Even though Boulder seems to be experiencing springtime temperatures, cold weather is, hopefully, just around the corner.
The semester is drawing to a close and before you know it, you’ll be overrun by finals. For these reasons, it’s is the perfect time of year to start investing a few hours of your weekends into cooking frozen foods. Freezer food is the best because it has all the ease of heating a TV dinner at a way cheaper price without all the icky preservatives. These recipes were picked because they make a ton of servings for little cost and freeze well.
The few simple ingredients that will help perfect your dish. (Andrew Tawil/CU Independent)
Crock-pot Taco Chicken Bowls
This recipe is great because it takes literally ten minutes of your time. Dump all these ingredients in a crock pot and you’re practically done! For the truly lazy, you can leave out the rice and wrap this delicious chicken/salsa/bean blend in a tortilla as a burrito. If you’re trying to stretch your dollar, take the extra twenty minutes to make the rice. Though the recipe supposedly makes ten servings, it realistically makes between six and eight. Freeze it in individual servings with cheese sprinkled on top.
The Best Lasagna. Ever.
It’s a pretty hefty claim but the Pioneer Woman, of both internet and Food Network fame, does not exaggerate how good this lasagna recipe is. This is the dummy version of lasagna, because it doesn’t include any hard-to-find or expensive ingredients, like fresh mozzarella. Make it even cheaper by buying all generic products – they really don’t change the taste, promise. This lasagna recipe makes anywhere from 12 to 18 servings, depending on what portion sizes you like. Refrigerate the whole tray before freezing, cut the pasta into portion-sized squares and freeze in plastic–ware. If you’re planning on keeping the lasagna for a long time, wrap the pieces in foil before storing them in containers.
Make-Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes
Twice-baked potatoes are nice to have in the freezer for a couple different uses. They make a nice light lunch by themselves or paired with a salad, or they’re a quick side dish when you’re craving a steak-and-potatoes kind of dinner. If you want something a little more exciting you can mix in chopped green onions, bacon bits or ham into the mashed potatoes. You can even top them with broccoli and cheese before freezing. Just like with the lasagna, wrap each portion individually with foil. You can freeze a lot of them together in a gallon freezer bag, and stack the bags on top of each other for more space-conscious storage.
And don’t forget—soups freeze well, too! All the recipes from the CUI’s autumn chili and soups article freeze perfectly.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sarah Elsea at Sarah.elsea@colorado.edu.
