Mama’s Vegetable Beef Soup: Great for the cool weather!
This is a basic foundation for a great winter/fall soup, ready to go out of the freezer. I will be making this in the near future and will update with more details, so stay tuned!
Ingredients:
-No set amounts of any one ingredient, portion to taste
- Ground Beef
- Spaghetti Sauce/Pasta Sauce for the base
- Picante Sauce (Pace or other) for some pizazz
- Vegetables as desired (canned, frozen or cans of veg-all even)
Instructions:
Cook and drain ground beef. Add in all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let simmer for a good 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. Serve or freeze.
Mama’s Breakfast Quiches (Crustless): Delicious breakfast on the go… just waiting in your freezer!
Ingredients:
- 3 dozen eggs (I wait till eggs are on sale for $1 a dozen)
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ tsp black pepper, salt and tarragon and dried parsley (or any herb flavor you like)
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups frozen broccoli or blanched fresh broccoli
- 2 cups cubed ham steak
- 1 bg frozen tater tots
Instructions:
Bake tater tots according to package directions. Beat eggs, milk, pepper, tarragon, parsley and salt till pale in color and all incorporated. Let tater tots cool then break up into smaller bits. Combine cheese, broccoli, ham steak and tater tot bits into a separate bowl. In well greased muffin tins, mini loaf pans or mini pie plates place cheese mixture ½ way up then pour egg mix till almost to the top. Be sure to leave room as the egg will expand as it cooks. Bake at 375 till the egg is set (times vary depending on what type of vessel you use) typically 20-30 min’s. Cool then freeze. These make great quick morning breakfasts or entertaining on the fly when combined with rolls, bacon and some sausage!
Mama’s Lasagna Bake: A little slice of heaven, right out of the freezer!
Ingredients:
- 8 cups prepared Marinara sauce (I make my own but using store bought is fine)
- 4 pkgs (12 oz each) cooked rotini or any other medium pasta
- 1 pkg sweet Italian sausage
- 1 pkg mild or hot Italian sausage
- (I have used bulk ground Italian sausage before but I prefer the sausage in casings)
- 2 lg buckets ricotta cheese (I wait till these go on sale, usually around Christmas time then freeze them till I want to use them.)
- 5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Boil the sausage on the stove till the internal temperature is 150. Meanwhile cook the pasta and drain. Let the sausage rest till cool enough to handle. Slice into ¼ inch medallions. In a large bowl mix all ingredients except 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese.
Portion out the pasta mix into disposable (which by the way re-use very nicely!) loaf pans, top with some of both cheeses, cover with saran wrap then foil and freeze. To re-heat simply place into a 350 oven till bubbly and warm or dump out onto a plate and warm in the microwave. These make a great meal for two when combined with a few bread sticks and a side salad.
Mama’s Stuffed Peppers: A delicious change from the ordinary!
Ingredients:
- 3lb ground beef
- 1 onion chopped fine
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 red pepper chopped fine
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 can green chillies
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup corn
- 1 pkg taco seasoning
- 4 Bell Peppers (Red, Yellow, Orange or Green – your choice)
Instructions:
Cook ground beef, drain fat, add taco seasoning. Let cool for a few min’s while you cut the tops of the peppers and remove the inner membranes (a melon baler works great for this). Coat the peppers in a bit of olive oil and roast upside down in a 450 oven for 10-15 min’s. While the peppers are roasting, mix the cooked ground beef with the rest of the ingredients. Let peppers cool for just a few so you can easily handle them. Turn peppers right side up place in a roasting pan and fill with 1 cup mix and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 min.
These freeze great stuffed as is or I often times make up the mix use a few peppers for dinner that night then freeze the rest of the mix in 1-2 cup portions and save for when peppers are on sale. This also works well for lettuce wraps, tacos or stuffed cabbage leaves.