Alexandra Grablewski
3 freezer meals, 6 SERVINGS
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground beef
- 6 cups sliced carrots (about 12 medium-sized carrots)
- 4-1/2 cups sliced celery (about 9 medium-sized stalks)
- 3 cups chopped onion (about 3 small onions)
- 3 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
- 3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 -1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound mini bow ties (farfalle) or other small pasta, cooked and cooled
- Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
To package this recipe, you’ll need
- 6 1-gallon freezer bags (three with labels)
- 3-quart freezer bags.
Directions
- In a large skillet or pot, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink, about 15 minutes, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. Drain if beef produces excess grease. Cool.
- Divide beef evenly among the unlabeled 1-gallon freezer bags.
- Into each bag of beef, add 2 cups carrots, 1-1/2 cups celery, 1 cup onion, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Seal.
- Divide cooked pasta evenly among the 1-quart freezer bags, and seal.
- Place a bag of soup mix and a bag of pasta into each labeled 1-gallon freezer bag, and seal.
Freeze for up to 4 months.
To Cook One Freezer Meal:
- Place one package frozen or thawed soup mix in a slow cooker. Set pasta aside.
- Add 4 cups water to slow cooker. Cover with lid.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
- Stir in pasta, and cook for an additional few minutes, or until soup is heated through.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Kati Neville lives in Oregon, and Lindsay Ahrens lives in Washington. Both are big fans of freezer meals and have written recipes for Costco’s annual cookbooks and articles for Everyday with Rachael Ray. This is excerpted with permission from their book Fix, Freeze, Feast (Storey Publishing).