Foods to Freeze

While I was in DC, my mother-in-law and I decided to cook a few foods for Jesse and Rebecca to freeze and pull out later. We came up with: spaghetti sauce, chili, pork roast, meat loaf, and tortellini soup.


Spaghetti Sauce
2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 large green pepper (diced)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 container of sliced mushrooms
2 jars of spaghetti sauce (your choice of brand)


Brown the beef in a pretty deep pan, drain fat, and leave in pan. In a small sauce pan sauté chopped green peppers for about 5 mins or until soft, add garlic to the peppers and continue sauteing for 3- 5 more minutes. Add the garlic and peppers to the meat. Add 2 jars of spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture and let simmer for as long as you need to cook noodles, bread etc. 


Chili 
My mother in law made this chili. If you want the recipe, I will be glad to ask her to type it out for us!


Pork Roast 
Again, my mother-in-law made this. She browned the roast for a few minutes before placing it in the crock pot. She said it added more flavor and by the smell of it...yum! She added carrots, onion, potatoes, and a bit of water. She cooked it in the crock pot on high for 4-6 hrs, let it cool, and then put it in a freezer safe container. Again, if you want specifics, I'll ask her. 


Tortellini Soup
I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it looked delicious. 


1 TBS. Olive Oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
9 oz. tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen) (we used italian sausage for them, I thought 4 cheese looked yummy!)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the oregano and diced tomatoes. Add the broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.


Meat Loaf
I'm not a big meat loaf fan, but my SIL requested it. I found this recipe, made a few modifications, and thought it actually looked quite delicious! 

• 
  
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package saltine crackers, crushed
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon steak sauce
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup water 
• 
  
• Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, crushed crackers, salt, ground black pepper, steak sauce, eggs and water and mix well. Transfer to an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Form into a loaf about 6x10 inches.Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until center is completely cooked. *Add ketchup on top once baking is finished, if desired! 

*All of these foods froze great...I hope they are delicious and satisfying for weeks to come!*