ISO: ISO: Meat Casserole that freezes well, to make for my 80+ year old Dad

In Search Of:
Baked Ziti Casserole

Normally pasta doesn't freeze too well, but I've found for lasagna and ziti casseroles this isn't true. This is the recipe I use and I found it somewhere on the net (can't remember where).. so I'm sorry for the plagiarism but I do remember that the original recipe was posted by Diana Rattray: though I modified it a bit (mainly for freezing purposes.

Recipe:

2 pounds lean ground beef (ground chuck or ground round)
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped, about 1/2 cup
2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (8 ounces) tomato sauce (reserve about 1/4 cup of sauce)
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon garlic powder or small clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 ounces ziti or elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

PREPARATION:
Sauté ground beef, onion, and green bell pepper in a large skillet until onion is tender and beef is lightly browned. Drain off excess fat; add tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well; stir in ziti or elbow macaroni and 2 cups of the cheese; transfer to 2- 2 1/2-quart casserole pans. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. After removing from oven, brush remaining sauce over any exposed tips of pasta (this helps prevent drying and hardening during cooling/freezing), let cool thoroughly in the refrigerator before portioning for the freezer. I make 2 pans and have 1 for dinner that night and freeze the other pan into portions. I normally use square plastic microwavable containers for this (sandwich size does nicely for my husband)

 
Italian Sausage Soup

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 lbs. Italian Sausage, removed from casings. (I use sweet sausage but spicy can be used too)
3-4 c. onion chopped coarsely (to taste)
10 c. chicken broth
2 (28 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes w/basil & oregano
2 tsp. chopped basil (I like fresh or frozen)
2 c. elbow macaroni
salt & pepper to taste.

Prep:
Heat oil over medium heat in large stock pot. Add sausage and onions. Cook stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to crumble and brown sausage. When the onion turns transparent this stage is complete. Add broth, tomatoes, and basil then bring to a boil. Add macaroni, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer partly covered. If eating immediately cook until macaroni is tender (about 25 minutes), if freezing simmer for only 10 minutes until pasta is still tough in the center, cooked less than al dente.

Freezing: portion immediately in jars or plastic microwavable containers and quick-freeze for at least 2-3 hours or overnight before stacking regularly for storage. (quick freezing is placing at least 2 inches apart in the coldest part of your freezer, normally closest to the cooling element.) Freezing this whole recipe normally I leave them to quick freeze overnight since they are a bit closer than they should be. This recipe halves nicely though.

 
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