The Fast Way to Homemade Pizza

Life has gotten crazy. My work schedule this year is more strenuous that it has ever been. For years I have done freezer cooking, but one of the meals that hasn't worked well for me is freezer pizzas. I have made complete pizzas and frozen them to bake later, but the prep time on them is overwhelming to me. I have put unbaked pizza dough in the freezer so that I could do homemade crust at a later date, but I never perfected how to thaw it and use it. A month ago I read online (wish I could remember where) that I could mix up pizza dough and freeze it immediately without letting it rise. Early the morning of serving I pulled it out and set it on the counter to rise ALL DAY. With all the other ingredients ready, I needed only about an hour to make fresh pizza that night! And most of that time is time in the oven, not hands-on work! When pizza dough rises for a long time it improves the flavor so this method is perfect! Even my family noticed it was a great-tasting crust!

Here's how I did it...

Pizza Dough

{From Breaking Bread with Father Dominic, but any dough recipe will work. This recipe makes two crusts.}

1 package active dry yeast (or 1 T. yeast if you buy in bulk)

1 T. brown sugar

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups lukewarm water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 T. salt (I use less)

4 to 5 cups white flour

Put all the ingredients in your mixer with a dough hook. Mix well (about 5 minutes). Spray the inside of a gallon Ziploc bag and place the dough in the bag. Freeze immediately. 

On the day of serving...pull out the dough and let it rise on the counter for 8 to 12 hours. I leave mine in the bag, but after an hour or so I pull it out and put it in a large bowl because it needs more space than what the bag provides. When you are ready to make the pizza, shape the dough and place it in a 450 degree oven to pre-bake for about 7 minutes. Pull the crusts out and top them with sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings. Return them to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese starts to bubble and brown.

To-Die-For Pizza Sauce

{A friend of ours shared this recipe, and I am so glad he did! Best sauce recipe ever! I make it ahead of time and freeze it.  I pull it out with the dough to thaw at the same time.  This is enough sauce for two pizzas.}

2 T olive oil

1 T butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup celery

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2 T grated parmesan cheese

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

1/4 t black pepper

1 small bay leaf

1 t. fennel seed

In a large skillet, melt butter with oil and then saute the onion, celery, and garlic. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30-60 minutes. {NOTE: I didn't have fennel seed and the sauce was fine without it.} Remove the bay leaf.  At this point you can use the sauce or freeze it.  I tend to double or triple the recipe and freeze it for later.

So why not enjoy a pizza night?  So quick and easy!

Theme Nights for Meal Planning

Here is a LONG list of meals based on themes! I am using this list to help me meal plan this coming school year since I lack the creativity each month to come up with meal ideas. Many of these meals ideas have links to them. If they don't and you would like the recipe just leave me a comment.

There are a few recipes that come from Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook . Those recipes are marked with the letters MAF {Make-Ahead and Freeze}.

Slow Cooker

Mac and cheese

Crockpot chicken recipes {Scroll to see all the options}

Sweet and Sour Meatballs 

Spicy Beans with Sausage {I add Kielbasa} 

Soup

Taco soup

Spring Veggies and Dumplings

Tortellini Soup

Jambalaya

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Sandwiches

Turkey/ham

Hamburgers

Grilled cheese

BLT’s

Sloppy Joes

Hot Ham and Cheese

Oriental

Sweet and Sour Chicken {A bit time-consuming, but SO WORTH IT!}

Sesame Noodles

Pasta

Spaghetti Pie

White Cheddar Shells and Peas

Pasta Primavera

Lasagna {The BEST ever!}

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Mexican

Creamy Burrito Casserole

Green Chili Enchiladas

Warm Chicken Taco Salad

Taco Lasagna

Barb’s Taco Casserole 

Burritos

Nachos

Frito Salad

Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta Salad

Chili Relleno Casserole

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Lawnmower Tacos    MAF

Taco Lasagna    MAF

Pepper Jack and Chili Burritos    MAF

Chicken

BBQ Orange Chicken

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole

Bacon Ranch Chicken

Lime and Coconut Chicken

Sweet Citrus Grilled Chicken

Chicken Divan with a Cheddar Crust   MAF

Beef/Sausage

Sweet and Sour Sausage {One of my top pins on Pinterest}

Pierogi Sausage Skillet

Meatballs

Meatloaf

Super Supper

Meatball Stroganoff

Casserole

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Meatball Sub Casserole

Pierogi Casserole

Cowboy Meatloaf Casserole

Breakfast for Dinner

Omelets

Pancakes and Bacon

Waffles

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast casserole

Pizza {And the Like}

Stromboli

Pizza Frittata

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Pizza (Hawaiian, Pepperoni, Supreme)

Pizza Roll ups

Need some help on ideas for packaging your food?  See this!

How to Make Meal Planning Easier

{Affiliate links used.  Thanks for supporting this blog.}

For being somewhat creative I lack it in the meal department. Every month I sit down and come up with about six meals that I will double to make a total of twelve.  I freeze six of them and give six of them to a friend who then give me six meals that she has made. I find that it is hard to come up with ideas each month which makes no sense in the era of online recipes and Pinterest. 

So this summer I am getting my act together or at least trying to.  I made a list of "theme nights".  What are theme nights in cooking? They are basic categories of different main dishes.  Here is my list:

Slow Cooker

Soup

Sandwiches

Oriental

Pasta

Mexican

Chicken

Beef/Sausage

Breakfast for Dinner

Pizza {and the like}

After coming up with a list, I then made lists under each category.  I started by listing our favorite...my go-to recipes that are always well loved.  I then went through one of my favorite cookbooks, Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook, to pick out ones that I have done before and we have liked.  Finally I went to Pinterest.

I now have an extensive list to choose from.  I can pick one recipe from the different categories to insure that the meals aren't too repetitive in nature. No more reinventing the wheel each month for my non-creative brain! Stop by tomorrow as I share my very long list (many with links to the recipes)!

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Other great helps in freezer cooking:

31 Days of  Freezer Cooking

Love this herb stripper with a measuring cup!

Bulk Cooking the Fast Way

 Earlier this week I made eight meals to freeze in about two hours (not counting clean-up which my younger son did).  It is probably the fastest I have ever done that many meals. After I was done I was pondering why it was so quick.  I have been sick with some kind of nasty virus that has manifested as a chest cold with a ton of coughing. This week I am better, but tired. So needless to say, I was not on my game when I was cooking and yet it was still quicker than what it has been in the past.  I finally realized the catch...I was using two main ingredients (hamburger and tomatoes) for the four recipes that I doubled to make eight meals.  

I bought a can (about 6 lbs.) of tomato sauce, a can (also 6 lbs) of crushed tomatoes, and ten lbs. of ground turkey (was cheaper than beef).  I was able to cook the meat in bulk and then separate it into the different meals.  Here are the recipes that I used...remember that I doubled each recipe.

Lisa's Lasagna

(This is the best lasagna I have ever tasted!)

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1  8oz can tomato sauce
1  6 oz can tomato paste
2 t. dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz lasagna noodles (Don't use the no-boil ones)
1 T. oil
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 T. dried parsley flakes
1 lb. mozzarella, thinly sliced

Cook meat, onion and garlic til the meat is browned. Drain. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and next 4 ingredients. Cover and simmer 15 min. DON'T cook the noodles.  No need...especially if you freeze the lasagna to eat later.  The thawing helps soften the noodles. Or you can add a bit of water (1/4 cup) over the lasagna before baking to soften the noodles. Beat eggs; add ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the parsley, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. Layer half of the noodles in a 9 by 13 pan. Spread with half of the ricotta filling. Add half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 min. until heated through. Let stand 10 min.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

1 lb. hamburger
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
8 oz. (weight) egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup grated sharp cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350. Brown the hamburger, drain the fat and add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and then simmer while you prepare the rest.  Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside. Combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add pepper and then the noodles and onion and stir. To assemble: add half of the noodles to the baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half of the cheese. Repeat the layers. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

LawnMower Tacos

Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground turkey or beef

tomato sauce to moisten the mixture (1/3 cup give or take)

2 eggs

1 envelope onion soup mix

3/4 cup break crumbs or I use a box of crushed Glutino Gluten Free Crackers

Mix all ingredients together.  Form into a loaf and freeze in a gallon Ziploc.  To serve, pull out of bag and put in a 9 by 13 pan.  Thaw a bit in the fridge.  Bake uncovered 1 hour or until done.  It should be 170-180 degrees on the inside when done.

In the end I had some tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes leftover.  I mixed them together and then added onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and a bit of sugar.  Mix it together and froze it.  Easy marinara.  Buying the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes this way was a HUGE savings!  I paid a little under $4 for each can.  If I had bought smaller cans I would have spent so much more.  So not only did I save time...I saved money!

Sweet -n- Sour Sausage {Freezer Crockpot Meal}

I love freezer meals, and I love using my crockpot!  Makes life so much easier!  Here is one of my favorite "Freezer to Crockpot" meals because it is so easy to throw together and tastes great!

I have to be honest and say that the amounts are not exact.  This recipe is fluid.  If you want more meat, then add more meat.  More veggies?  Then do that!

Crockpot Sweet -n- Sour Sausage

2-3 Kielbasa (cut up into bite-sized pieces)
1 can pineapple (I use the larger can...20 oz. I think?)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
**Or, alternatively, I buy a small bag of frozen, chopped pepper and onion mixture to throw into it.
Cooked rice

Sauce Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
4 T. ketchup
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. garlic salt

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl.  To that bowl add the rest of the ingredients except the rice.  Mix well.  Place the mixture in a gallon ziploc and freeze.  The day before serving, thaw mixture in fridge.  The morning of serving, place the mixture in the crockpot and cook on low for several hours.  Serve with rice.

Want some more great freezer meal ideas and tips?

Top Ten Posts of 2013

It has been quite the year for me.  Because of personal circumstances, I have been able {at least in the second half of this year} to spend more time writing.  I thought it would be fun to take a quick look back on the most popular posts at The Architect and the Artist of 2013.

1. By far the post with the most views was All That Glitters are God's Gifts. Ann Voskamp came out with a Christmas/Advent book this past September entitled, The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. In the book she has 25 Advent readings and a link to download ornaments to hang on your tree for each reading.  My post was part life story and part tutorial on how to dress up the ornaments with glitter. It is incredible how many people have looked at this post!  But it may have something to do with Ann commenting about it on Facebook. It sure does help when the actual author of the book takes notice!!

UPDATE:  A friend of mine just told me that Ann featured my post on her blog last weekend! 

Such excitement!!! I am still shocked that she took notice of my post!!!

2. Casseroles for the Freezer from 31 Days of Freezer Meals was another popular post.  I have been doing freezer meals for a lot of years and decided in October to write about what works and what doesn't. There were actually several posts that were popular from that series.

3. Top Ten Freezer Meals

4. Freezer Smoothies

5. Packaging Food for the Freezer

6. Another extremely popular post was from my series called Wilderness Wanderings. The Holes That Make Us Whole speaks to how God uses those circumstances in our lives that are less than perfect to make us more whole.  One of the greatest puzzles of life is that it is in the wounds that we can find healing.

7. The post, Bible Studies for Women, was a post reviewing several of the Bible studies I have done over the years.  If you are looking for a new study check out this post.

8. Christmas Posts @ The Architect and the Artist has been another favorite over the past month.  This post lists several of my Christmas related posts from the blog over the years...Christ in Christmas, baking and crafting ideas.

9. Another extremely popular post was for Spanish teachers called Teaching Spanish Literature.  I do have several posts on this blog about teaching Spanish, but recently I started another blog to post all my Spanish ideas called Debbie's Spanish Learning.  For those that don't know, I am a certified Spanish teacher and give private and small group lessons in my home.

10. And one more post...this one on homeschooling.  Teaching British Literature is an overview of what I am doing with my oldest son who is a junior this year.

It has been an amazing year!  It is my hope and prayer that you find something here that is helpful to you or an encouragement to you!  Can't wait for 2014!

Linking up at...Amongst Lovely Things

Sweet Endings {Dessert is in the Freezer}

Today is the final day of my series on freezer meals.  While this has taken a lot of time to prep and write, I feel that I have learned more about the art of getting dinner on the table. I hope that it has helped others accomplish the task of getting dinner on the table in an easier fashion.

One thing that I tend not to freeze is desserts.  We don't do a lot of desserts here so I don't feel the need to freeze them for later use.  But desserts in the freezer are totally doable.

Pre-made pies and cookies can be frozen.  Cookie dough is definitely freezable. That way you can have fresh hot cookies any time you want. Even cakes can be frozen for later.  There are also desserts that are frozen anyways (because they use ice cream or the like).  Here are a few of our favorites:

Peanut Butter Pie

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 (8oz) carton of Cool Whip

Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie crust.  If desired, chop Reese's peanut butter cups and put on top or drizzle melted chocolate chips on top.  Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker crust
4 t. grated lime zest
4 egg yolks
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 325. Whisk the lime zest and egg yolks together in a medium bowl for 2 minutes (I used my Kitchen Aide). Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, then the lime juice. Let set a few minutes for the filling to thicken. Pour filling into the crust. Bake until the center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, about 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature and then refrigerate at least three hours.


Caramel Apple Pie -- A little bit more work, but worth it! Better than normal apple pie!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

{More strawberry than rhubarb}

2 cups rhubarb, chopped

4 cups strawberries, sliced

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. cinnamon

pastry for a double-crust pie

In a bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and cinnamon. On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry and line a pie plate. Spoon in filling.  Roll out pastry for top crust (you can either do cookie cutter shapes for the top (like I do) or do a lattice top. Flute edge of crust. Bake on a baking sheet with sides in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 60 minutes or until rhubarb is tender, filling thickened and the crust is golden. Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

Thumbprint Cookies

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup PLANTERS Chopped Pecans
1-1/4 cups raspberry preserves

HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add flour, baking soda and pecans; mix well. Refrigerate 30 min.

SHAPE dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Indent centers.

BAKE 10 min. Fill each cookie with about 1 tsp. preserves. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets 2 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 cups flour
2 cups oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 - 15oz can pumpkin
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl cream butter, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by 1/4 cup dough amounts onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes. (You can make them half the size - regular cookie drop amount- but check the around 12-15 minutes as they may need to come out sooner than the large size.) Enjoy!

The "Don'ts" of Freezer Cooking {Humor in the kitchen}

I have had to learn the hard way on what works in freezer cooking...here's a few pieces of advice.  Go ahead and chuckle at my expense, because I have done everyone of these!  Ha!

If you prefer mystery meals (you know the ones...try as you might you can't decipher or remember what you put in that container a month ago.  Might be chicken. But then again...), then don't label your meals!  This makes life more exciting!  Like my co-worker years ago who put an unmarked block of parmesan in her freezer and then later grated onto her lasagna.  Her only problem?  It was a block of white chocolate! LOL  Sad to say, but I have similar stories.

If you love the thought of icy crystals encompassing your evening meal, then by all means don't wrap your food well. Freezer burn can be a thing of beauty, right?  One trick I have learned...place plastic wrap over your casserole meals and let the plastic touch the food to block all air.  Then wrap the casserole in foil. Also, make sure you push out all the air in your Ziploc gallon bags that hold meals.


If you love wasting money, then don't keep track of what you have in your freezer.  Let it sit in there until it is beyond hope!  Use it or lose it!  I use an app to log my meals, but the non-tech version with paper and pencil works just as well.


If you want to eat  gross meals for awhile, then don't test out a recipe to see if your family likes it before tripling it and putting the meals in the freezer.  We have eaten many a terrible meal in this house because I got the hair-brained idea to quadruple the yuckiest meal known to man.  Sure, it looked good on paper, but reality was something else.


If your family LOVES a grumpy mommy, who yells after a long day straight of freezer cooking, then don't break up your cooking sessions into small time frames. Cook all day so that by the time you're done you can't live with yourself and neither can your family!!  While one long day of cooking sounds good because you get it over with, I found that for myself it just wasn't worth it.  It was better to break it up instead of having my family enduring my tiredness!!!

Above all, figure out what works for you and your family.  Freezer cooking should be a help and not a hindrance!

Gardening and the Freezer

The freezer can be a great help when it comes to gardening.  For example, each year I cut up rhubarb and put it in sandwich baggies (one cup each) and then all those little baggies go into a gallon-sized bag for creating baked goods later.  I do the same with shredded zucchini.  I also blanch veggies and then store them in the freezer for later use. Here is a simple guide on that process.

Another way is to go ahead and make meals with those veggies and then freeze the meals.  This works well if your harvest of a certain veggie is small.  For example, I can normally make some vegetable soup in August to freeze if I combine the different veggies from the garden.  Another option if you have enough tomatoes (we never seem to produce enough for this, but one year I was given several pounds of tomatoes) is to make spaghetti sauce.  If I add meat, I put the sauce in the freezer.  If there is no meat added, then I tend to can it.

So do you put some of your garden in your freezer each year?

Casseroles for the Freezer

Each month I limit how many casseroles I make for the freezer.  They tend to take up more space than foods packaged in Ziploc gallon bags.  I also have a limited number of pans.  Here are some tried and true casserole type dinners.

Lisa's Lasagna

(This is the best lasagna I have ever tasted!  I am hoping with this recipe to finally make a great lasagna.)

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1  8oz can tomato sauce
1  6 oz can tomato paste
2 t. dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz lasagna noodles
1 T. oil
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 T. dried parsley flakes
1 lb. mozzarella, thinly sliced

Cook meat, onion and garlic til the meat is browned. Drain. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and next 4 ingredients. Cover and simmer 15 min. Meanwhile, cook noodles til tender in boiling salted water with oil added to the water. Drain and rinse noodles. Beat eggs; add ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the parsley, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. Layer half of the noodles in a 9 by 13 pan. Spread with half of the ricotta filling. Add half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 min. until heated through. Let stand 10 min.

Creamy Burrito Casserole

• 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 medium yellow onion , chopped
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 6 large flour tortillas
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 2 -3 cups shreddedtaco cheese or 2 -3 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 4 ounces sour cream

Brown the meat with the onions and add the taco seasoning.  Mix the beans and meat together.  In another bowl mix the sour cream and the soup.  In a baking dish, spread the sour cream mixture on the bottom.  Put down a layer of tortillas.  Add a layer of the meat mixture.  Sprinkle on a layer of cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Bake at 350 until heated through.  You can serve it with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

1 lb. hamburger
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
8 oz. (weight) egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup grated sharp cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350. Brown the hamburger, drain the fat and add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and then simmer while you prepare the rest.  Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside. Combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add pepper and then the noodles and onion and stir. To assemble: add half of the noodles to the baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half of the cheese. Repeat the layers. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

 (My favorite enchiladas)

3-4 chicken breasts-cooked and chopped
Corn tortillas
¼ cup margarine/butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
½ of a 4 oz can chopped green chilies
¾ cup chopped onion
Melt butter. Blend in flour and chicken broth. Cook until it thickens. Blend in sour cream. Don’t boil. Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of 6x10” pan. Mix 1 ½ cups of the cheese, onion, chilies, and chicken in a bowl. Use this mixture to fill the tortillas. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in the pan. Pour sauce over all. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake 15 minutes longer.

If you are feeling lazy…you can always do the enchiladas in layers instead of rolling them. I do sauce, tortillas, filling, more tortillas, and more sauce.

Some other casserole dishes: 

 Lawnmower Taco

Chicken Spaghetti

Baked Ziti

When There Is No Time {Easy Freezer Meals to Throw Together}

Sometimes life is just too busy.  Who has time to cook?  Who has time to even get ahead in life and stock the freezer?  I have had months like that.  It is during those seasons in life that I stock the freezer in the simplest fashion I know how.

Here is a list of meal ideas that can be quickly thrown together and piled in the freezer:

-Cook up a LARGE batch of hamburger.  Divide it and make some of it into taco meat and some of it into a sloppy joe mixture.

-Meatloaf (just mix and shape and put in the freezer).  You have two options you can put the mixture into a gallon Ziploc and shape it into a log form and freeze.  Then when ready to cook, take it out of the bag (frozen) and put on a tray to cook it.  Or you can cook it in the crockpot too.

-Marinades.  Mix up marinades for grilled chicken.

-"Dump" Soup recipes like taco soup. Open up the cans.  Dump it all together and freeze.

Here are a few tricks to shorten the cooking involved in harder recipes:

-NEVER roll your enchiladas!  I just layer the ingredients.  Sure it isn't traditional, but it works.

- NEVER pre-cook your lasagna noodles!  And don't use the no-boil ones if you are going to freeze the lasagna.  They turn to mush if they have been in the freezer.  To make your lasagna just layer it with uncooked noodles and then add about 1/4 cup water to the top of the lasagna before freezing.  The process of freezing and thawing and then baking "cooks" the noodles just right.