Spinach Lasagna Rolls - Make ahead meal

Make ahead meals. I love them. Some days you just have more time to shop, cook and prepare. And other days, well, are just crazy without a single moment to rest. Here is a sure to please meal for all ages. This recipe serves 9, but feel free to cut down the portions and freeze in multiple bags if you live alone or are an empty nester.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
10 oz fresh or frozen chopped spinach (if frozen, thaw and drain)
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz pasta sauce
9 tbsp part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

On a cutting board, lay out a noodle, take 1/3 cup of the ricotta mix and spread evenly over the noodle. Roll up the noodle and place seam side down in freezer bag. Continue this same process untill all noodles are in the large freezer bag. (or for smaller portions use multiple smaller freezer bags. Add pasta sauce to freezer bag.

Freeze. Thaw. Carefully remove lasagna rolls and place in a baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese as desired. Serve with garlic bread.

I just had dinner and this is making me hungry again. I hope you enjoy it!

Linda

Hawaiian Chicken Freezer Meal

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever!

If you've been checking in on me you know I've been fixing up more crock pot freezer meals for two. If you like what you see and have more mouths to feed, go ahead, double or triple the recipe. It's all good.

Hawaiian Chicken Freezer Meal

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vinegar

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice (use what is in the can)

1/4 can of large pineapple chunks

This recipe screams "Make 2 or 4 baggies to freeze" because of the portions above. Besides, when will you use that other 3/4 can of pineapple chunks. Right? :)

Add all ingredients to the bag labeled as such. Freeze. Thaw. Cook in crock pot 2-3 hours on low or until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

The original recipe came from http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/freezer-meal-recipe-crock-pot-hawaiian-chicken/

I really liked this one. I hope you do to.

Linda

Garlic Honey Chicken - crock pot style

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever!

Who doesn't like honey in a recipe. Let's dive right in.

Garlic Honey Chicken 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 cup honey

Feel free to double the sauce if you like.

Add all ingredients to a freezer bag. Freeze. Thaw. Cook on low 2-3 hours or until chicken is done. Serve with your favorite veggie to top it off! Serves 2.

Enjoy!

Linda

Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Mushrooms

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever.

Ok, I'm busted. You have realized by now how I love to prepare make ahead meals. Let's face it, life gets crazy we have things to do and not all of us love spending all day in the kitchen. I'd much rather be crafting, sewing or searching through flea markets for my newest treasure. So while the weather is cold, let's enjoy some freezer meals that are sure to please.

First up Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Mushrooms

This recipe will be serving the newlywed or empty nester. If your family has more mouths to feed simply double or triple.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 pear sliced

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

Place all ingredients in a labeled zipper bag. Freeze. Thaw. Cook in crock pot on low for 2-4 hours or until chicken is done. 

Enjoy!

Linda

Meat Stew and Bean Stew - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Meals for Two

Yes we are close to the end of this series. As I have mentioned before all I did was take the recipes from Mixing with Michelle and cut them down to feed two people. These meals are geared to be healthy and portion controlled. These last two are both stews and in my opinion are both good. So go ahead and buy all the ingredients and make them up on the same day. Enjoy individually later!

Let's start with Meat Stew

1 lb meat (beef, pork or whatever is on sale) cube

1 onion

1/2 acorn squash, cubed

1/2 zucchini, sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 can canned tomatoes
1/2 can beef broth

Put all ingredients in a gallon zip lock bag ( I only had quart size). Freeze. Thaw bag and add contents to crock pot. Cook on low 4 hours or until done. Stir occasionally.

Bean Stew

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry beans, black or pinto, rinsed

1 carrot peeled and finely chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1.5 Tbsp uncooked brown rice

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

black pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients, minus the broth, in a zip lock bag. Freeze. Thaw, add broth and bag to crock pot. Cook on low 4-5 hours. 

As you could see both stews took similar ingredients so why not make both. You'll be one step ahead!

I hope you enjoyed this series. I thought it was really handy to buy ingredients and prep all ten recipes and then freeze as make ahead meals. I also like the portion control. So be healthy and this will make you happy. 

Happy eating! Linda

Sausage and Bean Supper - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

If you haven't noticed these recipes are geared more to a winter time meal. This one will not disappoint. Let's make this entire recipe! It's enough for 2 meals for 2.

Sausage and Bean Supper

1 lb Ground Turkey  - be sure to rinse the meat. I add seasoning to ground turkey to get my sausage flavor
1 Onion Chopped
1 Celery Stalk Chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1.5 tsp Dry mustard
¼ cup sweetner of choice - xylitol
1 can Tomatoes with Chili Peppers
1 can Butter Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

Brown ground turkey and chopped onion. Stir in the seasoning. Let cool. Divide all ingredients into two zip lock bags. Label bags as above. Freeze. Thaw contents of one bag. Cook on low in crock pot for 4 hours. Stir occasionally. You may choose to cook less than 4 hours. Serve with shredded cheese over rice. 

Don't skimp on making the seasoning. It truly is yummy. If you don't want to follow the link to make it, I have provided the recipe below.

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 tsp paprika

2/3 tsp garlic powder

1/3 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix and add to ground turkey as above.

We only have two more recipes in this series to cover. I hope you are not bored with Crock Pot Cooking yet. The beauty of these recipes is that you can make them all ahead and freeze up to a year. When you're in a hurry pull one out and it looks like you've put alot of work into something that took minutes on the day of eating.

Up next...Meat Stew and Bean Stew

Linda

ElliesAlley

I've started a new adventure. My Grandma Morris taught me and my sister to sew when we were 8. We made matching tops and scarves for our 4-H project. Got a blue ribbon by the way. Growing up my Grandma Mellinger would wear an apron everyday over her dress. Both Grandmothers loved to garden, freezing or canning what they grew. And, I consider both of them to be very crafty and creative. Which leads me to my new adventure. I've taken my love of sewing and memories of days gone by and created ElliesAlley. 

In my shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElliesAlley  you'll find Aprons and Home Decor. I also have a Facebook page www.facebook.com/ElliesAlley .

Please swing by both sites for the latest apron I've sewn or a new recipe and much more. You may not see new posts on the Lindaloo blog but don't worry. Follow me on Facebook, like my page and feel free to comment. The more you do the more you will see my posts in your feed. Or you can always search for ElliesAlley on Facebook. I'm hoping to reach new and old friends so feel free to share my Facebook posts!

Thanks for checking in on me. 

Linda

Etsy.com/shop/ElliesAlley

www.facebook.com/ElliesAlley