Freezer Meals 101

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Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce

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The holidays are such a busy time. Anything you can cross off your list by doing it ahead of time will take some of the stress out of things. This cranberry sauce can be made weeks or months ahead to serve at your holiday meal.

white bowl with red sauce on a blue and white tea towel. Text reads "Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce" #freezermeals101 #makeahead #christmasfreezermeals #cranberrysauce #makeaheadcranberrysauceNow you are of course welcome to just open up a can of cranberry sauce, but this is one side dish where you can taste the difference between store-bought and homemade. And it’s so worth the extra effort to make homemade cranberry sauce. 

Using just 4 ingredients, you can make your own cranberry sauce and freeze it until you’re ready to use it.

white bowl with red cranberry sauce, cranberries sprinkled nearbyThis freezes well for up to 3-6 months. Imagine making this one afternoon in late summer and knowing that you have one of your holiday side dishes already made and ready to go!

Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz. bag cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup apple cider

Assembly instructions:

  1. Add cranberries, sugar, water, and cider to a stovetop pot and heat on medium heat.
  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Continue stirring regularly until the cranberries fall apart and the mixture reduces to a thick, chunky sauce.
  4. Cool to room temperature.
  5. Pour into a medium-sized resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

collage of photos of the process of making cranberry sauceServing instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Transfer to a bowl and serve with your turkey, pork, ham, or chicken. 

Ways to use any leftover cranberry sauce:

  • Glaze meats.
  • Spread it on toast or bagels like jam.
  • Pour over cream cheese or brie and serve with crackers.
  • Heat up and pour over cakes.
  • Bake into fruit muffins.
  • Combine with bbq sauce over chicken wings.
  • Mix it into oatmeal.
  • Spread on the bread or a croissant for a delicious turkey and brie sandwich. 
  • Make these tasty cranberry-brie bites as an appetizer.

Check out these other make-ahead side dishes for your holiday meal:

white bowl with red cranberry sauce, cranberries sprinkled nearby
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Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cranberry sauce, holiday meal
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 124 kcal
Ingredients
  • 12 oz. bag cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
Instructions
Assembly instructions:

  1. Add cranberries, sugar, water, and cider to a stovetop pot and heat on medium.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Continue stirring regularly until the cranberries fall apart and the mixture reduces to a thick, chunky sauce.

  4. Cool to room temperature.

  5. Pour into a medium-sized resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Serving instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Transfer to a bowl and serve with your turkey, pork, ham, or chicken.

Saucy Sausage Pasta (Freezer Meal)

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When I first tried this recipe, I knew I had to find a way to create a make-ahead version of it. I worked on a few variations to come up with the best one and here it is. This saucy sausage pasta sauce has such fresh flavors. a black bowl is overflowing with noodles covered in a chunky red sauce with chunks of white cheese and herbs on top. The text reads "Saucy Sausage Pasta Sauce freezer meal" #freezermeals101 #pastasauce #makeaheadHaving this in my freezer makes it so easy to get supper on the table. I can just cook up whatever pasta I happen to have, heat up the sauce, and dinner is ready to go.

Saucy Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:

  • 500 g ground Italian or Chorizo sausage, browned
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 56 g sun-dried tomatoes
  • 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp. parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste

For serving:

  • 500 g linguine, penne, or other pasta
  • 200 g bocconcini cheese
  • fresh basil
  • optional: red pepper flakes

Assembly instructions:

  1. Brown the sausage. If it is in the casing, uncase it first.
  2. Place the browned sausage, minced garlic, chopped onion, sun-dried tomatoes, can of diced tomatoes, and seasonings in a large resealable freezer bag.
  3. Remove the excess air and seal. Freeze.collage of saucy sausage pasta sauce on penne and spaghetti

Cooking instructions:

  1. Remove the bag from the freezer to thaw.
  2. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse under hot water.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the sauce over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
  4. Serve the sauce on top of the pasta. Top with fresh bocconcini cheese, torn into bite-sized pieces, and fresh basil. I like to sprinkle mine with red pepper flakes as well.

Check out some of our other make-ahead pasta sauces:

Chicken in a Mango Cream Sauceclose up of chicken with mango cream cause in a bowl over spaghetti

The Best Freezer Spaghetti Sauceclose up of best ever freezer meal spaghetti sauce on pasta

Spicy Italian Sausage Sauceclose up of spicy Italian sausage sauce on spaghetti

Print
Saucy Sausage Pasta Sauce
Course: Main Course
Keyword: freezer meal, pasta, sausage
Servings: 4
Calories: 456 kcal
Ingredients
  • 500 g ground Italian or Chorizo sausage browned
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 an onion chopped
  • 56 g sun-dried tomatoes
  • 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp. parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
  • 500 g linguine penne, or other pasta
  • 200 g bocconcini cheese
  • fresh basil
  • optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Brown the sausage. If it is in the casing, uncase it first.

  2. Place the browned sausage, minced garlic, chopped onion, sun-dried tomatoes, can of diced tomatoes, and seasonings in a large resealable freezer bag.

  3. Remove the excess air and seal. Freeze.
Cooking instructions:
  1. Remove the bag from the freezer to thaw.

  2. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse under hot water.

  3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the sauce over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

  4. Serve the sauce on top of the pasta. Top with fresh bocconcini cheese, torn into bite-sized pieces, and fresh basil. I like to sprinkle mine with red pepper flakes as well.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

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In the mood for hearty, rich, comfort food? This Italian sausage pasta sauce fits the bill. It has a delicious blend of flavors and you can easily adjust the spice level according to your tastes.Make Ahead Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce #freezermeals101 #freezercooking #pastarecipes #easyrecipes This recipe is one that we invented after I accidentally miscalculated the amount of sausage for a freezer meal session. I bought double what I should have, so I had to come up with recipes to use the extra meat.

One of the recipes I came up with was a simple Sausage and Peppers Skillet Freezer Meal. Another was an Italian Wedding Soup. I still had sausage left after making a few bags of those, so I came up with this sauce.

It was so good that it has gone into our regular freezer meal rotation. The second time we made it, we experimented with throwing some capers into the sauce. Amazing! I only thought of it because we had extra capers leftover from another freezer meal we had made, but it was the perfect addition.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:

  • 1 lb. Italian sausage made into meatballs and cooked*
  • 3 cups salsa
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup diced green pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1-2 Tbsp. capers, drained

Depending on your family’s preference, you can use mild or spicy sausage. We prefer the spicy variety! You can also adjust the spice level of this recipe by using mild, medium, or spicy salsa.

If you’re unsure about the capers, you can try making it without them and adding them to individual plates for those who like them. I was a bit nervous about how they would go over the first time I added them, but my family loved them. They give just the right amount of tang and saltiness to bring this sauce to the next level.

To put this meal together, put the cooked sausage meatballs (see instructions below) and all the other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove all the excess air you can and seal the bag before freezing.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw and heat in a large skillet until heated through. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

I also like to sprinkle with Parmesan or Asiago cheese and red pepper flakes. A simple salad and some garlic bread would round out this meal nicely.

 

Print
Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta sauce, sausage
Servings: 6
Calories: 322 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 lb Italian sausage made into meatballs and cooked
  • 3 cups salsa
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup diced green pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1-2 Tbsp capers drained
Instructions
Cooking the sausage:

  1. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.

  2. Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow them to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.

Freezer bag assembly:

  1. put the cooked sausage meatballs and all the other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag.

  2. Remove all the excess air you can and seal the bag before freezing.

Cooking instructions:

  1. On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw. 

  2. Heat in a large skillet until heated through. 

  3. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

  4. Sprinkle with Parmesan or Asiago cheese and red pepper flakes.

How do I make and cook the sausage meatballs?

*Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.

Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow it to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.

You may also like these great freezer cooking recipes:

Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

sliced French bread, bowl of grated white cheese, plate of spaghetti, and board with chopped herbs 

Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff

close up of beef stroganoff with noodles