A Month of Freezer Meals

Planning ahead for a baby, medical procedure or just because? Here are 30 freezer-friendly meals to cover you for a whole month!

Kielbasa

• Slow Cooker Kielbasa and Barbecue Beans
• Slow Cooker Creole Jambalaya

Beef

• Slow Cooker Meatballs
• Simple Ground Beef Enchiladas
• Crock Pot Cheeseburgers
• Baked Ziti
• Crock Pot Beef Stew
• Slow Cooker Korean Beef
• Crock Pot Cubed Steak with Gravy
• Individual Mini Lasagnas

Chicken

• Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
• Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
• Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
• Slow Cooker Chicken Curry Recipe
• Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
• Crock Pot Sesame Chicken
• Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
• Cool Ranch Chicken Tacos
• Crock Pot Shredded BBQ Chicken
• Chicken Broccoli Casserole
• Swiss Cheese Chicken
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken Pesto Parmesan
• Peanut Chicken Satay
• Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops

Pork

• Lemon Basil Pork Chops
• Boneless Country Style BBQ Ribs

Shrimp

• Mediterranean Shrimp
• Shrimp Fried Rice

10 Freezer Meal Ideas for New Moms

Looking for ways to help a new mom friend? How about providing her with a few freezer meals that she can pull out and {easily} cook up whenever she needs them. The list below includes a few of my own recipes and some of my favorites from other sites!

1. Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
2. Mexican Chicken {delivered with a package of tortillas that can be frozen with the meal!}
3. Simple Ground Beef Enchiladas
4. Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy
5. Slow Cooker Pork Chili
6. Baked Italian Meatballs {delivered with a package of spaghetti noodles & a jar of pasta sauce}
7. Baked Ziti {delivered with a package of frozen garlic bread}
8. Slow Cooker Creole Jambalaya
9. Mediterranean Shrimp
10. Slow Cooker Cubed Steak with Gravy

Throw in a bag of frozen veggies and a tub of ice cream and you have just made one mama very happy!

Slow Cooker Pork Chili

Ingredients:

• 1-lb ground pork
• 1-lb ground beef
• (3) 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• (1) 15 oz can chili beans in chili sauce
• (1) 15 oz can dark red kidney beans
• 2 packets of chili seasoning mix (1-1.25 oz each)
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 onion
• 2 green peppers
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 TBSP garlic
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Brown ground pork and ground beef and drain off any excess grease. Add to slow cooker.
2. While meat is cooking, coarsely chop onion, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper (removing all seeds from the peppers). Chop cilantro. Mince garlic. Add all to slow cooker. 
3. Add all contents from the cans of tomatoes and chili beans to the slow cooker. Rinse the kidney beans and add with one cup water to the slow cooker.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Serve hot.
5. Garnish with sour cream, grated cheese and/or corn chips.

To Freeze:

1. Follow steps 1-3 from above and add all (except water) to a large freezer bag. 
2. When ready to cook, thaw overnight and then add to slow cooker along with one cup water and cook according to the directions above.

Baked Italian Meatballs

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 tsp minced garlic {4 cloves}
• ⅓ cup fresh basil – finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together all ingredients by hand. Roll into 1½-inch balls, place on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes (until insides are no longer pink).
3. Turn oven to broil and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to brown and crisp the outside of the meatballs. Serve over pasta with marinara or Alfredo sauce. Yum!

This recipe yields about 50 meatballs -- which is way too many for my family of three, so I always freeze half of the meatballs for a later meal (which still leaves plenty cooked for dinner and for my husband's lunches that week!). 

To Freeze:

1. Place meatballs on baking sheet and pop into the freezer for 20 minutes. 
2. Remove from freezer and place all meatballs in freezer bag and put back in the freezer -- freeze for up to 3 months.
3. When ready to bake, remove from freezer and thaw on greased baking sheet. Follow baking directions above once thawed.

Slow Cooker Creole Jambalaya

Ingredients:

• 1½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
• 13-ounce turkey kielbasa, sliced
• 12-ounce bag of Cajun style mirepoix blend (or 1 cup each of chopped green bell pepper, onion and celery)
• 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1-3 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you'd like it!)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Serve over rice.

Freezer Directions:

This is a great recipe to freeze. In fact, I usually make one or two extra batches when I make it for dinner to freeze for later. For best results, combine all ingredients in Ziploc freezer bag, label and pop in your freezer (use within 3 months). When ready to cook, thaw in refrigerator and follow directions above.

Shepherd's Pie Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups green beans (one can)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese (optional)
• paprika to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Remove grease. Add rosemary, sage and beef broth to ground beef and simmer for 5 minutes (or until broth is almost gone). Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into bottom of a 2-1/2 quart casserole dish. Spread green beans on top of ground beef.

While cooking the ground beef, peel and slice potatoes and boil in hot water (hint: you're making mashed potatoes!). Boil until potatoes are soft. Drain water and begin mashing potatoes, adding milk and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Add milk as needed for desired consistency. Spread mashed potatoes over the green beans evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika as desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated throughout. Serves 6.

Rosemary Turkey Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup plain Green yogurt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley for garnish
• Egg noodles, cooked per package directions

Directions:
Melt butter in large skillet or stock pot and sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add rosemary and ground turkey and brown. Add flour, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add cream of mushroom soup and water. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. Add Greek yogurt and serve hot over egg noodles, garnished with parsley. Delish!

I like to serve this dish with a side of green beans :)

Cream Cheese Chicken Bacon Wrap

We eat a lot of chicken breasts in our house {thank you Zaycon Foods!}, so we love finding new ways to cook them up! This recipe is A+ in our house -- both in taste and ease of preparation. Hope you will enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

• 2 large {or 4 small} chicken breasts
• 8 strips of bacon
• 1 8-oz container of fat-free cream cheese
• 1 4-oz can of green chiles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease 9x13 baking dish.
2. Place a piece of a plastic wrap on top of each piece of chicken and use a meat tenderizer to flatten. If you have two large breasts, cut each in half before tenderizing.
3. Place 1/4 of the cream cheese and 1 ounce of green chiles in center of each piece of chicken and roll with cream cheese mixture on the inside and 2 slices of bacon on the outside.
4. Place chicken breasts -- seem side up -- in the baking dish and bake covered {I used aluminum foil} for 45 minutes.
5. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the bacon.

Serves 4.

Cabbage Buns

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup instant rice, uncooked
• 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 package hot roll mix
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sauté onion in large skillet. Add ground beef, salt and pepper, and brown. 
3. Add cream of mushroom soup and rice, stir well.
4. Stir in cabbage and cook until soft.
5. Make roll dough according to directions on box. Pinch the dough into balls (about the size of golf balls) and roll out into nice squares, one at a time.  
6. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of hamburger mixture and place in the center of the square of dough.  Bring the corners up to the middle of the square and pinch the seams together with your fingers.  Turn the square over and place on a greased cookie sheet. Lightly brush melted butter on buns before baking. Continue until you've used up your ingredients.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are a nice golden brown. Makes 12 buns.

Mexican Chicken

Ingredients:

• (1) 10-oz can Rotel
• (1) 15-oz can tomato sauce 
• (1)10-oz  can enchilada sauce (I'm a wimp so I like mild)
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Mix first four ingredients in slow cooker and then add chicken. 
2. Cook for 8 hours on low or 4 on high, or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165*. 
3. Remove cooked chicken and shred, then return chicken to sauce and allow to marinate for 10-15 minutes. 
4. Chicken is great over rice or rolled up in a tortilla with sautéed onion and bell peppers! 

Serves 6+

Hamburger Oriental Casserole

Ingredients:

• ½ tablespoon butter
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup of instant rice
• 1 can bean sprouts
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• Chow Mein noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in skillet and sauté celery and onion over medium until translucent. Remove from skillet and place in large bowl.  Add ground beef to hot skillet and cook until thoroughly browned. Add cooked beef to celery and onion.
3. Add condensed soups, water, un-cooked rice, bean sprouts and soy sauce. Stir well and place in lightly greased casserole dish.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Top each portion with Chow Mein noodles before serving. Enjoy!
6. Refrigerate leftovers {this recipe makes great leftovers!}

Serves 8

*Are you on Weight Watchers? Use 98% fat-free condensed soups and this recipe is only 6 PointsPlus {with a heaping 1/8th cup of Chow Mein noodles!}

Fresh Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cubes or 2 teaspoon chicken bouillon
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup black olives, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat water with chicken bouillon and garlic - bring to boil. Add quinoa and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender and water is gone. Remove from stove and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, chop onion, bell pepper, olives and mozzarella. Stir in 2 quart bowl and add basil and chives. Top with lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt.

Add cooled quinoa and stir together. Chill in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. 

Optional: Add cooked chicken to make this a main course.

Taco Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup golden corn, frozen
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 (8 oz) package light cream cheese
• 1 lb pasta
• 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Bring 6 cups of water to boil and add pasta (I prefer pasta shells!). 

While pasta is cooking, chop onion and add to hot, lightly-greased skillet. Add beef and cook until brown. Gently mix in corn, water and taco seasoning. Cook until water has boiled off. Add cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted and well mixed.

Once pasta is soft, drain, rinse and pour in large bowl. Stir in ground beef mixture and 1 1/2 cups Cobly Jack cheese. Place in lightly greased casserole dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 2 (8 ounces) cans of tomato sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• 5-6 red, yellow or orange bell peppers (depending on size)
• 1/3 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat over to 375 degrees. Chop onion and add to hot, lightly-greased skillet. Saute with garlic. Add beef and carrots. Cook until beef is brown. Mix tomato sauce, spices and Worcestershire sauce. Add to cooked beef on stove. Stir in rice until well mixed. Take skillet off stove. Wash bell peppers, cut top off and clean out seeds inside. Spoon beef mixture into peppers and place in muffin tin to hold upright. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top. Roast for 30 minutes or until peppers are cooked and cheese is melted.

Rosemary Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

Directions:

Preheat over to 425 degrees. Cut potatoes into medium-sized cubes. Mix spices and oil in large bowl. Add chicken and potatoes; toss to coat well. Place chicken and potatoes on foil-lined baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked {turning potatoes occasionally while cooking}.   

Simple Ground Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 16-oz can of refried beans
• 8 medium-size flour tortillas
• 1 19-oz can of red enchilada sauce
• 2 cups Mexican-style shredded cheese

Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and drain any excess grease. Mix with refried beans. Scoop into tortillas and spread lengthwise. Roll tortillas and place in 9x13 dish. Use all of beef/bean mixture and tortillas. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and top with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and sour cream.

Turkey Kielbasa Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 2/3 pound dry pinto beans
• 1 package (13oz) turkey kielbasa
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water

Directions:

Soak beans for 8 hours or more. Cut kielbasa into 1/2-inch pieces. Combine soaked beans and kielbasa with carrots, onion and celery in the slow cooker. Add cumin, bay leaves, garlic, parsley and thyme. Cover with chicken broth and water. Gently stir to mix. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve hot!

 

 

 

 

 

Zesty Slow-Cooked Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Also makes a great barbecue chicken sandwich!

Special thanks to Cathleen Owens for this delicious recipe!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ziti (or penne) pasta
• 1/2 large onion
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13-inch pan. Lightly grease large skillet and sauté onion until soft. Add ground beef and brown. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

While cooking onion, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Drain water.

Layer the 9x13-inch pan as follows: 1/2 pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly!

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups Muenster cheese, shredded
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie pan. Lightly grease large skillet and sauté onion until soft. Add spinach and heat until excess liquid has evaporated.

While onion is cooking, mix eggs, cheese, salt and pepper in medium mixing bowl. Stir in cooked onion and spinach. Pour into greased pie pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before serving.