Ingredients
- 1lb ground turkey
- 1 yellow oniondiced (1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepperdiced
- 1cup salsa
- 1cup marinara sauce
- 2teaspoons chili powder
- 2teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2teaspoons salt
- 4cups dry uncooked shell pasta (not needed until day of cooking)
- 1cup shredded cheddar cheese (not needed until day of cooking)
Materials
To Freeze and Cook Later
- Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and “use-by” date. (Three months from when you prepped the meal.)
- Add all ingredients except pasta and cheese to the freezer bag.
- Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
To Cook on Stovetop
- Thaw freezer meal.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Add thawed meal to large skillet, pot, or saute pan.
- Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until turkey is cooked through.
- Add cooked pasta and cheese. Stir to combine until the cheese is melted.
To Cook in Instant Pot
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Add frozen meal to Instant Pot .
- Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes with valve sealed
- Quick release.
- Open lid and add in cooked pasta and cheese. Stir to combine until the cheese melts.
I am confused. Don’t you have to pre-cook ground meat before freezing in a recipe? All the instapot recipes I have seen with ground meat say to sautee/cook the meat first then add other ingredients. Doesn’t it come out in a big block of meat if you don’t do this? Thank you!
You don’t have to precook, it’s the same as if you frozen the pound of meat by itself. You thaw it and cook like you would do if the meat was fresh. You can also break it up before freezing if you want to do it from frozen in the Instant pot.
Do you have to cook the ground Turkey prior to freezing?
I’m confused with the 1 cup of salsa, what kind of salsa is that? Besides the marinara
Any jar of salsa you enjoy. It adds a bit more texture than just the marinara. You could also use 2 cups of marinara and no sals, it just won’t be so “taco-feeling.”
I am fixing this for the second time in two weeks because we bought a bigger jar of marinara sauce than needed for the first time and we both liked it a lot. I actually made two batches this time by splitting the recipe into two bags since it makes quite a nice amount. I love having dinners ready in the freezer to just throw into the
instant pot!
I just made this but sauteed it because I was afraid that the turkey was not done enough. Is 4 minutes enough time on pressure cooking?