Here’s hoping you got all your grocery shopping done for this challenge. If not, you can certainly join this challenge at any time!
Did you brown 8 pounds of hamburger in preparation for the freezer cooking? How long did it take?
Wait. You didn’t time yourself cooking the hamburger meat? It’s possible that you aren’t as much of a food geek as I am. Be thankful. I just get a kick out of knowing how much time it saves to double – or octuple, as the case may be in this beefy situation – in order to get ahead.
Today, we’re going to make both Cheesy Beef and Rice and Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole.
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)
Why are we making both recipes in one day? Because they both call for rice. It makes sense, then, to cook up all the rice we need for both recipes, then divide it up and make our four casseroles. Oh the efficiency. Oh the productivity. Oh the smell of bacon…
Yeah, by the way, prepare yourself for the fact that your family will likely get excited about eating bacon once they smell it cooking today. If you weren’t planning to serve the Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole tonight, you may need to change your plan to accommodate all the bacon sniffers and the sad I can’t believe you’re making bacon and we can’t eat it faces in your home.
So let’s get started.
I’m assuming you’ve already cooked your meat. If not, well – cook your meat. Because we’re making four casseroles today, you’ll need four pounds of cooked hamburger.
Now, begin by getting the rice cooking since that’s what takes the longest. The beauty of this: while your rice cooks, you can do 45 minutes of other work or play. Unless, of course, you want to stand at the stove watching your rice get plump and tender. snore
We need 5 cups of brown rice for these four casseroles, so measure out 10 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Stir in 5 cups of rice, turn down your burner to simmer, cover the pot, then walk away. Here are more detailed instructions on cooking brown rice.
There it is. It can cook all by itself and will actually turn to mush if you stir it.
So put the lid on, set a timer, and walk away.
In the meantime, you can cut your bacon into bite-sized pieces and get it cooking. You can also get out your casserole dishes, set out your other needed ingredients, and trim your fingernails – though not all at the same time or all in the same place.
Once your rice and bacon are finished cooking, divide the rice according to the recipes. Stir in remaining ingredients to create your four casseroles. I found that it was easiest to use two huge bowls – one for each recipe. Then I divided the contents of the bowl into two casserole dishes for each recipe.
You might notice that since I was making so many cheesy casseroles this week, I cheated and bought a big bag of pre-shredded Colby jack cheese. I know. There are healthier options, and I always recommend the healthier options. But it’s still cheese, right? At least I didn’t purchase a pre-shredded Snicker bar (which doesn’t even make sense, but I was trying to divert your attention away from my orange cheese).
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole x2
I actually made these four casseroles over the weekend so that I could get ahead a little bit on putting together these challenge posts. How lovely it was to put a Cheesy Beef and Rice plus a Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole into the freezer. I then put one Cheesy Beef and Rice into the oven too cook and serve for dinner, and put the additional Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole into the fridge to serve another day this week. One big mess, four great meals!
See how easy it was to set out delicious and healthy veggie and fruit side dishes with this Cheesy Beef and Rice? I cooked some frozen green beans, set out a package of mixed greens along with some homemade dressings that were already made and in the fridge, sliced a couple of pears, and called in the family. Except for about one serving of greens, this entire spread was gone in about a half hour.
Need more Pyrex? I found a 9×13 dish with lid for just $11.79 with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime. If you order today, it would arrive in two days, which works out great for this challenge!
Be sure to leave a comment letting us know how you’re coming in this challenge!
Just a reminder, Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package.
Emily says
Your cheesy beef and rice is one of my favorite freezer meals! So simple but really delicious!
Kristin says
Just so you know, they use wood pulp as an anti caking agent in pre-shredded cheese. I’m not judging, we all take the occasional shortcut, myself included. However after learning about the wood pulp, I’ll never go back to pre-shredded cheese. Speaking of cheese, I need go grate some parmesan and mozzarella for a double batch of spaghetti pie I plan to put in the freezer.
Laura says
Hmm, I’d heard corn starch but hadn’t heard about wood pulp. Bleh.
Lana says
It is actually potato starch. It changed many years ago. Our daughter had a potato allergy at the time and it was a real headache especially when we ate away from home.
Mikie says
Can you please remind me how to package things? Like do I put foil on top and then the lid? Not to be dumb…. but hey. Its my first adventure. Also…. isn’t wood pulp just more fiber?? Sounds good to me! Bring on the packaged cheese!
Kristin says
That’s what food manufactures would like you to believe. Actually, cellulose has to be extracted from wood or cotton, then treated with chemicals. So it’s not exactly the same as getting your fiber from say an organic apple.
http://www.foodrenegade.com/would-like-some-wood-pulp-your-shredded-cheese/
Laura says
I just let it cool completely, then put on the lid, label, and freeze. We usually eat them within a month, so I’ve not felt the need to package any more thoroughly than that.
Meredith P. says
Done! Just coasted past the finish line with 16 casseroles finished–8 for my family and 8 for my mom (raising my niece and nephew). One for supper at each house tonight, 7 casseroles in each freezer. Whew!!
steph says
Did you double the cheesy beef and rice for a 9×13 pan? The recipe that is linked says it serves 4, and I have a lot of hungry boys to feed, so just curious what amount it takes to fill up yours… thanks!
Laura says
Yes. :)
Mika says
This is my first time really doing much of anything in the way of freezer cooking and I swear I got confused! LOL! I browned all the hamburger yesterday like I was told, printed out the recipes, started on the cheesy beef and rice and got confused about how many cups of cooked rice, browned hamburger, etc. and whether I was supposed to double the linked recipe or not. So I eyeballed it, ran out of sour cream, and ended up with 1 13 x 9 pan for dinner tonight and 1 smaller pan for the freezer. Tastes good so far though, so I’m considering it a win! Next up is the Bacon CHeeseburger one (yup, bought the cookbook this morning!). Thanks for kicking me in the pants to make the jump!
julie says
I need to get moving! Do you usually buy block cheese and shred? I’ve been buying Amish cheese from our coop and hate to think there’s something yucky in it.