Last week I introduced you to the concept of freezer cooking. It is a great way to save money, time on those really busy nights and you can create dishes that are made with whole, nutritious foods. Now I want to give you some ideas for deciding on meals you can make ahead of time.
- Think about what your family wants when it is 5 minutes to dinner and you have no plan. Do they choose Mexican? Chinese? Pizza? You may see a few trends develop that you can work recipes around.
- Create a dinner discussion about what kind of recipes you have made that they liked or disliked. Don’t take the criticism personally, no sense in making stuffed shells if they don’t really like them. Find 3 dishes to make and spend an hour one Saturday morning making them for the next week. That will give you 3 nights you don’t have to cook (YAY!). Once you have your bearings you can add a few more recipes each week.
- Double a few recipes that you are making this week for 2 weeks away. You will have forgotten about that chicken dish 14 days later and it will taste wonderful all over again. Even more so because you didn’t have to do so much prep/ clean-up for it.
A recipe that our family of 3 toddlers and 2 adults love to make is taco pasta. Please enjoy the following recipe.
Taco Pasta
Source: adapted slightly from Fake Ginger
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or turkey
8-12 ounces medium pasta shells or other small dry pasta shapes
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained (if making this for kids you might want to use just plain diced tomatoes)
1 packet (4 tablespoons) taco seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit if it is still too thin.
Toss in the cilantro right before serving for some fresh color and flavor. Serve with a green salad.
Freezing Directions: Cook as directed and let cool. Label bags and portion out into bags. Freeze flat to make the most of your room. Once frozen (overnight) you can stack on the side.
Next week I will show you how to find and prepare slow cooker recipes for the freezer.