Freezer Cooking

Well, many of you know about my adventures in freezer cooking. Lots of people have asked how it works, how I do it, etc.  So, I've decided to blog about it.  I will include pictures, recipes, and a shopping list.  After all that, you will be set to try it with a group of your friends!  All of this ended up costing right around $92 per family.  We did a $50 deposit up front, and then the remaining balance was split up and paid the day we cooked. 

This is enough for you and 4 friends to each go home with 17 meals in this day.  First off, let me list the meals you will make:

Easy Cheeseburger Casserole (each family will go home with 2 of these)
Tex Mex Chicken and Rice (each family will go home with 4 of these)
Baked Chicken Fajitas (each family will go home with 2 of these)
BBQ Chicken (each family will go home with 2 of these)
Chili  (each family will go home with 2 of these)
Chicken Casserole with Doritos (each family will go home with 2 of these)
Chicken Casserole with Crispy Onions (each family will go home with 3 of these)

Shopping List
I'll note approximate prices and best deals we found!

80 chicken breasts from Sams (instead of counting by lbs for the chicken, we counted the # of breasts we would need from Sams.  They are very large!)
15 lb ground beef (large "log" bought at Sams )
30 onions (we bought 2 large orange bags of onions at Sams)
60 cups Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (Large bags at Sams--we went a little short on just about every recipe to save calories and money)
25 cups of self rising flour (Large bag at Kroger, approximately $3.50)
30 oz sour cream (we bought the large container at Sams, Daisy brand)
5 eggs (Aldi)
32.5 cups dry rice (I bought a 10 lb bag at Kroger and it was just enough! It's in a purple bag)
40 cans Rotel (Aldi, buy the off brand for about 59 cents per can vs. 99 cents at Sams/Kroger)
10 cans corn (We bought one very large can at Sams for around $3 PLUS 2 individual cans at Aldi)
10 Red Peppers (I bought these on sale at Kroger...4 for $5, kept trying Aldi, but they were sold out)
10 Green Peppers (I also bought these at Kroger for 79 cents each since Aldi was sold out, but Aldi usually always has a 3 pack for very cheap.)
10 TBSP Canola Oil (I had this on hand, but a very small bottle will do you, Aldi)
20 tsp Chili Powder (One container is plenty for this day, Aldi, 99 cents)
20 tsp Ground Cumin (One container is plenty for this day, Aldi, 99 cents)
2.5 tsp salt (One large container at Aldi)
120 oz BBQ Sauce (We bought the Cattleman's Brand at Sams, perfect amount, around $10)
5 cups Italian Dressing (I bought 3 bottles at Aldi)
2.5 cups Brown Sugar (One small package at Aldi)
20 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce (I bought the large bottle at Kroger, but the small should do it since we had half the bottle left over)
15 cans Kidney Beans (bought all cans at Aldi, 59 cents)

15 cans diced tomatoes (bought all cans at Aldi, 59 cents)
15 cans seasoned chili beans (I bought 2 large cans at Walmart, the Bush's brand, both cans about $8 total)
145 oz tomato sauce (We bought 2 large cans at Sams, each can was less than $3, I believe)
20 cans cream of chicken (bought all cans at Aldi, 59 cents)
10 bags Nacho Cheese Doritos (bought all bags at Aldi, Clancy's brand, approximately $1.29 per bag)
10 cans black beans (bought all cans at Aldi, 59 cents)
10 taco mix packets (bought all packets at Aldi, 35 cents)
5 cups chicken broth (bought one large box at Aldi, PLUS one extra can)
10 bags peas and carrots (It killed me, but I had to get these at Kroger, 10 for $10, they weren't sold at Aldi, Sams, or Walmart, or at least they weren't there the days I went for them!)
Ground Pepper (One small shaker should do, I just used what was in my kitchen, I'm thinking you can get a shaker at Aldi for 99 cents)
5 large cans of Crispy Onions, like Frenches (We bought a large bag of Frenchs at Sams, but I saw them at Aldi too, didn't get a price though!)
55 foil trays (Sams sells these in packs of 30 for around $5)
55 foil lids (Sams sells these in packs of 30)
60 freezer bags (I bought 2 boxes of these at Aldi) 

Recipes
 
 

Easy Cheeseburger Casserole (makes 2 freezer meals, trays)

For the topping:

2 lbs of ground beef (pre cooked)

1 onion, diced finely

salt

6 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

For the crust:

5 cups of self rising flour

1 egg

¾ cup of sour cream

1 cup (more or less) of water

Directions:

·        In a sauté pan, cook together the ground beef and onion over medium high heat until onion is soft. Set aside to cool.

·        Make the crust first by combining the flour, egg, sour cream, and enough water to bring it together into a thick, but spreadable consistency.

·        Spray the pans. Spread a layer of dough into each one.  Sprinkle the cooled meat mixture over the dough, add salt, then top each one with cheese. 

Write on lid:  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

Tex Mex Chicken Casserole (Makes 4 Casseroles)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

8 cups of cooked rice

2 cans rotel

2 packs taco seasoning

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

2 cans black beans, undrained

1 small can black olives, drained (OPTIONAL) (we did not use)

6 cups of shredded cheese

Directions: 

·        Mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl, except the cheese.  Divide out into 4 pans, then top each with cheese. 

Write on Lid: Bake at 350 until thoroughly heated and cheese is all melted.  Serve with sour cream and salsa on top and tortilla chips.  *We like it with Cajun Seasoning for a kick!*

 

Chicken Casserole (Makes 3 Casseroles)

4 shredded, cooked chicken breasts

5 cups cooked rice

2 cans of cream of chicken condensed soup

1 cup of chicken broth

2 bags of frozen peas and carrots

1 TBSP salt

½ TBSP black pepper

3 cups of French’s onions

3 cups of shredded cheese

Directions: 

·        In a small bowl, combine the cheese and onions together-set aside (for topping)

·        In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients together, then separate into pans.  Top each one with 1/3 of the topping mixture and freeze.

Write on lid: Bake at 350 until thoroughly warm and cheese is melted.

Chicken Doritos Casserole (recipe from Hannah Compton)

1 can cream of chicken

1 can Rotel

1 small onion

1 lb. cooked and shredded chicken breast

1 bag of cheese Dorito's

2 cups Mexican cheese

Directions:

·       Mix together first 3 ingredients.

·       Layer in prepared dish-crushed chips, chicken, soup mixture, cheese and repeat.

Label:  Bake at 350 until hot. Around 1 ½ hours.

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

1 lb chicken, cut into thin strips

1 can rotel, drained

1 medium onion, cut into thin strips

1 medum green pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips

2 TBSP canola oil

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp salt

Directions: 

·       Add everything to a freezer bag. 

·       Freeze

Write on label:  Thaw partially.  Bake at 400 til chicken is cooked.  Serve with tortillas.

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken

4 frozen chicken breasts

12 oz barbeque sauce

½ cup Italian dressing

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. Worcheshire sauce

Directions:

·       In a medium sized bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour on top of chicken.

Write on label.  Place in crock pot.  Cook 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. Turn off 30-45 minutes before eating.  Shred chicken with fork before serving, return to crockpot and sauce until cooled enough to eat. Makes about 10 sandwiches.

Chili (makes one large batch, separated into 2 bags)

3 cans kidney beans

3 cans chili beans

3 cans diced tomatoes

2 can rotel

2 pack chili mix

1 pound ground beef

1 large can of tomato sauce

1 onion chopped

Directions:

·       Brown beef.  Add all ingredients to two freezer bags. 

Write on label:  Add to crock pot and cook on High 2-4 hours or Low 6-8 hours.  Or heat thoroughly on stovetop. 

Tips

• Cook all chicken  (except what is needed for BBQ and Baked Fajitas)in advance. I've tried this in crock pots and I've tried this on the stove top.  I can get ALL the chicken done in no time on the stove.  I put them in large stock pots and fill them with water so they can boil.  I used my KitchenAid mixer to shred the chicken.
• Cook all the beef in advance.  I also put this on the stove in a stock pot (no water added) and it cooks beautifully.  
• Cook all the rice ahead of time.  1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups water.  I used the extra foil pans and cooked them in the oven.  Add a tiny bit of oil and some salt and cover tightly with foil.  I checked it after 45 minutes and then went another 45 minutes since it was such a large batch.  It turned out perfectly!  (I'm usually horrible at cooking rice, so this was a great accomplishment for me!)
• Measure all chicken, rice, and beef into large ziplock bags (these are not included in the total # of bags mentioned in the shopping list.  I just used gallon sized storage bags I had on hand.)  For each recipe that had chicken and rice, I went ahead and combined that and added it to a bag.  That way, on the day of cooking, most recipes were dump, mix, pour into a tray.  I think it saved SO much time!

We got all of this cooked and cleaned up in 4 hours!  This is our final product! (Anything that is supposed to go in a freezer bag is double bagged.)  Post comments/questions if you have any!  I'm sure I've messed something up in the couple of days I've been working on this post!