Easy Freezer Meals- Pressure Cooker

I am having such an easy time with dinners using the freezer meals I prepare, and my pressure cooker. These great marinades are a hit. And so easy and cheap. I just make the marinade as directed, throw it in a gallon size plastic bag with chicken and freeze. When ready to use, I take from freezer to pressure cooker, 15 minutes later I have dinner done. Throw some veggies and rice in there, that's all my kids will eat. 

I have LOVED this type of meal planning. I know I will eventually get bored and change it up again, but I don't foresee doing that anytime soon!

The pressure cooker is my friend :)

White Chili in the pressure cooker

4 Chicken Breasts
1 T veg oil
4 garlic cloves
1 Onion, small,diced
2 Cans of white beans
1 can diced green chilies (I will omit this for my kids)
4 C Chicken broth
1 tsp chicken bullion granules
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Pepper
********
Sour Cream
Monetery Jack cheese


Add all ingredients to a large gallon size bag. Freeze.When ready to cook, pour contents from bag into the pressure cooker and cook on high for 15 minutes, natural pressure release.
Open lid and shred chicken, stir around and your ready to serve.
Top with sour cream and cheese.

***UPDATE
I am STILL using this method for my meal planning and I am officially hooked. I shop twice a month, make these freezer meals once a month and I am saving money, time and my family has never eaten better. You have to invest in a pressure cooker. It will change your life. The meat is the best ever and literally- I can pull out a 2-3 lb roast from the freezer that has been sitting in marinade, throw it in the pressure cooker and an hour later its literally falling apart.

Bourbon Chicken (without the bourbon )

Bourbon Chicken

Recipe from Big Oven Ingredients: 5 chicken breasts 2 T oil 1 t garlic 1/4 C apple or pineapple juice 1/3 C brown sugar 2 T ketchup 1 T apple cider vinegar 1/2 C water 1/3 C soy sauce pinch red pepper flakes 1 T cornstarch Directions: 1. Cut your chicken into small 1-2 inch pieces with some kitchen scissors. 2. Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it is hot, pour 2 T Olive Oil into it. 3. Add your chicken pieces to the pan and let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 4. The chicken will start to get a bit juicy and bubbly. Put the lid on the pan, slightly tilted and drain the juices out into the sink. Return the pan to the stove top and continue cooking over medium high heat. 5. Into a medium sized mixing bowl combine 1 t garlic, 1/4 C apple or pineapple juice, 1/3 C brown sugar, 2 T ketchup, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1/2 C water, 1/3 C soy sauce, a pinch of red pepper flakes and 1 T cornstarch. Whisk it all together until the cornstarch is dissolved and all ingredients are well combined. 6. When your chicken has a nice brown sear on some of the pieces... pour the sauce into the pan. Stir it around to cover all the chicken pieces. 7. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pan with the lid at an angle to allow some of the steam to escape. Let this baby simmer away for about 20 minutes, stirring a couple of times during the cooking period. 8. Serve over white or brown rice.

Chicken Parmesan - Easy

Ingredients:

5 Chicken Breasts, tenderized

2 T Olive oil

1/4 C Half and half- or heavy whipping cream

2 Cloves garlic, minced

2 C Spaghetti Sauce

2 C Mozzarella Cheese

2 C Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Basil- or dried if you dont have fresh

Bag if Italian Croutons

Directions:

Place olive oil, cream and garlic in bottom of 9x13 bake dish

Place chicken in dish

Cover with spaghetti sauce and basil

Cover with 1 cup of each mozzarella and Parmesan

Top with croutons

Sprinkle rest of the cheese all over the top

Bake 350 for about 45 min (make sure chicken is 165 degrees

Can serve over noodles or just with salad

Chicken Crockpot Soup

Katie- I loved this so much, had to post. Here is what I did with it but please feel free to make additions to this.

Picture Coming

Ingredients:

1 can of rotel

1 can of corn

1 can of black beans

2 frozen chicken breasts

8 oz cream cheese

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours. Shred chicken

For a thicker consistency, dont add the water from corn and beans. I actually took large lime flavored tortilla chips and placed them in the bottom of my bowl, then topped with the thicker soup. I had three bowls! :)

Parmesan Chicken with Spaghetti Sauce

Picture Coming

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Breasts

2 1/2 C shredded Parmesan Cheese (for the best deal I get mine at Costco) 2 C Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs (I also buy this in bulk at Costco) Penne Pasta 1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

Directions:

1. Place your chicken breasts in a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken flat with a meat mallet. If you don't have a meat mallet, never fear. Just use the end of any can from your pantry and you are good to go.

2. Cut the chicken into strips with a pair of kitchen scissors. No kitchen scissors? Round some up, guys and gals...you'll never scoff at a chicken recipe again. Your pair of kitchen scissors will save you a lot of time.

3. Roll your chicken strips around in the parmesan cheese, then in the bread crumbs. Then put them in a sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for for 10 more minutes.

4. Cook your pasta according to the package directions, heat up your sauce and you are ready to rumble.

Southwest Chicken

Southwest Black Bean Chicken in the Crock Pot Time: 10 min. prep + 4 hours cooking Yield: 8 servings Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

4 chicken breasts (you may even start with frozen)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 of a 6 oz can tomato paste

2 15 oz cans corn

2 15 oz cans black beans

2 15 oz cans kidney beans

2 14.5 oz cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

1 Southwest marinade packet ( enchilada or taco will work as well)

Cheddar cheese and sour cream

Tortilla Chips or Whole wheat tortillas

1. Mix all ingredients except the chicken,cheese, and sour cream and tortillas in the bottom of a large crock pot. If you want it a bit thinner to eat as a soup, then add the liquid from two of the cans. Otherwise drain the liquid from the cans.
2. Place the chicken into the crock pot and cover it up with the sauce.

3. Cook on high for 4 hours. After it has cooked for 3 hours, take the chicken out, shred it and put it back in the crock pot for the remaining hour.

Stuffing Chicken

Recipe from Jamie cooks it up

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, pounded out flat
8 slices Swiss cheese (or about 3/4 C shredded cheese) I actually used pepper jack cheese to add more flavor, might be too hot for some kids but all mine ate it!
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% fat free)
1 c milk
1 Stove Top Stuffing box (usually chicken flavored)
1/4 C butter melted (I always make it with out the butter...trying to shave a bit of fat off the menu)

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of your crock pot (or casserole dish, if baking in the oven)
2. Lay the chicken out flat in the bottom of the dish.
3. Cover with the cheese.
4. Mix the soup and the milk together and pour over the top of the cheese.
5. Dump the box of stuffing over the top, and drizzle butter over it. (I usually spray it with some cooking spray instead)
6. For the Crock Pot cook on high for 4 hours. The last 1/2 an hour turn the lid sideways, so that some of the stream can escape. You don't want your stuffing to be too soggy.
7. For the Oven, cover and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the foil off and bake 7-10 minutes more.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Recipe from adapted from What's Cookin' Chicago

Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/2 C milk

3 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 t dried parsley

Sauce:

1 14 ounce can cream of chicken soup

2 T sour cream

2 T butter

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.

Chicken Marsala

Another favorite of my kids for italian night

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)
3/4 cup Marsala- I use cooking marsala off the walmart shelf
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions:

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine- I use the cooking wine on the walmart shelf
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Directions:

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Taco Chicken- Crockpot

3-6 chicken breasts
1pkg taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth

Mix seasoning and broth together till combined.
Pour over chicken breasts in crockpot. Cook 4-6 hrs on low.
Shred chicken inside crockpot, will shred super easy.
This is great for tacos, burritos, nachos, or add to salads.
I keep in freezer a big batch to pull out and add to whatever I want.

Freezer Bag Method:
Place trimmed, lightly pounded chicken breast in freezer bag. Add combined broth and seasoning. Seal out air. Label, and freeze laying flat in freezer. When ready to cook, put all contents into crockpot on low for 6 hrs. I do this when chicken is frozen all the time, right out of the freezer, works great!

More Freezer Bag chicken recipes!

Honey Mustard Chicken- Crockpot
Get ready.....Its going to be a shocker, a whole whopping 2 ing to this chicken! But this chicken is delicious!

4-6 chicken breasts
1/2 honey
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
Dash of salt and pepper

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl till combined and smooth.
Pour over chicken breasts in crock pot.
Cook low 6 hrs.
Turn chicken about half way through cooking to make sure both sides are coating nicely.
Before serving, I take a fork and pull chicken apart, making one piece of chicken into 2 or three.

Serve with fried rice, or mashed potatoes!

Freezer Bag Method!
Follow the above directions except place trimmed, lightly pounded chicken breasts in plastic freezer bag. Pour mixed ing. over chicken, squeeze air out and seal. Label and lay flat in freezer.

To cook: Place contents of bag directly into crockpot. Even frozen! Just make sure the chicken breasts lay flat, then turn over in the middle of cooking to make sure evenly coated.

Indian Chicken

This is a slow cooker recipe- and I would say this is not a favorite kid meal. Curry usually doesn't go over well with kids so it's more an adult/big kid meal. But it's super yummy and healthy and so it's definitely going in our SAS 'recipe box'

2lb. Skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1' pieces.

1 Medium onion chopped

3 Cloves garlic, minced

5 tsp. Curry powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper and/or cayenne pepper

1 15-oz can chickpeas or black eyed peas, or you can even go black bean if you want, drained

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 Cup Chicken broth

1 Bay leaf

2 T Lime juice

1-2 cups baby spinach, optional

Hot cooked rice

Add chicken, onion, and garlic to the slow cooker. Add curry powder, ginger, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf. Cover and cook 6-8 hours on low.

Stir in lime juice and spinach, let stand a couple minutes so the spinach wilts,then serve with rice.

Roast Chicken- Crock pot

Similar recipe I use for a beef roast. We love this with chicken for Sunday dinner!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 pkt lipton onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken soup (can use Cream of Mushroom instead)
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
1 onion thinly sliced
*potatoes and carrots

Place potatoes and carrots and half sliced onion in bottom of crock pot. Mix together water, soup mix, and Cream soup together. Place chicken breasts on top. Cover with soup mix and other half of onions.
Cook on low 4-6 hours

Highly Recommended Freezer Bag method:Place trimmed chicken breasts in freezer bag. Stir all ing. together except the potatoes and carrots. Add to bag. Lay bag flat to release air. Put in freezer until ready to use. I place the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of crockpot then pour the freezer bag contents on top! You can also shred chicken and serve over rice!

Balsamic Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Fabulous low-fat crock-pot chicken, and taste amazing. This really brings in the great fall flavors! I found it on Simplify Supper, and changed it to work in the crockpot.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
1 onion thinly sliced
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried or fresh rosemarry
1-2 TBS butter

Put sweet potatoes in bottom of greased crock pot. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and a few pats of butter. Now layer most of the sliced onions over poatoes, add a dash of salt and pepper. Drizzle half the balsamic vinegar over potatoes and onions.Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts and place in crock pot, ontop of potatoes and onions. Drizzle olive oil, the other half of the basalmic vinegar on top along with a handful of sliced onions and rosemarry. Cook on Low for 4-6 hours. Your home will smell like fall in a few hours!

Crock pot Chicken Cacciatore

We have had this too many times to count. A family favorite, the chicken is SO good, and we love it over pasta. This recipe comes from the Fiber 35 book. It is Super healthy and just plain good! Looks like alot of ingredients, but it really is super easy, and most ingredients you may already have in the pantry!

Ingredients:
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp black pepper
4 chicken breasts, boneless skinless or thighs
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cups Sliced mushrooms- I often use canned b/c I have it on hand
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper strips
1 1/2 cups green bell pepper strips
1 cup thin sliced onion
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp Basalmic vinegar

Mix first five ingredients. Dredge chicken in these spices, set aside, Put 1 tablepoon olive oil in bottom of Crock Pot. Add muschrooms, peppers, and onion. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, and vinegar. Add spiced chicken and any remaining spice mixture. Cook on Low 7-9 hours. Serve over pasta!

Creamy Peanut Butter Chicken- Crock-pot

This is a fabulous recipe a friend gave me. We just love it! My kids kept asking for more. This is a great recipe for the Freezer Bag method. We love it with fried rice! These are ingredients you probably always have on hand, which makes this recipe great to add to your 3 months supply list!


-Creamy Peanut Butter Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 Cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons orange juice

Add all ing. except chicken and stir, it will take a minute or two for all ing. to incorporate. Pour over chicken in crock-pot. Cook on low 4 hours.6 hours was a little to long in my crock pot, just keep an eye on it. You can keep the chicken breasts whole or shred a bit. It will just fall apart, so we love to eat it in little pieces as it falls apart.

Freezer bag method
Add chicken breasts to Ziploc baggie. In bowl mix all other ingredients together. Pour into Ziploc baggie and seal tight. Freeze. When ready to cook, unthaw bag in refrigerator overnight and pour into crock pot in the morning. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

More Freezer bag cooking!

Spring is approaching and the last thing I want to be doing is slaving over a hot stove every night! Just another reason why I LOVE Freezer Bag Cooking! ITs not just for the crock pot! Here are some of my favorites for the BBQ. Just defrost and throw on your indoor or outdoor grill! Have frozen veggies, potatoes for a potato salad, fruit for a fruit salad on hand and you can have weeks of meals all ready to go!


I take one day out of the month and make about 20 freezer bag meals so my freezer is always full of ready to go dinners!

Here are some of my easy grilling favorites:
Thai Chicken- Click for great recipe
Italian Chicken- your favorite bottle of Italian dressing
BBQ chicken- Your favorite BBQ chicken
Teryaki Chicken- Add your favorite teryaki sauce to the chicken

Some of my other favorite Freezer Bag Meals:

PB chicken- Delicious! My kids just love it!
Southwest chicken
Cafe Rio Chicken
Roast Chicken
Sweet Pork
Plain Chicken Breasts- I love to fill 3-4 bags with already trimmed and pounded chicken breasts. I label the bag for the dinner I have in mind. My favorites to have chicken ready for are Chicken Caccetori, Coconut Chicken(new revised recipe) and Balsamic chicken and sweet potatoes.

I hope this will help you simplify your life, while continueing to save money and eat heathy home cooked meals! It has really helped me to do this! Buy your chicken on sale! Use this method with your own favorites! Good Luck!

Freezer Bag Meals!

Simplify your life by making Freezer Bag Meals!

For me, this method of freezer meals is a life saver! There are a few days out of the week that are the hardest, due to our schedule, for meals to get on the table. So, I needed something always ready to pull from the freezer and put in the crock pot. NO prep mess, EASY clean up!I take one day in the beginning of the month to do my freezer bag meals. I put together anywhere from 5-8 meals in only a few hours. Get your meat on sale, chicken or chuck roast, and save for your freezer meals.


All you do is trim meat, rinse and pat dry with paper towel, then place in a freezer bag. Add all your ingredients (except cheese, beans, corn, etc.) Anything you want cooked the full amount of time in the crockpot will do.
Place bags laying flat into the freezer. Take bag out of freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. The next morning dump contents into crock pot, or place on grill, or in casserole dish for the oven! Some of these recipes you can use for grilling or baking as well. Thats the great part about it, you can use whatever method of cooking you want, or that your recipe can work for.


Here are some of my favorite recipes. Just prep your meat the way you want it to be in your crockpot or grill etc. Depending, I will sometimes cut mine up in chunks,for beef stroganoff, or Creamy italian chicken) or leave chicken the way it is for other recipes, like grilling.




Make sure you label your bags with the date and recipe, you could also add any other special cooking instructions.

Italian crock pot chicken- (Add all ingredients to bag, just dice up cream cheese and butter into cubes)-serve over rice or noodles-
Creamy Southwestern chicken -(just salsa and chicken, add black beans and corn later!) Use leftovers for tacos,burritos, tortilla chicken soup, quesadillias
Cafe Rio Chicken- (Mix together all ingredients, then pour overn chicken in the freezer bag)- Burritos, nachos, quesadillas, soups
Cheesy crock pot chicken- (Mix all ingredients together, then pour over chicken in freezer bag)Over rice or noodles
Roast chicken- Along side baked or roasted potatoes
Beef Stroganoff or Roast- (Mix all ingredients together, then pour over chicken in freezer bag)- Serve Along side mashed potatoes or over rice or noodles
BBQ Chicken- serve with rice or potatoes
Thai BBQ chicken (Mix all ingredients together, pour over chicken, I love this one for an all ready to grill chicken dinner!)

Click here for Grilling Freezer Bag meals and more recipes!

Tortilla Chip Casserole

I got this recipe off Utahdealdiva.com
We loved it! Everything was on hand in our panrty, it was delicious.... its a keeper for us! This recipe comes to about 4 dollars for the whole casserole!

Jessica's Chicken Tortilla Chip Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes
about 1 cup diced cooked chicken- I used 1 can costco chicken
1 small can green chilies
1 can beans- pinto, kidney, black- whatever you have
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp taco seasoning
salt to taste

Directions:

Pour tomatoes in casserole dish, add can green chilies and seasonings. Crush tortilla chips and layer over tomato mixture. Mix together chicken, soup, beans, milk and sour cream. Spread over chip layer. Bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Top with cheese, cilantro, avacado etc. Bake for 5-10 more minutes Enjoy!