Oh.. I love those jokes. I do it to any word ending in -er.
Before I went to North Carolina for a couple of weeks, I knew I needed to prepare, prepare, prepare! The first thing I did was figure out meals for the hubbs so he wouldn’t be stuck eating pizza and fast food everyday. I did a massive grocery store run and stocked up on his essentials (i.e. coffee, ice cream, and oreos) and then decided on freezer friendly meals to make.
1. Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken
3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large green pepper, cut into strips
1 large red pepper, cut into strips
1 zucchini, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard (I wasn’t sure if this meant actual mustard or the spice so I did a little of both)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Then put in crock pot the day you want to eat it!
2. Happy Husband Casserole
1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
4 cups dry egg noodles (1/2 lb)
5 scallions, chopped
1 package (3 oz) FF cream cheese, at room temp
1 container (8 oz) sour FF cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In large skillet, brown beef. Carefully drain off drippings Stir garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and tomato sauce into meat. Cover; simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in large, deep pot of lightly salted water, cook noodles just until al dente, following package directions. Drain. In small bowl, stir together scallions, cream cheese and sour cream until well blended. Lightly coat bottom of shallow 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange noodles in bottom of dish. Spoon meat sauce evenly over noodles. Carefully spread sour cream mixture over top. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Heat oven to 350°. Bake casserole in 350° oven until heated through and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
3. Serveral servings of Turkey Spaghetti Sauce
Brown turkey, add choice spaghetti sauce, and a bunch of italian seasonings and pretend that it took you DAYS to make it.
4. Turkey and Rice Casserole
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
½ jar Ragú pasta sauce, any flavor
1 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
? cup uncooked rice
1 envelope Lipton dry chicken noodle soup mix
3 cups water
Sour cream
Avocado slices
Brown ground turkey in a skillet and drain. Add onion and celery and stir over heat 5 minutes.
Add pasta sauce, 1 cup water and chili powder and simmer 10 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish or disposable foil baking pan. Stir in rice and dry soup. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate until 40 minutes before you’d like to serve.
Before placing in oven, add 3 cups water to casserole dish and stir to combine. (If making for someone else, just direct them to add the water before baking.)
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (if meat mixture is warm or room temp) or 40 minutes (if chilled). Garnish with sour cream, avocado or your favorite hot sauce.
Needless to say, the man was set for the weeks I was gone. Here is what our freezer looked like when I left!
