Tomato-Basil Meat Loaves

Welcome to Freezer Food Friday!

A little late putting this up… got lost in THE wedding! LOL!

Here is a recipe for 4 small meat loaves (  2 servings each ), but I think I will make 2 family size meat loaves out of it. One for dinner and the other for the freezer.

Please share a recipe and link it below. Comments are always welcome!

Tomato-Basil Meat Loaves

3 eggs
2 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
½ cup Progresso® Italian style bread crumbs
1 cup chopped Italian plum tomatoes (3 medium)
½ cup finely chopped onion (1 medium)
½ cup ketchup
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in all remaining ingredients until well blended. On large sheet of waxed paper, shape mixture into 4 (6 1/2×3-inch) loaves. Wrap 3 meat loaves tightly in heavy-duty foil; freeze up to 2 months.

2. Place 1 loaf in ungreased shallow baking pan; bake 40 to 50 minutes or until thoroughly cooked in center and meat thermometer reads 160°F. Let meat loaf stand 5 minutes before serving.

3. To thaw frozen meat loaf, place in refrigerator for 24 hours, or unwrap and place on microwavable plate; microwave on Defrost about 10 minutes or until thawed. Bake meat loaf as directed above.

Makes 8 servings (1/2 meat loaf each)

Hamburger Steak With Sweet Onion-Mushroom Gravy

 Welcome to Freezer Food Friday!

Please share a recipe you can prepare ahead and freeze for later use.  Add a link to your blog, using Mr Linky below, or leave a recipe inthe comments if you do not have a blog. Thanks for visiting, let me know if you find something you like!

Hamburger Steak With Sweet Onion-Mushroom Gravy

Preparation Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings

2 honey-wheat bread slices
1 pound ground round
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (1.2-oz.) envelope brown gravy mix
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium-size sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

1. Process bread slices in a food processor 10 seconds or until finely chopped. Place breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl; add ground round and next 4 ingredients. Gently combine until blended, using your hands. Shape into 4 (4-inch) patties.

2. Whisk together brown gravy mix and 1 1/2 cups water.

3. Cook patties in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes on each side or just until browned. Remove patties from skillet. Add mushrooms and onion to skillet, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in prepared gravy, and bring to a light boil. Return patties to skillet, and spoon gravy over each patty. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

Note: To make ahead, proceed with Step 1 as directed. Wrap each patty individually in plastic wrap, and place in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw frozen patties in refrigerator 8 hours; proceed with Steps 2 and 3.

Mexican Beef & Black Bean Soup

Mexican Beef & Black Bean Soup

8 oz lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can chicken broth
1 cn diced tomatoes with green chiles
15 oz black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Put ground beef, onion, oregano and cumin in a 2- to 3-qt saucepan. Cook, breaking up clumps of beef with a spoon, 3 minutes or until beef is browned. Add corn, chicken broth, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and rinsed black beans; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 to 10 minutes for flavors to blend. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and serve with crushed corn tortilla chips.

Freezer Food Friday: Make-Ahead Mexican Meat Mixture

Howdy, Welcome to Freezer Food Friday. 

 

Please post a recipe that can be made ahead and frozen for later use. Link it below using Mister Linky and make sure to visit each blog who shares. I am on Twitter if you want to follow me and have started collecting Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a search engine where you can win bucks for searching ( I just use it in place of Google ). Check it out and see if it works for you!

Make-Ahead Mexican Meat Mixture

1 egg
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 to 5 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds fresh, ground, raw chicken, turkey or lean ground beef (or a combination)

In a large bowl, slightly beat the egg. Add the onion and stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add the meat and mix well.

Form meat mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick rectangles. Then wrap, seal and freeze each piece. Meat mixture may be frozen up to 3 months.

To thaw in refrigerator, place wrapped, frozen meat block in a baking dish in refrigerator the night before cooking.

To thaw in hot water, fill a pan with hot water. Place frozen block of meat in a zip-close bag and submerge in water (I place another pot on top of meat and fill it with water to keep meat submerged.)

To thaw in microwave oven, place one frozen, unwrapped meat block in a baking dish. Microwave on 30 percent power (medium-low) for 2 1/2 minutes. Rotate dish a quarter turn. Cook, covered, on medium-low about 2 1/2 minutes more or until thawed but not cooked.

Once thawed, cook mixture to use as a filling in taco, tortillas or in a simple skillet dinner as directed in the accompanying recipe.

Makes 4 loaves; each loaf makes 4 servings.

Pan-seared Burgers

How did I go a week without posting? That is really unusual and I apologize!  Leave me a note and let me know you are here and please try to share a recipe at your blog or in the comments if you do not blog! Feel free to borrow the Freezer Food Friday badge below and post it in your blog post!

Today is Freezer Food Friday.

Please post a recipe that can be made ahead and frozen for later use. Link it below using Mister Linky and make sure to visit each blog who shares. I am on Twitter if you want to follow me and have started collecting Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a search engine where you can win bucks for searching ( I just use it in place of Google ). Check it out and see if it works for you!

 

Pan-seared Burgers

Serves 4

1 large egg
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) cold water or beef broth
1/4 cup (50 ml) dry breadcrumbs Half medium onion, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tsp. (10 ml) Dijon or prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. (2 ml) each salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb. (500 g) lean ground beef
Canola oil

Break egg into a large bowl; whisk with water until smooth. Add breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well to blend flavours.

Crumble beef over egg mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix beef and egg mixture just until combined.

Shape into four to six patties, each about 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick. (Makeahead: Layer between waxed paper in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To
freeze, layer in a freezer bag. Press out air from the bag; freeze for up to one month.)

Set a skillet that will hold burgers comfortably in one layer over medium-high heat. Brush bottom of skillet with oil. Heat until oil is just shimmering. Arrange burgers in skillet. Fry until brown and crisp on bottom, about six minutes. Turn and fry until brown on both sides and a digital thermometer inserted sideways into centre reads 160 F (71 C) about 15 minutes from beginning to end.

Remove burgers to a plate topped with a paper towel and pat off any visible fat.

Note -you can double the recipe easily and freeze patties for suppers later on.

Turkey Meatball Gumbo

Turkey Meatball Gumbo

2 packages (12 ounces each) Shady Brook Farms® Fresh Italian Style Turkey Meatballs
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
2 cups frozen chopped okra ( I might skip the okra and use zucchini )
Salt, black pepper and hot sauce
6 cups cooked (boiled or steamed) white rice
1 bunch green onions, chopped

1.     In a medium-size slow cooker, combine meatballs, celery, onion, bell pepper, chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf and thyme.

2.     Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

3.     Turn cooker to LOW and cook for 2 hours.

4.     Discard bay leaf; add okra and cook on LOW 1 hour longer.

5.     Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.

6.     Serve in bowls over rice; garnish with green onions.

Autumn Turkey Chili

Today is Slow Cooking Thursday, hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.   Go check out the wonderful recipes shared there. Join me tomorrow for Freezer Food Friday.

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Autumn Turkey Chili

1 each onion, carrot and celery stalk, chopped
500 ml (2 cups) each cored, chopped apples and diced butternut squash
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500 g (1 lb) ground turkey, cooked
30 ml (2 tbsp) chili powder
15 ml (1 tbsp) ground cumin
5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano
1 ml ( 1/4 tsp) each salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (284 ml/10 oz) undiluted chicken broth
1 can (400 ml/15 oz) light coconut milk
30 ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste
250 ml (1 cup) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
Coconut flakes and cilantro, for garnish

Combine all ingredients (except garnishes) in slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Tips: Use 1 l (4 cups) diced cooked turkey or chicken in place of ground turkey. Open lid for last 45 minutes of cooking to thicken, if desired. Mash the squash with the back of a wooden spoon to thicken further.

Source: Crock-Pot.

Baked Spaghetti Casserole – Gooseberry Patch

 

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef 1 onion, chopped salt and pepper to taste 1 t. chili powder 10-3/4 oz. can tomato soup 10-3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup 1-1/4 c. water 16-oz. pkg. spaghetti, cooked 1/3 c. catsup 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese Brown ground beef and onion; drain. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, soups and water; simmer 30 minutes. Place cooked spaghetti in an ungreased 13″x9″ baking pan; top with beef mixture, stirring to combine. Spread catsup over top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly. Serves 6 to 8.

Calzones with Italian Tomato Sauce

 

Today is Freeezer Food Friday.

Please post a recipe that can be made ahead and frozen for later use. Link it below using Mister Linky and make sure to visit each blog who shares.

I am on Twitter if you want to follow me and have started collecting Swagbucks.  Swagbucks  is a search engine where you can win bucks for searching ( I just use it in place of Google ). Check it out and see if it works for you!

 

 

Calzones with Italian Tomato Sauce

1 pound lean ground beef
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (6-ounce) can low-sodium tomato paste
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 (10-ounce) cans refrigerated pizza crust
Olive oil
Italian Tomato Sauce

Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain.

Combine beef, 2 1/2 cups cheese, and next 3 ingredients.

Unroll each pizza crust, and cut each crust into thirds. Roll each portion to a 5-inch circle. Spread 3/4 cup of meat mixture evenly over half of each circle. Moisten edges with water; fold dough over, pressing or crimping edges to seal. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and cut slits in tops to allow steam to escape. Brush with olive oil.

Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Top with Italian Tomato Sauce; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Melt cheese under broiler, if desired.

Note: Freeze baked calzones up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Wrap calzones in aluminum foil, and bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Pace Texas Cowboy Stew

Pace Texas Cowboy Stew

1 ½ lbs. boneless beef sirloin ( small cubes ) ( or ground beef, ground turkey or cubed chicken breast )
½ cp. chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbs. flour
1 cup Pace Chunky Salsa
14 oz. Swanson Beef Broth

Brown beef in hot oil, add onion, green pepper & cumin; cook until tender. Add flour; cook 1 minute. *** Add salsa and broth. Simmer 20 minutes.

Serves 6

***I might be tempted to toss it all in the crockpot for 3-4 hours on low at this point.

Taken from the back of a jar of Pace Chunky Salsa ( modifications are mine )