10 Meals in an Hour™: Part 8

Here at Living Well Spending Less we are 100% committed to bringing 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 and a half we have shared seven 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 , Part 4 , Part 5  , Part 6  and Part 7. 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 s0 excited to share with you another NEW series of super simple recipes.

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
• No pre-cooking required (aside from cooking bacon)
• 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 8

Here are the five recipes we will be making:

• Big Easy Cajun Bean Soup
• Creamy Ranch Chicken
• 5 Ingredient Pot Roast
• Portobello Chicken
• Slow Cooker Bacon and Beans

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
• colander

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Produce

• 1 medium  white onion
• 3 sweet onions
• 1 8oz. package baby Portobello mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 8oz. bags baby carrots (optional: for cooking day only)
• 2-4 potatoes (optional: for cooking day only)
• 16-20 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch celery

Pantry Staples

• Dried Parsley
• 4 cups red wine
• Black pepper
• Salt

Canned/Dry Goods

• 1 bag Hurst’s HamBeens Slow Cooker Bacon & Beans ®
• 1 bag HamBeen® Cajun 15 Bean Soup
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 packets ranch dressing
• 1 bag egg noodles (optional: for cooking day only)
• 1 box rice pilaf (optional: for cooking day only)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (optional; for cooking day only)
   2 32oz. carton chicken stock
• 2 32oz. carton beef stock

Dairy

• 2 16oz. container sour cream

Meat

• 6-8 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 lb. bacon strips, cut into 1/4 pieces
• 2 3-4 lb chuck roast
• 1 lb smoked sausage (optional; for cooking day only)

PRINT

Be sure to print the following recipes:

• Big Easy Cajun Bean Soup
• Creamy Ranch Chicken
• 5 Ingredient Pot Roast
• Portobello Chicken
• Slow Cooker Bacon and Beans

PREP

1. 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!
2. Rinse and drain beans
3. Cook bacon and set aside
4. Chop onion and set aside
5. Chop green pepper and set aside
6. Peel and mince garlic and set aside
7. Open up all the cans needed for prep day and set aside.
8. Prep raw chicken

PREPARE

1. Prep Slow Cooker Bacon and Beans using instructions found here. Divide mixture into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
2. Prep Portobello Chicken using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with soup mixture, press out excess air, and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
3. Prep 5 Ingredient Pot Roast using instructions found here. Place roast into 2 freezer bags,  divide onion and garlic into two bags with chuck roast, then divide broth mixture over meat,  press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
4. Prep Creamy Ranch Chicken using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with soup mixture, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
5. Prep Big Easy Cajun Bean Soup using instructions found here. Place bean mixture into 2 freezer bags, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
6. 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.

Want more 10 Meals in an Hour? Check out the entire series!

1. 10 Meals in an Hour
2. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 2
3. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 3
4. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 4
5. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 5
6. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 6
7. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 7
8. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 8
9. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 9
10. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 10
11. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 11

Have you tried making 10 meals in an hour yet? What tricks or tips can you share?