The most important part of any freezer cooking day is having good recipes. You need to know what you are making so you can go to the grocery store and know how to pile things into your pans!

Now, I’ll admit it right now: My recipes tend to be hodgemodge. I did mention I like “One Dish Wonders” right? I tend to have a base recipe. Then I hit the freezer/fridge for what else to add in. I’m big on the add ins. Do I have some left over carrots? Broccoli? I’ll just chuck it in willy nilly. Adds variety, which is of course the spice of life! And what’s food without spice? Exactly!

I’m going to post my recipes below. I’ll just stick with the basic recipe. Don’t be afraid to throw in extras! Peppers or carrots or whatever. Clean out that fridge and dump stuff in! Especially if you have picky eaters. Sometimes they won’t notice things hiding in sauces. Yeah, moms are sneaky that way. (Or in my case: wives.)

To all reading this: I did *not* add the sour cream. Right? HAHA (My husband doesn’t do sour cream. I generally mix it in on the sly. SHHHHHH!)

So without further ado… my recipes!!!

Today’s meals:
Waffles
Breakfast Bake
Beef Enchiladas
3 Cheese Kielbasa Bake
Spaghetti Casserole
“The Good Stuff”

Waffles:
I cheated. Though I think I want to make more. I’m thinking about using one of my scratch recipes. Today I used a pancake “complete” mix. It made 17 large waffles. (You’ll see the photos in the next post.) I think we need more. But that was a WHOLE BOX. Sooo….

Breakfast Bake:
1 lb Breakfast Sausage
1 dozen eggs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk
1 4.5 ounce can of mushrooms
1 bag of tater tots
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1. Brown sausage over med-high heat. Drain.
2. Beat eggs, soup, and milk.
3. Stir in sausage and mushrooms.
4. Pour into baking dishes.
5. Top with tots. (they’ll kind of sink in really.)
6. Cover and Freeze.
7. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
8. Top with some cheddar cheese.
9. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. (Till cheese is melted.

*Makes 2 pans*

Beef Enchiladas

2 and 1/2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup chopped onions
2 cans (15 ounce each) enchilada sauce
1 can (10 and 3/4 ounce) cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
24 flour tortillas
2 and 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese.

1. Brown beef and onion over medium heat. Drain.
2. Combine enchilada sauce and soups.
3. Pour 1 cup each into 3 pans.
4. Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into beef mixture.
5. Spoon 1/4 cup of beef mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with 2 tbsp of cheese. Roll up tightly.
6. Place 8 enchiladas in each pan.
7. Cover with remaining sauce.
8. Cover and freeze.
9. Bake covered at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
10. Uncover and sprinkle a little more cheese on top.
11. Bake additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*Makes 3 pans*

Three-Cheese Kielbasa Bake

12 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
2 pounds of kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese (I always use cottage cheese as we all prefer that.)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella
2 green onions, chopped

1. Cook macaroni and drain it.
2. In a large skillet brown sausage in oil over medium heat.
3. Add onions, zucchini, carrots, and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes. (Until crispy-tender.)
4. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. In pans: layer macaroni and meat sauce.
7. Combine egg and cottage cheese. Spoon over the sauce.
8. Sprinkle with cheddar and mozzarella.
9. Repeat until full.
10. Top with onions.
11. Cover and freeze.
12. Bake at 350 for 30-30 minutes.

*Makes 3 pans*

Spaghetti Casserole

1 pound of angel hair
1 and 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
2 cans of tomato sauce (8 ounces each)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded colby-monterey jack cheese

1. Cook pasta and drain.
2. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
3. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce. Remove from heat.
4. Combine soup and sour cream.
5. In baking dishes, layer meat sauce, pasta, soup mixture, and cheese.
6. Repeat layers until full.
7. Cover and freeze.
8. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes (or until cheese is melted and entirely warm.)

*Makes 3 pans*

“The Good Stuff”
*Named by my Moroccan daughter, Schada. She loved this meal so much! We love you Schada!*

1 pound ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of veggies (we often use corn)
Tater Tots

1. Brown meat and drain.
2. Put into pan.
3. Add in soup and veggies and stir together.
4. Top with tots.
5. Cover and freeze.
6. Bake at 350 until tots are brown. (Abt 40-50 minutes)

*Makes 1 pan*

So there’s my recipes. Be watching for part 3… the actual baking day post: Complete with pictures! Yay pictures!

–Lady O