Freezer Pasta Sauce // Freezer Meals 101

 

Best Ever Freezer Spaghetti Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. browned ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 green pepper, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2x 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 5 1/2 oz. can tomato paste
  • 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp. melted honey or sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. basil
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. thyme
  • dash pepper

Before assembling this freezer meal, brown the ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Chop the onion and green pepper. Mince the garlic.

To assemble this freezer meal, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into a large resealable freezer bag or put all the ingredients directly into the bag and then squish together. Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag of spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and thaw. Heat in a large pot on stovetop over medium until desired heat is achieved or cook in the crock pot on low for 2-4 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles or gluten free noodles, cooked according to package directions.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:

  • 1 lb. Italian sausage made into meatballs and cooked*
  • 3 cups salsa
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup diced green pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1-2 Tbsp. capers, drained
Instructions
Cooking the sausage:

  1. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.

  2. Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow them to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.

Freezer bag assembly:

  1. put the cooked sausage meatballs and all the other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag.

  2. Remove all the excess air you can and seal the bag before freezing.

Cooking instructions:

  1. On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw. 

  2. Heat in a large skillet until heated through. 

  3. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

  4. Sprinkle with Parmesan or Asiago cheese and red pepper flakes.

How do I make and cook the sausage meatballs?

*Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.

Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow it to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.


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