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To freeze the meals, you can use freezer bags.  You can also use Tupperware containers made for freezing that allow you to pop the frozen ingredients out and directly into the baking dish.  You can also line a baking dish with heavy foil, layer the casserole and then freeze.  When frozen you turn the container over and out comes the rectangle of food.  You then re-wrap in more foil, label and put back into the freezer.  You want to put it into the baking dish the day you take it out of the freezer before it defrosts.  With this method you can continue to use the baking dish for other recipes while the prepared meal stays in the freezer.

When it actually comes to the cooking, the first task is to seperate the ground meat that will be assembled fresh from the quantity that will be browned.  You will need fresh ground beef to make meatballs, hamburgers, foil dinners and meatloaf.  The rest of the hamburger will be browned with onions and seasonings.

ITALIAN MEATLOAF

3 pounds extra lean ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 ½ cups bread crumbs, seasoned dry
3 eggs
1 can Prego spaghetti sauce
2 cups cheese cubed

Mix all ingredients, place into greased pans.  Top with more Prego or Ketchup.  Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.  Cool a little before slicing and serving.  Be sure the center is thoroughly cooked.

SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE
This is my 9 year old son's favorite dish to prepare.

Left over or planned over cooked spaghetti noodles and sauce.
Lots of grated cheese.
Layer the noodles, sauce and cheese.  Cover with foil.
Freeze.  When ready to use simply pull out and bake until hot throughout.

Another way to prepare and freeze this is to mix the noodles and sauce and just top with cheese.  It is pretty simple that way and my family prefers the layered effect.

LASAGNA-STYLE SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE

Speaking of layered effect, try the above layering but add a layer of cottage cheese mixed with a couple of raw eggs and seasoning.  This makes the spaghetti dish almost like a lasagna.

SLOPPY JOES

3 cups ground beef
2 cups rice
1 cup onion, chopped
1 ½ cup ketchup
1 cup water
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Buns

Add all ingredients together, mixing well.  Microwave for about 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  If cooked on the stove top be sure to cook until the rice is tender.  Serve on a bun.

SUNDAY FOIL DELIGHT

2 pounds ground meat
2 large Bermuda onions, sliced thin
2 large potatoes, sliced thin
2 large tomatoes sliced thin
4 carrots, cut lengthwise
salt
Worcestershire sauce
Cheese, sliced
1 can cream soup.

Buns if you want to eat the dinner sandwich-style.

Shape ground beef into 12 patties.  Place each patty on a 12” square of foil.  Top each patty with a slice of onion, potato, tomato, carrot, sprinkle with salt, a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Variation: add a slice of cheese and a dollop of undiluted cream soup.

Make a tiny air hole in the top of foil package.  Bake at 450 for 30 minutes.  Serve 12.  This is also a good meal for camping:  cook the foil patties directly on hot coals for 20 minutes.

While you are putting together those Once A Month Marathon cooking dishes don't forget to form some hamburgers for the barbecue.  Be sure and separate each burger with a layer of waxed paper.  Bag them in quantities that suit your family.

Another hamburger barbecue suggestion: Go ahead and cook all those hamburgers.  When they have cooled put the left-overs into freezer bags.  When you want a delicious hamburger, take one out of the freezer and microwave for a few seconds until piping hot.  All the flavor of the BBQ without the extra time!

MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS

8 eggs
4 cups dry bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoon salt
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
8 pounds lean ground beef

In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add the next five ingredients.  Add beef; mix well.   Shape into 1-in balls, about 24 dozen.  Place in single layers in ungreased 15x10x1 baking pans.  Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink, turning often; drain.  Cool.  Place about 60 meatballs each into freezer bags or containers.  May be frozen for up to 3 months.  5 batches (about 60 meatballs per batch)

MAKING MEATBALLS OF EQUAL SIZE

1. Lightly pat meet mixture into a 1 in thick rectangle.  Cut the rectangle into the same number of squares as meatballs in recipe.
2. Gently roll each square into a ball.

SUNDAY ROAST

12 pounds uncooked roast
15 potatoes
2 large bags baby carrots
4 packages dry onion soup mix

Do not need to brown meat when using a Dutch oven.  Brown meat when putting in crock pots.  Add vegetables and cook all night and into the day for the crock pot.  Add vegetables and cook at 225 in a Dutch over.  A 4-5 pound roast cooks for 5 hours at that temperature.

Gravy: light gravy, use as is or add flour to thicken.  Dark brown gravy: boil down the juice to a deep brown color and add water and thicken.

BARBECUED BEEF SANDWICHES

4 cups shredded cooked beef
2 bottle (18 oz each) barbecue sauce
10 Kaiser rolls, split

In a saucepan, combine beef and barbecue sauce; heat through. Serve on rolls.

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