Freezer Foods for Fisch

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef (use soy crumbles in place of part of this if you’re going to use them)
1 pound Italian pork sausage (as spicy as you like)
1.5 cups bread crumbs (I use the progresso seasoned ones)
1-1.5 cups parmesan
1-2 eggs (just so that it clumps nicely)
Basil, oregano, thyme, etc to your taste
Crushed garlic (3-5 cloves depending on strength)
Course salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste

Roll into balls, pan sear and then bake in oven for an hour at about 375. Or pan sear then freeze. Or place in stock pot and slow cook in sauce.

If you make really big meatballs, you can slice them for meatball sandwiches, which is awesome. Or you can use the slices in lasagna, which is fabulous, too.


Ham and bean soup

Soak beans overnight and drain (I usually use one small bag)
Add stock to cover (tell me if you don’t make your own stock, it’s so easy and SOOOOOOOO much better). I use chicken or veggie, but beef or tomato would work, too.
Add a couple of smoked ham hocks
Add onions, celery and garlic that have been sautéed until soft in olive oil
Cut pork steak into small (bite sized) chunks and add to soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Red beans and rice is pretty much the same as ham and beans. You cook the red beans like the beans above, but use some more spice (Tony's Chachere's) and take it up a notch. Also, the guys like andouille sausage in it, but I prefer without. So, I just add that on each serving as I dish it out.

Chicken soup is a cake walk, I know you can make that. Add any old thing to some good chicken stock and all is well. Dumplings and noodles can be added after you thaw it to use.

Things like chicken cordon bleu can be assembled ahead of time and frozen, too. Chicken cordon bleu is pounded chicken breast with a piece of ham and swiss cheese inside. Then you roll it, dip it in flour then egg then a bread crumb/parmessan crusting. After that you pan sear and then bake. It can be frozen cooked or raw. It's good either way.

Other than that, my dear, there are all types of soups, etc that you can freeze. I had the most amazing soup up in San Fran last month. Chicken stock, dungenous crab, cilantro, green onion, water chestnuts... wowsers! I bet you could freeze that, too!

I have a few ready-made things that I buy as entrees and pair with fresh veggies or a salad for a quick meal, too. Schwan's has a few fish entrees that are really nice. Also, I really like stuffed shells and things like that from the freezer section. Oh, one other thing that I put together and freeze for a quick meal is stir fry. When I am making it for our dinner one night, I chop twice as much and freeze half. This way I can just toss it in the wok and go to town on a night where I have no time.

If I think of more, I will put them on here, too.