Dinner’s in the Freezer!

Do you own a cookie scoop? You should. I love mine. For one thing, it makes cookie sizing a breeze for my young girls, not to mention practically mess free. And my favorite use for it? Meatballs!

Below I’m posting the best recipe I’ve ever tasted/used/found for BBQ Meatballs. I make these in large quantities to freeze for future meals. Mega-cooking is a mama’s best friend! Lightly brown these in the oven, not cooking them completely, then cool them on a rack. Once cooled, fill freezer bags in nice stackable layers…when ready to cook simply empty bag onto baking sheet and bake! My whole family absolutely LOVES these. We are blessed to get our meat from the feedlot where dh works, but in past years I would stock up on hamburger whenever our grocery store had a meat sale…I hope you have a large Tupperware fix and mix bowl!

BBQ Meatballs (a triple batch of these yields 253 mini-meatballs)

2# lean ground beef, 1# ground turkey,1 can sweetened condensed milk (or make your own:1 cup dried milk/3TB melted margarine/two-thirds cup sugar & one-third cup boiling water), 2 cups oats, 2 eggs, half an onion chopped, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 TB chili powder, 2 tsp salt

Mix all together well. Form into balls with cookie scoop if you have one! You can freeze these on a tray before dumping them in a freezer bag, or follow procedure I mentioned above.  When ready to cook, place the frozen meatballs onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 till slightly pink in center. Coat with sauce, bake additional ten minutes to glaze. These can also be cooked in the microwave.

BBQ Sauce

2 cups catsup, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 TB liquid smoke, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp onion powder

Boil together. Cool. Store in labeled squeeze bottle or other containter in the fridge until needed for meatballs.

Mega-cooking has many advantages other than the obvious. Filling the freezer with meals means less spontaneous dining out expenditures, more time for other things, more money for other things (cooking in bulk means buying in bulk which often shaves money off your groceries) and one of the best things: if someone needs a meal in a pinch, you’re prepared to drop one off. Our favorite recipes to triple also include burritos, chicken lasagna, pizza pockets (calzones that you dip in pizza sauce), chicken tetrazzini, shepherd’s pie, croissants, and peanut butter choc. chip cookies that thaw in a few minutes for a quick lunch addition or daytime snack. Get a few friends together at your church kitchen and have a cook-fest! It’s a blast and your family will thank you!