Freezer Meals; Keeping Food Costs DOWN!

Happy New Year, friends!

I hope that you are as ready as I am for 2o14. It's going to be the greatest year ever for us, I can feel it.

I've started out my New Year by decided that not only am I tired of cooking a full meal for just me and the hubster every night, I'm also tired of spending 200$ a week on groceries and then throwing things away because they rot and/or I've forgotten that I've even bought them in the first place.

Yesterday. Yesterday I spent $150 in the grocery store [Ok, I spent $180, but minus the cost of items I didn't actually need/use, it was $150] I made 138 servings of freezable meals at a grand total of $1.09 PER SERVING.....PER SERVING. That's pretty amazing in my eyes, and speaking of eyes...I thought they were going to pop out of my skull when I realized that all of these delicious meals I've made may not even fit in my freezer. Whoops!

Anyway. Step one to preparing your freezer meals: Clear out your freezer. Throw away anything that has been in there long enough to either grow ice on it or anything that you can't identify any longer. Step two is to clean your kitchen, there isn't a lot of prep work but it is much easier [and I was much calmer throughout the process with all of my mixing bowls cleaned!]

Step 3: Get to the grocery. For these meals you will need the following items:

Basics [Milk, flour, butter, salt, pepper, sage]
Chicken Breasts: 17 or you can pick up 5 rotisserie chickens from walmart(sale for $5 each currently)
Hamburger: 5lbs
Rice: 7 cups dry
Noodles: 2 bag/boxes [I used the wide, flat noodles but you can use whatever you like]
Shredded Cheddar Cheese: 2 big bags [2lb bags]
Pie Crusts: 7 [so 14 pieces top and bottom (walmart brand is a whole crust for $2]
Rotel Tomatoes: 4 Cans
Frozen Corn: 1 big bag or 2 small bags
Frozen Peas: 1 big bag or 2 small bags
Frozen Broccoli: 2 big bags
Frozen Carrots: 1 big bag or 2 small bags [I suggest cubed if you can find them]
Taco Seasoning: 2 packs
Chili Seasoning: 2 packs
Black Olives: 1 small can
Cream of Chicken Soup: 4 cans
Cheddar Cheese Soup: 2 cans
Onion: 3
Corn Bread: 2 boxes
Russet or Idaho Potatoes: 4 
Pinto Beans in Sauce: 2 cans
Kidney Beans: 2 cans
Black Beans: 3 cans
French's Onions: 1 bag
Chicken Broth or Bouillon Cubes
Storage Tubs with the cardboard tops: Varies

I went to Dollar Tree. They have packs of various sizes 3/4 for $1

I bought a total of:

6 large round [9"]

8 small round [6"]

12 small rectangle [6"]

The rectangle ones fit better but the pie crust works best in the rounds.

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Prep work is key. I peeled, sliced and cubed my potatoes, carmalized all of my onions, cooked my rice and hamburger and set the husband up with a trash can and a bowl and the 6 chickens I brought home [you only need 5 but I bought 6 because I figured we'd eat at least one while prepping]

I really liked using the rotisserie chickens for this...the meat is juicer [no matter how you cook breasts, they'll never be as juicy and soft as a rotisserie chicken...plus, we mixed the skin in with the dogs dinner and threw the chicken carcasses in the yard and watched our backyard chickens strip them clean in under 10 minutes.

Anyway, if you prep up front, all this really is, is mixing and packaging your meals up!

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Cheeseburger Casserole
[Makes 3 dishes]

2lbs Ground Beef
1 Medium Onion
6 c. Cheddar Cheese


Spray your pans with cooking spray. Line each tray with pie crust.

Mix together your hamburger and onion. Spread into trays.

Top with Cheddar Cheese.

To Serve: Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.


Chicken Taco Casserole
[Makes 4 dishes]

4 c. Shredded Chicken
8 c. Cooked Rice
2 can Rotel Tomato
2 packs Taco Seasoning
2 c. Frozen Corn
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 small can Black Olive
6 c. Cheddar Cheese

Mix all ingredients together except cheese.
Divide into dishes and top with shredded cheese.

To Serve: Bake at 350 until heated through. 40-50 minutes.


Broccoli Chicken Pasta
[Makes 4-5 dishes]

3 c. Shredded Chicken
2 boxes Cooked Pasta
2 cans Cheddar Soup
2 c. Chicken Broth
2 bags Frozen Broccoli
1 tbsp Salt
3 c. Cheddar Cheese

Line dishes with cooked pasta. Wisk Soup and broth together. Add broccoli, chicken and salt. Add to dishes. Top with cheese.

To Serve: Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, serve with garlic bread.


Chicken & Dressing
[Makes 3 dishes]

2 c. Shredded Chicken
2 pans Corn Bread
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 c. Chicken Broth
1 onion [carmelized]
2 tbsp Sage
1 tbsp Salt
Pepper

Crumble and line dishes with cornbread. Wisk soup and broth, add chicken and spices and onions [I also added peas, carrots and corn because it saves me from cooking a vegetable later] 

To Serve: Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with cranberry and chicken gravy.


Chicken Casserole
[Makes 3-4 dishes]

4 c. Shredded Chicken
5 c. Cooked Rice
2 c. Cream of Chicken Soup
1 c. Chicken Broth
2 c. Frozen Peas
2 c. Frozen Carrots
2 c. Frozen Corn
1 tbsp Salt
3 c. French's Onions
3 c. Cheddar Cheese

Combine Cheese and Onions. Set aside.
Line pans with Rice. Combine the rest of the ingredients and fill dishes. Top with Cheese/Onion mixture.

To Serve: Bake at 350 until thoroughly cooked warmed 30-45 minutes.


Simple Chili
[makes 5-6 dishes]

2 lb Hamburger
1 Onion
1 can Black Beans [drained and rinsed]
2 cans Kidney Beans [drained and rinsed]
2 cans Pinto Beans [do not drain]
2 cans Rotel Tomato
2 packs Chili Seasoning
2 c. Water
Salt, pepper

Mix together in large pot of crock pot for 30 minutes until warm, then box.

To Serve: Bake at 350 for 45 -50 minutes


Chicken Pot Pie
[Makes 4 dishes]

4 c. Shredded Chicken
4 Potato
2 c. Frozen Carrots
2 c. Frozen Peas
2 c. Frozen Corn
1 c. Butter [1 stick]
1/2 c. Flour
1 tsp thyme
3 c. Chicken Broth
1.5 c. Milk
Salt, pepper

Saute onion in butter, stir in flour and spices. Blend in broth and milk. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add vegetables and potato and chicken.

Line dishes with pie crust. Divide and pour filling. Top with pie crust and trim edges.

To Serve: Bake at 400 for 70-80 minutes

***** ALL OF THE RECIPES ARE OPERATING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU'VE DONE THE PREP WORK AHEAD OF TIME. ALL MEAT NEEDS TO BE COOKED BEFORE ADDING TO RECIPE AND FREEZING *****

***** Also, to make it easier for you in the long run, label each dish with it's contents, date it was made and it's reheating instuctions! This way, you just remove lid and set the timer when it comes time to cook! *****