Getting Ready: Filling Up the Freezer

Being the organized and prepared (read: control-freak) gal that I am...I've started trying to fill our freezer with some extra meals, in anticipation of little Mr. Gabriel's arrival.

Have I mentioned lately how hard this "aiming at an unknown target" thing is for me? But I digress....

So I'm filling the freezer.

I got busy on this project over the past week. So easy! Just make supper like normal every night...only make more than normal.

First, one night I made a double batch of Lentil Stew...and froze an extra meal.

One day I used my big crockpot to make a double batch of some Crockpot Lasagna...and froze two extra meals.

One night we tried this new recipe that I'd been wanting to try. It was yummy! I doubled it and we now have an extra meal of it in the freezer also!

Italian Pasta Bake

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion or 3 Tablespoons dry minced onion
4 cups tomato sauce (I doubled this recipe. I used one 29-oz can tomato sauce, and one quart of tomatoes that Kris and I had canned)
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons basil
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or one clove fresh garlic
Sea salt to taste
10 ounces whole wheat pasta, any shape (I used bow-tie)
2 cups shredded cheese

Brown meat and onion together. Meanwhile, bring tomato sauce, water and herbs and spices to a boil. Stir in pasta and boil until tender. Do not drain. The pasta should have absorbed the liquid! Mix in cooked meat. Salt as desired. Spread mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through and through.

And then, I made a big 'ol batch of Kris' Italian Stew...and put away THREE extra meals in the freezer!

Now I've always known this as "Kris' Italian Stew"...but I honestly don't know if it is just an Italian Stew recipe that Kris passed on to me, or if it is a recipe that she invented. But looking at it - and the directions - I really believe it is a recipe that she invented. (She was a whiz in the kitchen!)

Kris' Italian Stew

3 lbs. ground beef (I used ground venison)

1 large onion

Garlic powder or pressed fresh garlic (I used fresh - so good for us!)

8 cups beef stock (I use "Better than Bouillon" because it doesn't have MSG...I get it at Wally World)

2 qts. tomatoes

Palm-full of basil

Little bit less than a palm-full of Italian seasoning

Salt

Pepper

Box of rotini (I usually follow directions and use rotini, but this time I got a wild hair and used medium shells instead. I'm wild and crazy that way...)

Brown the ground beef and onion. Add garlic, tomatoes, and beef stock and seasoning and bring to a boil. Add pasta and boil until pasta is cooked...then lower temperature. Enjoy!

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In our utility room we have an extra fridge (the couple we bought this house from unexpectedly left their fridge behind - score!) and a chest-style freezer (I was young and naive when we purchased it like 12 years ago...I would so buy a stand-up if I could do that over!).

This means lots of room for me to make and freeze more meals, right???

No, unfortunately.

Even though we have more freezer space than most people - with our monthly co-op buys, plus the 98 pounds of venison we recently had processed...I actually don't have any more room to keep on freezing extra meals like this!

Filling Up The Freezer: Check