Kids Top Five

Planning menus are fun, I love combining family favorites and trying new recipes! After several freezer meal sessions, these are what the kids consider the "Top Five Dinners".

1. Beef Burritos
2. Mini Meatloaves
3. Tatertot Casserole
4. Roast Turkey/Mashed Potatoes
5. Baked Chicken Strips

Let me just say, that these are not just favorites of the kids, we love them too! Recipes and pairing ideas below.

Beef Burritos

1 ½ lb ground beef
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning
1 Jar Salsa
1 Bag Taco Rice
2 Cups Mexican Cheese
1 Pkg Burrito shells

Brown ground beef, drain excess grease. Add in taco seasoning as directed on package. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add in salsa and stir thouroughly.

Prepare Taco Rice as directed on package. Our favorite is Knorr Mexican Rice or Knorr Taco Rice.

Assemble burritos by filling burrito shells with rice, meat, cheese. Fold in sides of the burrito shell and roll burrito from bottom to top to close. Wrap in foil. Place in Gallon sized freezer bag. Place in freezer.

Makes 10 Burritos. Reheat by removing foil. Wrap in damp paper towel or place a cup of water in the microwave while cooking the burritos. Microwave for 5 minutes.

Serve with corn, side salad, fruit, chips & salsa, etc.! Perfect to transport for lunches too!

Mini Meatloaves

3lbs Ground Beef                 Sauce

1 Egg                                      1 1/2 C. Ketchup

½ Cup Milk                          1/4 C. Mustard

Garlic Powder                      1/4 C. Brown Sugar

Salt/Pepper

Ital bread crumbs

Mix egg and milk, pour over meat. Mix in garlic, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Make into six mini loaves. Wrap individually in wax paper. Place in gallon size freezer bags. 

Sauce preparation: Mix together Ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Microwave for 1 minute. Let cool. Place in Quart size freezer bag, and place inside bag with mini meatloaves.

Makes 6 mini meat loaves.  

To Bake: Defrost meatloaves. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Place mini meatloaves (quantity desired) into baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes (or until center is fully cooked). Pour meatloaf sauce over the top of the loaves for the last 15 minutes of cook time.

Serve with side veggie of your choice, potato of your choice. 

Tater-Tot Casserole

1 Bag Tatertots

1 lb. Ground Beef

1/2 Bag Frozen Peas (opt)

1 Can Cream Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Sour Cream

½ Bag Shredded Sharp Cheddar

  
Brown Ground Beef, drain grease and set aside. Mix together cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and peas. In a 9x12 pan, layer in the following order: meat, soup mixture, tatertots, shredded cheese. Distribute ingredients evenly. Freeze!

To Bake: defrost and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. 

Serve with side veggie of your choice
 
Roast Turkey/Mashed Potatoes

How you do this depends on what you buy-turkey wise. I purchased a 6.5lb Turkey Breast and baked it in a roaster pan at 375 degrees until the meat was falling off the bone. This was probably about 5 hours but I was in the midst of freezer meal cooking so I'll estimate it was about 5 hours.  I seasoned the turkey only with a little salt and pepper. This particular session was with 3 families so we each got a little over 2lbs of turkey meat in our pans to take home. 

2lbs Roasted Turkey Breast
Mashed Potatoes (prepared as you like)

Place side by side in a 8x8 pan. Cover with foil, freeze. 

To reheat: defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Place in oven at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. 

Serve with side veggie of your choice.

Baked Chicken Strips

3lbs Boneless Chicken Breasts, Sliced
1 1/2 C. Ranch Dressing
Italian bread crumbs (place in gallon size ziploc bag)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice chicken as desired (we did bite size pieces). Coat with ranch dressing and toss in bread crumbs.  Bake for 30 minutes. Cool. Place in gallon size Ziploc bag. 

To reheat: Place frozen chicken on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with side veggie of your choice, or make sandwich out of them!