Freezer Cooking

Our freezer came in last week. I'm very excited to get it. We have more room for food. A friend of our is giving us some moose and caribou and believe it or not I'm excited to experiment with it this winter.

On Monday I was home with some sick kids, so I did a big of batch cooking. I made some of the Ham and Pasta Bake, I took one of the big packages of hamburger to make meatballs, spaghetti sauce and just some friend up meat with garlic, onions and celery and a marinade for the pork chops. It all went into the freezer except for one batch of Ham and Pasta bake which we had for supper the next night.

That night we had BBQ steaks.

Okay I was sure that I had posted the Ham and Pasta Bake but I can't find it to link it so I will post it here.

Ham and Pasta Bake (from Company's Coming)

2 cups elbow macaroni

3 qts boiling water

1 tbs. cooking oil

2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/8tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 tbs. onion flakes

2 1/2 cups milk

10 oz. frozen chopped broccoli

Boiling water, to cover

2 cups diced or cubed cooked ham

3/4 cup grated medium or sharp cheddar cheese

Topping:

2 tbs. hard margarine (or butter)

1/2 cup. fiend dry bread crumbs

Cook macaroni in first amount of boiling water, cooking oil and salt in a large, uncovered, saucepan for 5 to 7 minutes until tender but firm. Drain.

Combine flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and onion flakes in medium saucepan. Gradually mix in milk so no lumps remain. Heat and stir until boiling and thickened.

Cook broccoli in second amount of boiling water until tender-crisp. Drain. Add to sauce. Stir in macaroni.

Add ham and cheese. Stir. Turn into ungreased 2 quart(2L) casserole dish.

Topping: Melt margarine in saucepan. Stir in bread crumbs. Sprinkle over all. Bake in 350°F oven for about 30 minutes until browned. Serves 6.

You can freeze this recipe. I just put it in a large Ziploc bag, took out all the air and flattened it out. I really like this recipe, it's easy and versatile because you can use other frozen vegetable and give it to new moms after they come home from the hospital.

Marinade for Pork Chops (from 30 Day Gourmet)

6-8 pork chops

16 oz. pineapple juice

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 t. ginger, ground

1/2 t. garlic, minced

1/3c. Italian dressing

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place meat in freezer bags or containers. Pour marinade over meat. (Each meal makes approximately 3 cups.)

Label, seal and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Grill, broil or pan fry post chops until browned on both sides and no longer pink in the center. Discard marinade.

Meatballs

Master Meat Mix from 30 Day Gourmet

1-1/2lb. beef, pork, Turkey ground (any 1 or a mixture)

2/3c. dry oats or cooked brown rice

1/2c. onion, diced

1 t. salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

2 eggs

2/3c. ketchup

Directions: Mix all ingredients very well with your hands (you may want to wear rubber or disposable gloves) in a large bowl. We have used big storage containers to do this when making a large quantity. We use this mixture primarily for meatloaf and meatballs.

Make meatballs about the size of a large walnut. (I used my ice cream scooper.) Place on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned and no longer pink in the center. Cool.

Place meatballs in a freezer bag or container. Seal, label and freeze.

To serve, thaw meatballs and bake at 350°F for 10-20 minutes until hot.

I only did a small batch of this and we tasted some and it was good.