I'm trying to stay ahead of the hunger of my growing family, but it is getting to be more and more work. Some days it feels like I've spent over half the day in the kitchen and they still come around after dinner saying, "I'm hungry!" While I don't do a lot of freezer cooking, I do like to have meal components (cooked beans, browned meat, grilled and shredded chicken, etc.) and burritos at the ready. Unlike frozen casseroles, you can easily decide how many servings to pull out for baking on the day you need them and they don't take 2+ hours to cook. And they're really handy for my husband to grab to take for lunch at work if we don't have leftovers from the previous night or to take as freezer meals to families in need. I usually freeze them in packages of 5 or 6 burritos (1 meal for our family) and reuse the zip bags from the tortillas. Sometimes I wrap the bunch in foil and then place the foil packet inside the zipper bag so when I bake them I can toss the whole foil packet in the oven which keeps the tortillas softer. I don't use a recipe, but do include some or all of the following on any given batch based on what I have around and what needs to be used.
- ground beef
- taco seasoning
- bell peppers
- Rotel
- corn
- brown rice
- salsa
- cheese
- black or pinto beans
For variation, I'm going to try a meal of these baked in a pan and smothered with enchilada sauce. Here is an enchilada sauce recipe we like.
It only takes a bit more time to make 4-5 meals vs. 1 meal and I save a lot of time on the clean up. And then when I've had a crazy day with other needs, these are a snap to pop in the oven with almost no effort.
What are your favorite meals to prepare ahead?
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