10 Freezer Meals in One Hour: Part 7
Here at Living Well Spending Less we are 100% committed to bringing you easy recipes that taste great and don’t take a lot of time, effort, or expensive ingredients to throw together. As a busy mom, I also want meals that can be made and frozen ahead of time to save time on hectic weeknights, especially as part of a Sunday Prep plan. My goal is to spend less time in the kitchen, not more, but I still want to be able to provide tasty meals that my family loves (and avoid eating out when we can!)
Over the past year and a half we have shared six different 10 Meals in One Hour plans, which have each included 5 great freezer recipes that can be prepared together in about sixty minutes. (You can find the previous plans here: Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 and Part 6) They have been a huge hit, not only with our own families, but with many of your families as well, and we’ve absolutely loved hearing how much you all are enjoying these tasty recipes!
Today I am super excited to share with you a new series of “fresh flavor” recipes.
As usual, in order to make the cut, each recipe must meet ALL of the following criteria:
Deemed delicious by both my kids and husband
No pre-cooking required (aside from browning veggie crumbles)
Freezer friendly
Easy to cook
Uses budget-friendly ingredients and pantry staples
In this one post you will find everything you need to prep 10 awesome freezer meals in about an hour of hands-on time (not including grocery shopping.) Just think, in just one quick weekend session you could have almost two weeks worth of absolutely delicious, family-friendly meals all ready to go!
Before you begin, you will need to gather your tools & supplies and also make sure that you have all your groceries on hand. I find it is easiest to go grocery shopping the day before I do my cooking. To save time unloading, only put away the items that need to be refrigerated. Finally, make sure your kitchen counters are cleared of clutter and sanitized and empty your dishwasher and sink of any dishes. (Check out this post for more tips on freezer cooking like a pro!)
Here are the five recipes we will be making:
Simple Summer Chicken Sandwiches
Spice Rubbed Steak Salad
Easy Chicken Satay
Easy Crockpot Lettuce Wraps
Easy White Bean Chili
Here are the supplies you will need:
10 gallon size zipper freezer bags
labels or permanent marker
large mixing bowl
cutting board
sharp knife
garlic press
can opener
dry measuring cups
liquid measuring cups
dry measuring spoons
liquid measuring spoons
Here are the ingredients you will need:
Produce
1 sweet onions
2 bunches green onions
2 lemons
2 packages chopped romaine lettuce (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
1 bunch fresh basil
1 bunch fresh parsley
16-20 cloves garlic
Ginger(freeze dried or fresh)
2 containers cherry or grape tomatoes ( optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
1 package Arugula (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
2 heads iceberg lettuce (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
3 carrots
Pantry Staples
Olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
Ketchup (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
Mayonnaise (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
Rice (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
Black pepper
Salt
McCormick Grill Mates Montreal steak seasoning
Pre-packaged chili powder
Brown sugar
Ground cumin
Garlic powder
onion powder
Chili powder
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Hoisin sauce
Sesame seeds
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Rice wine vinegar
Canned/Dry Goods
1 13.5oz can coconut milk
3 15oz. cans white beans
2 4oz. cans diced green chilies
1 16oz. jar salsa verde
1 8oz. jar/can water chestnuts
1 5oz. package croutons
1 32oz. carton vegetable stock
2 16oz. jar creamy peanutbutter
Bread
Kaiser rolls (cooking day only)
Dairy
1 container blue cheese dressing (optional,cooking day only)
1 9oz. blue cheese crumbles (optional,cooking day only)
1 stick butter
Meat
9-12 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
2 3-4 pounds skirt steak
2 packages Vegetarian crumbles
Frozen
1 10oz. bag corn niblets
Be sure to print the following pages before getting started:
Printable labels (designed to work with Avery 8163 shipping labels)
Printable Shopping List
Printable Prep & Prepare Instructions
Be sure to also print the following recipes:
Simple Summer Chicken Sandwich
Spice Rubbed Steak Salad
Easy Chicken Satay
Easy Crockpot Lettuce Wraps
Easy White Bean Chili
PREP
Prep your bags—either print labels using these ready-made printable labels or use a permanent marker to label each bag with the name of the recipe, date prepared, and cooking instructions. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! While you might think that you’ll remember what is in every bag, I promise you will forget!
Rinse and drain white beans
Chop onion and set aside
Chop green onion and set aside
Dice water chestnuts if necessary
Juice lemons and set aside.
Chop parsley and set aside.
Peel and mince garlic and set aside
Open up all the cans needed for prep day and set aside.
Prep raw chicken
PREPARE
Prep Easy White Bean Chili using instructions found here . Divide chili into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
Prep Easy Chicken Satay using instructions found here . Place chicken into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
Prep Easy Crockpot Lettuce Wraps using instructions found here . Place chicken or crumbles into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
Prep Spice Rubbed Steak Salad using instructions found here . Place meat into 2 freezer bags, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
Prep Simple Summer Chicken Sandwich using instructions found Here . Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
Once all prep is complete, place all bags in freezer until needed. After you’ve made your meal plan for the coming week, consider setting an alert on your phone to remind you to take your bag out to thaw the day before you plan to make it.
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Have you tried making 10 meals in an hour yet? What tricks or tips can you share?
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