I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #LaurasLean campaign, sponsored by Laura’s Lean. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

One of my all-time favorite freezer techniques is the one for now, one for later method. I find this way of cooking and meal prepping to be so easy to get a stock going in your freezer for those long days of working, those tight budget weeks, or especially those first few months as a newborn mom.

In this method, we will be compiling dinner and a freezer meal right alongside it! For my family, I can generally half a casserole (since most serve 8,) and cook one for dinner, then put one into the freezer. If your family is larger, you may want to double to recipe. Make twice as much protein, but all at once! It still saves time and money!

In this blog post, I will be sharing more ground beef recipes in collaboration with Laura’s Lean Ground Beef. If you have followed me for a while, you know I LOVE Laura’s Lean because they are committed to providing the best quality beef from ethically raised cows. They have a NEVER ANY guarantee, which promises no added hormones, no antibiotics, and always vegetarian fed. In short- I’m comfortable feeding this beef to my family!

I’m going to share 4 tried and true favorite recipes to do the one for now, one for later method! If you want links to specific recipes I’ve used, I will include them in the comments below!

CHEESEBURGER TOT CASSEROLE

If you’re looking for a good, Midwestern comfort dish that your family will love, look no further! This isn’t a “light meal” but you can lighten it up by using light sour cream, fat free cheese, turkey bacon, and making your own cream of mushroom soup! Since I was in a hurry, I used a can, but homemade is always a tasty option.

I made the meat mixture, separated into a glass dish for now, and a foil dish for later. You can pick up foil pans in any size at your regular grocery or grocery pick up wherever you get your Laura’s Lean!

BEEF & BEAN BURRITOS

Have you ever thought about how easy it would be to just grab a frozen burrito and go? I am always weary of ingredients and sodium content, but making them at home is so simple! On this night, I made burritos for my family, then used the extra ingredients to make up an additional amount to throw into my freezer!

I have a few suggestions for making beef and bean burritos for the freezer! It will be best to NOT include fresh vegetables. You could add in sauteed onion and peppers if you have those on hand for burrito night! I don’t add sour cream in because I don’t love the way it freezes and then cooks up.

You’ll want to flash freeze these and then put them into a freezer storage bag or container, or you can wrap individually in plastic wrap and add to your storage or container. I have done both, and both methods work really well. When you reheat, it will be a little bit of trial and error. I always wet a napkin and wrap my burrito in there and start out cooking for less time. Try 1 minute, then see if you can test the temperature. Add more time if needed. After you do this once, you will know how long to cook for the additional times!

BAKED ZITI

Who doesn’t love a cheesy, meaty, gooey pasta dish? I think ziti is much more special than a traditional spaghetti, but takes about the same amount of time! This is one you will want to have one for now and several for later. It’s a family pleaser! The Laura’s Lean beef in this recipe shines, and tastes so great!

My freezer tip for this meal is to include a BIT more sauce than you think you will actually need. When it freezes and reheats, it will soak up a bit more of the sauce than the first time you prepare.

GROUND BEEF BURRITO PIE

This is a recipe I found online once upon a time ago, but I had made so many changes to how I make it, that I am calling this recipe my own now. It’s also one of those dishes I will mix up depending on the ingredients I have on hand.

So are you busy this Taco Tuesday? No worries, pop your freezer burrito pie into the oven and dinner will be hot and ready in no time! Check out my super easy recipe below, and pick up some Laura’s Lean Ground Beef, the simple ingredients, and enjoy taco night twice!