The Big Freeze

Freezing a few main dishes to pull out and heat up later, just plain makes good sense. Especially when busyness tends to rear its ugly head.

Frozen Assets maven, Deborah Taylor Hough, author of the best selling book, "Frozen Assets" can testify that this lifestyle of cooking for your freezer is not only a time saver, but a money saver, too.

"When I calculated how much money I have saved living this way, it came to over $24,000 in the last five years. Food doesn't go bad in the fridge, I'm better organized and we are eating better," said Taylor-Hough.

And while this dollar amount is impressive, the other value gained is time.

Here is a money saving, healthy foods recipe that will not only feed your family well, but will freeze well too. Lasagne Roll Ups (serves 16 or two 8 servings each dinners)

(NOTE: I personally lighten this recipe up considerably by either substituting tofu for the ricotta or by using nonfat ricotta, low-fat mozzarella and skipping the parmesan entirely. Another thing I do is use very lean ground beef, drain it well and use a non-fat spaghetti sauce)

12 uncooked dried lasagne noodles 12 uncooked dried spinach lasagne noodles 2 pounds ground beef 2 large onion -- chopped (about 1 cup) 2 (14 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce 2 (8 ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces -- undrained 2 (15 ounce) container Ricotta cheese OR 2 (15 ounce) container small curd creamed cottage cheese 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach -- thawed and squeezed to drain 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (4 ounces) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 4 cloves garlic -- crushed

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Cover noodles with cold water. Cook ground beef and onion in 10-inch skillet, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and mushrooms. Heat to boiling. Pour into two 13 x 9--have one for dinner tonight and freeze one for later. To freeze, cover with two layers of plastic wrap and final "fitting" of heavy duty foil. Mark on the foil with a black Sharpie pen, the date and what's in the baking dish.

Mix remaining ingredients. Drain noodles. Spread 3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture to edges of 1 noodle. Roll up; cut roll in half to form 2 roll-ups. Place cut sides down in beef mixture. Repeat with remaining noodles and cheese mixture. Cover and bake about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

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