Steph's Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti night is a favorite in many households including ours. This recipe is my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. I've been making it this way for years. I add lots of veggies to my sauce because I like the flavor it gives the sauce, it makes it pretty with all the different colors, and it makes it healthier. If you have a favorite family sauce, make it in a large quantity and freeze it. I've had several friends ask me how I make my sauce, so here it is...

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
2 bell peppers, any color, diced
2 pounds sliced mushrooms
2 large carrots, diced very small
2 yellow onions, diced
4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
2 - 3 zucchini, diced small
2 - 3 yellow squash, diced small
2 large (66 oz.) jars of traditional spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons butter
Italian seasoning, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

  

Directions

1. Write on 4 two gallon bags: Steph's Spaghetti Sauce, the date, and the following instructions: Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or heat on the stove until veggies are cooked. (You could easily leave this on low in your slow cooker for longer)
2. Over medium-high heat, saute mushrooms in butter in a saucepan on the stove. I do this in one pound portions - mostly because of Julie Child and the movie Julie & Julia: "Don't crowd the mushrooms!" Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside to cool.
3. Brown meat with onion, garlic and seasonings. I also do this in one pound portions. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside to cool.
4. Dice vegetables and distribute between the bags. 
5. Distribute sauce between the bags.
6. Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer.

Serving Ideas

• Serve sauce over your pasta of choice. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese
• Use it to make lasagna, baked ziti or serve over raviolis
• Make Million Dollar Spaghetti - It's so good!
• Use leftover sauce to make a sort of minestrone soup. What? Yes! Add chicken broth or water, green beans, white beans and small pasta - Boom! You've got soup!

Usually I will serve the sauce over pasta the first night and use the leftover sauce to make Million Dollar Spaghetti or our version of minestrone soup. I'm not good at eating leftovers, so I always try to reinvent them into something else.

Savory Pepper Steak

I found this recipe on Pinterest, which lead me to the Six Cents blog. I went ahead and cooked the steak before freezing it, but the original recipe did not require that. My round steak was frozen so I had to unfreeze it in order to cut it into strips. My Mom said that once a meat is thawed it should not be refrozen without being cooked. Why? I don't know. I didn't question my mom on this. She's a great cook and a smart lady. Her word is good enough for me.

By the time I remembered to take a picture of our dinner plates, it had already been gobbled up, so I ran out to my freezer to take a pic of the second bag. Not real pretty, but trust me, this meal is real tasty. We all loved it! My toddler son ate all of his and several bites from my husband and I's plates. He made yum sounds and clapped his hands. My husband loved it too. This is a real winner and I'll certainly be making it again.

Ingredients

3 pounds of round steak cut into ½ inch thick strips.

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Joe's Stuff  or your favorite seasoning

1 large onion chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2  16oz cans of Italian diced tomatoes

2 tbsp beef bouillon

4 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons ofsteak seasoning

2 tablespoons of steak sauce

Cooked rice, for serving

Directions

1. Write on 2 gallon freezer bags: Savory Pepper Steak, the date and the following instructions: Cook on low 4 hours if beef is already cooked or on low for 8 hours if it is uncooked. Serve over rice.
2. Toss steak strips in mixture of flour, Joe's Stuff/your seasoning, and salt and pepper.  (At this point I cooked the steak strips in a skillet with olive oil. Then set it aside to cool before putting it in the bags)
3. Mix together beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce and divide evenly into two bags.  
4.  Add remaining ingredients between the two bags.
5. Press the air put of the bags and seal them shut. Lay flat in the freezer.

Sloppy Joe's

I love Sloppy Joe's. I just do. I love this recipe too, not only because it's delicious, but because it saves me on the days when I forget to throw something in the slow cooker. The beauty of this recipe is that you can warm it on the stove or in your slow cooker. The original recipe is courtesy of Pillsbury. I added a bottle of chili sauce to the Pillsbury recipe because it wasn't saucy/sloppy enough for our taste. 

Ingredients

3 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 (12-oz.) bottle chili sauce

1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste

2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon pepper

16 sandwich buns, split

Directions

1. Write on 2 gallon sized freezer bags: Sloppy Joe's, the date, and the following instructions: Cook in slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours or warm through in a saucepan on the stove over low heat. Serve on split buns with a side of corn on the cob or other veg of choice.
2. In large skillet, cook ground beef, onions,celery and bell pepper over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Cool. 
3. Add all ingredients except buns to freezer bags. (Sometimes I freeze buns so I don't have to run to the store and have them on hand the day I make these)  
4. Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in the freezer. 

Taco Soup

My Dad called today looking for a taco soup recipe. Did I have one? Of course! He wanted to know if it was easy and good. I said, "Dad, it's Paula Deen's". Enough said.

This recipe is the very first thing I made as a married woman that tasted really good. Her original recipe calls for olives, but my husband hates olives, so we don't use them. It makes a ton so it's a perfect recipe to half into two freezer meals.

Image and original recipe courtesy of Paula Deen and Food Network

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onion
2 (15.5 oz.) cans pinto beans
1 (15.5 oz.) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can tomatoes with chilies
2 (4.5 oz.) cans diced green chilies
1 (1 1/4 oz.) package taco seasoning
1 (1 oz.) package ranch salad dressing mix
Serve with: Corn chips, sour cream and shredded cheese

Directions

1. Write on two gallon freezer bags: Taco Soup, the date, and the following instructions: Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with chips, sour cream and shredded cheese.
2. Brown meat and cook onions in a skillet, set aside to cool.
3. Divide canned goods, meat and seasoning packets between the two bags.
4. Press the air of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer.