Made From Scratch Sauce Recipes

No matter how you do your Freezer Cooking session, you are bound to wind up with a few days where you aren’t sure what to make. Why not create some sauces to freeze, and you can then just add them to some noodles, or rice, or even over some meat, and you have a meal in minutes.
Here are a bunch of my favorite sauce recipes.

Lemon Garlic Sauce

• 1 tbsp margarine or butter
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp parsley or other herbs
• salt + pepper to taste

Melt margarine with garlic, remove from heat. Add flour and combine. Slowly add the milk a little at a time, working out lumps as you go. Add lemon juice and bring to just under the boil, or until the sauce thickens. Add herbs and season to taste.

White Sauce

• 3/4 cup butter/ margarine or Canola oil
• 3/4 cup flour (up to 1/2 whole wheat is fine)
• 6 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons chicken or beef bouillon granules or 6 bouillon cubes

Use a large heavy bottomed saucepan or stock pot, melt the butter or margarine over low heat. Add the flour and stir until the mixture is smooth then cook until it begins to bubble. Do not let it brown! Gradually add the milk.

When the sauce is thickened (be patient a double batch will take 30 minutes) stir in the bouillon granules or cubes. Don’t make any more than 2 batches at once or the granules or cubes will not combine. Freezes well!

Spaghetti Sauce

makes 36 Cups

• 6 pounds ground beef — browned and drained
• 1 pound ground Italian Sausage — browned and drained
• 4 onions — chopped
• 6 cans mushrooms (or 2 pounds fresh, Saute) — drained
• Italian seasoning
• 7 jars spaghetti sauce (Approx. 180 ounces)
• 3 cans tomato — diced
• 1 cup chopped peppers
• 1 can tomato paste — large can

Brown beef, onions, peppers, sausage and Italian seasoning (2 pounds at a time). Drain well. Put in stock pot, add mushrooms, sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining seasoning, simmer.

Meat Sauce

• 5 pounds lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup instant minced onion
• 1/2 cup sweet pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 quarts tomato paste
• 1 3/4 quarts water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper — optional
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Line four 8×8×2-inch baking pans with heat-resistant freezer wrap. Allow enough extra wrap to fold over top. Use one pan for each six servings or one-fourth of the recipe. Baking pans are not needed for food to be served without freezing.

Crumble beef; cook until lightly browned. Stir in onion and pepper flakes. Drain off excess fat. Stir remaining ingredients into meat mixture. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally for 1 hour or until flavors are blended.

Pour each part to be frozen into a baking pan. Pack food tightly to avoid air pockets. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Complete wrapping by pulling paper up over top of food. Put edges of wrap together and fold several times so paper lies directly on top of food. Fold ends of freezer wrap over the top and seal with freezer tape. Label with name of food, date of freezing, and last date the food should be used for best eating quality (about 4 months). Freeze immediately for 10 to 12 hours before removing packages from the pans.

To heat frozen sauce, Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove freezer wrap. Place food in baking pan. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until mixture is bubbly at edges and center is hot.

Mushroom Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup canned mushrooms — sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Melt butter. Brown mushrooms lightly in melted butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk slowly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Freezes great!

Vegetable Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup mixed vegetables — cooked

Melt butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk slowly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in vegetables. Heat to serving temperature. Freezes well!