I've been spending some time recently in Buffalo, New York, with my son and daughter-in-law after the birth of my granddaughter. I've done whatever I can to help while I'm here, whether that's laundry, holding baby, changing diapers or preparing meals. I want them to keep on eating healthy food after I return home, so I prepared several freezer meals for them.
It'll be easy for them to pop them in the slow cooker, bake in the oven or reheat in the microwave for weeks to come. Some of the things I've prepared are beef roast with vegetables, meatloaf, pulled pork, baked ziti with meatballs, pancakes and chicken fajitas. All ready to cook or heat up.
I also made stuffed green peppers and some breakfast sandwiches. I'm sharing those recipes and photos with you today. Take some time to search for easily freezable recipes, plan your grocery list and take an afternoon to do some prep work. You'll be thankful for the time savings and easy access to good food for your family later.
BREAKFAST SANDWICHES
Makes: 6 sandwiches
1 package whole wheat English muffins (I used cinnamon-flavored)
Fresh spinach
6-8 oz. goat cheese
6 eggs
1 lb. breakfast sausage
1-2 Tbsp. butter
Melt butter on a griddle or in a large skillet. Split the English muffins into two halves, place in skillet and toast until golden. Set those aside.
Using the same pan, cook sausage. While the sausage is cooking, spread goat cheese on the toasted English muffins and line with fresh spinach. Once the sausage is cooked, lay it on clean paper towels to absorb excess grease. Place sausage on top of spinach layer.
Drain the excess grease from the pan. Fry eggs for each muffin, breaking the yolk as it cooks (no drippy yolks for your breakfast sandwich - what a mess!). Place the egg on top of the sausage, then place other half of English muffin on top. Wrap separately in two layers of plastic wrap. Put in a freezer zipper storage bag and store in the freezer.
Reheat in the microwave or a toaster oven - you can even take it out the night before and let it start to thaw in the refrigerator. Grab one in the morning before you head to work.
STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS
Makes: 6 peppers
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 1/2 cups chunky tomato sauce, divided
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey breast
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 15 oz. can great northern beans
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup cooked quinoa
Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste
6 medium to large green or red bell peppers
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
In a blender or food processor, add 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce, garlic cloves and basil. Blend on high 1-2 minutes until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add diced onions and ground beef (or turkey), breaking up the meat as you stir. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until meat is cooked and no longer pink.
Stir in the tomato sauce from the blender, along with oregano, Italian seasoning and spinach. Simmer uncovered on medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The spinach will break down as you cook. After it is done cooking, stir in the beans and quinoa. Taste and add salt and pepper accordingly.
While the meat and sauce is cooking, prepare the peppers. Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the ribs and seeds. Place the peppers next to each other in a foil-lined baking dish (9x13" works well).
Fill each pepper with meat mixture. Top with an extra spoonful of the remaining tomato sauce and top each with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender.
Peppers are freezer-friendly just bake them, cool and freeze for later meals.