2 Weeks of Meals in 5 hours - Polenta, Lasagna, Meatballs, Baked Shells

Diving right in, I will recount the steps I take for preparing several meals in one shot.  I try and pick out meals that share some similar ingredients, that way I can shop and prep efficiently.  Each of the meals I prepare are enough for 1-2 people.  

Menu:  
5x Creamy ricotta polenta with garlic, wine braised mushrooms and cocktail tomatoes
3x Baked shells with spinach and vodka meat sauce
3x Lasagna with spinach and meat sauce
8x Meatballs with sour cream and thyme gravy
Extra meat sauce, gravy, and vodka sauce that can be used over pasta, rice or potatoes

Ingredients:
From the freezer: 
8lbs grass fed ground beef

From the pantry:
2 cups dry coarse ground corn (polenta)
1/2 box medium shells
1/2 box lasagna noodles
better than bouillon - organic chicken flavor
3 jars of tomato sauce
16oz can whole peeled tomatoes
2.5 cups of Italian breadcrumbs
olive oil
dry white wine
garlic powder
corn starch
sea salt
pepper

From the market:
thyme (fresh)
parsley (fresh)
6 oz bag of baby spinach
2 tomatoes
box of cocktail or cherry tomatoes
2 lbs mushrooms (baby bella or white)
2 large white onions
1 head of garlic
1 dozen XL eggs
64 oz of ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1.5 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup of milk
1 cup of cream
butter

Directions:  
1.  Process the garlic and onions and mushrooms:

• peel and mince entire head of garlic (I throw this in a food processor with a little bit of olive oil to save time)
• dice one onion (into medium pieces about 1/2")
• mince one onion (into small pieces about 1/8")
• wipe or wash the mushrooms, halve, then slice thinly

1.1.  Make the Meat Sauce, link to this post here > marinara-meat-sauce-and-vodka-sauce

• Once the sauce is done, remove from heat, so that it cools, to prevent the pasta from overcooking when you assemble the meals

2.  Parboil the pasta:

• If using the IP: add shells to liner, break the lasagna noodles in half and put in liner, fill liner to max
• Manual High Pressure for 3 minutes, Quick release, drain and shock by rinsing well with cold water
• If boiling on the stove, prepare using regular directions from the box, with half the time. Drain and shock by rinsing well with cold water

3.  Make the Polenta:

• Set to saute.  Add 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil to the Instant Pot liner.  Saute 1 1tbs of the minced garlic.  
• Add the 2 cups dry polenta and saute for a few minutes until slightly browning.  
• Add 7 cups of hot water, and 1 tablespoon of better than bouillon
• Cover and set to Manual High Pressure for 6 minutes, quick release
• Remove liner to a towel on the counter to stop it from cooking
• Add in 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 1tbs of cream, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  I like the polenta to be mild, so it does not overpower the mushrooms.  
• Immediately transfer to the glasslock storage containers, leaving about 1/2" of space on top

4.  Braise the Mushrooms: 

• Wash the liner to begin or use a second liner for the IP if you have one.  
• Set to saute.  Add 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil to the Instant Pot liner.  Saute 1 1tbs of the minced garlic.  
• Add the mushrooms
• Add 1/2 cup dry white wine, saute for a couple minutes to remove the alcohol
• Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth (I dilute about 1/2 tsp of better than bouillon in hot water)
• Cover and set to manual high pressure 5 minutes, quick release
• Open and allow to saute for a few minutes to reduce the liquid
• Salt and pepper to taste

5.  Prepare and Cook the Meatballs:

• Mix in bowl: 5lbs ground beef, 1 large minced onion, 2.5 cups Italian breadcrumbs, 8 eggs (I used XL) beaten with 1 cup of milk, 2 tbs minced garlic, 1 tbs garlic powder, 1 tbs salt.
• Prepare into golf ball sized meatballs
• cook by oven for 22 minutes at 400 degrees on glass baking dish (I prefer this method as it frees up the IP for the other items, as well as adding caramelization and drippings for the gravy)
• or cook in Instant pot for 5 Minutes manual high pressure pot in pot on trivet or in a steamer basket, normal release for 10 minutes

6.  Make the Sour Cream and Thyme Gravy:

• Collect the drippings from the meatballs, cool slightly and remove the grease from the top. If using an oven for the meatballs, deglaze the pans using a few splashes of wine or hot water, scrape up all the flavorful bits
• Add 2 cups of chicken broth (2 teaspoons of better than bouillon in 2 cups of hot water) to the Instant Pot or a saucepan.  Add the collected drippings, without the grease, and the liquid from deglazing.  Whisk together over heat.  Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme.  Heat for about 10 minutes
• Strain out the solids and return the liquid to the pan or Instant Pot liner.  
• In a bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup of sour cream, and 2 tablespoons of corn starch.  Whisk this mixture into the pan or liner.  Heat until a thick gravy is produced. Add more liquid or starch as needed
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add in either some fresh thyme leaves or a few shakes of dried thyme

7.  Prepare the cheese stuffing.  

• In a big mixing bowl, put in your remaining ricotta (6 cups), 2 beaten eggs, chopped parsley, chopped spinach,1 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Mix together.  

8.  Assembly:

• Gather your glasslock containers and a bunch of  4 oz and 8 oz ball mason canning jars  
• Evenly spoon the mushrooms over the prepared polenta in their 5 containers.  Garnish with a few sliced cocktail tomatoes
• 3 containers of baked shells.  Separate a portion (about 4 or 5 cups) of the sauce and add to it a few tablespoons of cream, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Layer sauce, pasta and cheese mixture.  Add another layer of sauce and then top with mozzarella, Parmesan and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley
• 3 containers of lasagna. Layer sauce, pasta and cheese mixture, do this step twice.  Add another layer of sauce and then top with mozzarella, Parmesan and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley
• Once the meatballs are cooled, they can be frozen into vacuum sealed bags, or freezer bags with the air removed
• Pour the thyme gravy into the 4 oz mason jars, will fill about 6 to 8 jars.  These can be frozen, reheated, then poured over the meatballs
• Pour remaining vodka sauce and meat sauce into the 8 oz mason jars.  These can be frozen, reheated, then poured over fresh pasta or gnocchi
• Label, date, and refrigerate all the dishes, then once cold, transfer to the deep freezer. 

 Follow this link to my post about reheating using the Instant Pot>  reheating-frozen-meals-using-instant-pot

Hope you enjoy this easy recipe.  If you give it a try, would love to hear how it comes out for you!