Sunday, November 14, 2010

My FAVORITE freezer cooking recipe...

Lately I haven't done freezer cooking as much as I did at one point, but I still find time to make some of my favorite freezer recipes on occasion. For anyone that is not familiar with freezer cooking, there are a million ways to do it...some cook a whole months worth of meals in a day, some cook two weeks worth. And then theres me...basically, whenever I make a recipe I know freezes well, I make a double batch and freeze half. The main perk of freezer cooking, there is nothing like feeling NO motivation to cook and being able to pull a delicious home cooked meal out of your freezer and serve it up like you've slaved all day! Plus, it takes little more effort to make a double batch of something and by doing so you save yourself time on another day.

This recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine, and in fact it won grand prize in the freezer recipe contest...and oh yeah, those are deliciously crunched up Doritos on top! See recipe below...this is a kid friendly recipe too...my little man LOVES "taco noodles" lol




PS-yes, I plated my food for my blog on a paper plate. Sorry folks, thats just how I roll :)

Taco-Filled Pasta Shells:
2 lbs ground beef
1 C diced onion
2 envelopes taco seasoning
1 8oz package cream cheese
30 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1/4 C butter or margarine
Additional ingredients (for each casserole)
1 C salsa
1 C taco sauce
Shredded cheese (recipe calls for 2 cups, but use your discretion! lol)
1 1/2 C crushed tortilla chips (I use doritos)
1 C sour cream
3 green onions chopped
In a skillet, cook beef and onion until done, drain. Add taco seasoning; prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until melted. Transfer to bowl and chill in fridge for 1 hour.
Cook past according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Dump in 9x13 dish and stick in freezer for a few minutes to quick cool.
Fill each shell with approx 3 TB of meat mixture. Place 15 shells in a greased 9x9 square dish. Cover and freeze for up to three months.
To prepare the remaining shells, spoon salsa into a greased 9in square baking dish. Top with stuffed shells and taco sauce (if you don't like taco sauce omit it...we do). Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and chips. Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sour cream and onions.
To use frozen shells:
Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours (shells will be partially frozen still). Remove from dish. Add salsa to dish; top with shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover; continue as above. Yields 2 casseroles (6 servings each)


Anyone else do freezer cooking? What are your fav recipes?

4 comments:

  1. Definitely trying this - I suffer from that whole not motivated to cook somehting a LOT. Don't you love Taste of Home? Thanks for sharing and being honest about your paper plates...one of mankind's best inventions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Huh, that looks so odd with the chips on top, but I bet it tastes delicious! I might try that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You crack me up ... LOVE the paper plate! I'll have to try this once I get to TN.

    ReplyDelete