"squirreling" Part three

So last night when I was making a casserole for dinner I managed to make 7 more meals while the casserole was in the oven... Here are the details!

Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole:

First up is a recipe that I found which makes a 3 qt. casserole and since I have no need to feed 8-10 people at one time I split the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef (I purchased I family size 93% lean... It ended up being almost 3 lbs but hey a little more beef is not a bad thing)
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup (original recipe calls for cream of mushroom but we do not eat that in our household) 
• 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 1 package frozen French-fried crinkle-cut potatoes

First, brown the beef in two batches and drain liquid

Mix with the condensed soups

Since I was spiting the recipe I decided that we would eat one of the casseroles tonight (because I didn't know how I would feel after seeing the doctor today and we would freeze the other half for another night.

For the dinner right away I placed half of the mixture into a small casserole dish.

And added half of the crinkle fries to the top and placed in the fridge.

For the half going into the freezer... I placed half of the burger mixture into a freezer bag which was placed in a Gallon freezer bag along with the remaining fries.

On the outside I wrote the cooking instructions: Pre-heat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

When I'm ready to eat I will take out of the freezer the night before to let everything defrost and assemble the casserole. 

Sausage and zucchini Casserole:

Next up was the casserole that we were eating the evening that I made all of these meals.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds bulk pork sausage (I used Bob Evens Natural ground pork sausage) 
• 4 medium zucchini
• 2 Cans condensed cream of chicken soup 
• 1 8-oz carton sour cream
• 4 cups stuffing mix
• 1/3 c. melted butter

First, brown the sausage and drain

Cut zucchini into 1/4 inch pieces and place in the same skillet that you browned the pork in. Cook for 5 minutes.

Mix pork with the cream of chicken and sour cream

Add zucchini

Place 2 cups of the stuffing mix into bowl and add the melted butter. Mix together

If you are eating right away... place 1/2 of the bread crumbs (that you mixed with butter) in the bottom of a small casserole and add 1/2 of the zucchini mixture on top.

Add the rest of the butter breadcrumbs to the dish

For the other half of the mixture I packed everything up for the freezer...

The zucchini/pork mixture went into one freezer bag and the other half of the breadcrumbs went into another... Both bags got placed into one gallon size bag and the cooking instructions were placed on the outside.

Cooking instructions: Pre-heat oven to 350. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

While this casserole was cooking I made all of the below!!!!

Italian Sausage and pepper in a Crock-pot:


Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Italian Sausage
• 2 red peppers
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 red onion, sliced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes 
• 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning 

Cut peppers into strips 

In 2 gallon freezer bags add half of peppers and onions to each.

to each bag add... 1/2 garlic, 1 can tomatoes( (undrained), and 1 Tbs Italian seasoning

Seal bags and mix all together to incorporate flavors.

Place each of the sausage packages into freezer bags

Into a large gallon freezer bag place one container of sausages and one bag of peppers

Add cooking directions to the outside of the bag- Cook on low in the crock-pot for 6 hours.


Teriaki Chicken for the crock pot 

Ingredients:

• Bag of mini carrots 
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks 
• 2 large cans of sliced pineapple, undrained
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 6 Chicken breasts 
• bottle teriyaki marinade 

Didn't take a lot of photos with this one... Same assembely concept as the last recipe...

Get out 6 freezer bags

in two, split the carrots, red onion, each gets 1 large can of pineapple, and half the garlic... seal and mix to incorporate.

In two other freezer bags split the chicken breasts (i cut each breast in half because they were very large) and half of the marinade.

In a gallon freezer bag I placed one chicken bag and one veggie/fruit bag... with directions on the outside...

Cooking directions: Cook on low in a crock-pot for 6 hours...

two more meals done

AND.... 

at that time our dinner (zucchini-sausage casserole) for last night was done...

and we have this to go into the freezer...

along with the dinner that we are eating tonight... here it is all finished. I added some cheese to the top as well as some diced tomatoes and pickles.

So within one hour I made 8 meals! 6 to go into the freezer and two to eat right away. 

Here is the full list of what we currently have in the freezer:

1. Sausage & Peppers in Crock-Pot
2. Sausage & Peppers in Crock-Pot
3. Teriyaki Chicken in Crock-Pot
4. Teriyaki Chicken in Crock-Pot
5. Cheeseburger & Fries Casserole
6. Sausage & Zucchini Casserole
7. Java Pork Tenderloin
8. Pumpkin Ravioli
9. Pumpkin Ravioli
10. Shrimp Scampi w/ Linguini
11. Thai-Style Pork Wraps in Crock-Pot
12. Western Frittata
13. Western Frittata
14. Whiskey Beef over noodles in Crock-Pot
15. Bacon Cheddar Sliders
16. Chicken Breast w/ Balsamic
17. Chicken Breast w/ Balsamic
18. Lemon Chicken w/ Asparagus
19. Lemon Chicken w/ Asparagus
20. Mediterranean Tilapia & Veggies
21. Mediterranean Tilapia & Veggies
22. Cheddar Broccoli & Chicken Casserole
23. Cheddar Broccoli & Chicken Casserole
24. Cheddar Broccoli & Chicken Casserole
25. Veggie Soup (My mom made)
26. Veggie Soup (My mom made)
27. Veggie Soup (My mom made)