Literally, it is SO easy! Wash, blend, mix and pour. With strawberries at such a great price right now, why not make the yummy taste last all year! There is nothing like homemade jam!

Supplies needed:
4 lb. strawberries
2 Packets no cook pectin (we used Ball brand)
Sugar (says on the packet how much, probably varies by what pectin you use)
Blender
Freezer containers

1. Wash and drain the berries.

2. Trim off the green tops and blend strawberries until smooth (or chunky if you like it that way).

3. Mix no cook pectin with sugar. Add liquefied strawberries and stir 3 minutes.

4. Pour in to freezer containers and clear a spot in the freezer. It’s good for up to a year!

We used Ball brand pectin and freezer jars. Don’t let the conversion chart on the pectin packet fool you! It does not use 4 lb. of fresh strawberries per packet, it uses 2 lb. per packet. We have made this mistake two years in a row.

If Cheese is not your thing, turn back now!! This dish is ooey gooey goodness and freezes like a charm if you want to prepare it ahead of time! We stole this recipe from my Sis (Angela aka Nanny) and used it for our freezer meal group a while ago (ok, a couple of years ago now, sad) and everyone LOVED it! Our little group has since disintegrated and so my Sis Jen and I get together every few months to make a big batch of these lovelies. I really need to start a group again!

Stuffed Shells

40 jumbo pasta shells

32 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

28 oz. jarred spaghetti sauce, keep on hand for when its heated

Cook jumbo shells for half the time recommended on the package, until just limp. Drain and cool in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

Combine cheeses, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl and then scoop into a freezer bag.

Snip one of the bottom corners off the bag and use like and icing bag to fill each shell with about 2 Tablespoons of filling. We had two people so I held the shells open while my sis filled, but it can be done with one as shown here.

Flash freeze by putting a single layer of filled shells uncovered into the freezer until they look like this (about 15 min).This will prevent them from sticking together once you bag them.

Place desired amount of shells in each freezer bag according to your family size and label with cooking instructions. (Or if you are lazy like me just put them all in one bag and pull out the amount you want each time. Be sure to keep 3 jars of spaghetti sauce if you break into 3 portions or 2 if you do 2 etc.

Cooking Instructions:

Thaw shells. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce and pour remaining sauce over shells. Can sprinkle with a little Parmesan if desired. Bake at 350° for 30 min.

YUMMY! Goes great with green salad and garlic french bread! This is the meatless dish that your hubbies will not complain about!!

I really want to start doing more freezer meals so I have my freezer stocked with things I can pull out on those long errand days. I even went to a class, which turned out to be completely useless. They talked more about what freezer meals and OAMC (once a month cooking) are and how to make a spreadsheet to rotate them, than how to do it in the REAL world. We did not even come home with any recipes. 🙁 Boo hoo. So, I turn to you oh wise and chef like readers.

Anyone have a good recipe that freezes well? Please share! Muhanahuli (at) Yahoo (dot) com. or feel free to leave it in the comments if it will fit.