Freezer Meal

Sausage Spinach Pasta Bake to Freeze

Dear Sis,

Tried another freezer meal today. Super yummy!

Sausage Spinach Pasta Bake
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 2 (8x8 inch) foil pans
  2. 1 T avocado oil
  3. 1 (12 oz) pkg. chicken sausage, sliced
  4. 2 c fresh spinach
  5. 1 lb. pasta of choice
  6. 1 (25 oz) jar pasta sauce
  7. 1 c fresh basil, chopped
  8. 1/2 c Parmesan, grated
  9. 4 c shredded mozzarella
Instructions
  1. Sauté sliced sausage in 1 T oil until browned. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
  2. Prepare pasta according to package instructions.
  3. Combine sausage, spinach, pasta, sauce, basil, Parmesan, and 2 c mozzarella. Pour half into each foil pan. Top each pan with 1 c mozzarella.
  4. Cover each pan in plastic and foil. Label, date, and write cooking instructions on each foil cover.
Cooking Instructions
  1. Thaw completely in refrigerator.
  2. Preheat oven to 425.
  3. Bake 20 minutes.
  4. Serve with garlic toast and side salads.
Adapted from The Ultimate New Mom's Cookbook
Adapted from The Ultimate New Mom's Cookbook
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

The fresh spinach and basil make the dish!

Love,

b

 

Creamy Broccoli Chicken Freezer Meals

Dear Sis,

Carter’s family is expecting its newest member in July 2018 and we just discovered we are expecting a new member in September 2018. Jen and I are excited that we just might have three batches of friends between our families soon:)

In any case, early pregnancy is exhausting, and I suggested we make freezer meals during our play date today.

Creamy Broccoli Chicken Freezer Meals
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. 6 (1-gallon) freezer bags
  2. 3 (1-quart) freezer bags
  3. 6 pounds chicken breast, cubed
  4. 1/2 c salted butter
  5. 1 pound mushrooms, chopped
  6. 3/4 c unbleached flour
  7. 1 T chicken base
  8. 1 T curry powder (optional)
  9. 3/4 c pepper
  10. 2 c water
  11. 4 c milk
  12. 2 T lemon juice
  13. 6 c frozen broccoli florets
  14. 6 c shredded Colby Jack
  15. 1 1/2 c bread crumbs (optional)
Instructions
  1. Label, date, and write cooking instructions on three gallon bags.
  2. Pan fry cubed chicken until cooked through. Cool. Divide among labeled bags.
  3. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Sauté chopped mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in flour. Add chicken base, curry powder if desired, and pepper.
  5. Gradually stir in water and milk. Cook stirring until sauce thickens.
  6. Whisk in lemon juice. Cool sauce. Then, pour equally over chicken portions.
  7. Top each chicken and sauce portion with 2 c broccoli florets. Seal bags.
  8. Fill three quart bags with 2 c shredded cheese and 1/2 c breadcrumbs if desired. Seal bags.
  9. Place each meal in an additional gallon freezer bag to avoid messes and to keep the chicken and cheese bags together during storage.
Cooking Instructions
  1. Thaw completely in refrigerator.
  2. Preheat oven to 350.
  3. Place creamy chicken broccoli mixture in a casserole dish. Top with cheese and breadcrumbs.
  4. Bake 35-40 minutes.
  5. Serve over rice.
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Adapted from Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

Optional Ingredients:

Jen didn’t love the rice curry flavor. She decided to leave it out in future so the sauce would taste more like mushroom soup, and even contemplated using condensed cream of mushroom soup to save time and effort.

Although I loved the flavor twist the curry powder offered, I didn’t love the texture of the breadcrumbs, and will be leaving those out in future.

 

Love,

b

Homemade Sauce

Dear Sis,

At the start of the month, our backyard neighbors gave us a second batch of garden tomatoes. Then, you brought more when you came to visit. Of course, we were much too busy during your visit for sauce making, so I froze the tomatoes for later. 

Later finally came on Sunday. We spent the morning getting the sauce ingredients in a large pot, so they could cook away for hours, whist we made Chocolate Whoopie Pies. We used most of the sauce later that day to prepare a large pan of lasagna for us and a half pan for our backyard neighbors.

Josh got to try some while he was home on Wednesday and gave it his best compliment. “It tastes like Prego.” 

Today we used the last of the sauce for a William favorite… spaghetti.

Homemade Tomato Sauce
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Ingredients
  1. 16 large fresh garden tomatoes or 4 (28 oz) canned tomatoes
  2. 3 carrots; peeled and shredded
  3. 3 ribs celery; minced
  4. 1 onion, chopped
  5. 3 T minced garlic
  6. 2 T Italian seasoning
  7. 2 T olive oil
  8. 2 - 3 T dark brown sugar
  9. 1 c grated Parmesan
  10. opt. 2 lbs. ground beef browned.
Instructions
  1. If using fresh tomatoes, score with a sharpe knife, boil one minute, place in cool water, and peel. If using frozen garden tomatoes, defrost in pot while making sauce, then peel.
  2. Heat oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
  3. Add tomatoes, carrots, and celery. Simmer 2-3 hours.
  4. Smooth sauce texture with an emersion blender if desired. Stir in cheese. Add 1 T brown sugar at a time until acidity is to your liking.
  5. Add beef if desired. Sauce is ready to use in your favorite recipes or can be frozen for later use.
Adapted from Space Ships and Laser Beams
Adapted from Space Ships and Laser Beams
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/

I only had 6 large tomatoes and 2 small tomatoes, so I also used 2 (28 oz) cans diced tomato. 

If you want to can your sauce, instead of freeze it. Leave out the beef and limit sugar to 1 T so that acid leave is high enough for preservation. Process in a canning bath 40 minutes.

Love,

b