To continue the theme of Meal Planning, I shall share some things I do to make multiple meals. I am usually cooking for 2 while many recipes are for 4 people. I either make the recipe as is and we have leftovers or I decide to make two separate dishes. In this first installment of Multiple Meals, I use a pound of ground beef & a pound of Italian sausage and make 2 different dinners but each can be eaten twice.

The first thing that needs to be done is to combine both meats together & then divide the meat mixture in half (now you have two separate pounds of combined meat). Brown one of the halves of meat with an onion and set aside for prepping two lasagnas. To the other half, we will be making meatballs. One for spaghetti & the other for sandwiches.

Meatballs

Take the half of meat that is for the meatballs (1lb) and add the following:

• 1 slice milk soaked bread (place a piece of bread on a plate and pour milk over it so that it is saturated all the way through. Squeeze out the excess).
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp each salt & pepper
• ½ tsp each basil & oregano
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 beaten egg
• 2-3tbsp parmesan cheese

Take half of this mixture & place in the fridge for the next night’s dinner*

To the other half, form the meatballs by hand (roughly the size of a golf ball) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 450F oven for 5-8 minutes until browned. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, chop an onion & a green pepper and sauté in a large skillet in a small amount of olive oil over medium low heat for about 20-30 minutes until caramelized to your liking. Add a minced clove of garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add 8oz canned tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. basil, and salt & pepper to taste. Add the meatballs to the skillet and cook over low heat while covered for 20-30 minutes. Top with parmesan cheese if desired & serve over cooked spaghetti noodles.

The next night you can prepare exactly the same way and serve in a hoagie bun for meatball sandwiches.

* If desired you can prep all the meatballs and sauce at once if you are having the sandwiches for lunch or if you know you are crunched for time the next day. Just reheat when ready to eat.

Loaf Pan Lasagna

For the lasagna, we will be making two lasagnas (in loaf pans) that serve two each.

• 1lb meat previously browned with an onion
• 8 cooked lasagna noodles
• 16oz ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp each oregano & basil
• 1.5-2 cups mozzarella
• 1 26oz jar spaghetti sauce or make your own
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (& more for sprinkling if desired)

Either the day you brown the meat with the onion or the next day after it has been browned prep the lasagnas as follows:

Mix ricotta, egg, seasonings, & 1/4 cup parmesan cheese in a bowl for the filling.

Place approximately 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce on the bottom of each loaf pan. Place two noodles on top of the sauce. Cut or overlap as necessary. Place 1/6 of the ricotta filling on the noodles and spread into a thin layer (approximately 1/3 cup). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place 1/4 of the browned meat on the filling. Top with more spaghetti sauce. Next place one noodle over the sauce cutting as necessary. Repeat filling, cheese, meat, & sauce layers once. Finally, place one noodle over the sauce and top with the rest of the ricotta filling, mozzarella, and sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

Put one in the fridge for night 3 (night 1=spaghetti & meatballs, night 2=meatball sandwiches, night 3=lasagna) and one in the freezer. Cover the one in the fridge with aluminum foil. To the one placed in the freezer make sure to cover with aluminum foil, wrap all the way around in plastic wrap, & wrap again all the way around but with foil. Use within 1-2weeks for ideal flavor.

Fridge lasagna: Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake with the foil covering for 40minutes. Remove the cover & continue to bake for 20minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Freezer lasagna: Preheat the oven to 375F. Remove extra foil & the plastic. Bake with the foil covering for 1 hour. Remove the cover & continue to bake for 20minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.