Spicy Sausage and Pepper Stew by Missy

from Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 9 servings, 1 cup stew and 5 crackers each

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) reduced fat hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I found it much easier to open the sausage up and brown is like hamburger.)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 can (14 oz.) reduced sodium beef broth
2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15-1/2 oz. each) kidney beans, drained, rinsed

Assembly:
COOK sausage, pepper and celery in large saucepan on medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently; drain.
ADD flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes with their liquid and beans.

Freezing Instructions:
I made this meal as directed and froze it in 1 gallon sized Ziploc Freezer bags...doesn't get much easier than that!! If you're preparing this meal in large #'s that you will divide, I recommend cooking your meat, pepper, celery, flour mixture (for all your meals) and measuring it out in 2 1/2 cup servings per freezer bag, then dumping your canned ingredients into each bag separately. I find that much easier than making the meal separately over and over again.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crackers.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Substitute
Prepare as directed, using your favorite variety of canned beans.
Serve with crackers or bread.
Cooking Know-How
The secret to a quick-cooking stew is having all your ingredients cut small enough to cook quickly. If you have trouble cutting the sausage into 1/2-inch slices, just remove it from the casing and break it up as you brown it. Be sure to drain the excess fat after browning.

Taco--Filled Pasta Shells by Debbie

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
12 jumbo pasta shells
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup taco sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Assembly:
Cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir for 5 - 10 minutes or until melted. Transfer to a bowl and chill for 1 hour.

Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture. To use on the same day, spoon taco sauce and salsa into the bottom of a 9 inch greased baking dish. Place the shells on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheeses, and bake 15 minutes more or until heated through.

Freezing Instructions:
Place filled shells in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

Serving Day:
Thaw shells in the refrigerator for 24 hours (shells will be partially frozen). Spoon salsa and taco sauce into a greased 9 inch square baking dish and top with the shells. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with combined cheeses, and bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. You can serve with sour cream and chopped onions.

Recipe taken from Taste of Home Freezer Meals.

Pepsi Pot Roast by Susan

Ingredients:
3 lb Pot roast
2 - 10 3/4 oz ccans fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 - 16 oz. bottles of diet cola (I used Diet Coke)

Assembly Day:
1. Place meat in slow cooker.
2. In large bowl mix together mushroom soup, dry onion soup, and cola. Pour over roast in cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on high 6 hours.
4. Allow to cool. Divide between 2 gallon Ziploc freezer bags.
5. Freeze

Serving Day:
1. Thaw completely
2. Reheat
3. Serve

From Fix it and Forget it Lightly

Chicken and Rice Casserole by Wendy

This recipe comes from my Amish Cookbook. It originally called for 1 qt. green beans, undrained, but I didn't have any canned green beans. (Sorry, not enough time to do that). So I cut down on the green beans and added more water.

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1 small onion, chopped
1 can green beans, undrained
1 (10 oz.) can mushroom soup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1-3/4 cup water
1 carrot, grated
2 tsp. chicken bouillon (or 2 bouillon cubes dissolved)
2 or 3 cups chopped cooked chicken

Assembly:
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Pour into gallon size ziplock bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw bag and pour ingredients into large casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cover at least half of the time, then uncover.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Grandma's Goulash by Katie

This is a combination between my mother-in-law's recipe and my mom's (and neither one really follow a recipe). So, I hope you all enjoy this Pokopac original!
Sorry for the late post ladies!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, browned (and seasoned to your liking)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
(sugar, tomato paste, and vegetable juice used in various amounts to attain desired sauce consistency)
cooked macaroni noodles

Assembly:
Brown ground beef and season to your liking. (I added a bit of garlic powder, salt, and Italian seasoning.) Add sugar, tomato paste, vegetable juice, diced tomatoes, and jar of spaghetti sauce to ground beef. Mix together. *(This is where I stopped and prepared to freeze.) Cook box of pasta, drain, and add to mixture. Heat through and enjoy!

Freezing:
*I prepare ground beef mixture and put it in a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, seal, and freeze flat. Cooked pasta can be added on serving day.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. Reheat on stove top. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Cheesy Texan Casserole by Missy

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can diced tomatoes in juice (undrained)
1 tbs green chile peppers (add to your liking)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp of both salt and pepper
6 cups cooked Piccolini Mini Pasta
The pasta box serves 8 so I scooped out 6 cups of cooked pasta, stirred, and added a few more as I gauged the sloppiness of everything mixed together.

Assembly:
Cook chicken and pasta and set aside. Mix together in a separate bowl the soup, sour cream, tomatoes, green chile peppers, onion pwd, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked chicken. Finally add the 6 cups of cooked pasta (feel free to add more if you think it's too sloppy). If you are planning to freeze this dish you will need to under cook the pasta a bit, add all of the wet ingredients, and place in the freezer safe container of your choice. I gave this to our group with all of the wet ingredients mixed together in a gallon freezer bag and the box of pasta to cook on the day of preparation.

Serving Day:
On cooking day you will cook the pasta as directed and add the bag of wet ingredients to 6 cups of cooked pasta. You can warm the wet ingredients in a skillet and add pasta to that or combine all ingredients in an oven safe dish and place it in the oven at 350 for 30 min or until warm and bubbly. Either way, you will have a warm and yummy meal to ENJOY!

Variations:
I got the main idea for this recipe from www.kraftfoods.com and loved what they had to offer! They did this meal using a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese (it only served 4). If you did this, you would not use the pasta and can of cheese soup, as in my recipe.

Also you can substitute the can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup for Campbell's Nacho Cheese soup which is a bit spicier and makes the dish zesty delicious.

You can also substitute the tomatoes and green chile peppers for 2 cups of the salsa of your choice.

Freezer Sloppy Joes by Jackie

Adapted from Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes
*As of May 2009, this recipe can be made gluten free by using the products in parenthesis.
Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:
3 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 c. ketchup (*Heinz)
1 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. water
4 T. brown sugar (*organic)
4 T. prepared mustard (*French’s)
4 T. vinegar (*red wine vinegar)
4 T. Worcestershire sauce (*French’s or Lee & Perrins)
3 tsp. chili powder

Assembly:
In large skillet, brown ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat. In any size crock pot, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in meat mixture. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hrs. or on High 3-4 hrs.

Allow mixture to cool. Place silicone muffin tin on a cookie sheet. Spoon meat into each section of tin. Freeze just until meat is frozen in solid pieces. Pop out disks and place in freezer Ziploc bags. Of course, you can also just pour the entire mixture into a gallon size freezer Ziploc bag. I like the convenience of being able to pull out only the amount we need.

Serving Day:
Take out one or two disks per sandwich, depending on how much meat you like. Place in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until heated through. Serve on bun.

Beef Enchiladas by Mel

Ingredients:
1 lb. beef
1 can refried beans
1Tbs. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can enchilada sauce (I use red, but green spices it up a bit)
1 can tomato sauce
8 tortillas
16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly:
Brown ground beef and drain off grease. Add spices, refried beans, and 1/2 cheese. Spray 9x13 baking dish with Pam. Spread 2 Tbsp. of meat mixture in a line in the center of a tortilla. Fold over in half, and roll up. Place rolled tortilla in baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine tomato sauce and enchilada sauce, and pour over top of tortillas. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Cover and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pulled Pork BBQ by Mel

Ingredients:
1 pork roast
BBQ sauce of your choice (1 bottle per 2 lbs. of pork)
Hamburger Buns

Assembly:
Place roast in a crock pot and fill 1/3-1/2 with water. Cook on LOW overnight. Drain water and remove excess fat. Break apart roast with a wooden spoon. Pour sauce over pork and mix. Pour into gallon-size Ziploc bag and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Heat and serve on buns. (Cole slaw is an optional topper if you want)

Our family prefers Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce.