Chook Me! - Cheap meal ideas that I can freeze?

Cheap meal ideas that I can freeze?

I'm on a budget. My husband is driving out of state each day for work. With gas prices up, we need to conserve on food costs. I would like to get some yummy recipes for meals that I can make from scratch and that are still inexpensive! I would like to be able to freeze them as well. Easy recipes are best, but I can cook. I already have: spaghetti lasagna sloppy joe veggie soup tuna casserole chicken stew Thanks in advance!

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Two favourites of my family are Danish meatballs, which are panfried. They are such an easy snack to defrost and use for guests, lunchboxes, quick dinners etc. We usually take half ground veal and half ground pork (you can substitue the meast as desired or with whatever is on promotion but the Danes like it with pork and veal). Mix it and lay it out in the bowl. Cut a 1/4 out and fill the whole with flour. Then we add the meat that was cut out together with chopped onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro or other herbs, salt pepper, milk and 1-2 eggs. Let it stand for min 1 hour in fridge. Heat some butter or lard in a pan and form meatballs with a spoon or teaspoon depending on desired size. Fry until firm and turn and fry until well done. I find that using 2 large skillets take the same time as if I was just using one and then I cook for 4-6 meals each time. Another easy one is goulash. We dice up 2-3 lb beef (chuck roast or other stew meat on promotion). Turn it flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Brown the diced beef. Add diced onions and garlic. Add carrots, mushrooms or celery (whatever is on promotion) and fresh diced or canned tomatoes as well as 2 cups of water. Then let simmer under cover for minimum 1,5 hour and you have a deliciuos meal that are easy to freeze. Good luck
Whatever your favorites are, just double the amount when cooking so you can freeze immediately another meal. I always double my chilli, casserole and curries. The bonus is they taste better second time round, the flavours are well incorporated, the prep time is cut, and so is your power bill. Freeze older bread, excellent in Bread and Butter Pudding.
Beans And Sausage Yield: 24 Servings 4 lb Bulk pork sausage 1 c Instant minced onion 1/3 c Sweet pepper flakes 108 oz Kidney beans -- (No. 10 Can)* 105 oz Tomatoes -- (No. 10 can) 2 tb Salt 2 tb Chili powder 1/8 ts Garlic powder 1/2 c Flour -- unsifted 1/2 c Water * A No. 10 can is the equivalent of 7 (16-oz) cans of kidney beans or 4 (28-oz) cans. Line four 8x8-inch baking pans with heat-resistant freezer wrap. Allow enough extra wrap to fold over top. Use one pan for each six servings or one-fourth of the recipe. Do not line pans for food to be served without freezing. Crumble sausage; brown with onion and pepper flakes. Drain off fat. Add beans, tomatoes, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Mix flour and water until smooth. Stir into sausage mixture. Simmer about 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. TO SERVE WITHOUT FREEZING: Serve hot mixture over cooked rice. TO FREEZE: Pour each part to be frozen into a baking pan. Pack food tightly to avoid air pockets. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Complete wrapping by pulling paper up over top of food. Put edges of wrap together and fold several times so paper lies directly on top of food. Fold ends of freezer wrap over the top and seal with freezer tape. Label with name of food, date of freezing, and last date the food should be used for best eating quality (about 4 months). Freeze immediately for 10 to 12 hours before removing packages from the pans. TO HEAT FROZEN FOOD: Preheat oven to 400 F. (hot). Remove freezer wrap. Place food in baking pan. Heat 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is bubbly at edges and center is hot. Serve over cooked rice. NOTES : This recipe is for 24 servings (about 1 cup each). Directions are given for dividing the prepared food into four parts of six servings each. One part may be completely cooked and served at the time of preparation. The remaining parts may be frozen. BACON-WRAPPED CHICKEN Ready in 1 hour or less 12 boneless skinless chicken breast halves 2 cartons (8 oz each) whipped cream cheese with onion and chives2 tablespoons butter salt to taste 12 bacon strips Flatten chicken to ½ inch thickness. Spread 3 tablespoons cream cheese over each. Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt; roll up. Wrap each with a bacon strip. Place, seam side down, in a greased pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Freeze these uncooked King Ranch Chicken Casserole 1 cup Onions -- diced 1 cup Green Bell Peppers -- diced 1/2 pound Mushrooms 1/4 cup Butter or Margarine 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup 1 can Cream of Chicken soup 1 pound Cheddar Cheese -- shredded 2 cups Chicken -- cooked and diced 1 can Tomatoes with Green Chilis 1 clove Garlic -- minced 2 tablespoon Chili Powder 1 tablespoon Chicken Broth 12 Corn Tortillas -- torn into quarters In a large pan, sauté onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms in butter, Add soups, tomatoes & chilies, garlic, chili powder, and chicken broth. Line bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with pieces of tortillas. Spread half the chicken over the tortillas and top with half of the sauce, then half of the cheese. Cover with another layer of torn corn tortillas, and repeat the chicken, sauce and cheese layers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6 (When freezing, put in freezer after assembling casserole, and bake when ready to eat.) Magnificent Casserole 2 pounds Lean Ground Beef 8 ounces Cream Cheese 1 tablespoon Green Pepper -- minced 1/2 cup Sour Cream 1/2 cup Swiss Cheese -- grated 8 ounces Egg Noodles -- (package) 1 pound Cottage Cheese 1/3 cup Green Onion -- chopped 2 cups Tomato Sauce In a large pan, cook noodles in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain & set aside. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream. Add onion and peppers. Set aside. Brown ground beef & drain any fat. Add tomato sauce to ground beef. Grease 9 x 13 inch cake pan or casserole dish, and arrange the following layers: Noodles, cheese mixture, meat mixture - then repeat. Top with grated Swiss cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Note: If you will be freezing this casserole for later use, you may want to reduce or omit the amount of green pepper and onion which are used, as they have a tendency to get stronger over a long period of time. Serves 8 FREEZER STROGANOFF 2 lbs. beef sirloin steak, 1/2 inch thick 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced 2 med. onions, sliced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1/4 c. butter 1 c. water 2 tsp. instant beef bouillon 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/2 c. water 1/4 c. all purpose flour Cut beef steak across grain into strips 1/2 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long. Cook and stir mushrooms, onions and garlic in butter in 10 inch skillet until onions are tender; remove vegetables. Brown beef in same skillet. Stir in 1 cup water, the instant bouillon, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir 1/2 cup water into the flour; stir into beef mixture. Add vegetables. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into two 1 quart freezer containers. Cool quickly. Cover and label; freeze up to 4 months. 45 minutes before serving dip containers into hot water to loosen. Place frozen stroganoff and 1/2 cup water in 10 inch skillet. Cover and heat over medium heat, turning occasionally, until meat is hot, about 30 minutes. Stir 1 1/2 cups dairy sour cream into hot stroganoff and heat (DO NOT BOIL). Garnish with parsley. 8 servings FREEZER MEATBALLS 2 beaten eggs 2 c. soft bread crumbs, 2 2/3 slices 1 med. onion, chopped 1/3 c. milk 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed 1 lb. ground beef 1 lb. ground pork In a large bowl combine eggs, bread crumbs, onion, milk, salt, and thyme. Add beef and pork. Mix well. Shape meat mixture into 48 meatballs. In a 9 inch pie plate arrange 16 meatballs. Cook meatballs, uncovered, on 100% power (high) 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink, turning meatballs over and rearranging once. Transfer meatballs to paper towels. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked. Place meatballs in a baking pan, then place in freezer until just frozen. Using 16 meatballs per package, wrap in moisture and vapor proof wrap. Seal, label, and freeze up to 6 months. Makes 48.
Here's a very easy recipe that freezes well. My grandparents were from Pennsylvania and they called it Yankee Chili, here in Texas I add 1 fresh, minced jalapeno and just call it Quick Chili. Brown 1 lb ground beef with 1 large chopped oinion in 1 Tbs. of canola or other oil. Drain off any excess fat. Add one can of tomato soup (any brand on sale is fine) and 1 15 oz or there abouts can of dark red kidney beans (drained and rinsed) add one soup can of water and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over freshly made, homemade mashed potatoes to which you've beaten with a little butter and cream and a little salt and pepper. You may also serve it over brown or white rice to which you've added a little butter.
Shepherd's pie is really cheap to make and freezes up great. It's also precooked by nature so you don't have to worry about it not being *done* when you reheat it! Shepherd's pie: 1 lb ground beef (browned - if desired add garlic, onions, seasoning, etc.) Veggies such as diced carrots, peas, corn, green beans, all or even just one Gravy or 1 can mushroom soup + half can milk Mashed potatoes enough to cover the casserole Put ground beef & veggies into dish, add just enough gravy or soup mixture to come to just about level with top of beef/veggie mix, top with mashed potatoes (seasoned to taste, can add garlic, seasoning salt, etc.). For this one it's better to use 2 dishes rather than overfill one and have it go over when reheating. When reheating I like to add dollops of butter to the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 until hot. ;-) Can thaw first or cook from frozen. If cooking from frozen, you may want to tent it with foil so the potatoes don't burn or just keep an eye on it. *******ALWAYS PUT A COOKIE SHEET UNDER THIS WHEN REHEATING IN CASE OF SPILLAGE!!!******* (trust me, you learn by experience lol)
meatballs with brown gravy and add mushrooms and onions to it , usually i make my own gravy but in a pinch pioneer brand gravies are awesome.we usually have this over rice or egg noodles. or just freeze some homemade meatballs, then can be used may different ways later