Recipes that freeze beautifully!

As a parent, it is so important that your family eats a well-balanced meal. The problem is often time! When we are short on time the last thing we think about is cooking a full meal from scratch. So, parents may turn to the closest drive-thru window for a family meal. But, what if you didn’t have to turn to the drive-thru? What if you could simply defrost a previously made meal, cook it and serve it! Think it can’t be done? Here are some recipes that freeze beautifully!

FAVORITE CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz) pkg. spaghetti pasta
• 1 (14.5) oz can chicken broth
• 4-5 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups sour cream
• one carton fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 cups grated cheddar (I recommend sharp)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• freshly ground pepper
• sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
• paprika

Instructions

1. Cook chicken (I roast at 400 covered for 45 minutes or until thermometer registers 165 degrees F). Chop and set aside.
2. Sauté mushrooms in butter until soft. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until al dente. Drain, toss with a small bit of extra virgin olive oil; set aside.
4. Mix soups, sour cream, and chicken broth until well blended.
5. Stir mushrooms into the soup mixture.
6. Add chicken, pasta, and cheddar cheese. Stir until well combined and evenly blended.
7. Spray pans with Pam; spread tetrazzini in each pan.
8. Sprinkle parmesan and paprika on top of each tetrazzini.
9. DO AHEAD: If freezing, stop here and freeze before cooking. If cooking, go to the next step.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until edges begins to bubble.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

https://goodcheapeats.com/creamy-chicken-enchilada-casserole/#wprm-recipe-container-61199

Ingredients

• 2 cups cream of chicken soup can use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup instead
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups cooked chopped chicken
• 2 cups shredded jack or cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 small can be chopped green chiles
• 1 small can chopped jalapenos OR 1-2 fresh jalapenos seeded and chopped (optional)
• 12 corn tortillas cut or torn into bite-size pieces

Instructions

1. Prepare your ingredients. Cook and chop the chicken. Shred the cheese. Prepare the “Cream of” soup, if you’re using homemade. Tear or cut the tortillas. Measure out the other things.
2. Whisk together the soup and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Then add the chicken, 1 cup cheese, onion, chiles, jalapeños, and tortillas. Stir well to combine.
3. Transfer the mixture to a greased 9×13-inch baking dish or single-serve gratin dishes.
4. Bake 1 hour at 350° until hot and bubbly. Adjust baking time for gratin dishes. Check after 30 minutes.

Large Family Cabbage Lasagna Freezer Meal Recipe

Ingredients

• Two Heads of Cabbage
• 10 lbs cooked ground beef (or turkey)
• 4 – 32.oz containers of ricotta cheese
• 10 large eggs
• 108 oz sugar-free spaghetti sauce (Walmart tomato sauce)
• 4 cups parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp onion powder
• 20 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (you’ll use 5 cups in each cabbage lasagna)

Instructions

For the lasagna cheese filling:

1. Mix four 32.oz containers of ricotta cheese, 10 large eggs, 4 cups of parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp garlic powder, and 2 Tbsp onion powder together in a large mixing bowl.

For the quick and easy meat sauce:

1. I have recipes for big batch spaghetti sauce that can be made in the electric pressure cooker or slow cooker. On this freezer cooking day, I went even simpler as you’ll see in the following directions.
2. Cook, drain, and crumble 10 lbs of ground beef (I used pasture-raised ground beef, but you use the best you have available).
3. Combined 10 lbs of precooked ground beef mentioned above and a big 108 oz can of sugar-free spaghetti sauce. From what I’ve seen those big Hunt’s brand cans available at Costco or Walmart appear to be sugar-free. Mix together completely.

To prepare cabbage “noodles”:

1. Gently peel the leaves of two cabbages into a large bowl.
2. Rinse cabbage leaves.
3. Place in a large stockpot and cover with water.
4. Bring to a gentle boil
5. Drain cabbage “noodles” and let cool in the colander while you prepare other ingredients.

If you’re interested in a comprehensive super cheap food guide, check out this address as well: https://happydiyhome.com/super-cheap-meals/