Frozen Assets: Assemble, freeze — then later, bake and enjoy a pasta casserole when you’re ready
Published 2:50 pm Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Smart cooks keep frozen homemade meals on hand. This saves time and sanity during busy weeks — and money.
Some dishes freeze better than others, like casseroles.
Pasta dishes get watery when they’re cooked ahead and then thawed, so it’s best to freeze them uncooked.
Line casserole and baking dishes with heavy-duty foil before assembling, then once frozen you can lift everything out and use the dish for another project.
This recipe for sausage, spinach and cheese-stuffed shells makes enough to fill two baking dishes. Cook one to eat now and freeze the other for later.
The stuffed shells cost less than $2 per serving — even less when the pasta, cheeses, sauce or sausage are on sale.
SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND CHEESE-STUFFED SHELLS
112-ounce box jumbo pasta shells
1tablespoon olive oil
1cup finely chopped yellow onions
1pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1tablespoon minced garlic
1large egg
116-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
110-ounce box chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1cup grated Parmesan cheese
1teaspoon dried basil
1/4cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2teaspoon salt
1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
132-ounce jar pasta sauce (4 cups)
If serving immediately, heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no traces of pink remain, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl lightly beat the egg. Add the ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, dried basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and the reserved sausage mixture.
Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over the bottom of each of two 9-by-13-inch or similarly sized shallow baking dishes. Fill each of the reserved shells with some of the sausage and ricotta filling.
Arrange half of the shells in each of the baking dishes, then spread half of the remaining pasta sauce over each dish of shells. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbling.
Uncover and sprinkle each dish with 1/4 cup of the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Alternatively, one or both baking dishes can be frozen for up to 4 months. The dishes should be covered tightly with foil and plastic wrap before freezing. When ready to serve, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap (leaving the foil) and bake directly from the freezer for 1 hour, or until hot and bubbling. Uncover and sprinkle each dish with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.
