13 Freezer Meals

For the first time in my 16.5 years of cooking, I decided to make a bunch of freezer meals. Posts like these are a dime a dozen, but I figured I'd share my process/recipes for my future self as much as anyone. At least I know I like all these recipes. 

I spread out my cooking over 2 days because I'm old, fat, and busy. It took me 1.5 hours to make 8 meals the first day, and about an hour to finish the last 5 the second day. I had leftover ground beef, but it had already been sitting in my fridge for a couple days, so I browned it and froze it plain. I can always warm it up with some Manwich or taco seasoning in the future. 

I'm not a food blogger, so please forgive my terrible photography.

The last batch ready to go in the freezer.

Supplies

Freezer bags

Sharpie (to label the bags with meal name and instructions)

Disposable casserole pans (I got the kind with the flat cardboard lid so I could stack them in the freezer)

A ton of groceries

The Recipes

Some of these are from blogs I found through Pinterest, some are family recipes, some are recipes I've had written down for years but don't remember where they came from. I'll try to give credit where I can.

Notes

If a recipe called for chicken breasts, I used frozen and put them right in the bag with the other ingredients that way. I didn't see the need to thaw them before freezing them again. 

For some of the casserole type dishes, I did cook the chicken first. I actually threw a bunch of chicken in the crockpot on high while I did the first set of meals. Once they were cooked, I put them in the fridge, then came back to them the next day when I did my second batch of meals. 

For the recipes with ground beef or turkey, I cooked the meat before adding it to the bag or casserole. For these 13 meals, I bought around 7 lbs of ground beef, and cooked it all in batches as my pan size allowed. 

Baking times for the casseroles are assuming the meal is thawed. Add time if you're cooking it straight from the freezer. I've actually never done that, so no guarantees how well it'll work. 😂

1. Creamy Salsa Crockpot Chicken 

• 4-6 chicken breasts 
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 16 oz salsa
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of black beans

Put all ingredients in your freezer bag and place in the freezer. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Once it is cooked, shred the chicken and mix together. You can add cooked rice to the crockpot and mix it all together. Top with desired garnishes. I think we'll do this burrito bowl style. 

2. Chicken and Gravy

• 4-6 chicken breasts
• 2 chicken gravy mixes
• 1 cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup sour cream (add once it is cooked before serving)

Add all ingredients to your freezer bag except the sour cream and put in the freezer. [I mixed the gravy mixes, cream soup, water, and spices in a separate bowl, then poured them over the chicken in the bag.] Place everything in your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Once cooked shred the chicken and stir in the sour cream. I'll probably serve this over noodles.

3. BBQ Chicken

• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• ¼ cup Italian dressing
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 chicken breasts

Mix together everything but chicken. Place chicken in freezer bag and pour sauce over top. Freeze. When ready to cook, dump everything in crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve on buns.

4. Beef Stew

·      1 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast, cubed

·      1 envelope dry onion mix

·      2 large potatoes, peeled and diced (The recipe says to boil for 4 minutes and let cool, but I just threw the potatoes in raw. They're going to slow cook for hours, right?)

·      6 carrots, peeled and diced

·      1 onion, chopped

·      8 ounces frozen peas

·      8 ounces frozen corn

When you're ready to cook it, put frozen meal in crock pot with 6 cups of water or beef broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Combine 4 tablespoons cornstarch with 5 tablespoons water.  Add slurry to crock pot and stir.  Cook for approximately 1 hour more on high.

5. Tostadas (from Lena's friend Ruth's mom)

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• taco seasoning
• 1 can refried beans
• 1/2 brick cream cheese
• tostadas

To make this a freezer meal, I literally just browned the beef and added taco seasoning. But I wrote the rest of the recipe on the bag to remind myself that I intended this for tostadas. Haha. I'll thaw the meat and warm it up with the rest of the ingredients when I'm ready. 

6. Enchilada Casserole (recipe from my mom)

• Tortillas (6 or so - I only had 5 and made it work)
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• Taco seasoning
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 small can (8 oz, I think) tomato sauce
• 1 can/jar brown gravy
• Shredded cheese

Directions
1. Brown the meat, add taco seasoning and refried beans until warmed through.
2. In another pan, mix enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, and brown gravy until warm
3. Put a little sauce on the bottom of 9x13 pan, then layer tortillas, meat, tortillas, and meat.
4. Cover with sauce 
5. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.
6. Cover with shredded cheese and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. 

To make this a freezer meal, I did everything except steps 5 and 6, making sure to write those instructions on the casserole lid.

7. Chili

• 1 lb. ground beef
• packet of chili seasoning
• 1 can chili beans (don't drain)
• 2 small cans of tomato sauce 

This is the recipe on the back of the McCormick chili seasoning packet as best as I remember it off the top of my head. Get your own chili seasoning and follow the directions on the back. 😁 I made this in its entirety, but instead of serving it up for dinner, I poured it all in a freezer bag to reheat someday.

8. Chicken and Dumplings (I got this recipe from Pinterest years ago and now the link is broken.)

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley 
• 4 Grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Put all ingredients except the biscuits into freezer bag. To cook, dump everything into crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Before serving, tear up the raw biscuit dough and add to the crockpot. Turn to high and let cook 30 more minutes.

 9. Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti 

• 12 oz. spaghetti
• 1 (28 oz.) jar prepared spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella (optional)

In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.  Set aside.
Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet.  Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl.  Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. [I add the mozzarella at this point because I like it extra cheesy.] Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated. 
Lightly grease a 9x13" pan.  Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly. 

10. Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole

·       1½ pounds ground beef

·       ¾ cup cooked chopped bacon

·       2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

·       1 (32-oz) package frozen tater tots

·       1 (10.75-oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

·       1 (16-oz) container sour cream

 

Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Cook ground beef in a large skillet until no longer pink. Drain fat.

In a large bowl, combine cooked beef, bacon, cheddar cheese, tater tots, cheese soup, and sour cream. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Spread mixture into prepared pan.

Bake @350* for 45 to 50 minutes, until bubbly.

 11. White Chili (recipe from my friend Lisa)

• 1 lb. ground turkey, browned
• 1 c. water
• 1 c. salsa (I used corn and black bean, and probably a little more than a cup)
• 1 c. frozen corn (I didn't use this because of the corn salsa)
• 8 oz. block monterey jack cheese with jalapeno, diced
• 2 cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Add everything except the water and cheese to a freezer bag. When ready to cook, reheat over the stove, adding the water and diced cheese. 

12.  Chicken and Rice Casserole (recipe from my friend Amy)

• 2-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 package shredded cheese
• crescent roll dough

Combine all ingredients except for crescent roll dough. Pour into a 9x13" casserole dish, cover, and freeze. When ready to cook, roll out crescent roll dough over the top of the chicken/rice mixture. Bake upwards of 30 minutes at 350*.

13. Crack Chicken Noodle Soup

• 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 (10.75-oz) can condensed cheese soup
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 carrots thinly sliced
• 1 (1-oz) package Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
• ½ cup cooked chopped bacon
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 8- oz dried fine egg noodles uncooked

1. In a large stockpot/Dutch oven, combine cooked chicken, cheese soup, chicken broth, milk, chopped celery, sliced carrots, Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix and Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
3. Stir in dried noodles and shredded cheddar cheese. Cook for 5 minutes, until noodles are soft.

I actually made this as directed, we ate it for dinner, then I froze the leftovers because it makes a huge amount. I've done this before, and when you reheat it, you'll probably need to add milk or broth to add more liquid.