11 Freezer Meals Prepared in 1 Day!

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A few weekends ago I had absolutely no plans and didn’t know what I wanted to do.  My husband headed off to an auction early Saturday morning and I didn’t have aerobics.  While surfing on the Internet I came across something I had pinned on Pinterest about making freezer meals.  I searched the site and found several meals I wanted to make.  I then found another site with several different meals to make.  With nothing else to do I hopped in my car and drove to the nearest Sam’s Club which is an hour away in Morgantown, WV.

11 Freezer Meals Prepared in 1 Day for under $100!

While at Sam’s Club I bought all the meat I would need way cheaper then I would have gotten it at the market.  I also bought large bags of onions, peppers, carrots, and freezer bags.  After my trip to Sam’s I headed over to Giant Eagle while I picked up the rest of the ingredients for my freezer meals.  The bill was just under $100 but for 11 freezer meals I thought that was a good price.

When I got home I sorted my ingredients and put the meat in the refrigerator.  I chopped all of the vegetables and put them into freezer bags.  I then got a Sharpie marker and wrote the name of the recipe, the date, and any instructions needed on the freezer bags for the meals.  I got to work and in about 2 1/2 hours I had all 11 freezer meals ready to go!  I placed them on top of each other in the freezer where they froze flat which made stacking them easy.

In addition to the freezer meals I had 1 pound of chicken, 1 pound of beef stew meat, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and some other veggies left over for other meals.  Not bad for a few hours work of work and $100!  I’ve since tried most of the recipes and they are all very tasty.  I like that some of the meals are prepared in the crock-pot and others can be made on the stove top.  The variety of soups, stews served over rice or noodles, and one dish meals is great as well.  I’ve included the recipes and a grocery list, including pantry staples, at the bottom of my post.

Teriyaki Chicken  (2 bags)  adapted from The Test Kitchen of Melissa Falls
4 c. baby carrots divided between 2 freezer bags
1 large red onion cut into chunks and divided between 2 freezer bags
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, undrained, in each bag
2 garlic cloves, minced, in each bag
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breast tenders divided between 2 freezer bags (about 5-6 in each)
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce in each bag
1 t. black pepper in each bag
1 t. ground ginger in each bag

1.   Place all ingredients in the two freezer bags.  Seal and freeze.
2.  Directions:  Add 1/4 c. teriyaki sauce and cook on low in a crock-pot for 8 hours.  Serve over rice.

Healthy BBQ Chicken (2 bags)  adapted from The Test Kitchen of Melissa Falls
2 green bell peppers, cut into thin slices, divided between 2 freezer bags
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin slices, divided between the 2 bags
1 zucchini, chopped, divided between the 2 bags
3 onion, chopped, divided between the 2 bags
4 garlic cloves, minced, divided between the 2 bags
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breast tenders divided between 2 freezer bags (about 5-6 in each)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce in each bag
1 T. brown sugar in each bag
1 T. Worcestershire sauce in each bag
1 T. mustard in each bag
1 t. vinegar in each bag
1/2 t. salt in each bag
1 t. black pepper in each bag

1. Place all ingredients in the two freezer bags.  Seal and freeze.

2.  Directions:  Cook on low in a crock-pot for 8 hours.  Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Goulash/Beef Stew (2 bags)  adapted from The Test Kitchen of Melissa Falls
1 green bell pepper, chopped, divided between the 2 bags
1 onion, chopped, in each bag
1/2 c. carrots, chopped, in each bag
2 garlic cloves, chopped, in each bag
3 lb. beef stew meat, divided between 2 bags
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce, divided between 2 bags
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, divided between 2 bags
1 c. beef broth in each bag
2 t. paprika in each bag
1/2 t. black pepper, in each bag

1.  Place all ingredients in the two freezer bags.  Seal and freeze.

2.  Crock-Pot Directions:  Cook on low in a crock-pot for 8 hours.  Add 1/2 c. sour cream, stir, and heat for 10 additional minutes.  Serve over egg noodles.

3.  Stove Top Directions:  Bring to a boil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.  Add 1/2 c. sour cream, stir, and heat for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve over egg noodles.

Hawaiian Pork (2 bags)  adapted from Dreaming of Poultry
3 lb. boneless pork chops, cut into 1 inch pieces, divided between 2 bags
1/2 c. ketchup in each bag
1/2 c. orange juice in each bag
3 T. soy sauce in each bag
3 T. lemon juice in each bag
1 t. nutmeg in each bag
1/2 t. paprika in each bag
4 T. brown sugar in each bag
1 green bell pepper, chopped, divided between 2 bags
1 onion, chopped, divided between 2 bags
1 T. cornstarch in each bag
1/4 c. water in each bag

1.  Place all ingredients except the cornstarch and water in the two freezer bags.  Seal and freeze.

2.  Directions:  Cook on low in a crock-pot for 8 hours.  Pour 1 cup of the juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Mix in the cornstarch and water.  Cook until thickened.  Pour over top of the pork.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini (2 bags)  adapted from Dreaming of Poultry
1 lb. Italian sausage, divided into 2 bags
1 large onion, chopped, divided into 2 bags
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided into 2 bags
4 c. beef broth, divided into 2 bags
1 c. water, divided into 2 bag
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, divided into 2 bags
1/2 c. carrots, chopped, in each bag
1 t. oregano in each bag
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce divided into 2 bags
1 zucchini, chopped, divided into 2 bags
1 t. parsley in each bag
1 green bell pepper, chopped, divided into 2 bags
1 t. black pepper in each bag
2 (1 lb.) bags frozen tortellini
Parmesan cheese

1.  Brown the sausage in a large skillet.  Allow to cool and divide between the bags.  Place all remaining ingredients, except the tortellini and Parmesan cheese, in the bags.  Seal and freeze.

2.  Directions:  Bring the soup to a boil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the tortellini and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (1 bag)  adapted from Dreaming of Poultry
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 box long grain and wild rice
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
4 c. chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
4 T. almond slices
1 c. carrots, chopped
1 c. half and half
3 T. flour

1.  Cook the rice according to the package directions.  Set aside.  In a small pan saute the onions in the butter until they are translucent.  Place all the ingredients except the half and half and flour in a freezer bag.  Seal and freeze.

2.  Directions:  Thaw soup and place in a large pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir in the flour and half and half.  Heat for an additional 5 minutes.

Grocery List:
5 lb. chicken breast tenders
3 lb. beef stew meat
1 lb. Italian sausage
3 lb. pork chops
7 c. baby carrots (2 bags)
1 red onion
4 oz. mushrooms
16 garlic cloves
5 green peppers
1 red pepper
2 zucchini
9 onions (I bought a 5 lb. bag)
6 c. beef broth
4 c. chicken broth
2 (20 oz.) cans diced pineapple
4 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 T. sliced almonds
1/2 c. orange juice
1 c. teriyaki sauce
1 box long grain and wild rice
1 c. half and half
2 (1 lb) bags frozen tortellini

Pantry Staples:
Black Pepper                         Mustard
Salt                                        Ketchup
Parsley                                  Vinegar
Oregano                                Soy Sauce
Paprika                                 Worcestershire Sauce
Ground ginger                       Lemon Juice
Nutmeg                                 Parmesan Cheese
Brown Sugar                         Butter
Cornstarch                            Flour

This post linked to:
Strut Your Stuff Saturday,

16 Comments

  1. This might be a dumb question, but do I have to defrost these before putting them in the crockpot? (First-timer.) Thanks!

    1. I actually didn’t use a book, I chose recipes from several different websites and made my own lists. Sorry!

  2. Phew, finished. Took me roughly 4 hours with stopping to check on my 5 year old. I do have a few questions I hope you can answer for me 🙂 For the recipes needing chicken I added 3 chicken breasts, will that be ok? Also for the recipe with the sausage, do you have to cook up the sausage first or can you just slice it and place in the bag to cook later? Will not cooking the sausage first affect anything? Thanks for the recipes, my freezer looks so stocked now :o)

    1. Adding 3 chicken breasts is totally fine. It won’t change anything. The only reason I like cooking the sausage first is because I like to brown it. Not having cooked it will not hurt anything. I’m glad you tried this! I’m working on another post now doing 10 meals in 1 day. We enjoyed eating these meals all winter long.

      1. Thanks, good to know :o) I did 12 freezer meals today. This is my first time doing them and it wasn’t to bad, lots of time on my feet O.o Chopping all the onions was the worst part! You can kind of still smell them when you open my freezer.

  3. Are the “two bags” recipes intended to be two different meals, or should I put both bags in the crock pot together?

  4. You have inspired me to CLEAN OUT MY FREEZER and use up some of those things in there. I’ve been intending to defrost it anyway, but this will give me the opportunity to see what I have, what I need, and get ‘er done. I’ve been freezing meals for quite a number of years, plus canning and dehydrating, and every once in a while it’s just good to get energized about it. Thanks!

  5. These recipes look great! Do you thaw each meal overnight before placing in the crock-pot, or do you cook from frozen?

  6. Gosh you had a busy cooking day and I bet it will be well worth it on those nights when there just isn’t time to make dinner. I am going to a freezer meal workshop in a few weeks but love the look of your recipes and will be sure to try them when my freezer has more space! Pinning for later, thanks!

  7. that sounds like a great idea, sometimes Ihave it to cook but don’t feel like cooking it lol! I’ve thought about giving freezer meals a try as I have tons pinned too lol! thanks for shreing
    Helen

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