon Pepper
   Jar of spaghetti sauce
   Cook manicotti noodles and rinse in cold water. In separate bowl, mix cheeses, egg and parsley together. Stuff cheese mixture into noodles. In pan pour ½ spaghetti sauce in bottom of pan. Place noodles on top and pour remaining sauce on top. Cook 350 for 40 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes. For Lasagna follow manicotti recipe but make layers with lasagna noodles instead of stuffing.



10. Chicken Roll Ups
    These freeze well for kids lunches or easy freezer meals.
    2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
    8 ounces cream cheese
    Salt and pepper
    Crescent roll dough
    Mix chicken, cheese and season with salt and pepper. Roll dough out and separate into triangles. Put spoonful of filling on dough and roll up. You can serve with cream chicken soup mixed with 1 cup of milk for sauce or use the light chicken broth sauce below...
    2 Tablespoons Parsley
    2 Cups chicken broth
    2 Tablespoons cornstarch
    Pinch pepper
    Heat mixture together in saucepan for several minutes. Use as sauce for chicken roll ups. You can saute onions and mushrooms and add them to sauce, if desired.

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