This week I made several pans of Lasagna to fill up my freezer.  The recipe I use will make 6 8×8 or 3 8×16 pans of Lasagna.  Each 8×8 pan will feed about 4-5 people.  I always make the smaller pans because  they are pretty much perfect size to feed our family of 5…and if we have company I just pull out 2 pans!

Heres what you’ll need to make this recipe:

2 Packages Lasagna Noodles
2 12 oz Ricotta Cheese
2 16 oz Cottage Cheese
4 8oz Packages Shredded Mozzarella or Italian Blend
1 Large onion
2 lb Hamburger
8 16oz Cans Tomato Sauce
Italian Seasoning
6 8×8 foil pans
Saran wrap or freezer bags

Step 1
In a large Stock pot boil the 2 packages of Lasagna noodles.  Cook them until they are just a little alDente (*when you freezer cook pasta its best to let it be a touch underdone, then when you cook it is turns out perfect…otherwise you may have mushy noodles)

Step 2
Mix 2 – 12 oz Ricotta, 2 – 16oz Cottage Cheese & 2 – 8 oz packages of Shredded Cheese together in a bowl and set aside (the other 2 shredded cheese are used for the top of each lasagna)

Step 3
Chop and sautee the onion, when the onions are translucent add the hamburger and brown it.

Step 4
Add the 8 cans of Tomato Sauce to the meat/onion mixture and bring to a simmer, add the italian seasoning to taste.

Step 5
Lay out your pans and also set out your sauce, noodles and cheese mixture …then you can begin to build your lasagnas (you can lay out your items like in the picture above & it goes really fast!)

Step 6
put a spoonful of sauce in the bottom of each pan and spread it around in a THIN layer so the pasta does not stick to the pan

Step 7
Layer Noodles, then a ladle of Sauce & then spoonfuls of the Cheese mixture in each pan, you’ll be able to do 4 layers of noodles in each pan and then on top of the 4th layer of noodles pour some sauce and then about 3/4 cup of shredded cheese.

Step 8
Place the pan into a Freezer seal bag or wrap VERY WELL in plastic wrap…write the date on the outside & stack in the freezer.

Step 9 
When your ready to eat your lasagna, pull out a pan the night before and let it defrost in the fridge…to go right from frozen, pop it out of the foil pan, put it in a glass dish and microwave it at 50% for about 12 minutes…yeah I forget to take things out and do this method a lot, lol…  Then bake it for 45 minutes at about 400…its sooooo good!

A Few Tips….

I use Vacuum seal freezer bags when I do bulk freezer cooking,  and the 8 x 8 pans fit perfect inside.  When you vacuum seal them, make sure to manually seal about half way thru the seal process or as soon as the bag touches the top of the pasta so you dont have the sauce get sucked into a huge mess.

If you dont have a Stock pot…INVEST IN ONE!  When you do freezer/bulk cooking, your going to need deep pots! You dont need a set that costs a fortune, but a set that has 2 – 4 pots and nest will make your life soooo much easier on freezer/bulk cooking day!

Using the same size pan for ALL Freezer cooking recipes will allow you to have loads more freezer space, so consider using all the same size container if possible.

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Not sure what FREEZER Cooking is or how to get started?  Check out THIS POST!

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