3 Hours of Shopping and Prep for 6 Dinners

On mornings that my kids have school and preschool, and I have tons of errands to run, I really love a good dinner that I can pull from the freezer, dump into my crock pot, and head out the door. What I love even more are prep-ahead freezer recipes that don't take me hours upon hours to prepare. The following batch are all chicken recipes that are so easy to throw together.

I picked up the large pack of chicken breasts at Costco then headed to Aldi's for the rest. When I got home I had already prepped my freezer bags and instead of putting the groceries away I just dumped everything in the appropriate bag and was done. Between shopping and prepping this batch of freezer-dump recipes took me 3 hours. That's 6 dinners in 3 hours. Each of these recipes could easily be doubled or tripled as well. We have more freezer cooking recipes here.

Black Bean Corn Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

2 (14 ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed
2 (14 ounce) cans corn, drained
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning
4 to 6 chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
¾ cup water

Directions:

1. Split ingredients in half.

2. Place all ingredients in 2 gallon freezer bags. Mix together in bag, seal, and freeze.

3. To prepare: Remove from freezer and thaw overnight in refrigerator. Empty bag into crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

4. When finished cooking, shred chicken and serve over rice, salad, or in a wrap. Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and/or tomato.

Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) can crushed pineapple or tidbits
3 to 4 boneless chicken breasts
1¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard

Directions:

1. Reserve ½ cup of pineapple juice from can. Set both juice and tidbits aside.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix together sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, and mustard. Bring to a boil and cook until well combined, about 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Once sauce is cooled, combine all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag. Seal and freeze.

4. To prepare: thaw overnight in refrigerator. Empty bag into crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours.

5. When finished cooking, shred chicken and serve over rice.

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon grated ginger
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup cashews, for serving

Directions:

1. Combine flour and pepper in a large plastic bag, add chicken, and toss to coat.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and brown chicken for 2 minutes on each side, set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes; pour into gallon freezer bag.

4. Add chicken to freezer bag, seal, and freeze.

5. To prepare: thaw overnight in fridge. Empty bag into crockpot and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.

6. Dice chicken and stir in cashews. Serve over rice.

Garlic Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

1½ pounds skinless chicken thighs
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1½ cups chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, seal, and freeze.

2. To prepare: Thaw overnight in fridge. Empty bag into crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. Serve chicken and remaining juice over rice and corn.

Cheesy Chicken, Potato, and Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 to 4 chicken breasts
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 pound red potatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon parsley
¼ pound Velveeta, cubed

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients, except cheese, in a gallon freezer bag, seal, and freeze.

2. To prepare: Thaw overnight in fridge. Empty bag into crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. Remove chicken to chop and add cheese to melt. Combine chopped chicken with melted cheese mixture. Serve.