This month we met at the church and made freezer meals for ourselves as well as for a bunch of women in our ward who are about to have babies within the next couple of weeks. These 2 recipes below are really yummy.
I make my freezer meals 2 ways. One way is to just make them all in a 2 day process. Compile my list, shop, and do meat prep. Then the next day I assemble them. The other way I like to do it is over the course of a week or two. I buy the ingredients enough to double the recipes, then I make one for dinner and just double it and put one away in the freezer. Then by the end of about 2 or 3 weeks, you have 10 meals frozen in the freezer ready to go for later. Your meals will do well in the freezer for 2-4 months.
I really love enchiladas. We eat a variation of them every week. My favorite thing about this dish is that I can mix it all in one bowl and layer it and bake. No rolling, no sauce, no specific order. It tastes phenomenal and it makes a really awesome freezer meal. Make one for dinner and make one to freeze. Just double layer it with foil before baking it and freeze. Then just thaw it and bake.
Layered Enchilada Casserole2 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I just toss a few chicken breasts in the crock pot in the morning to cook)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 oz)
1 can black beans, drained (15oz)
1 tub Santé Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Crème
2 cup shredded cheese. ( I used a combo of 3 cheddar and Pepper Jack)
3 flour tortillas (I used 6 inch)
1. Mix the chicken, tomatoes, beans, and cooking crème in a bowl. Combine well.
2. Place a 1/3 cup mixture on bottom of a pie plate or 8X8 freezer pan. I buy the foil ones. Top with 1 flour tortilla.
3. Top tortilla with chicken mixture and cheese. Repeat layers and end with chicken mixture on top and top with last bit of cheese.
4. Double wrap in heavy aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Label.
Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees 30 minutes or until heated through.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
(Submitted by Elisabeth B., taken from heavenlyhomemakers.com)
4 cups
chicken broth (I avoid canned broth or bouillon because they are also loaded with MSG. Here’s my easy
homemade chicken broth recipe, which includes
frighteningly ugly pictures of a chicken carcass. Again, try not to scream.)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups
brown rice2-3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon (or more) garlic powder
Sea salt, to taste
1 1/2 cups cream (heavy whipping cream, or fresh cream which has risen to the top of whole, raw milk)
In a large pot, bring chicken broth, carrots and onion to a boil at high heat. Add rice, stir, and place the lid on the pot. Reduce heat to low and cook the rice and vegetables in the broth for 45 minutes. (To avoid sticky rice,
don’t stir the rice while it’s trying to cook – just walk away and ignore it for the entire 45 minutes.
You can do it.)
When the rice is done, stir in cooked chicken, garlic powder and cream. Shake in liberal amounts of sea salt for best flavor. (I use
Redmonds Real Sea Salt, which is unbleached and full of natural minerals.) Cook ingredients for about five more minutes to heat the chicken and cream. Serve directly from pot, or pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish. This meal can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated in the oven at serving time. Cover and heat in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot through and through. Serves eight.
(You can also freeze this meal. To reheat, simply put the frozen, covered casserole into the oven, turn the oven onto 350° and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until it is heated thoroughly.)
Cooking your rice in the chicken broth gives this dish a wonderful, naturally delicious flavor. And in case I didn’t mention it before, the cream makes this dish…creamy.
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