Alfredo Sauce Freezer Meal

4 cups milk

1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp pepper

1 pinch nutmeg

2 Tbsp olive oil

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and oil. Add garlic. Cook for a couple minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Heat over medium heat stirring often. Once it bubbles, reduce heat and simmer for 5 more minutes. Let cool. Divide into two freezer bags and freeze.

Thaw for a few hours before cooking. Heat slowly over low-medium heat, Serve with pasta and broccoli. 

Baked Ravioli Freezer Meal

I made this when I made my crock pot freezer meals, but this one is for the oven. It is amazing! 

25 oz. frozen cheese ravioli

.75 lb ground beef, cooked and drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3-4 cups spaghetti sauce 

(I made my own sauce, and I'll share that recipe later this week)

Pour 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of pan. Place 1/3 of the ravioli on top, cover with 1/3 of the meat, 1/4 cup cheese, and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice.  On the final layer, put cheese on after the sauce. Cover with foil and freeze. To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook for 25 minutes with foil on.  Uncover and cook for 10 more minutes.

Cheesy Tortellini with Ground Beef Crock Pot Freezer Meal

Back for another crock pot freezer meal.

1 lb lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz crushed tomato

10 oz diced tomatoes & green chilies, undrained

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

19 oz frozen cheese tortellini

1 cup mozzarella cheese

If freezing, combine everything except the tortellini and mozzarella cheese in a freezer bag. 

To cook, just dump everything except tortellini and mozzarella in crock pot and cook on low for 8  hours.  Add tortellini and cheese and cook for 15-30 more minutes until tortellini is cooked. 

Queso Taco Pasta Bake

Taking a break from the freezer meal sharing to share this amazing pasta dish. It was one of my new favorite dishes.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 pound lean ground beef

One 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, mild

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3/4 pound small pasta of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper for about 30 seconds. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened.  Stir in  1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and salsa until well mixed. Set aside

Brown and drain ground beef. Mix in tomatoes and cumin. Mix cheese sauce with beef.

Cook pasta al dente'. Drain and mix with cheese beef mixture.  

Pour into baking dish. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Ready for another crock pot freezer meal? This recipe was delicious. The broccoli was in smaller pieces so it was easily hidden from the kiddos and I so we ate it with no complaining.

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts

1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets

2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce
pasta (on cooking day, do not freeze)

To freezer, just put all ingredients (except pasta) in a gallon freezer bag. 

On cooking day, thaw for 24 hours ahead of time.  Pour into crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Cook pasta al dente and mix in before serving. 

Macaroni Au Four

When I came across this recipe on pinterest I thought 'oh that looks amazing'  Then I read the instructions and was a bit overwhelmed.  It had a lot of steps and while it looked good I wasn't sure if I would really ever make it.  I did eventually decide to give it a try and while it may have looked good in picture it wasn't my favorite dish I've ever made. I did leave out a few ingredients from the original recipe so not sure if that's why, or if it just wasn't my cup of tea.

1/2 C. unsalted butter 

2/3 C. all purpose flour

9 cups milk 

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1 egg

2 lbs. lean ground beef

2 lb pasta

In a large pot, melt the butter. Once melted stir in the flour. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the flame to medium-high, and slowly whisk in the milk. Keep whisking until the milk comes to a light boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking every so often. Add in the nutmeg, salt and pepper, whisk a bit, then allow to cool.

Once cooled a bit, beat the egg in a small bowl and beat in about a 1/4 cup of the semi-cooled butter flour mix.  Once mixed, pour it into the pot with the rest of the butter flour mix.

Brown and drain ground beef. Cook pasta al dente'.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place half of noodles on bottom of baking dish.  Spread meat evenly over top.

Place remainder of pasta over meat and then pour butter flour mixture over top of entire dish.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

One Pan Spinach & Sausage Pasta

This dish was really delicious and easy to make. I liked it because it wasn't a casserole so I only needed to wash one dish afterwards and it tasted just as good.

6 oz. smoked sausage 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz.) can rotel

2 cups chicken broth 

8 oz. pasta 

3 cups fresh spinach 

1 cup shredded cheese

Thinly slice the sausage and add it to a large skillet with the olive oil. Saute the sausage until browned.   Drain if needed. Add the onion and saute until the it has softened. Add the can of rotel and the chicken broth. Stir to combine.

Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Cover and let come to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.  Stir in the spinach. Heat for a few more minutes until spinach is wilted and sauce thickens. Sprinkle the cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Cheeseburger Casserole

This recipe turned out amazing!! It tasted just like burgers!

2 cups (6 ounces) uncooked rotini pasta (spiral pasta)

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 tablespoons ketchup

4-5 large Roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced (I used canned)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cups low fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cooking dish with nonstick spray. Boil the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.  Brown ground beef until brown. Drain and return to stove.  Mix in the seasoned salt, ketchup, and mustard. Add in the tomatoes.  Simmer for a couple minutes.  Add the noodles to the mixture and stir.

Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

The week I made this I was on a pasta kick. There are so many pasta meals out there and I love them all.

8 oz uncooked rigatoni (any kind of pasta would be okay)

1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed

3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese

½ t salt, ½ t pepper

1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta al dente Drain and set aside. Drain chopped spinach well. Mix pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt & pepper in bowl. Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes.

Taco Spaghetti

Taco spaghetti doesn't sound good at all, but SURPRISE! It's delicious!

5 oz. dried spaghetti, broken

1 lb. ground beef 

1 large onion, chopped

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix

11 oz. can whole kernel corn with peppers, drained

1 cup sliced pitted black olives, drained

1 cup cheddar, shredded

1/2 cup salsa

lettuce (optional topping)

Cook pasta al dente. Drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pan, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of the cheese, and salsa.

Pour into lightly greased casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted.

Penne Rosa

I have had this recipe on my Pinterest board for a long time. Now that I have made it I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. It was amazing! We've been to Noodles & Co restaurant before and have seen other people eating this and always say we're getting that next time because it looks so good, but we can't ever remember what it's called when we return so we haven't actually ever tried the restaurant version. I hope my version is just as good if not better!

1 (1 lb) box penne pasta

1 lb boneless chicken breast

1 (8 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes (drained)

2 (16 ounce) jars alfredo sauce 

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Cook chicken and cut into small pieces.  Boil noodles in large pot.  

In a large saucepan mix Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spinach. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to sauce mix. Also, mix in the chicken. Stir and serve immediately. 

SO GOOD!