Home cooking for Singles & Couples Make ahead Freezer Meals!

Yummy Freezer Meals!

 

Mini Meatloaf

I have not felt well lately which leads me to this weeks post. I have really enjoyed some great meals thanks to my freezer meals! We all find ourselves busy these days with life in general. I find that most recipes make up more food than you can possibly eat. Making meals ahead and freezing them benefits just about everyone. It works well for singles, couples and families. It saves you time and you can control what is in your food.


I like to cook and most of my recipe books make up enough for a whole family. Normally I only have time to bake and cook on the weekends. When I cook it usually leaves a lot of leftovers. I have found that if I wrap them up and put them in the refrigerator that I end up forgetting about them. So I like to go ahead and make up my own freezer meals or package these up to use them later. If you wrap things flat you can get a lot of food in your freezer. I wanted a separate freezer so that I could shop in bulk. I found a great deal on a used freezer locally on craigslist awhile back. I have it in my garage and thankfully it is full!

Ready for the freezer

I have tried to stop using plastic Tupperware type containers when I possibly can for health reasons. If you wrap your foods individually in freezer wrap or wax paper and then wrap in a layer of foil, it will keep for a long time in the freezer stored in freezer zip lock bags. I like the bags with the zipper on top. I have a seal a meal also but use the other method more often.

Freezing ahead can be done on most recipes. If you are making lasagna you can use two dishes and bake one to eat now and line your second baking dish with freezer paper and put it in the freezer until it is frozen. In an hour you can pull it out and it will easily slide out of the dish and you can wrap and freeze for later.  When you are ready to bake, remove the wrap and put it back in the baking dish you used before and bake. I like to use address labels that I get from the dollar tree. I label everything so that I know what is in the bag. You could also use markers and write on the bag. Be sure to write baking instructions so that you will know how long to cook when you are ready to bake.

I really like to do this for baked cakes and breads. You can have a nice variety of muffins, and goodies for a quick sweet fix , quick breakfast or a quick snack. It works well if you have unexpected guest! Yesterday I took out a slice of pumpkin bread and popped it in the microwave for 20 seconds and it was just as good as the day I made it.


I am sharing the meatloaf idea today. You can line muffin tins and freeze the meatloaf individually and wrap them to pull out and bake at a later date or you can cook them and then freeze them for a quick meal.

I have also posted a few variations I have used with my meatloaf recipe through the years that you can try. Please be sure to comment and share your tips!


Mini Meat Loaves
1 egg
3/4 cup milk ( I have also substitute with BBQ sauce instead for a yummy twist)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup soda cracker crumbs (quick cooking oats or toasted bread crumbs work well also)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef ( a good variation is to substitute w/ half sausage or ground turkey)
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard ( I have successfully used dried mustard or Grey poupon)
1/4 cup each of chopped onion and bell pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onions and peppers in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until transparent and tender. In a large bowl, whisk the egg & milk. Add cheese, cracker crumbs, salt and pepper & onions. Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this mixture into mini meat loaves or muffin tins.

In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf. ( You can also just use any type of  bottled BBQ sauce you already have as a topping) I love Sweet Baby Rays, TJ BBQ sauce, or Bulls Eye.

At this point you can freeze the uncooked version to use for your freezer meals if you would like to serve later.  Today I added ketchup. I love ketchup!

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.  Yummy!

** I had a great quick meal today from what I cooked earlier. (It does taste better than it looks!)
I am being frugal and saving the foil for another use.

Home cooking for Singles & Couples Make ahead Freezer Meals!