A Gift to Yourself... A Freezer full of Casseroles! Easy and Delicious...

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Freezer Cooking

This is the best recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casserole.  I’ve made this a couple times this month because it is just that good.  And by me “making” it, I don’t mean that I had to go out and buy all the ingredients again.  This casserole freezes really well! You can double or even quadrupled the recipe.  

Ingredients:

·      1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

·      8 oz. Sour Cream

·      1 Cup Salsa

·      2 tsp chili powder

·      2 Cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken

·      1 Cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

·      10 flour tortillas

1.   ** When you double this recipe, it actually works out cheaper.  The tortillas come in a pack of 20.  You can buy a 16 oz. container of sour cream.  And the salsa I purchased had exactly two cups in it.

2.  Mix together the salsa, cream of chicken, sour cream and chili powder. (I know.  It’s kind of gross and kind of awesome all at the same time.)

3.  Put your shredded chicken into a separate mixing bowl.  Add 1 cup of the sauce mixture and stir until the chicken is well coated.

4. Add the chicken mixture to a tortilla.  Top it with a bit of cheese.  Roll the tortilla up and place seam-side down in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

5.  Once the tortillas are filled, take the remaining sauce and pour it over the entire dish. Top with more cheese.

6. At this point you can cover it and place it in the oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 40 – 60 minutes When the edges are bubbly, your casserole is done.

7.  If you’re like me, you’ll cover it with foil and label and date it.  Into our freezer it goes to enjoy later!

8. That’s it!  It’s delicious and oh so easy to make!  The kids can even help you with this one.  Enjoy!

Thank you Cleverly Simple

Million Dollar Casserole

Finding a casserole that I could easily freeze and cook on busy nights is a priority. This is a keeper!! Easy and a family favorite… anything with Pasta, Cream Cheese and Ricotta says:

“A Million Dollar Dinner is Ready... come and get it!”

Ingredients you will need…  

(I tripled this to make four half size pans to freeze.)

·      1 lb. ground beef

·      26 oz. spaghetti sauce

·      8 oz. cream cheese

·      1/4 cup sour cream

·      8 oz. ricotta

·      1/2 cup butter

·      16 oz. penne pasta

·      8 oz. sharp cheddar shredded cheese

1.   Cook the ground beef.  When I know I’m going to do do some freezer cooking in a big batch, I cook the ground beef in the Crockpot easily the night before. Once it’s completely cooked, drained and cooled, I place it in a container in the refrigerator.  The next day, it’s really easy to pull together a recipe like this one.

2.  Once the ground beef is cooked…Set it aside.

  

3.  Boil the penne pasta and drain once fully cooked.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream and ricotta cheese.  It’s much easier to mix them together if you let the cream cheese soften first.

5.  Add half of the pasta to the containers you’re using.  In this case, since I had tripled the recipe, I used four half containers.  If you’re making only one batch, I would use a 9×13 pan.

6. Top the pasta with the cream cheese mixture.  Spread it evenly around the pan.

7.  Top the cream mixture with the rest of the noodles.

8. Cut the butter into slices and top the noodles.

9. Top the butter with the ground beef. Top the ground beef with the spaghetti sauce.  Straight out of the bottle… then add cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes… Or until bubbly.

·     If you’re freezer cooking, you can cover with foil…label and date it and add it to the freezer. Once thawed, you can bake it for the same time. Personally, I think when you freezer cook with pasta, it sometimes soaks up the sauce.  I like to add some sauce to the casserole before cooking it.

                          Thank you Cleverly Simple

Chicken Club Casserole
Tell me… who doesn’t love a Club Sandwich?? This is a delicious and comforting casserole. My whole family loves it! Another great freezer meal.

Ingredients

·      1 lb. spiral pasta, cooked

·      4 cups cubed cooked chicken

·      2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted

·      1 cup crumbled cooked bacon

·      1 cup milk

·      1 cup mayonnaise

·      4 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

·      3 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

·      2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

Make it…

1.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients EXCEPT the shredded cheese.

2.  Pour contents of bowl into the baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

4. If freezing this casserole… cover with foil, label and date.  Stick in the freezer to cook later.  Thaw in fridge before cooking.  This yummy casserole should be good in the freezer for 4 months. Remember… disposable pans are our friend!

Creamy Chicken & Noodle Casserole

Dinner rut… be gone!!
The great thing about this casserole is that anything goes . . . you can add as few or as many vegetables as you want.

Easy Peasy…

Freezer friendly and your kids will not know they are eating their veggies…

Win! Win!

Ingredients

·      4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·      1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

·      1 cup sour cream

·      1 cup cornflakes, crushed

·      1 tablespoon butter, melted

·      1/4 cup chopped onion

·      1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

·      1 green bell pepper, chopped (optional)

·      2 Roma tomatoes, diced

·      *I have also added zucchini, pimentos, red bell pepper, yellow squash, peas, frozen corn . . . whatever you have will work!

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Boil chicken until cooked through (no longer pink inside), about 20-30 minutes.

3.  Chop into bite size pieces and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Combine soup, sour cream, vegetables of your choice. Pour mixture over chicken. In a separate bowl, combine crushed cornflakes and melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the chicken mixture.

5.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes… OR cover with foil, date and label and freeze... for baking at another time.

6. Serve over your favorite kind of noodles I prefer angel hair pasta or spaghetti noodles for this recipe, but any kind works great!

recipe source... Six Sister's Stuff

Taco-Filled Pasta Shells

I've been stuffing pasta shells with different fillings for years, but my family enjoys this version with taco-seasoned meat the most. The frozen shells are so convenient; because you can take out only the number you need for a single-serving lunch or family dinner. Just add zippy taco sauce and bake. 

(Marge’s words…)

Ingredients

·      2 pounds ground turkey or beef

·     2 envelopes taco seasoning

·      1-1/2 cups water

·      1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

·      24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

·      1/4 cup butter, melted

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS (for each casserole):

·      1 cup salsa

·      1 cup taco sauce

·      1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

·      1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

·      1-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips

·      1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

·      3 green onions, chopped

Directions

1.   In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Transfer to a bowl; cool. Chill for 1 hour.

2.  Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture. Place 12 shells in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

3.  To prepare remaining shells, spoon salsa into a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with stuffed shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses and chips. Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sour cream and onions.

4. To use frozen shells: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours (shells will be partially frozen). Spoon salsa into a greased 9-in. square baking dish; top with shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheeses and chips. Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

Thank you… Marge Hodel Roanoke, Illinois