Freezer Cooking Recipes: Tater Tot Casserole and Orange Glazed Carrots

I hesitated to do the freezer cooking thing.

There was a dear relative we used to visit when I was a child who, bless her heart, did freezer cooking. Every time we visited, she would pull a thing of creamed corn out, heat, and serve it.

For some reason, it never tasted right. She could make a thousand other dishes, and they were all delicious... homemade waffles and syrup, roasts, casseroles, veggies, desserts. Everything was YUM-O!

But that corn.

Ugh!

So for that reason I've always thought freshly cooked... Mmmm.

Frozen... ICKY!

I decided to give it a try anyway and have been happy with the results. Now that I know these dishes do indeed freeze well, I will share my recipes. The first dish I made for the freezer was Tater Tot Casserole.

1. Brown 2 lbs extra lean ground beef. As it cooks, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder (I don't measure but just give it a light coating), and minced onions (don't measure these either- a couple of shakes worth).


2. When beef is cooked thoroughly, add 2 cans of cream of celery soup. I use the 99% fat free soup. Stir until beef and soup combine.


3. Place beef mixture in a 9 x 13 foil baking pan.


4. Arrange 1 bag of tater rounds (or tater tots- I like the rounds better) on top of the beef mixture.


5. When cool, cover with press and seal paper and aluminum foil. Place in freezer.


6. On the night you want to serve it, preheat oven to 350 and bake the casserole for 40 minutes.


7. Remove from oven and cover with shredded cheese. I have used Monterrey jack, cheddar, a blend of the two, and pepper jack. Return to oven until cheese melts.

I found the carrot recipe here. I followed the recipe as is and let the carrots cool. Then I placed them in freezable containers, covered with press and seal, and placed the lid on the container.

I bought the bread at Kroger, ready to bake. It is called "Wholesome Harvest Fruit n Nut Wholegrain Bread". I found it in their bakery for $1.25 per loaf.

Next time I will share my Chicken Pot Pie and roasted sweet potato recipes.

Happy Cooking!

Dawn