Fix, Freeze, Feast - Kati Neville [28]
12 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (about 3 pounds)
12 one-gallon freezer bags, label 6
6 one-quart freezer bags
1. Brown beef in a large stockpot over medium heat until no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Drain and discard fat. Cool beef. Divide evenly among the unlabeled 1-gallon freezer bags.
2. Into each bag of meat, measure 4 cups red sauce and 2 cups cooked rice. Divide the onion, bell peppers, and olives evenly among the bags of meat and rice.
3. Seal bags and massage gently to distribute the ingredients.
4. Divide the cheese evenly among the 1-quart freezer bags and seal. Place one bag of meat and rice mixture and one bag of cheese into each labeled 1-gallon bag.
5. Seal and freeze.
TO COOK ONE ENTRÉE
1. Completely thaw one entrée in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
3. Put meat and rice mixture in an ungreased baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
This dish takes a little extra time to prepare, but with its festive flavors and colors, it’s worth it. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, or blue corn chips to highlight the peppers’ intense red color. —KN
MEXI-STUFFED PEPPERS
MAKES 4 ENTRÉES, 6 SERVINGS EACH
1 TRAY (ABOUT 6 POUNDS) LEAN GROUND BEEF
2 cups diced onion (about 2 medium)
¼ cup minced garlic (about 36 cloves)
4 cups frozen corn
4 cups cooked rice, cooled (about 11/3 cups uncooked)
4 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce (8 cups)
1 cup taco seasoning, such as Penzey’s Bold Taco Seasoning
4 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled
ON HAND FOR COOKING EACH ENTRÉE
6 red bell peppers
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1. Brown beef, onion, and garlic in a large stockpot over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard fat. Cool beef. Stir in corn, rice, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Divide mixture evenly among the freezer bags.
2. Seal and freeze.
TO COOK ONE ENTRÉE
1. Completely thaw one entrée in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
3. Prepare peppers for stuffing: wash, cut off tops, and seed peppers. Fill each with meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Place on a greased rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes, or until filling is hot.
MAKE IT VEGETARIAN
Make a meatless variation of this dish by using a soybean substitute (such as Morningstar Farms Crumbles or Boca Meatless Ground Burger) in place of the beef. Instead of adding at the beginning, however, the beef substitute is added to the mixture just before stuffing the peppers. Make the sauce and freeze it as directed, omitting the ground beef. After the sauce has thawed, mix in 3 cups ground beef substitute. Fill each pepper and bake as directed.
These delicious morsels drenched in a barbecue-style sauce have a surprise pocket of cheese inside. Some of the participants in my cooking sessions claim that they have had to referee at the dinner table to decide who gets the last meatball! —LT
MOZZARELLA MEATBALLS
MAKES 6 ENTRÉES, ABOUT 20 MEATBALLS EACH
MEATBALLS
1 TRAY (ABOUT 6 POUNDS) LEAN GROUND BEEF
15 mozzarella string cheese, or a 1-pound block of mozzarella cut into 120 cubes
3 cups dry bread crumbs
cup milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup minced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 18 cloves)
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
SAUCE
4 cups ketchup
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups Worcestershire sauce
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 18 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons black pepper
6 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled
1. Remove string cheese from wrappers and cut each string into 8 equal pieces. Place in a large bowl or 1-gallon freezer bag and freeze until it is time to form meatballs.
2. Preheat the oven to 500ºF.
3. Using your hands, thoroughly combine beef, bread-crumbs, milk, eggs, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Shape into 1- to 1½- inch meatballs, around each piece of frozen mozzarella. Seal meatballs well to keep