Recipe - Freeze Ahead Sicilian Casserole

I wanted to share my go-to freeze ahead recipe.  Yesterday I wanted to stock the freezer with foods that would be just heat and serve for when the baby arrives.  I also just got frozen lasagnas from the supermarket, but this recipe is a little more homemade and my family loves it.  I can't take any credit though, I follow a recipe to the T that I found online.  For the full recipe, you can find it here (http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/siciliansupper.htm)

I took the recipe and loosely multiplied everything by one and a half.  I found that this actually made more like twice the volume of casserole and I ended up with two glass loaf pans and one 2 quart baking dish worth.  The loaf pans are the perfect size for our family of 3 for one meal, we had one last night.  It left basically a serving spoon scoop full that I then gave our son for lunch today.  The 2 quart baking dish can serve four relatively well.

What I used (again, see original recipe for actual proportions):

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 giant yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green)
1.5 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
Slightly over 1 cup water
1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
1 package (almost 4 cups) elbow macaroni
1.5 packages (8 oz) cream cheese (full fat, mmm)
Slightly over 1 cup whole milk
About 8 oz (second half of sour cream container after making chicken and rice casserole) sour cream
Parmesan cheese

I boiled the water and cooked the pasta per the package instructions.  Meanwhile, I browned the beef with the onion and garlic.  When the beef is almost done, added the bell peppers.  I like to use the two colors, even though the recipe calls for green, cause it adds a nice color to the pot.  When the beef is browned, drain well, and add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, and seasonings and simmer.

Meanwhile, cube the cream cheese and put it with the milk in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave 3 minutes on medium level (I used Level 6, and we have a weak microwave).  Pour the cheese mixture to a large bowl and whisk until smooth.  Then add the pasta and the sour cream and about a half cup of parmesan cheese, mix well.  If you plan to serve same day, you're golden.  If you plan to freeze ahead, add 1 heaping table spoon of cornstarch to the cheese/pasta mix.

Spoon the pasta mixture into the dishes first.  Then top with the sauce.  Sprinkle more parmesan on top (I actually didn't have enough to do this last part this time, but I can add it to the top when I defrost and reheat).  Wrap tightly in foil and bake for 25-35 minutes, remove cover, and bake 10 more minutes or so, until casserole is bubbly.


To freeze, I put a layer of plastic wrap on first to reduce the amount of air exposure to the casserole.  Then it gets wrapped tightly in foil, which can be used when reheating.  Take the casserole from the freezer to the fridge one day in advance to defrost.  I would suggest baking a bit longer, maybe 45 minutes covered, if the casserole isn't fully defrosted.