Post your favorite make ahead and freeze meal

[jayali]

The post for the grocery/food budget has me thinking that I could save way more money if I planned better. Right now I try to cook on the weekends and freeze so we can have "real" food during the week. Some weeks I am better then others, but quite honestly we get tired of the same things every week.
So if you make ahead and freeze and can post 1 of your favorite recipes then I will be able to add to my collection and we will be much better about planning and saving money.
My favorite is Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Chili Recipe. I will post it later - am at work right now. I even make it during the summer and freeze.

Share ladies, please.

[hannah]

Ritzy Chicken:
Crush up 1 sleeve of ritz crackers and mix with chopped garlic, melted butter (1/2 stick), parm cheese (1/4 cup), and parsley. Top 4-6 chicken breasts with this mixture and freeze (either in a 13x9 pan or as individual chicken breasts in separate pieces of foil).
Take out of freezer and thaw completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

[o_mom]

I'm going to list some - let me know if you want recipes!

Red Beans and Rice - I freeze the red beans portion and make the rice when we eat it
Chili - regular, black bean w/chorizo, or chicken
Stuffed shells/manicotti
Baked chicken salad
Meatloaf
Shepard's Pie
Tacos

[Melaine]

o_mom, I'd love the baked chicken salad recipe!

I like this recipe for making a whole lot of meals at one time. I froze a lot of it to eat later and we were able to cover quite a few meals this way.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/r...rs-in-one-day/

I posted the veggie lasagna recipe the other day and it freezes great.

[o_mom]

Baked Chicken Salad

3 cups cooked chicken or turkey, shredded or diced
1 cup celery cut fine
3 cups partially cooked rice - cook 2 cups rice in 2 cups water or broth for 10 min, this is for white rice. I have used brown rice, but I think I cooked it longer - just cook until the water is gone
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup mayo (low fat is fine)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small can water chestnuts - either sliced or diced
1 small jar red pimentos

Topping:

1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 c butter or marg.
sliced almonds

Mix together all ingredients except topping. Pour into 9x12 in baking dish. Mix melted butter with breadcrumbs and spread over chicken mixture. Top with a few sliced almonds. Bake for 30 min at 375F. If cooking from refrigerated, increase baking time to 45 min.

For freezing, either freeze as a cassarole, thaw and bake, or put the chicken mixture in containers/bags and then thaw, pour into a cassarole dish and make the topping when you are ready to bake. I can double it and put into three 9x7x2 dishes and each one is about right for 2 adults and two toddlers. It is a great after-Thanksgiving dish when you have a bunch of leftover turkey.

[o_mom]

Found a few more when I was getting the other recipe out:

Salmon Baked in Foil
Pasta e F.a.g.ioli (it edits out the name if I don't put the dots in)
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

[jgenie]

Found a few more when I was getting the other recipe out:

Salmon Baked in Foil
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Would you mind posting these? TIA

[cmdnewton]

You must have been reading my mind! I was going to post the same question this morning.

I have been making the Lasgna Style Baked Ziti, but have been eating it before it made it to the freezer.

It's one of the top 50 Real Simple recipes:
http://food.realsimple.com/realsimpl...ipe_id=1123648

[Melaine]

lol....cmdnewton, I do the same thing. I have grand ideas of freezing stuff then we eat it up too quick...

[Jo..]

Found a few more when I was getting the other recipe out:

Salmon Baked in Foil
Pasta e ***ioli
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

lmao...I think f.a.g. in the f.a.g.ioli is blocked