So I've done this meatloaf before but not sure if I've posted it here. Just in case, here it is!
Meatloaf Recipe
Group 1:
2 t. butter
3/4 C onion, chopped
3/4 C scallions, sliced (sometimes I just do more onion if that's what I have)
1/2 C red pepper, diced (this usually comes out to about half a pepper)
2 t. minced garlic
Group 2:
2 eggs
1/2 C. ketchup
1/2 C. milk
1 T. plus 1 t. worchestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
Group 3:
2 lb. ground beef or turkey
12 oz. pork sausage (not italian sausage) or turkey sausage
3/4 c. dried bread crumbs
1. Melt butter in skillet. Add the rest of group 1. Cook until soft.
2. Beat eggs in big bowl. Add the rest of group 2.
3. Combine all groups well.
At this point, I usually use my muffin scoop and drop meatloaf balls on a cookie sheet covered with foil and freeze. After they're hard, I pop them into a gallon ziplock.
To cook, take out as many balls as you want, place in a pan, top with some ketchup and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, less time if you let them thaw in fridge overnight - you'd want to thaw in the pan you will bake them in, not the bag. My family is good with about 12 per dinner.
You could also portion into tradition meatloaves in foil bread pans and freeze - definitely let this version thaw in fridge over night. Regular meatloaf sized portion calls for baking 1 hour, 15 minutes or until center is 155 degrees. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.
So we'll have this as a dinner with rice or potatoes and veggies. Another option is meatloaf sandwiches (Butter bread with ketchup, layer meatloaf and then provolone cheese. Bake, microwave, or broil until cheese is melted.) Another version is meat ball sandwiches with some marinara sauce and cheese on hoagie rolls. To keep it on the healthier side, I always use ground turkey and sausage and it's still very yummy and lower fat than beef.
Fajitas
I've never done this recipe as a freezer meal but we like it as a regular one so I thought I'd try it.
1 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced beef or chicken
3/4 C. Italian dressing
3/4 C. salsa
3 T. lime or lemon juice
1 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 medium green, yellow, or red bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1 medium tomato, sliced
flour tortillas
1. Combine first 5 ingredients and allow to marinate for at least 6 hours. (I've done way less, the longer the better, I guess.)
2. Heat a little bit of oil in pan and saute onion until it starts to soften. Add pepper and cook until tender crisp. (I always like them soft so I cook them longer.) Remove from pan.
3. Cook half of meat in hot pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan and add to veggies. Repeat with the rest of the meat. Return all meat and veggies to pan and add tomato. Stir and cook a few minutes more.
4. Serve in warm tortillas. Top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.
To prepare from frozen:
1. Allow to thaw in fridge over night.
2. Cook half of meat in hot pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan. Repeat with the rest of the meat. Return all the meat to the pan and add veggies. Cook and stir until warmed through.
3. Serve in warm tortillas. (I like to pan fry these tortillas until lightly browned.) Top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.
Chicken Piccata
The other recipe I'm doing this month I got from Shelly. You can also make it with turkey but I've always done chicken. These are the freezer directions:
In a large freezer bag combine:
1/2 C. flour
1/2 t. pepper
salt
1 lb. turkey or chicken breast, sliced thin or pounded thin
-shake so all the meat is coated in the flour mixture.
In a small freezer bag place:
1 T. butter
In a large freezer bag combine:
1/2 C. chicken broth (I increase to 1 C because I like more sauce)
1/4 C. lemon juice
2 t. lemon zest
1 clove garlic, chopped or pressed
In a small freezer bag combine:
2 t. butter
2 T. capers, drained and rinsed
1 T. fresh or 1/2 T. dried parsley
(I added some quartered artichoke hearts also)
Place all bags in a large freezer bag and freeze.
To prepare:
1. Allow to defrost in fridge overnight.
2. In hot skillet, melt 1 T. butter. Remove meat from bag and shake off excess flour. Saute until no longer pink. Remove to platter and keep warm.
3. Add contents of sauce bag to hot skillet and heat 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. Add contents of butter/capers bag and stir until butter is just melted.
4. Pour sauce over meat and serve over pasta.
