Make Ahead Meals Part 2 (cooking ahead for the holidays)

 

In My Christmas Wish Post, I shared that I wanted to try to relieve some of the common stresses that Christmas preparations bring.  My plan is to fill my freezer with 20 freezer meals and 10 crock-pot meals for the month of December so that I can enjoy holiday fun along with our children. The top shelf of my freezer is filling up and it makes my heart smile but there is plenty of room for more. 

The first recipe I will share is Bow Tie Ham Bake (click link to get recipe).  This yummy recipe is from Taste of home.  I take this recipe X 1 1/2 to make two 9x13 pans.  One to eat and one to freeze.

Shepherds Pie is another easy favorite that I grew up with regularly as a child.  When I make mashed potatoes as a side dish I try to make up extra to make Shepherds Pie.  If you want to make it easy you can also use Instant Mash Potatoes.  This recipe makes one 9x13 pan so I usually double it and put one in the freezer for later.

Shepherds Pie

Layer each ingredient, starting with ground beef on the bottom.

1 1/2 Lb Ground Beef (I use a lean ground beef/ ground turkey mixture)

1 family size or 2 regular size cans french cut green beans

15 oz can tomato sauce

3/4 cup ketchup

Mashed Potatoes (to cover top 4-6 cups)

Cheese (whatever kind  you have on hand)

Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 45-60 minutes.  Add cheese for the last ten minutes of baking time.

 

This next recipe is so good that is was gone before I got pictures taken.  It was introduced to us by my dear friend, Stef,  upon the birth of our second baby.  We later made this recipe together for our Youth Group Retreat.  It has become a family favorite and if there is anything in my freezer, it is usually these.  This recipe makes two nice size pans of meat balls and easily feeds our family of seven two meals.  This Barbecue sauce is my go to sauce for a variety of Barbecue recipes.  I think the key ingredient is the liquid smoke.  Credit goes to Carol Schmidt.  It comes out of an old church cookbook from out East.  This recipe has been modified a bit from the original.

Barbecue Meatballs

3 lb hamburger

1 cup milk

2 cup quick oatmeal

2 eggs

1 chopped onion

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp salt

Mix all of the ingredients.  Make 1/3 cup meat balls (I use an ice cream scoop) in two 9x13 pans.  Pour sauce over top and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Sauce:

2 cups ketchup

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs liquid smoke

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix and bring to a boil on med-high heat.  Pour over the meatballs before baking.

 



 

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

Pork Loin

Barbecue Sauce Above X2

Buns (clink link for recipe)

Cook the Pork Loin in the crockpot for 4-6 hours.  Shred the pork loin with a fork and add barbecue sauce above.  I usually double the sauce recipe above for a large pork loin. This Barbecue Pork is wonderful with homemade buns.

 

Barbecue Crockpot Chicken

6-8 frozen or thawed chicken breasts

Barbecue sauce from meatball recipe above

1 medium onion sliced

Mix together and cook on Medium heat in crockpot for four hours (six hours if chicken breasts are frozen).



 

For Part One of this Freezer/Crockpot Series Click Here.