Frozen meals

I have been stock piling my freezer in preparation for baby's arrival and the chaotic times that are sure to come.  Estevan thought I was nuts when I told him that I wanted to make meals for the sole purpose of freezing them.  He was also worried about the food budget getting jacked, a worry that I can't blame him for.  Preparing for a baby is very expensive!  So, instead of buying a bunch of food to freeze on top of food for our normal consumption, I decided to split every big meal in half.  Since it's just the two of us, we always have leftovers and those leftovers sometimes do not get eaten.  At least one portion of every meal ends up getting thrown away!  I have been able to stock up a lot of food by simply baking one half right away and storing the other half in the freezer.  Behold the yummy goodness...

We have chicken spaghetti, stuffed shells, stuffed chicken breasts, marinade for lemon rosemary chicken, and a small meat loaf.  I wrote the name of each dish, cooking instructions, and the date it was frozen on each package.

Here is a breakdown of the recipes that I chose, click the titles to see full recipe:

• Chicken Spaghetti, Pioneer Woman
• Stuffed Shells
• Stuffed Chicken, Kayotic Kitchen 
• Lemon Rosemary Chicken
• Meat Loaf, Pioneer Woman

Most of the foods have been prepared up to the point of baking.  I will set my oven to a lower temp and bake the chicken spaghetti and shells for about 20 minutes to warm up and then raise it to the normal temp and bake for the normal time.  The stuffed chicken breasts will need to be thawed then wrapped in the puff pastry and baked as normal.  The marinade will simply need to be thawed and the chicken pieces plopped right into the bag.  I cooked the meat loaf almost entirely to ensure it will not be overcooked and dry when reheated, it will be thawed and then baked until the internal temp is 170. Pin It Now!

Stuffed Shells

This meal is by far my favorite pasta dish.  It is very easy to put together and requires mostly ingredients that I always have on hand.  Oh, and it tastes delicious too!  I found this recipe over at Annie's Eats, I tweaked it a little by adding in a green bell pepper.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 12-oz. package of jumbo pasta shells

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound Italian sausage

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 cup bread crumbs, substitute 6 club crackers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes with herbs, including the liquid

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta shells according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and bell peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up as it cooks.  Cook until the sausage is completely cooked and no pink remains.  Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, basil, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.  Stir together to combine.  Add the cooked sausage mixture to the bowl and stir until evenly mixed.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Spread a thin layer (about half) of the chopped tomatoes in the baking dishes (either three 8x8" pans, or one 9x13" and one 8x8").  Stuff each shell with some of the cheese mixture, and arrange in the baking dishes, open side up.  Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.

Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling.  Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes via Annie's Eats Pin It Now!

Baked Rigatoni

Here's an easy and tasty recipe to share.  Everything is store bought but when you put it all together and stick it in the oven it tastes very homemade.

Baked Rigatoni

Ingredients

1 box Rigatoni, boiled to "al dente"

2 jars Traditional Pasta Sauce

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella (approximate)

Sweet Italian Sausage, about 3 links, de-skinned

Directions

Heat oven to 350.  Boil pasta to "al dente" and drain.  Brown Italian sausage in skillet, breaking up into small pieces and drain excess fat.  Combine pasta, Italian sausage, both jars of pasta sauce, and most of the shredded mozzarella in large mixing bowl.  Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle remaining mozzarella over top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until all mozzarella is melted and filling is bubbling hot.

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Pasta Salad

To me, warm weather means it's time for pasta salad! This is a staple recipe in my home during the summer months and these last few days of high temps had me craving it.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 box rotini pasta
3 stalks broccoli
1 red onion
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, use liquid too
1-2 containers feta cheese, I like tomato-basil flavor
1-2 containers Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian dressing

Directions
Boil rotini. Chop raw broccoli into bite sized pieces, place in large bowl. Finely chop 1/4 of the red onion, I like to only coursely chop the remainder and add to salad for extra flavor as it marinates. Finely chop the artichoke hearts and add to salad, be sure to add the liquid to the salad mix too. Add in the feta, I like feta a lot so I use 2 containers. Mix in pasta and add dressing as desired. The salad will tend to dry out as it marinates, add additional dressing as desired but not necessarily all of the second bottle.

You could enhance this recipe by adding black olives, baby corn, etc...
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Brown Butter Tortellini with Spinach & Ham

This is a good old standby meal for me, so easy and delicious. My mother-in-law tuned me in to the recipe from Pampered Chef. Here it is for you to enjoy....


Just be sure to pick up the correct kind of tortellini, I once accidentally bought the "Herb Chicken" kind and it was not a good experience!

Brown Butter Tortellini with Spinach & Ham

Ingredients
1 pkg (20 oz) refridgerated cheese-filled tortellini (found next to the cream cheese normally)
1 pkg (6 oz) fresh baby spinach
1 8-oz piece cooked ham steak (found next to the hotdogs usually)
1 large red bell pepper
1/4 cup butter (do not substitute margarine)

Directions
To cook tortellini, bring salted water to a boil in large pot; add tortellini and cook according to package directions (I found that it cooks perfectly in 4 min, not too overdone).

As tortellini cook, place spinach into large colander. Dice ham and finely slice bell pepper, chopping as desired. Place butter in large skillet and begin to brown at medium heat, swirling occasionally.

Drain tortellini over spinach in colander. Continue to brown butter until it is a deep brown color, be sure to continue swirling in skillet. Add bell pepper, reduce heat to low; add ham, tortellini and spinach. Gently toss to coat with butter. Continue cooking for a few more minutes to attain a nice brown tint to tortellini.
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Ricotta Stuffed Manicotti

A little while ago our good friends had us over for dinner and served up some delicious meat-stuffed manicotti. It was very tasty and the passed down family recipe seemed easy enough... it gave me the courage to take a stab at a similar recipe. I decided to make ricotta-stuffed manicotti with meat sauce. This recipe is many recipes put together the way I thought they might taste good. It turned out unbelievably tasty!
Ricotta Stuffed Manicotti
1 pkg. (8oz) manicotti
2 containers (15 oz) whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup (or less) freshly chopped basil
1 1/2 jars (1lb, 9 oz) spaghetti sauce, marinara or something plain
1 tube Italian Sausage (I used Bob Evan's)
1/2 cup water *helps to continue cooking undercooked pasta

1. Mix together ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, eggs, and seasonings, set aside (could be refrigerated for use later).

2. Boil manicotti until just barely al dente NOT FLOPPY (6 min for Barilla brand), drain and cool. It makes it easier to fill manicotti if it is undercooked, the extra 1/2 cup of water added to the sauce will continue the cooking process.

3. Brown meat and add to marinara sauce with 1/2 cup water, add thin layer to lightly BUTTERED 9x13 baking dish.

4. Good Tip: Using a large plastic baggie, spoon ricotta mixture in and snip off 1 corner. Use this to easily fill cooled manicotti.

5. Place manicotti into baking dish as you fill them, cover with remaining marinara/meat sauce, sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.
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