Need a simple dinner solution for busy weeknights? These 10 meals in an hour are freezer friendly and come together quickly.
As you’ve hopefully discovered by now, here at Living Well Spending Less my team and I are 100% committed to bring you easy recipes that taste great and don’t take a lot of time, effort, or expensive ingredients to throw together. As a busy mom, I also want meals that can be made and frozen ahead of time to save time on hectic weeknights, especially as part of a Sunday Prep plan. My goal is to spend less time in the kitchen, not more, but I still want to be able to provide tasty meals that my family loves (and avoid eating out when we can!)
Over the past year we have shared four different 10 Meals in an Hour™ plans, which have each included 5 great freezer recipes that can be prepared together in about sixty minutes. (You can find the previous plans here: Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4) They have been a huge hit, not only with our own families, but with many of your families as well, and we’ve absolutely loved hearing how much you all are enjoying these tasty recipes!
Today I am super excited to share with you a new series of flavorful favorites.
As usual, in order to make the cut, each recipe must meet ALL of the following criteria:
- Deemed delicious by both my kids and husband (plus additional testers!)
- No pre-cooking required (aside from browning ground beef)
- Freezer friendly
- Easy to cook
- Uses budget-friendly ingredients and pantry staples
In this one post you will find everything you need to prep 10 awesome freezer meals in about an hour of hands-on time (not including grocery shopping.) Just think, in just one quick weekend session you could have almost two weeks worth of absolutely delicious, family-friendly meals all ready to go!
Before you begin, you will need to gather your tools & supplies and also make sure that you have all your groceries on hand. I find it is easiest to go grocery shopping the day before I do my cooking. To save time unloading, only put away the items that need to be refrigerated. Finally, make sure your kitchen counters are cleared of clutter and sanitized and empty your dishwasher and sink of any dishes. (Check out this post for more tips on freezer cooking like a pro!)
10 Meals in an Hour™: Part 5
Here are the five recipes we will be making:
Here are the supplies you will need:
- 10 gallon size zipper freezer bags
- Avery 8163 shipping labels or permanent marker
- large mixing bowl
- cutting board
- sharp knife
- garlic press
- can opener
- dry measuring cups
- liquid measuring cups
- dry measuring spoons
- liquid measuring spoons
- 12 inch frying pan
- stand or hand mixer
Here are the ingredients you will need:
Produce
- 6 sweet onions
- 2 bunches green onions
- 3 green bell peppers
- 2 packages shredded lettuce (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
- 2 avocado(optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
- 1 bunch Italian parsley
- 5-6 large carrots
- 6-8 cups kale
- 12 cloves garlic
- 1 8oz package sliced mushrooms
- 1 lime
Pantry Staples
- Olive oil
- Soy sauce
- Ketchup
- Rice (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Honey
- Cayenne pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Paprika
- Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- Sesame Seeds (optional; only needed for cooking day, not for prep)
Canned/Dry Goods
- 4 15oz cans white beans or 1 pound dry white beans
- 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
- 12 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 packets chicken fajita seasoning
- 1 4oz. can green chiles
- 1 16oz jar of Salsa Verde
- 1 16 oz jar of Salsa
- 2 packets of taco seasoning
- 3 10oz cans of Rotel tomatoes or diced tomatoes with chiles
Bread
- burrito size flour tortillas (cooking day only)
- fajita size flour tortillas (cooking day only)
Dairy
- Sour Cream (cooking day only)
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 1 package shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Meat
- 6-8 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 pound smoked sausage (optional)
- 2-2-3 pound chuck roasts
- 8 pork loin chops (not thin cut)
PRINT
Be sure to print the following recipes:
PREP
- (The night before) If using dried beans instead of cans, soak beans in water overnight, then drain and set aside.
- Prep your bags—either print labels using these ready-made printable labels or use a permanent marker to label each bag with the name of the recipe, date prepared, and cooking instructions. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! While you might think that you’ll remember what is in every bag, I promise you will forget!
- Chop smoked sausage and set aside
- Chop onion and set aside
- Chop green onion and set aside
- Chop carrots and set aside
- Slice green onions and set aside
- Remove stems from kale; coarsely chop and set aside.
- Chop parsley and set aside
- Peel and mince garlic and set aside
- Prep raw chicken if necessary
PREPARE
- Prep Kale & White Bean Soup using instructions found here. Divide mixture into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
- Prep Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops using instructions found here. Divide mixture into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
- Prep Crockpot Beef Burritos using instructions found here. Place meat into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
- Prep Crockpot Chicken Fajitas using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
- Prep Honey Sesame Chicken using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
- Once all prep is complete, place all bags in freezer until needed. After you’ve made your meal plan for the coming week, consider setting an alert on your phone to remind you to take your bag out to thaw the day before you plan to make it!
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Want more 10 Meals in an Hour? Check out the entire series!
- 10 Meals in an Hour
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 2
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 3
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 4
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 5
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 6
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 7
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 8
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 9
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 10
- 10 Meals in an Hour Part 11
Have you tried making 10 meals in an hour yet? What tricks or tips can you share?
PIN FOR LATER:
View Comments
This is going to make the meal planning so much easier!
Hi Ruth, thanks for compiling all this information. Perhaps a I am not as swift as you but this took me more like 2 hours to prep (even with mise en place.) I decided to go ahead and cook one of the kale/bean soups tonight, and it is pretty tasty. I may try another of your compilations, but next time I will give myself more time. Still, 10 meals in two hours is great. Thank you.
I noticed the pork chop recipe says don't overcook, but for the other recipes, can they be on low for 10-12 hours? Freezer cooking looks great for the days I work, but I can't be home in the middle of the day to put food in the crockpot... can I just put it in and leave it all day? Thanks!
Thanks so much Ruth! Just put together all these, e
What a great resource! I'm obsessed with Once a Month Freezer Cooking. We ran out of freezer meals after our youngest was born in late December and I'm not up for a full day of cooking yet so this is perfect! Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I've got 7 kids, and I am right on the brink of my busy season with baseball times two, swim team times 2, swimming lessons times 2, and marching band times 3, ALL of which happen over the dinner hour. This is the time of year when I stock my freezer with meals. Thanks for getting me off to a great start all in the same place!
Thanks for sharing this, Ruth! I only have one child but it's so hard to find the time for cooking dinner between working from home, changing diapers, and housework. This is going to make the meal planning so much easier!