Ok I have another super easy and good freezer meal for you! Remember this post from my sister Erin? Well, she inspired me to get back to freezing meals for my family. I used to do that a lot, but I had fallen out of the habit. I have since been filling up my freezer with a variety of muffins for quick a breakfast, pizza dough rounds all ready for toppings, twice baked potatoes to go with flank steak that I froze in the marinade, cookies for lunches and various other meals. It feels so good to feed my family homemade goodness instead of fast food when we are short on time. Freezer meals are a life saver for me. And this is one of my favorites! Spinach stuffed shells are extremely simple but so tasty! My family loves them, they come together fast and freeze beautifully. What is your favorite freezer meal??
( Don't ask me why I have two different dates on my dishes even though they were made at the same time--oops:)Spinach Stuffed Shells
submitted by Melanie (recipe from friend Lisa)
Printable recipe here
1 pkg jumbo pasta shells
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 lg carton cottage cheese
1 egg white
Thaw spinach and drain well. Cook shells according to package directions (I always slightly undercook them by a minute). Mix in a large bowl;cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, spinach and egg white. stuff mixtre into shells and place in 9x13 baking dish (I usually use 2 smaller sized ones because my family does not eat a whole 9x13 for dinner). I spray the baking dish with cooking spray and pour a little bit of sauce in the bottom. Stuff mixture into shells and place into prepared dish (or dishes). Pour spaghetti sauce over shells. Cover and freeze or you can back it immediatly at 350 for 30-45minutes until heated thru. If you freeze it plan on adding an additional hour to your baking time. I love freezing this meal, but it is also a great recipe to make earlier in the day and keep in the fridge. Then all you have to do it throw it in the oven for dinner.
Looks good! What type of dish/pan do you use to freeze your meals? I have tried the aluminum disposable ones from the grocery but wondering if there is a better way.
ReplyDeleteI really like spinach, so I like these a lot. However, my husband is not a fan of all the spinach. So last time I made these, I added some sausage... a HIT! So if you want to try something a little different, you have another option. :)
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
ReplyDeleteI like the glass pyrex dishes that come with a plastic lid. I usually put a piece of tin foil over top the filled glass dish and then snap on the plastic lid. I take of the plastic before baking it, of course and just use the tin foil. I do love the plastic lids to store the leftovers in the fridge. I really like the glass dishes they are freezer, oven and dishwasher safe. I like that they are sturdy, can be used for years and come with plastic lid. You can get them at Target or Walmart.
Mindy
Great idea! You can also use less of the spinach if your family is not a fan of the green vegetable!
This was one of the first recipes I tried from your site and now I'm hooked! I love how these have so much flavor, and honestly I don't even think you can taste the spinach with everything else going on it it!
ReplyDeleteMy family doesn't like ricotta as much, so I just use cottage cheese and it still tastes yum-o!
Thanks for all your great recipes. It's nice that I can trust everything I find on here to be great!
If frozen how long do you bake it for?
ReplyDeleteMade this tonight for dinner. My husband and my 3 1/2 year old loved it! I'll definitely be making this again. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWould you mind defining oz. on the cottage cheese? And spinach? With SAMs club, big can mean BIG. Thx!
ReplyDeleteI use 24 oz of cottage cheese and 10 oz of spinach
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering, if I cover the pan with foil and freeze, do I bake covered most of the time and some uncovered? Or leave covered to bake the entire time?
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