Freezer to Skillet meals // Freezer Meals 101

 

Southern-Style Ground Beef Casserole Recipe:

  • Southern-Style Ground Beef Casserole
  • 1 lb. browned ground beef
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
  • 15 oz. can kernel corn, drained
  • 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • optional: shredded cheese (cheddar or tex mex)

Assembly Instructions:

  1. Brown ground beef. Cool slightly and then add to a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Add the chopped onion, diced green pepper, corn, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.
  3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
  4. If you want to serve with cheese, place shredded cheese in a medium freezer bag, seal, and staple above the seal to the larger bag.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Heat in a pan until the desired temperature is reached. 
  3. If you want, you can top with shredded cheese before serving.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Cook on low in Crock-Pot® for 3-5 hours.
  3. If desired, top with cheese before serving.

Thai Chili Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 10 ounces ground chicken, cooked
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts
  • 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and sliced or in matchsticks
  • 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

For the Sauce:

  • 1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 tsp. sesame seeds

For serving:

  • Lettuce leaves (Romaine or butter)
  • Steam Fried Noodles (uncooked)
  • Cilantro (optional)

Freezing instructions:

  1. Add the cooked ground chicken, garlic, onion, cashews, carrots, red pepper, soy sauce, and fish sauce to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air from the bag and seal.
  2. In a separate medium freezer bag, add the sauce ingredients to a medium size freezer bag.
  3. Staple the medium bag to the large bag above the seal. Place both bags in the freezer.

Serving instructions:

  1. When ready to serve, thaw both the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator until no longer frozen.
  2. Pour the ingredients in the large bag into a skillet and cook over medium heat until heated through.
  3. Spoon the mixture onto a lettuce leaf.
  4. Top with crunchy noodles, sauce and if desired, cilantro.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe Tips & Tricks

Since this quick and easy freezer recipe is so simple to prepare, you can adjust the ingredients to add even more flavour to your healthy dinner. Try these recipe ideas as you’re meal prepping to create a delicious dinner for your family:

  • Add more veggies. There are a variety of different vegetables you can mix into your Thai chicken filling before freezing it. In addition to the veggies listed in the recipe, try mixing in some cabbage, onions, celery, bok choy, bean sprouts, zucchini, broccoli, or cabbage.
  • Try different cuts of meat. Ground chicken is a quick and easy option for this flavourful recipe, but it’s not the only choice. Ground turkey or pork can also be used. Or finely chopped chicken breast can be substituted for the ground chicken.
  • Serve the chicken over rice. If you’re not concerned about the carb count in your dinner, this Thai chicken recipe can also be served over rice. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice according to the package instructions. Then, serve the chicken over the top of the rice and topped with sauce.
  • Make it a salad. Lettuce wraps are perfect for grabbing a quick bite, but you can also turn your Thai chicken lettuce boats into a delicious salad. Instead of serving the chicken on top of full lettuce leaves, simply chop the lettuce and add the chicken on top.

Mongolian Beef Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb. package beef strips*
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup carrots, cut into tiny matchsticks
  • 2 green onions, sliced

For the day of cooking:

  • 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Assembly instructions:

  1. Peel the carrots and cut them into matchsticks.
  2. Slice the green onions.
  3. Add the beef strips to a large resealable freezer bag.
  4. Toss in the ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, carrots, and green onions to the bag.
  5. Squish to combine.
  6. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Skillet cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Heat in skillet.
  3. Whisk 1 Tbsp. cornstarch into the sauce as it cooks.
  4. Cook until beef is cooked. This will be quick, 3-5 minutes.
  5. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with some sliced green onions if you like.

*If you can’t find the beef cut into strips already, you can ask the butcher at your grocer to slice some flank steak for you or you can slice it yourself against the grain. You can substitute sirloin steak for flank steak if you prefer.

Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork or ground Italian sausage, browned
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 16 oz. bag coleslaw mix (I like the colourful one)
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1-2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

Assembly instructions:

  1. Add the browned ground pork, diced onion, minced garlic, coleslaw mix, and shredded carrots to a large freezer bag.
  2. Season with the onion powder, red pepper flakes, and ginger.
  3. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and olive oil.
  4. Remove excess air from the bag and seal it. Squeeze the bag a few times to mix the ingredients together, then place it flat in the freezer.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Allow the ingredients to thaw completely.
  2. Add the contents of the bag to a large skillet. Cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  3. Serve with sliced green onions on the top, if desired.

Egg Roll Bowl Recipe Ideas

Once you have the basic egg roll bowl prepared, there are so many different ways you can enjoy it! Try one of these egg roll bowl recipe variations the next time you whip up this quick and easy freezer meal:

  • Serve over rice. Create even more servings for your dinner with the help of rice. Steam enough rice to make one serving for each member of your family, then top the rice with your egg roll bowl mixture.
  • Add more veggies. Another simple way to enhance your egg roll bowl is to add more vegetables the meal. Stir fry veggies, like broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and zucchini all make great additions to your egg roll bowl.
  • Use different meat. You can easily swap out the ground pork for another meat depending on your family’s preferences. Ground meat, like beef or turkey, is a good choice because it’s quick and easy to cook in bulk. Or use shredded chicken in place of ground pork for a different variation on this easy dish.

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas Freezer Meal Recipe:

1 lb. beef stir fry strips
1 onion, sliced
2 cups red and yellow peppers, sliced
1 cup salsa
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

To assemble this freezer meal, add the raw beef stir fry strips, sliced onion, sliced red and yellow peppers, salsa, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Stir fry in skillet over high heat on stovetop until meat is cooked through. This really doesn’t take long at all especially if the beef strips are thin.

Serve in flour tortillas. If you want, you can top the fajitas with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, cilantro, or guacamole.

Ground Beef Stroganoff Recipe:

  • 1 lb. ground beef, browned
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp. parsley
  • dash pepper

Assembly instructions:

  1. Add the ground beef to a large resealable bag.
  2. Add all the other ingredients to the bag and squish them around to combine.
  3. Remove excess air and seal. Lay flat and freeze.

Skillet cooking instructions:

  1. On the day of cooking, thaw.
  2. Heat the beef stroganoff in a skillet on medium until heated through.
  3. Before serving, stir in another 1/4 cup of sour cream. This adds a bit of zip and freshness and livens the recipe up.
  4. Serve over cooked egg noodles or stir the cooked egg noodles into the skillet when the stroganoff has finished heating.

Crock-Pot® cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Empty the contents of the bag into the slow cooker and cook on low for 2-5 hours.
  3. Before serving, stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream.
  4. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

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