I’m always looking out for shortcuts that make my life easier. One of those is making meals (or parts of them) ahead of time and utilizing my freezer to have food on hand when the day is busy or I’m feeling like taking the lazy way out of making a meal for my family. It’s a lot less stress in my day knowing that when it’s dinner time, all I have to do is open the container and serve it up.
I got the chance to try out Glad FreezerWare – freezer containers that resist cracking from the extreme cold temps and you can also heat and serve in them too. I choose to make a new to us freezer friendly meal – Mini Meatball Sliders with Pesto. These little gems did not disappoint – they were easy to make, full of great flavor and fuss free – one slider for the kids, two (or more for the men) for the adults. The original recipe used homemade marinara sauce and pesto – have at it if you’d like – they both freeze well, I took the time saving option and used store bought. The recipe below is what I made (which is double the original), some for now and some for later…I love meals like that!
These freezer containers will come in handy for freezing dinner and so much more:
Chicken & Veggies for the Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl
Mini Meatball Sliders with Pesto (plus more for the freezer)
Ingredients
- 1 cup BREADCRUMBS
- 1/2 cup MILK
- 2 lbs. GROUND BEEF
- 2 EGGS
- 2 cloves GARLIC, crushed or minced
- 2 teaspoons KOSHER SALT
- 1 teaspoon PEPPER
- 2 teaspoons DRIED PARSLEY
- 1 teaspoon DRIED BASIL
- SLIDER ROLLS
- JARRED BASIL PESTO (or make your own)
- SLICED MOZZARELLA or PROVOLONE CHEESE
- OLIVE OIL
Instructions
TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS: In a large bowl, soak 1/2 cup breadcrumbs in milk for 10 minutes. Add remaining breadcrumbs, beef, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and basil. Mix well. Shape into meatballs (I used my 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop), lay on foil lined baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. After completely cool, freeze in Glad Freezerware container. *Another option: flash freeze uncooked meatballs on baking sheets, place in freezerware container after frozen, add an additional 5-7 minutes to the baking time.
TO MAKE THE SLIDERS: Preheat oven to 400°. Brush insides of the rolls with olive oil. Place in oven about 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove, on one half of roll place halved meatball, cover with marinara sauce and sliced mozzarella cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted and sauce is hot. Spread pesto on other half of roll before serving.
Printed from Crumbs and Chaos (www.crumbsandchaos.dreamhosters.com)
Recipe Source: Annie’s Eats
What are your favorite freezer-friendly recipes? Share them and your favorite meal-planning tips on Glad’s Facebook page between now and June 30th, everyone who shares recipes is eligible to win great prizes. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/GLAD.
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program, I received Glad FreezerWare Containers and a stipend. I’ve told you exactly what I think of them.
Such a fun recipe for game day! I think my kids might try this! Thanks so much for sharing at Cowgirl Up! Hope you will join us again next week!
Thanks,
Amanda @ The Ivy Cottage Blog
http://www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com
These look fairly simple to make and will be a hit with grown ups and kids. I would love it if you would share them on my foodie friday party today… please share some of your other recipes too.
So tiny and yummy looking.
I LOVE slidders and I LOVE pesto… this must be an awesome combination!
Thank you for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream To Reality! Can’t wait to see what you link up this evening!