One Dish Make-Ahead Meal

Sent in by a Preferred Gold Member from Wolcott, NY

Use an 18-quart roaster oven, and combine a selection of vegetables and meat (any combination you like, or whatever’s available at the market.) After cooking, you can divide up the recipe into as many as 20 meals, each in a pint size freezer container, and freeze them to use later!

• Open two cans (14-16 ounces) each of peas, sliced carrots, sliced green beans and whole kernel corn. Drain off the juice from the vegetable cans into the roaster oven, then
• Add 1 1/2 quarts of water.
• Peel and dice five pounds of potatoes with a ripple cutter and add them to the roaster oven.
• Add one medium onion (sliced and diced) per can of vegetables. You also can add 1/2 package of celery, diced.
• Cook the potatoes, onion and celery until about 2/3 done.
• Add the canned vegetables and more water, if needed, to submerge them.
• For meat, use two pounds of leftover beef, turkey, chicken or venison sliced in 3/8- inch cubes. If you ripple cut the meat it will cook faster. You also may use pre-cooked meat, like Polish kielbasa.
• First heat the pre-cooked meat in a microwave, then skin and ripple cut into 3/8-inch pieces. (Other options include corned beef, Virginia or honey-baked ham or Spam.)
• Add salt or other spices to taste.
• After cooking and cooling, fill pint freezer containers and freeze them.

Posted: December 2005