Pasties and other good freezer food recipes?

[Raiquee]

Hey guys,

My hubby is in love with pasties, and I'm looking for a good recipe. I want to make a bunch at a time, so I can freeze them off. Anyone got some intresting filling ideas? DH is used to ground meat, carrots, potatoes and thats it. I find these insanely dry, and would like something with a bit of a sauce in it. I was thinking of making beef stew, and using left overs (cut up smaller) and add a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce so we don't have an explosive mess. Any other ideas?

Also, any food freezer ideas like the pastie? I remember someone doing a quiche and freezing them. Wonder if they did it before cooking or after? I am going to try making "egg muffins" and popping those in the freezer too.

My school starts up soon and need something quick and easy for those nights! All your recipes will be appreciated!

 

[BettyR]

I don't know what a pastie is but I do like to make food ahead and put it in the freezer for those nights when I'm too tired or just don't feel like cooking.

I like to put a bunch of stuff on the grill like hamburger patties, chicken leg quarters, country style pork ribs, baby back ribs and so on. Then freeze them in single serving portions so you can grab one and pop it in the microwave along with a potatoe and keep a bag of salad in the frig.

You can also make up pulled pork and freeze it in single serving portions.

Chicken Tortilla Soup also freezes very well, so does Chicken and Dumplings.

 

[Opa]

We make dozens of pasties for the freezer and if you want a great pastie use ground venison and a little pork fat cut into the meat. Mix the meat with a little minced onion. The spoon equal amounts of meat, diced potatoes and diced rutabba. If you want a traditional Upper Peninsula you won't use carrots.

 

[peeplessinNC]

Have you ever made bierocks also called runzas? I think they are really good, especially with a slice of American cheese on top of the filling before sealing the bun dough.

Bierocks

"A German dish, these are sweet dinner rolls stuffed with ground beef, onion, and cabbage. A great alternative to the Finnish pasty!"

2 cups warm water
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups all-purpose flour


1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

sliced American cheese, each slice cut in half diagonally
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Prepare dough: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Mix in sugar, margarine, egg, salt and 1/2 of the flour. Beat until smooth; add remaining flour until dough pulls together. Place in oiled bowl. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, OR let it rise for 1 hour.
2. In a large heavy skillet, brown meat. Add onion, cabbage, salt and simmer 30 minutes. Cool until lukewarm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or cover the sheet with a piece of baking parchment paper.
3. Punch down dough and divide into 20 pieces. Spread each piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface and fill with approximately 2 tablespoons filling. fold dough over and seal edges. Place on prepared cookie sheet and let rise for 1 hour. [note: I make fewer and larger bierocks using about 1/4 cup of the meat filling]
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with butter and serve.

If you want to fill your freezer with made-ahead meals, just go take a look at what is in the frozen food section of your favorite store! If they have it there frozen, you can probably do it at home. I make Freezer Stash meatballs, tomato sauce, Italian meat sauce, hot dog chili, bags of cooked frozen brown rice, many kinds of soup, mini meat loaves, homemade breakfast sausage, and casseroles.

My rules for freezing that I follow:

~ ALWAYS double wrap or double bag to prevent freezer burn; use a heavy weight plastic freezer bag for the outer wrap when possible

~ do not freeze cooked rice or noodles/pasta covered by sauce, the exception being lasagna or baked ziti dishes; the rice or noodles can become mushy when frozen in sauce

~ do not freeze uncooked potatoes, ever!

~ do not freeze dishes with a lot of mayonnaise in them

~ do not refreeze uncooked meat; freeze meat uncooked or thaw the uncooked meat, cook it and then freeze the recipe, but do not thaw frozen raw meat and then refreeze it raw

~ some cheese can be frozen, even though the texture may change, if it is being melted on top of a dish or in the recipe the change in texture will not be a major factor.

Here is the Freezer Stash meatball recipe that I use. When ready to thaw and use, you can have meatballs and spaghetti sauce, meatball subs, sweet and sour meatballs, BBQ-ed meatballs, meatball soup, sliced meatballs on pizza, and other ways with meatballs.

Freezer Stash Meatballs
from Kim Tilley

3 lbs. lean ground beef
1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs
3 eggs
6 tablespoons minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix beef, crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Shape into 11/2-inch meatballs. (A miniature ice cream scoop makes fast work of shaping.)

Arrange in two 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pans. Bake in preheated oven until meat is browned, with no trace of pink and juices run clear, 10 to 13 minutes.

Drain, let cool to room temperature, divide into fourths and freeze each portion in vapor-moisture proof containers. (I use my FoodSaver). Each portion serves 2.

 

[Raiquee]

Thanks for the advice/recipes guys! I will give them a whirl!