Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

This is the recipe for what I made this month. Mongolian Beef for the crockpot! Enjoy! http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/freezer-meal-recipes-slow-cooker-mongolian-beef/

Layered Enchilada Bake by Jen

Layered Enchilada Bake by Jen (from freezer friendz.blogspot.com)
Recipe from: www.kraftfoods.com
Servings: 8
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
2 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning Mix
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1 cup Sour Cream
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

Assembly:
Heat oven to 400ºF. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Arrange 3 tortillas in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Cover with layers of half each meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat layers; cover. Bake 40 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted, uncovering after 30 min. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Bake from Frozen:
Line 13x9-inch baking dish with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of dish. Assemble recipe in prepared dish as directed. Cover with additional foil. Freeze up to 3 months. When ready to serve, bake casserole, covered, in 400ºF oven 1 hour. Remove foil. Bake an additional 15 to 20 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve. To decrease the baking time, thaw frozen casserole in refrigerator overnight, then bake, uncovered, 45 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted.

Serving Day:
Bake 40 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted, uncovering after 30 min. Let stand 5 min. before serving. OR follow bake from frozen directions.

Beef Roast....Alison Schofner

Beef Roast

2 pounds lean roast
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/4 t of each)

Combine all ingredients and pour over roast. Freeze. To cook, let thaw and cook in crock pot for 8-10 hours.

Tex-Mex Bake

Tex-Mex Bake

By Cindy Bowcut Floyd for October 2013 swap

Tex-Mex Bake

8 oz. Mostaccioli pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 can corn, drained
2/3 cup salsa
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/4 t. Cumin
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg
1 TB fresh cilantro

Cook pasta.  Cook beef, stir in corn and salsa.  Remover from heat.  Combine cottage cheese, egg, cliantro, pepper and cumin.  In a greased casserole dish layer as follows:

1/2 beef mixture
ALL pasta
ALL cheese mixture
1/2 beef
sprinkle Monterey Jace over top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Glazed Meatloaf

Glazed Meatloaf...Elizabeth Morgan

for January swap

Ingredients

1Tbs olive oil
1½cups onion, chopped
3garlic cloves, minced
2large eggs
½cup milk
2tsp dijon mustard
1tsp hot sauce
1½tsp fresh marjoram, or ½ teaspoon dried, crumbled
1½tsp fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried, crumbled
salt and freshly ground pepper
1lb chuck (ground beef)
½lb veal (optional. Use half pork and beef if you can't find ground veal or don't buy veal)
½lb ground pork
1½cups fresh bread crumbs
¼cup fresh parsley, minced
½cup ketchup
¼cup light brown sugar
1½Tbs cider vinegar

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2 In a skillet over moderate heat, add the oil. Heat the oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool. 3 In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, and hot sauce together. Add marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper.In a large mixing bowl, combine the meats, egg-milk mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, and the cooked onion mixture. 4 In a small bowl stir together ketchup, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside. 5 Form 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture into a small patty, add it to a small oiled skillet, and cook until no longer pink. Taste for seasoning and adjust. 6 Transfer meat mixture to an oiled loaf pan.*NOTE: I have, since, discovered that I can mix all the wet ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl, then add the meat and cooked onions and garlic. I turn the mixer on LOW for a few minutes-- so much easier and less messier!*NOTE: The best way to make the meatloaf is to use a baking sheet, lined with foil. Place a cooling rack on top. Cut a piece of foil to be larger than a the loaf-- and shape the meat into a loaf. Using a metal skewer, poke holes along the foil...usually every other hole.Place the shaped loaf on top of the foil. I prefer this method, as the loaf is less likely to "steam" in a loaf pan. You can also glaze all around the meatloaf, which is even better!Brush meat with ketchup glaze.Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until glaze has set. 7 Brush meat loaf with remaining glaze and bake for 15 minutes more; glaze again.My oven takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the desired doneness. Times do vary, so allow for that! 8 Internal temperature of loaf should be 160 degrees F. NOTE: Sometimes, I freeze half of the mixture in a plastic lined loaf pan. Once it's frozen, I remove the loaf and place it in a zip-loc bag, and the loaf is perfectly shaped. When ready to prepare, thaw in the refrigerator, make the glaze and bake as directed.WITH THE OTHER HALF: I shape individual meat loafs, and bake as directed for 20 minutes. This speeds up the time, quite a bit.

Beef and Barley Soup

Beef and Barley Soup...Suzanne Brubaker

for January swap

Ingredients:
-1.5 lbs Beef Stew Meat (I usually get top round and just cut it into bite size pieces).  Sometimes when you buy stew meat at the grocery store you still need to cut it into smaller pieces.
-1 large red onion, chopped
-Appx 8 medium sized carrots, peeled and sliced
-3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
-1.5 cups frozen corn (or you could use a 14.5 ounce can of canned corn)
-1 tsp parsley flakes
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1.5 Tbsp “Better Than Bouillon” paste or 3 cubes of beef bouillon (can add more to taste if you like)
-3 garlic cloves minced
-1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
-3/4 cup barley (pearled)
-5 cups water

This recipe is really simple to make!  All you do is throw all your ingredients in the crockpot and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.


If Making As Freezer Meal:
When I made this as a freezer meal, I put all the ingredients in except for the 5 cups of water.  On the outside of the bag I just wrote the date, the name of the meal, and “add 5 cups water”.  Make sure to push out any extra air in the bag to avoid freezer burn.  The day before you want to make this meal take it out of the freezer and allow to defrost in your fridge.  The morning/afternoon you want to eat the meal for dinner just put everything in your crockpot, add 5 cups water, and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup... Josie Hicks

Taco Soup
1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili beans
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 bag frozen corn
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
Serve with corn chips and sour cream (sour cream helps if it's a little too spicy for you!)
Thaw and reheat

Beef Hoagies

Beef Hoagies: 
1 1/2 lb. Angus Roast
2 c. beef broth
1 envelope of onion soup mix.

Directions: 
Crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Shred. Serve on hoagie buns, topped with provolone cheese.

Beef Fajitas

What's in the bag:
1 1/2 lbs flank steak sliced thin
1 bell pepper (red & yellow)
1 sliced onion
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
salt
14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chili's

Another bag: 12 Tortilla's

Cooking Day: Place all ingredients (not tortillas) in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

*I cannot, for the life of me, find the link to the original recipe. When I do, I promise I'll post it because it's a great site for other freezer recipes, too!

Healthier Sloppy Joes II from AllRecipes.com

Back to school!  Football... Soccer... Swimming... Youth Group... Dance...Homework.  Whatever starts in the fall in your house, I thought that this month we could all use an easy "go-to" meal for nights that sitting down for dinner just isn't going to happen.  These sloppy joe's have some extra veggies in them so I don't feel quite as guilty about the fast food.  The meat is frozen in small cubes or mini muffin tins (depending on which batch you got), so you can just pull out as many as you need, heat them in the microwave and move on to the next thing.  Probably 2 cubes for a regular size bun, 1 cube for a slider. The meat already has 2 thumbs up from my kids... and no one even noticed the extra veggies :-)

The recipe came from here.
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green (and red) bell pepper
2 carrots finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Brown meat with onions, peppers, carrots, & garlic.  Drain.  Mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar then add to meat.  Mix well.  Let simmer until sauce thickens (about 30 min).

On serving day: Take out as many individual servings as you need.  Thaw & heat in the microwave or on the stove top.  Throw on a bun and hit the road!

Mediterranean Steak Salad

Kicking off grilling season with a yummy steak!

From The Pampered Chef: Casual Cooking, p.20

Marinade:

2/3 cup balsalmic vinaigrette salad dressing

4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 beef flank steak (1 1/2 - 2 lbs) I used Flat Iron Steak this time because that's what they had at the store

On serving day, thaw meat and discard excess marinade. Prepare on grill, medium heat for 17-21 minutes uncovered turning occasionally (medium rare 145 degrees, medium 160 degrees) to desired doneness. Cut steak in strips across grain of meat.

Recipe suggests to serve over salad with artichoke hearts, plum tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese and balsalmic vinaigrette dressing.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Meat Loaf:
-1 small onion
-1 clove garlic
-1 and 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
-3/4 cup milk
-2 eggs
-1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-3/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs

Topping:
-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1/4 cup ketchup

Assembly instructions: Saute onion and garlic. Mix together with remaining meatloaf ingredients. Shape mixture into loaf and place in pan. Mix brown sugar and ketchup; place in baggie for freezing separately.

Cooking instructions: Thaw completely in fridge. Brush or drizzle sauce on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

***Alternate cooking instructions! - If you do not want to heat up the house with your oven, a meatloaf can be cooked in your crockpot. Thaw meatloaf completely. Slide it out of the pan and into your crockpot. Brush or drizzle sauce on top. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meat loaf registers 165 degrees. It should take 6-7 hours. Carefully remove meat loaf from slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. I have never tried this (the instructions are from my slow cooker cookbook), but with 90 degree weather, we may not want to turn on our ovens!

Marinated Flank Steak-Repeat

Celebrating Summer's impending return with this Marinated Flank Steak repeat from last year. Enjoy--and bring on the summer!
Thaw completely and remove from bag. Rub the salt and pepper seasoning packet contents on both sides of the steak. Put on grill. See previous directions for cooking time and cutting directions.

Maid Rite Sandwiches

This is a family favorite--a copycat recipe of the famous Maid Rite in Greenville, Oh. Just be careful--you might have a sudden urge to stick gum on a wall! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger
1 T. sugar
2 T. yellow mustard
1 1/2 t. black pepper
1 med. onion chopped finely
1 t. salt

Directions: Cook in a double boiler for 1 hour. Use less pepper if you do not like the hot taste.

Serving Day:
Thaw and reheat. To be like the Maid Rite... serve on hamburger buns with chopped onions, yellow mustard and dill pickle chips.

Enjoy!

Baked Tamale Pie

This is a winter family favorite. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, but if I figure it out, I'll let you know! Below is the original recipe if you make it all yourself and then the adaptations for the freezer.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (12 oz.) corn, drained

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix (1 egg and 1/3 cup milk to add to the mix)

1/2 cup shredded cheese (we use Mexican or Taco blend)

To prepare:

In an oven safe skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion until cooked through. Drain the excess grease. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, chili powder, and cumin to the skillet and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes. Mix the cornbread batter and pour over the meat mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cornbread is done. Immediately top with cheese. Serve in wedges.

From freezer:

Meat mixture was frozen after the 10 minutes of simmering. Thaw meat mixture and pour into an 8x8 or round baking dish. Mix the cornbread batter and spread on top of the meat mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cornbread is done. Immediately top with cheese.

Yummy served with black beans on the side!

Swedish Meatballs

I promised Elizabeth I would post this! It was the meal I made in October.

-36 meatballs
-1 can cream of onion soup
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1/2 cup water
-3 tbsp. worchestershire sauce
-8 oz. sour cream

Freezing instructions: Place meatballs in Ziploc bag. Mix rest of ingredients and pour into bag.

Cooking instructions: Thaw. Dump into crockpot. Cook on low 2-3 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

Pepsi Pot Roast

Ingredients:
(1) 2-3 lb. roast
(1) pkg of dry onion soup/dip mix
(2) cans of cream of mushroom soup
(16oz) of regular or diet Coke/Pepsi/generic cola

Assembly/Cooking/Freezing Directions:
Mix soup/dip mix, both cans of soup, and cola together in a large mixing bowl. Place roast in slow cooker/crock pot and pour soup mixture over top. Cover and cook on high 6 hours till it is falling apart. Then cool completely and place roast and its gravy into freezer bag, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw completely and re-heat. It is already fully cooked so just reheat in microwave, oven, or even back in the slow cooker (this might be best to keep from drying out). Serve with mashed potatoes, veggies, and/or a salad. Or you can easily shred the beef for sandwiches.

Maid Rite Sandwich Meat

I found a recipe that is supposed to be very similar to the real deal from the Greenville shop. You can view the recipe by visiting here

The cooking is all finished. On serving day, thaw the meat and heat it up. Serve on buns and top with cheese, onion, and mustard... or anything else you like on your Maid Rite! Enjoy!

Ready-To-Go-Beef-Kabobs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless sirloin

1/2 c. ketchup

1 t. salt

2 T A-1 steak sauce

2 T granulated sugar

2 T cider vinegar

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. water

2 T. oil

Serving Day additional Ingredients if desired:

onions

mushrooms

peppers

pineapple

cherry tomatoes

Cooking Day:

Cut sirloin into cubes and place in freezer bag. Boil all the remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pour cooled marinade over meat. Seal securely. Freeze in freezer bag.

Serving Day:

Thaw meat completely. Place meat on skewers with onions, mushrooms, green and red peppers, pineapple and cherry tomatoes. Grill to desired meat temperature.

*Soak the provided wood skewers in water for 10-15 minutes before skewering meat and veggies. This will keep the wood from burning.

Serving suggestion: serve with wild rice and hot bread.

Super Easy and Tasty A1 Burgers

Super easy burgers for the summertime grill, comin' your way!

1 1/2 lb. ground chuck

1/2 c. A1 steak sauce

1. Add A1 to burger and mix well.

2. Shape into 1/4 lb. patties

To cook--throw on the grill, fry in a pan or broil in the oven....up to you! Enjoy!