I Don't Have Time to Freezer Cook...Freezer Cooking

Time for some freezer cooking....life seems incredibly busy.  Just this past weekend, I had to have all 3 girls somewhere within an hour of each other only to have to start the pickup process 2 hours later.  I LITERALLY had an hour here, an hour there, to freezer cook.  But I managed to get several meals in the freezer in just 4 hours (all split up over the course of my day.)  I had three days of that craziness, and I am sure there are LOTS of you who can totally relate.

My Menu:
Main Dishes:

• Garlic Parmesan Chicken- Yummy Recipe Here!  I made 3 recipes of this one.  It is our family's FAVORITE chicken, even my "particular" eater eats this!





Baked Chicken Nuggets ready for the freezer

• Baked Chicken Nuggets- Nugget Recipe Here!  I love to have these for quick lunches or for dinners I know the girls won't eat. (Why waste good food if I can give them a healthy option???) 

• OMGoodness! Chicken - This  one is a new one for me that I found on Pinterest, but I made it slightly different...so here is the SIMPLE recipe...
• Just mix 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt- I used fat free Greek Yogurt, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Spread over chicken breast in a baking dish.  Cover with foil and freeze.  When ready to serve:  Thaw. Sprinkle Italian bread crumbs on top and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. I plan on uncovering it the last few minutes of baking.  It is supposed to be amazing- I hope so, because I made 2 pans of it.
• (UPDATE: My family loved this and have requested it again when I freezer cook next!)

• Chicken and Cheese Weight Watchers Casserole- WW Chic and Cheese Casserole  This one is not a "freezer" recipe, but here is how I adapted it:  Cook macaroni TWO minutes less than package instructions. Combine all ingredients, mixing well.  Add to greased baking dish, freezer bag, whatever your preference to freeze in.  To serve:  Thaw, place in greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  Uncover; bake 10-15 more minutes.
• (UPDATE: Yummy Eats!)

• Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken- I can't wait to put this on the grill with a Chipotle's knock-off recipe for rice!!!!  (UPDATE- Yummy!)
• Teriyaki Honey chicken  (UPDATE: We liked this one, too.)
• Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps  (UPDATE: It's like having a cheeseburger in MINUTES. A fave for sure.)
• Sweet Baby Ray's Burgers (UPDATE: Sweet Baby Ray's makes everything taste good!)
• Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa
• Chicken Taco Pizza
• Pecan Crusted Chicken  (UPDATE: Delicious)
• Walnut Chicken Salad

Lunches:

• Chicken Pockets  (UPDATE- perfect for a quick lunch or dinner!)
• Taco Cups- I used this recipe but put regular biscuits in muffin cups and added the taco meat to it.  Soooooo much easier!  (UPDATE- the new way tasted just as good and sooooo much easoer to make.)
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Pockets
• Grilled Cheese Pockets- essentially, the recipe above, just cheese instead of PB&J, ready to grill...then I added ham to a few.
• Pepperoni Puffs

Side Dishes:

• Lime Vegetables
• Lemon Pepper Vegetables
• Honey Mustard Peas
• Garlic Green Beans
• Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes  (UPDATE:  noone really raved over these)
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Sweet Broccoli Pasta Salad (UPDATE- perfect for those summer picnics and cookouts and since all you do is throw the sauce on it, super easy to ALMOST grab and go!)

Breakfast:

•  Puffins- This is another new one for us... I made them in large muffin pans...next time, I will try small ones, because they took FOREVER to bake, but everyone loved them.  I made them with all different toppings!  
• (Pancake Muffins) Preheat oven to 350, mix 1 c pancake mix, 2/3 c water, 1/2 c syrup. Mix together, pour in greased muffin pan. Top with banana, blueberries, chocolate chips, pecans, sausage, bacon....etc. Bake for 12-14 minutes and serve.  These were just OK- my kids prefer the Oatmeal Pancakes!                
• Oatmeal Pancakes  I make these with blueberries or chocolate chips or plain.  My 2 older girls like the blueberries, but the "baby" loves chocolate!

After making the menu, putting new recipes I wanted to try into the 30 Meals In One Day program...off to the store.  I had 2 hours to grocery shop and get it home before the evening appointments began.  I did it!  That was Friday night...

If you aren't using the 30 Meals software, you REALLY should!

Saturday Morning:
I got up and before we headed out in all different directions, I threw a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot, seasoned with garlic pepper and minced onions.  It could cook while I played Taxi Mom.

Back for an hour before picking up from softball....  So, I grabbed a few packs of chicken and trimmed them from any fat I could find- ICK!  Then put together these meals...

• OMGoodness Chicken
• Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
• Teriyaki Honey Chicken

Back home again before picking up another daughter from a birthday party.  I had 45 minutes. So, I assembled these meals...

• Pecan Crusted Chicken
• Walnut Chicken Salad

After an afternoon of errands, shopping, and an evening appointment, I came home and got the girlies ready and in bed. My chicken I had put in the crockpot was finished now. I cooked for 2 more hours and was able to get these meals done...

• Chicken and Cheese WW Casserole
• Chicken Taco Pizza
• Chicken Pockets
• Taco Cups
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken

So, for just 4 hours time....  10 MEALS IN THE FREEZER...On a day when I had no big chunk of time to cook...it seems like this is becoming more the norm for me.

Sunday- I put potatoes in the crockpot to cook so that I could make the Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  That is all I did today.  Our 2 church services followed by a meeting had me exhausted.  Plus when we got home, it was SUNSHINE and 80 degrees- playing in the back yard seemed like a much better use of our time.  :) 

Over the next 2 days amidst work, softball, school, ministry needs, and just LIFE, I fit in the rest of the cooking, but I wanted to share with you how you really CAN freezer cook when you think you have NO TIME to do it!