The Classic Rigatoni

I cannot claim personal credit for this recipe. It is an old family favorite. I'm mainly putting this up for a friend who wants some freezer meal ideas. This one is great--always a crowd pleaser, very quick and easy to make, and equally easy to make a double or even triple batch as a single--an important quality in a freezer meal, because I can make a huge batch on a normal day and put away a meal or two for later.

The Classic Rigatoni

1 pound rigatoni pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 can *cheddar cheese soup
1 can tomato sauce
2 TBSP Italian Seasoning
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (if freezing, 3 cups, separated)

1) Cook pasta according to package directions in boiling water. NOTE: if freezing, undercook your pasta by about 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure it is on the firm side of al dente.
2) In a large skillet or saucepan, brown the ground beef.
3) Drain excess liquid from the ground beef and add all remaining ingredients. NOTE: if freezing, set aside the extra cup of cheese for the topping.
4) Mix cooked pasta with the sauce and serve!
5) IF FREEZING: line a 13x9 pan with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Pour in Rigatoni. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Freeze until solid. Remove foil pouch from pan and store for long- term. To use: return foil pouch to 13x9 pan and thaw for 1-2 hours on counter. Then cook at 350 until hot and bubbly all the way through. Depending on how thawed the casserole was, this could take any where from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Enjoy! Serves 6-8 people (big batch... but yummy leftovers.)

*Cheddar cheese soup is in the pasta aisle. If you don't want to use it, you can do this: once the beef is browned, push it to one side of the pan or set aside on a plate. Place 4 TBSP of butter in the pan and let melt. Whisk in 4 TBSP of flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking away any lumps. Then whisk in 2 cups of milk. Bring to a boil to thicken. Add other ingredients as normal, but add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese.

Notes: You can also make this recipe with ground turkey or chicken, or even chicken cubes. To up the veggie content I've also added chopped onion or grated carrots--both are super yummy! Just add the vegetables with the ground beef at the beginning so they can cook a bit.

Smoothies: the breakfast and dessert King

I adore making smoothies! They are so delicious, nutritious, and one of the first things I ever got really creative with. With lots of fruit, yogurt, and very little sugar, how can you go wrong? If you are a beginner in the kitchen--or even an expert--making smoothies is a very low-risk way of learning how flavors go together. There's no heat or chopping required--just a good blender.

Super Smoothies

2 cups frozen fruit
1 (6 oz) container yogurt (my favorite is Yoplait Key Lime)
1/2-1 cup of milk, depending on preferred thickness (or if you get really excited, coconut milk)
2 tablespoons sugar or honey (depending on sweetness, I usually taste before adding sugar)

Put all ingredients into a high-powered blender and blend! You might have to pulse a few times until the fruit is broken up. Let whir on high for about 30 seconds to make sure the smoothie is really smooth. Sip slowly to prevent a headache.

Okay, you might have noticed the "frozen fruit." This is the exciting part: it can be any kind of fruit you like! Here's my most successful smoothie fruits:

bananas
raspberries
strawberries
blueberries
peaches
pears

The fruit doesn't necessarily need to be frozen. But by freezing the fruit, the smoothie ends up really really thick and cold, without needing any ice. Ice can make your smoothie watery, which I really don't like. If you're freezing fresh fruit for smoothies, peel them, core them, make sure it's washed. Cut into 1" cubes or so, lay out on a tray lined with wax paper, and freeze. When frozen solid, transfer fruit into bags marked with the date and what it is (you can even portion out your 'smoothie mix') and store back in the freezer for the long haul.

Note--you can make the smoothies even healthier by adding a tablespoon or two of ground flax-seed or other types of protein powder. Some people like to put a handful of spinach leaves in theirs. I've made mine with cucumber in it as part of the fruit, with great success (I didn't freeze the cucumber). Really people, the sky is the limit!

Cooking Basics: The Freezer

Having a freezer is pretty common place in the United States. They're typically attached right to our refrigerator. Some of us are fortunate enough to own a larger freezer too. But are you taking yours to full advantage?

Keeping frozen juice, peas, and ice cubes isn't all a freezer can do. If you plan appropriately, it can be a staple to your food storage and keep you away from the grocery store (or fast food) every other day. Here's a few tips:

-Store a few entrees you have prepared, big enough to feed your family. On this blog I have put a few meals that freeze very well, and will continue to put more.
-Keep a variety of frozen vegetables and fruits. Frozen are much healthier than canned, and tastier too. You can either buy when the fruits and vegetables are in season and on sale and freeze yourself, or you can do what I do and buy pre-frozen.
-Meats, when properly wrapped and marked, freeze very well too. I save money when I buy ground beef and ground turkey on sale, in large bulk (5 pounds ore more). I portion it into meal-sized portions, wrap and mark, and freeze for later. It will last several months in my freezer. Same goes for roasts and turkeys--wait for those really good prices and take advantage!
-Cookie dough freezes fabulously! Have you ever made a batch of cookies that winds up with six dozen cookies and two people to eat them? If you freeze them in dough balls on a tray, then transfer to zip-lock bags in quantities of a dozen, you can cook off a few at a time and enjoy them over the course of a month or two. Plus, frozen dough balls make a great gift.

Remember to keep a list on the side of the fridge or freezer of what is in there, and cross it off when you use it. You really don't want to forget that you put in beautiful thick-cut pork chops that were $.99/lb , and find them three years later with two inches of frostbite on the outside. So sad. :(

Keep an eye out for all kinds of freezer meals and ideas, coming soon to a-dash-of-Lisa near you!

Shepherd's Pie, my way

This may not be as fast as the ground beef-green beans-tomato soup-mashed potatoes combo, but man, is it good! Good news: just like the last recipe, it can also be frozen in individual meal sizes and just heated up the night you want it.

Super Delicious Shepherd's Pie
mashed potatoes:
6 potatoes
4 tbsp butter
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

beef filling:
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion (1 half big)
2 carrots, grated
1 cup frozen peas
1 can tomato soup
1 tsp dry rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

1) Peel, dice, and boil potatoes until soft.
2) Brown the ground beef mixed with the chopped onion and grated carrots. Cook until beef is all brown and onions and carrots are soft.
3) drain any excess fat from the ground beef, then add the tomato soup, peas, and seasonings. Warm thoroughly.
4) When potatoes are soft, drain and add in the other mashed potato ingredients (butter, cream cheese, milk, seasonings). Mash with a masher or a hand mixer until nice and fluffy.
5) Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray (if freezing, line with foil first). Pour the beef filling on the bottom, then top with the mashed potatoes. Cover with cheddar cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, just long enough to melt cheese and crisp the top. Enjoy! (if freezing, don't bake, just put straight in the freezer. When solid, remove from the pan and store it just in the foil until ready to use. The day of eating it, put it back in the pan, thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, and then bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.)

Chicken Cordon-Blue Casserole

This isn't quite as gourmet as my normal posts on here, but it was really tasty, really easy, and really fast. And, it can be easily frozen in its raw state and saved for some other day.

Chicken Cordon-Blue Casserole

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders or chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 pound ham (ham steaks, ham slices, deli cut...however you've got it)
1/4 pound sliced swiss cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp italian seasoning or dry basil leaves
1 roll ritz crackers
4 tbsp butter

1) Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
2) place chicken cubes in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3) layer in the ham and the swiss cheese.
4) mix together the mayonnaise, the sour cream, garlic, and Italian Seasoning. Pour over the Swiss cheese.
5) Crunch up the ritz crackers and sprinkle on top. Dot with small slices of butter.
6) bake casserole at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, until bubbly and crunchy on top and chicken is cooked through.

Can be served with rice or baked potatoes, or plain.

*Note: if you want to freeze this casserole, line a 13x9 pan with heavy duty (hole-free) aluminum foil. Spray the inside of the foil and make the casserole according to directions, but instead of baking, put in the freezer. Once it is frozen solid, pop it out of the pan and wrap again with foil or plastic wrap. At baking time, put the casserole in its foil back in the pan you froze it in. Bake an extra 10-20 minutes if it was frozen when it went in the oven. Most casseroles can be frozen using this method--a great idea if you want to get ahead on your cooking or make a dinner for a friend.