Recently, I have been on a mission to declutter my house and essentially my life! My kids don’t need half the stuff we have, and that stuff just gives me more organizing and clean up work.
As I have been thinking about my priorities and what we like to do as a family, I’ve realized we love cooking together AND it accomplishes a purpose. Why not teach my kids now to have fun working—because that’s really what it is!
One afternoon I decided to fill the freezer with some freezer meals, because let’s face it — in the summer, who wants to be cooking dinner every night? We’d rather be enjoying a hike or a playground or some creek play.
I decided to keep my freezer recipe simple so my 4 year old daughter could help me too. I learned this recipe several years ago from Money Saving Mom.
It can’t get any easier than this, folks! I do a few things differently than Crystal, but its essentially the same.
Simply prepare the following ingredients and then mix together.
- Make 10 cups cooked rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. I used the rice cooker so I could work on other things while it worked away and so my daughter could help pour the rice and water in.
- Bake some chicken (or start it in the crock pot that morning)—enough for 4 cups chopped. I often leave out the chicken. I might serve the dish as a side and throw some chicken on the grill, or we’ll just eat it without any meat. Another way to save some money!
- Steam some broccoli. I just use whatever we have. Sometimes I add more than the suggested 4 cups.
- Combine all the ingredients with a mixture of 3-4 cans cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup and 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese.
- Divide the casserole into your meal containers. I used to put it in bags like Crystal does, but then I started freezing them right in oven-ready containers. I have some nice glass pyrex dishes with lids that I use, or I’ll use disposable foil pans.
- When you get them out of the freezer, thaw them first and then bake them at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. If I find myself in a bind and didn’t plan ahead—sometimes I need a quick dinner—I will slide them right in the oven and bake them for a little longer. It always seems to work out fine!
I find these oven foil containers locally, at places like Glennwood Foods and Sharp Shopper. I usually buy them in packs of two or three for $1, which is actually about the same price you would pay to buy them on Amazon!
The pyrex containers were part of a portable picnic set with carrier, but are a lot like these available on Amazon. I pack them full because they are only about half the size of a normal 13×19 casserole dish—which makes them perfect for side dishes!
Be sure to check out Crystal’s full recipe with complete instructions. Since you know I simplify everything—probably too much sometimes! 😉
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