Freezer Meals – Take 1

Hillary is a mom of two very energetic and inquisitive boys – who keep her on her toes. When not working on Great Lakes Bay Moms or spending time with the hubs and two boys she enjoys rowing on the bay city rowing team, baking, girls nights, shopping and traveling!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share with you something I’ve been doing this fall. This year has brought my  family a lot of twists and turns. It seems that one of the boys has something to do every night of the week,  I have something going on in the evening or the hubs is out of town for work.  I found myself picking up dinner and stressed out about not making a well balanced meal for my family.

Every day I asked myself,  “What should I make tonight?!?” UGH! Such a daunting task! After moaning and groaning about it,  I’d finally figure it out just to find, I of course don’t have everything needed to make it!  Then I would  hurry  to the store to buy the ingredients and make dinner all by 5 o’clock – on the dot so we can get here or there.  I decided this needed to change. Fast!

After a pinning session on Pinterest one day, I started to really read all of those freezer meal recipes that I had pinned and decided to give it a whirl. 16 meals in4 hours sounded very appealing, yet I wasn’t  sure how I was going to stay focused for hours cooking- so I roped two of my girlfriends into doing it with me!

I was so excited, the three of us met at Meijer the day of the big event to shop for all of our grocery’s together. We each did a little prep work at home on our meats and veggies during the day and met at my house for some cooking, wine and LOTS of laughs! Needless to say,  it was a VERY long night. However, we did accomplished what we had set out to do. We made 16 meals in well… SIX hours but it was our first time! It was a great night and now I have 16 meals ready to go! Problem solved! Here are the recipes that  we made along with a grocery list! Enjoy and please share YOUR favorite freezer meals with us!!!

Freezer Meals

 Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (Makes TWO meals)

•  12 new potatoes and cut into ¼ inch round slices or a large bag of frozen potatoes
• 2 cans of cream of your choice—I used potato
• 2 cans of water
• 2 ham steaks, cubed
• 8 oz cheddar cheese
• 4 cups of broccoli
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  Divide everything evenly into two containers.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

• 6 Chicken Breasts
• 2 (11 oz.) cans or 1 (26 oz.) can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 (11 oz.) can Cheddar Cheese Soup (I used Fiesta Cheese Soup for a bit of spicy)
• 1 cup of milk (I used nonfat milk)
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon
• Pepper to taste

Directions:  For a total crockpot dish, add uncooked pasta for the last two hours of cooking.

• 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces 
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce 
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• A few sprinkles of ginger

Directions:  Cook on low for 4-6 hours

• 4-6 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 (12 oz.) bottle of BBQ sauce 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar 
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:  Cook on low for 4-6 hours

Chicken Fajitas

• 2 green peppers 
• 1 onion
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Taco seasoning packet
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:  Cook on low for 5-6 hours shred meat and serve on tortillas

• 12 oz. spinach chicken sausage, sliced
• 1 box farfalle pasta
• 1/2 c. basil pesto
• 2-4 oz. Parmesan cheese
• opt. grated mozzarella

Directions:  Prepare pasta as directed. In a large bowl combine pasta, pesto and cheese. To freeze: Place mixture in a freezer pan. On cooking day thaw and bake as directed. To Bake: Bake in baking dish covered with foil on 350 for about 20 minutes until heated through. If baking after it has been in the fridge thawing it will most likely take closer to 40 minutes to heat through. To made a little more sauce add a half cup of milk or half and half and extra mozzarella or Parmesan cheese.

• 4 chicken breast
• About 1.5 pounds of cubed red potatoes
• Fresh or frozen green beans, about 14 oz.
• 1 pkt. of Italian dressing seasoning
• 1 stick of butter, cubed

Directions:  Lay chicken down the middle of a 9×13 baking dish. Lay potatoes and green beans alongside of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper (optional). Sprinkle Italian seasoning over everything and top with cubes of butter. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

• 3 – 4 medium russet potatoes diced
• 1 lb. boneless, chicken breasts diced
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 green onions, sliced
•  1/2 tsp. salt
•  1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
•  1/2 cup heavy cream
•   2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small   pieces –
  

Directions:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T corn starch
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 can chopped green chilies, drained
• 2 cans white beans (drained)
• 2 T. cumin
• 2 T. chili powder
• 1 lb chicken tenders
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 T. salt
• 1 T. pepper

• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 lb. stew beef
• 1/8 T. paprika
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1 T. salt
• 1 T. pepper

Directions:  Mix sour cream, cream cheese and mushroom soup in small bowl.  Add all ingredients to a large freezer bag, toss well to coat and freeze.  When ready place ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve over hot noodles or cooked white rice.

Grocery List