RecipesOnce A Month Cooking - Hamburger Pasta Casseroles Freezer Meals
When it comes to cooking and baking, I love experimenting with once a month cooking. This type of cooking is when you spend a day or two making and baking up several meals for your family and then freezing them for future use.
This recipe will make 3 large casseroles that will each feed 8 people. They will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. You will need three 9 x 13" rectangular foil baking pans, that I like to pick up at our local dollar store or discount department store. After freezing, thaw the casserole in your refrigerator for 6-8 hours and then reheat in the oven for 20 minutes before serving.
Hamburger Pasta Casserole
4 lbs. lean ground beef
1 lb. thin sausage links, sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 cups onions, finely chopped
2 cups celery, finely chopped
1 1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
16-18 ounces pasta noodles
3 cans tomato soup
4 1/4 cups shredded American Cheese
12 ounce bottle chili sauce
1/4 cup pimento, chopped
2 teaspoons table salt
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups water
4 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted (not margarine)
In a very large frying pan, cook the lean ground beef, sausage links, onion, celery and green pepper until the ground beef is brown and no longer pink. Drain off fat. Cook your desired pasta noodles according to box directions, drain water and set aside. In a large stock pot, add your cooked pasta noodles and meat mixture. Stir in the tomato soup, cheese, chili sauce, chili powder, chopped pimento, salt, pepper and water.
Split the mixture up into 3 equal portions. Place mixture into each of your baking pans. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs on top of the casserole mixture.
Bake casseroles in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Let completely cool before wrapping and freezing.