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I prepare and freeze meals a lot.  Some easy ones are lasagna, pot pie, meatloaf, enchiladas, chili, hamburgers, quiche, pancakes, waffles, egg and english muffin sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and the list goes on!  I am not a great cook, either!  I find a lot of recipes on general recipe websites and then adapt them for the more "basic" cooking that I do.  Good luck!

One thing I do that saves so much time is buy several pounds of ground beef and cook in batches with onions, garlic, salt and pepper. You can also add bell pepper. I pour each batch into a colander to drain. When cool, I put into small freezer containers and freeze. The cooked, frozen meat thaws in no time and I can make spaghetti, sloppy joes, casseroles, chili, tacos, burritos, quesadilas in a snap!

Another thing I do with ground beef is mix up meatloaf and salisbury steaks. If I have enough time, I go ahead and cook them then wrap and freeze them when cool. If I don't have time, I wrap and freeze them unbaked.

Meatballs are also easy to make ahead, bake or fry then freeze. I place them on a large flat pan, freeze then place frozen meatballs in freezer bags. They thaw quickly and you can use for meatball hoagies with spaghetti sauce or BBQ sauce. Or you can add them to a skillet and make brown gravy with a couple of pkgs of brown gravy mix and serve over mashed potatoes. Meatball Stroganoff is good; combine and heat a can of cream of mushroom soup, soup can of milk or water, 1 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp beef bouillon in a skillet. Stir in a pkg of cubed cream cheese, add meatballs and simmer on low until meatballs are hot. Serve over egg noodles.

Wow those are really helpful ideas.  I have to get started pretty much 2mw, since I'm due on the 29th!!

  I like to do this also.  

Ground beef I like to make:

spaghetti sauce and freeze for later and only have to cook is the pasta.

Taco meat: to make tacos, or taco salads. or taco soup

Salisbury steaks with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes.  I will post the recipe here for you.

Roasting hen: Roast it off over the weekend and eat your meal.  then take the rest off the bone and make anything, chimichangas, soups of any sort, such as chicken noodle, chicken tortilla, cream of chicken, creamy chicken and wild rice. etc...

Grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts.  I like to cook them chop them up and freeze in portion size bags, and use these in Salads any time I want one. 

My Salisbury Steaks & Mushroom gravy.

Servings 5

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

1          pound ground beef

¼         teaspoon salt

¾         teaspoon black pepper

1          small clove garlic, minced

½         to ¾ cup onion, minced

4          tablespoons celery (about ½ of one rib)

1/3       cup bread crumbs

½         cup minced, diced or sliced mushrooms

1          egg

¼         to ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Gravy

½         teaspoon salt

½         teaspoon black pepper

½         to ¾ cup minced mushrooms

2-3      cups beef broth

1          tablespoon kitchen bouquet

4          tablespoons cornstarch

½         cup water

 

 

 

Directions

 

1.         Put garlic, onion, and celery into a food processor and mince finely.  Mix into beef along with salt, pepper. Bread crumbs, egg, and parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Then form into 5 patties.

 

2.         In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add patties to pan and fry on first side until browned.  Gently turn over to finish.  When the patties are fully cooked.  Remove from pan and set aside.     

 

3.         In same pan add mushrooms, and sauté until browned and caramelized.  Then add beef broth and bring to a simmer.  Mix water and cornstarch.  Stirring vigorously slowly add the cornstarch and water mixture.  Add enough to make gravy consistency.  You may have to add more or less depending on the thickness you like.

 

 

 

Note   some great subs for celery are: baby spinach, broccoli maybe carrots (keeping in mind that they will add sweetness to the dish) Even zucchini would work and all need to be minced.  If you have someone really afraid of mushrooms then puree them so that they are not noticeable.   

Hey RootsNwings

When I've done some freezing of meals, I find that most pasta recipes freeze well (Spaghetti, Mac & Cheese, Lasagna, Tuna Casserole, etc...).  Broth-based Soups freeze well also.  If your family likes Breakfast for dinner, you can make a large number of Waffles and Pancakes and freeze them, to re-heat in the Microwave or Toaster. 

If you want to break it down even simpler, just cook the pasta, package it and freeze.  Thaw in the refrigerator the night before and re-heat in the microwave with your favorite jarred/canned sauce poured over, then toss.

(Quick sauce recipe: Butter, Olive Oil, Chopped Garlic, salt and pepper - all to taste - this can be pre-cooked packaged and frozen until needed - heat thru on the stove.  Toss thru re-heated pasta - fetuccini, linguini, angel hair, egg noodles - Sprinkle with parmesan.  A quick light pasta side)

I find that if I package into single servings they re-heat up better.  Also, you can lightly flavor your pastas after cooking and before freezing.  I've been known to flavor spaghetti with a little teriyaki sauce and soy.  When I've re-heated it, I've served it with Stir-Fry Vegetables (from the Freezer section at the store) and Lightly Seasoned Chicken Breasts (which can also be prepared and pre-cooked). 

Meatloaf can be pre-made and frozen (uncooked and cooked).  Place in fridge the night before to thaw and continue heating as needed (following the rest of the recipe if at the uncooked stage ).

Hamburger patties can be seasoned and premade (uncooked) and frozen, then on the night to be cooked, place on a rack in a sheet pan and bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes.  Top with cheese and serve on buns with your favorite condiments and sides.

As for the chicken, if you place chicken breasts in freezer bags with a marinade (any store-bought bottled dressing like Balsamic Viniagrette, Italian or maybe Vidalia Onion Dressing will do), you may thaw in fridge the night before and place on a baking sheet the same way as the burgers and bake the same way.

One thing that will always help others, if you are leaving these meals for others to cook, would be to tape simple heating instructions on the sides of each package.

If there is anything else I can do to help, let me know.  I just got a Do-ahead Cook Book from a local Used Book Store and might be able to look up some specific recipes.  Hope my current suggestions help.