This recipe comes from our freezer meal activity. I love to have a huge Ziploc bag of these in my freezer. There are so many different ways to serve these meatballs. We like spaghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, sweet and sour meatballs over rice, BBQ meatballs over rice, Meatball Stew and rolls, or even Swedish Meatballs in a creamy sauce over pasta. The meatballs are fully cooked, so to serve all they need is a minute or two in the microwave.
3 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. garlic salt
3 eggs
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 pkt. onion soup mix
2 of any of the following veggies, minced or finely chopped, 1/2 cup: carrot, zucchini, spinach, green pepper, mushrooms
Combine all the ingredients and stir until smooth. Shape into 1 inch meatballs. Line pan with foil and arrange meatballs. Bake at 400* for 20 minutes. Makes 80 mini meatballs.
To freeze: After the meatballs cool you need to flash freeze them. This freezes each one individually so you don't end up with a giant glob of meatballs stuck together. Sometimes you only need 7-10 from the bag for dinner. Arrange the meatballs flat on cookie sheet and put in your freezer for about 2 hours. Then, put them in your ziploc bag for storage.
To reheat: I just put them in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for about 1 minute. If I'm using them in spaghetti, I just add them frozen right into the sauce and let them simmer with the sauce.
Tip: The vegetables add flavor, nutrition and texture to your meatballs and I’ve found that the more invisible I make them, the less anyone notices them. I grate things like carrot and zucchini with the smallest size on my cheese grater so they blend in. Spinach I chop very fine, so it just looks like fresh herbs.
This recipe comes from our freezer meal compassionate service activity. Bake in a muffin tin, then remove and store in Ziploc bags. Perfect portion size and a great dinner with a baked potato and veggies.
2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. Stovetop Stuffing mix
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
BBQ sauce or ketchup for topping, optional
Stir together ground beef, stuffing mix, water and egg, mix well. Press meat into muffin cups. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes, or until no longer pink. Cool and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw completely and bake at 350* for 20 minutes.
½ lb. ground beef
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup diced green pepper
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb box of ziti (or rigatoni) noodles
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
6 green onions
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Cook noodles according to package directions, do not overcook or they'll be mushy when you freeze. In a skillet over medium heat cook ground beef until no longer pink. Add in minced garlic, mushrooms and green pepper. Stir in spaghetti sauce, cook and stir for 4-5 minutes. In a mixing bowl stir together cream cheese, sour cream, egg, parmesan cheese and diced green onions until smooth. In your baking dish layer noodles across the bottom, spread white cream cheese layer over the top, then pour red sauce over the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
To bake immediately: Preheat oven to 350* and bake for 20 minutes covered, and 10 minutes uncovered.
To freeze: Cover with foil, label, date and freeze. Use within 3 months. If you want to thaw your ziti, put it in the fridge the night before and bake at 350* for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. If the ziti is frozen, bake at 350* for 50 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered.
