Great idea! I'm really getting ramped up to cook and freeze before DD2 comes! DH and I started shopping for a chest freezer today!
I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, so these these recipes are all meatless, but you could easily sub or add meat if you want. Also, many of the recipes are vegan or could easily be converted to vegan. These are all regular favorites at our house, and we freeze them all the time, so I know they turn out well defrosted.
HEARTY 13 BEAN SOUP
Very hearty and thick and bold-flavored. Great with salad and/or a loaf of decent bread.
1.5 pounds 13 dry bean soup mix (or some similar dry bean soup mix)
2 medium potatoes, diced
4 large carrots, sliced
1 medium bunch celery, sliced
2 med-lg yellow onions, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, sliced
2 14.5oz cans undrained diced tomatoes
6-8 cups vegetable stock/broth
olive oil for cooking veggies
2 lg bay leaves
heavy dash oregano & basil
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onions for 3-5 minutes until soft but not brown. Add garlic, bay leaves, and spices, cook 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add beans. Cover and turn down to a simmer.
Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occassionally. When beans are edible but still a bit crunchy, add the carrot, celery, and potatoes and stir.
If too much liquid has boiled off, feel free to add more stock or water. Bring back to a simmer and let simmer covred, stirring occassionally, for another 30 minutes until potatoes are getting tender.
Add kale and tomatoes. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes covered, until the kale is wilted.
Taste and season to taste with salt and pepper.
VEGGIE ENCHILADAS
This is the vegetarianized version of the enchiladas my Mexican-American roommates in Texas used to make. You have two options here--the legitimate, traditional rolled style, or the super-quick (also lighter but not as yummy) casserole style.
pkg. corn tortillas
1 can black beans
1 can corn or 1 c. frozen corn
1 onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
leafy green of your choice (kale, chard, etc) diced
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (or soy cheese)
16 oz can enchilada sace (you can buy this mild or hot)
garlic to taste
oregano, cilantro, and cumin to taste
Preheat oven to 350F.
Heat vegetable oil in large skillet.
Saute onion and garlic until tender
Add beans, corn, zucc, squash, and spices, cook until tender, add leafy greens and cook until wilted.
If doing casserole-style:
Mix enchilada sauce in with veggies and heat through.
Place 1 layer of tortillas in bottom of 9x11 pan.
Spoon layer of sauce/veggie mixture on top.
Sprinke layer of cheese on top.
Repeat until out of ingredients.
Cover in foil and bake 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.
If doing traditional-style:
Heat a thick layer of oil in a small saute pan.
Put one tortilla at a time into pan, only for a few seconds until softened. Remove with tongs and let drip. Immediately immerse in a bowl of enchilada sauce.
Remove from sauce and place in 9x13 pan. Place a line of veggie filling down center of tortilla and sprinkle in a little cheese.
Repeat until pan is filled with lined-up wrapped tortillas. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Middle-Eastern Chick Peas and Macaroni
Super simple and suprisingly tasty!
12 oz. macaroni twists or elbow macaroni
1 TB olive oil
1 TB butter (or another TB olive oil)
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed in press
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground corriander
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can chick peas
1/4 chopped fresh parsley
Cook pasta as directed.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, allspice, and pepper; cook 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and chick peas to skillet; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to med-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Drain pasta; return to pot. Toss bean mixture in with pasta, heat through. Toss with parsley just before serving.
MOROCCAN-SPICED SWEET POTATO MEDLEY
A spicy mix of veggies cooked with bulgur and sweetened with dark raisins. For DD, I alter the recipe a bit and add the cayenne after the meal has finished cooking--I remover her portion and then stir in the cayenne for DH and I! You can make it with or without the cayenne--its yummy either way!
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed with press
1 1/2 tsp ground corriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-14 1/2 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
2 1/4 c. water
1 can chick peas
1/2 cup dark seedless raisins
1 c. chopped fresh cilantro
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender and golder, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Aff the potatoes, tomatoes, bulgur, and water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to med-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in beans, raisins, and cilantro; heat through.
POLENTA WITH SPICY EGGPLANT SAUCE
Yummy and simple!
1 TB olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 small eggpants (about 1 pound each), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, crushed in press
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. dry polenta
Parmesan cheese and italian seasoning to taste
Cook polenta according to package directions. When finished, whisk in parmesan cheese and italian seasoning to taste.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to med-high; add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, salt, and 1/2c. water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
Spoon polenta into dish, top with eggplant sauce. Sprinke with additional parmesan cheese to taste.
TEMEPH DIVAN
I always loved turkey divan before I went veg--this is the vegetarian version I came up with. If you're not veg you can of course use turkey or chicken instead. This is also a lighter version--I use a can of evaporated milk fo rthe sauce instead of the traditional heavy cream.
2-10oz packages frozen broccoli
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c. veggie (or chicken) broth
1/2 c. dry white wine
1c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 package tempeh (or 3/4 pound leftover poultry), cubed
1 c. brown rice
Cook brown rice.
Fry up tempeh in an oiled pan with a little garlic salt, set aside.
Cook broccoli according to package directions.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and wine. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stri in 1.2 c. cheese and evaporated milk.
In a 9x11 baking dish, spoon in rice, then broccolli, then tempeh, then sauce. Top with remaining 1/2 c. cheese.
Set oven control to broil. Broil with top 3-5 inches from heat, about 3 minutes until cheese is bubbly and light brown.
) freezable meal recipes, then we'd all be able to have a good starting point. Also, you could make note if the meals are vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free, etc... or if anyone is looking for something specific, they could post that too.
:
