Freezer Meals

Weirdly enough, a lot of people have been asking me about freezer meals lately.  Do I make them?  Are they worth it?  What meals do I make?  In the same order, my answers are yes, yes, and a lot.  There are several reasons why I make them.  First, I buy food when it's uberly cheap and figure out what freezer meals I can make with it (shout out to Aldi for having the best produce deals.  Anybody else shop there?)  Reason number two:  I am totally willing to work way too hard some days so that I can, in turn, have lazy days with the kids.  And freezer meals are perfect for lazy/sick/busy/postpartum/I-have-no-idea-what-to-make-for-the-missionaries-tonight kinda days.  So you get cheap meals and low-stress all in one?  I'm in.

So.  Here are some of my recipes.  There are a lot.  Note that every single one of these recipes can be thrown together in a FREEZER ziploc bag and when ready to be prepared, dumped in a crockpot for a few hours.  No I don't care whether it's on high or low or for how long.  Just do what you want.  Because I'm obviously such a pro.

Fajitas
4 chicken breasts, sliced
1 sliced bell pepper
1 sliced onion
*actually, this is my one recipe that isn't cooked in a crockpot.  Throw this on the stove with your favorite spices and stick it in a tortilla with your favorite toppings.

Lemon Garlic Chicken
3 chicken breasts (That's how much our family eats in one dinner, do however many works for your family... the marinade is flexible.  I've actually used up to 6 in one bag.)
A Few dashes of lemon juice (probably 2-3 T.)
2 T. oil
1 T. garlic
S&P
*Whenever I buy chicken in bulk, I stick them in freezer baggies in this marinade and that way when they're thawed they taste scrumptious.  We prefer eating this grilled.  But it would be good with pasta or whatever.

Chicken Divine (makes 2 gallon sized bags)
6 chicken breasts
4 C. baby carrots
4 C. broccoli
2 onions
S&P
Add 1 can cream of chicken and 1 C. milk when putting it all in the crockpot.
*Divide all ingredients in half (besides the last two) and put in 2 separate bags.

Cilantro Lime Chicken With Black Beans and Corn (makes 2 bags)
6 chicken breasts
3 T. oil
2 limes juiced
2 C. cilantro
2 small bags of frozen corn
4 T. garlic
1 chopped red onion
2 cans black beans
2 tsp cumin
S&P
*Divide all ingredients in half and put in 2 separate bags.  Serve in tortillas.

Cranberry Apple Chicken (makes 2 bags)
4 apples cut into wedges
2 onions
4 lbs. chicken breasts
1/4 C. lemon juice
2 T. flour
3 T. honey
2 C. craisins OR fresh cranberries OR 2 cans of cranberry sauce
*Divide all ingredients in half and put in 2 separate bags.

NC BBQ

2 onions, quartered

2 T. brown sugar

1 T. paprika

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 4-6 lb. boneless pork butt or shoulder roast

3/4 C. apple cider vinegar

4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard (I don't have it so I just use brown mustard, it works fine)

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

*rub roast in sugar, paprika, and S&P.  Add onions.  The rest makes the sauce.  Add a little to the roast when it's time to cook and leave the rest (in the fridge) until it's time to be served.

SOUPS

All of these soups can either be cooked ahead of time and put in freezer bags so that all you have to do is put them on the stove, or you can simply put the ingredients into a bag and prepare the soup the day of. 

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
6 T. chopped onion
4 T. butter
6 C. peeled and cubed butternut squash (aka one really big butternut squash)
3 C. water
4 cubes chicken bouillon (or you can nix the water and do 4 C. chicken broth)
1 8oz. pckg of cream cheese
S&P
dash of cayenne (optional... but awesome)
*Blend with immersion blender.  If you don't have an immersion blender, ask Santa for one for Christmas and just use your regular blender instead.

Mulligatawny Soup (For people with awesome taste and love Thai food)
1/4 C. butter
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, diced
3 T. flour
1 14 oz. can coconut milk (or if you don't have it, it'll still tastes good)
3 T. red curry paste (A must.  Go out and buy it in your jammies if you have to.  It's worth it.  I don't judge.)
4 C. chicken broth
2 C. chopped apple
1/4 C. rice
3 chicken breasts
S&P
cream added just before serving (optional)
*mix flour with veggies before adding broth.  It'll thicken the soup without making it lumpy.
*You can opt to not add the rice in the soup and serve it on top of rice. 

Split Pea Soup
2 C. dried split peas
1 ham bone
3 stalks chopped celery
3 chopped carrots
3 quarts water
1 onion, chopped
1 T. Italian Seasoning
S&P
*Remove bone before freezing.

Just a Few Notes

• Despite what a lot of freezer meal recipe maker uppers say, I don't actually like making freezer meals while I'm making dinner at the same time.  I like to multi-task, but not that much.  I'd much rather set aside an afternoon when I can make these in just a couple of hours and not focus on how to salvage my burnt dinner.  This week I made 16 meals in about 2.5 hours. 
• It makes sense to make them when chicken is on sale since it is the most common and most expensive ingredient.  I go and buy about my own weight's worth of chicken, clean them, and cut them in half since they're usually humongo.  I have a mountain of chicken ready to be put into different bags with different meals that way.
• You will chop a lot of onions.  If they make you look like you're watching a chick-flick marathon like Ben (as in tearing up, not actually watching those movies), be prepared.
• Make your baggies as flat as possible so that they take as little space as possible in your freezer.  That way they're also easily maneuverable.  It's not so fun to undo tetris shaped freezer meals when they're frozen together.  Bags may rip.  I may or may not know this from experience. 
• If there are spices or marinades in the bag, mix it all together in the bag before you freeze it.  That way everything is evenly coated and flavored.