Freezer Recipes

Baked Ziti
(18servings)

3 pounds Ziti or penne pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
2 jars commercial spaghetti sauce(or 6 cups homemade)
3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta until just barely tender; drain thoroughly and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process. Brown ground beef; drain. Add onion and green pepper to meat and saute until vegetables are softened. Add spaghetti sauce.  Combine sauce and cooked pasta; mix well. Divide sauce and pasta mixture into three gallon sized freezer bags; label. Divide grated mozzarella cheese into three squart sized freezer bags; attach to pasta bags. Freeze.
To Serve:
Thaw. Spread pasta into 9 x13 in baking pan. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over pasta. Sprinkle 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese over top. Cover dish and bake for 30 min. at 350, or until bubbly on the edges and hot in the middle. Remove foil and bake five more min.

Beef Mix for Meatloaf and Meatballs

24 oz. tomato sauce
3 cups dry bread crumbs
7 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp marjoran
8 pounds ground beef ( can mix half ground turkey and half ground beef)

Combine first eight ingredients. Add meat and mix well. Divide meat mixture in half.
 For Meatloaf:
Shape half the mixture into three loaves and place in a large high sided baking dish. don't allow the loaves to touch while baking. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. cool: wrap in heavy duty foil; label and freeze. To serve, thaw loaves and bake in 350 oven for 30 min. or until heated through

For Meatballs:
Shape into meatballs(use small cookie scoop if available) and place on broiler pan so grease can drain while cooking. Bake uncovered in 350 oven for 30 min. Divide into meal sized portions. To prevent from freezing into a solid meatball-mass, freeze individually on a cookie sheet and then place in a freezer bag.  Label and freeze. To serve, thaw and reheat with your choice of sauces

For Salisbury Steak:
Form meat mixture into oval 1/2 inch thick patties. Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef patty in skillet; cook seven to eight minutes or until centers are no longer pink, turning once. Cool: place in freezer bags; freeze. Thaw; heat with 1 can cream of mushroom soup poured over as sauce; serve with rice or noodles.