Beef Freezer Meals

Beef Freezer meals

Jumbo Shells

Lasagna Rolls

Taco Meat

Beef Rigatoni

Unstuffed Bell Peppers

Lion House Chili

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake

The amounts listed make two meals.

Jumbo Shells

1 lb. Ground Beef

½ onion

Pinch of Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper, Garlic

1 box Jumbo Shells (there are about 40 shells in 1 box)

4 oz. Parmesan Cheese (1/2 a container)

16 oz. Frozen Spinach (1 whole bag, thaw it)

½ lb. Mozzarella Cheese, grated

12 oz. Cottage Cheese…you can use ricotta instead (to expensive for me)

1 Lg. can Spaghetti Sauce

Directions:

Put shells in boiling water.  Chop onion.  Cook beef, and onion together.  Add seasoning to meat mixture.  While meat is cooking, prepare filling.

Pour half of spaghetti sauce into casserole dish.

Filling (this is what you spoon into the shells once they finish boiling).

In a large bowl, add parmesan, half of the 8 oz. (4 oz.) of mozzarella, cottage cheese, spinach, and when the meat is cooked add it to the filling also.  Mix well.

Fill shells with filling.  Put shells in casserole dish.  Pour the remaining ½ can of spaghetti sauce over the shells.  Sprinkle with the remaining 4 oz. of mozzarella cheese.

Lasagna Rolls

1 pkg Lasagna

The rest of the ingredients are the same as the above in the Jumbo Shells recipe

Directions:

Cook Lasagna

Cook beef and onion together

Make filling (same as Jumbo shells)

Once lasagna is fully cooked, cut lasagna noodles in half (I do this on my large cutting board)

Pour ½ can of spaghetti sauce in casserole dish

Spread filling on lasagna noodles and the roll up

Put Lasagna Rolls in casserole dish

Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over lasagna rolls

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. 

Taco Meat (easiest freezer meal!)

1 lb ground beef

½ onion

1 lb of black beans

Taco seasoning

            2 tbs. onion flakes or powder

            1 ½ tsp. chili powder

            1 tsp. basil

            1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. garlic, dried or fresh (I buy my garlic already pressed/grated in 32 oz. jars at Walmart…Great Value brand).

            ½ tsp. salt & ½ tsp. pepper

1/2-3/4 c. water

Directions:
 

Cook ground beef with onion, add seasoning.  Once cooked, turn off stove and add black beans.  Separate taco meat into 2 quart size freezer bags. 

Beef Rigatoni

1 1/2 boxes Rigatoni (you can use 2 if desired)

1 lb ground beef

½ onion, chopped

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes

½ lb mozzarella cheese

4 oz. parmesan cheese

1 can spaghetti sauce

Directions:

Boil Rigatoni.  Cook ground beef with onion. In a large bowl combine rigatoni, meat mixture, diced tomatoes, ¼ lb of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and spaghetti sauce.  Pour noodle mixture into 2 casserole dishes and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Unstuffed Bell Peppers (also another easy one)

*this recipe has the same ingredients as stuffed bell peppers, but the green bell peppers are chopped up and added to the meat mixture…and then when you pull it out of the freezer you simply heat it up and serve over rice or mashed potatoes. 

1 lb ground beef

½ onion, chopped

3 green bell peppers, chopped

6 Roma tomatoes, chopped

½ c. ketchup

1 tsp worcestershireWorcester sauce

Add to taste salt, pepper, garlic, oregano

Directions:

Cook ground beef and onion add remaining ingredients.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (recipe from Our Best Bites by Sara Wells & Kate Jones)

2 lbs ground beef

4 tbs. dehydrated onion (I just chop of fresh onion really finely)

½ tsp pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. bread crumbs

Sauce

1 ½  c. brown sugar  (I only use ½ c. brown sugar…way to sweet otherwise)

6 tbs. flour

3 c. pineapple juice

½ c. white vinegar

6 tbs. soy sauce

Directions:

Combine meatball ingredients. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes.  Then I cook them for another 10-15 min. at 350 deg.

*In a saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients and bring to boil. 

*Put 15-20 meatballs in 2 quart size bags, add ½ of sauce to each bag

*Pull out of freezer, thaw, reheat in saucepan and serve over rice.

Lion House Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. diced lean beef (I use lean ground beef)
2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
3 T. chili powder
2 t. granulated or fresh garlic

2 t. cumin
2 t. crushed black pepper
3 t. kosher salt
½ t. cayenne pepper 
4 cans (8 oz. each) diced tomatoes
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies
8 cups canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained (sometimes I do 4 c. kidney bean and 4 c. black beans)
2 cans tomato sauce 
1 c. brown sugar…I use 1 c. of pineapple juice and it’s delicious

(add water as needed if it seems to thick)

Top with:
Sour cream
Cheese, grated
Green onion, finely chopped
Directions:

• Preheat a large, pot, heavy skillet, Dutch oven or crock-pot
• Brown beef, bell peppers, onion, and spices together in canola oil. 
• When beef is browned, add the remaining ingredients
• Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Garnish with dollop of sour cream, grated cheese, and finely chopped onion.

*Pour Chili into 2 gallon size freezer bags.

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake (HTTP://EATATHOMECOOKS.COM/)

INGREDIENTS

§       2 lb. ground beef, browned

§       2 can black beans, drained and rinsed

§       2 jar of black bean and corn salsa

§       12-20 tortillas, corn or flour, cut into bite sized pieces

§       4 cups cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, shredded

§       extra cheese for the top, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

2.     Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

3.     Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Since I can’t fit a 15, 9x13 casserole dishes into my freezer,  a lot of the time I will just put the mixtures in gallon or quart sized bags and then I’ll pull out of the freezer and I’ll pour and then reheat mixture in a casserole dish.