I've seen a lot of my friends be very successful with this method, so I decided late last night that if we were going to get a snow day today, I was going to make a trip to Giant to get stuff to meal prep so I could keep busy.
It took a few hours, and Jason was very helpful with the meat part of the prep, as well as chopping some things, so I'd consider it a success. Now granted we won't know how they taste until we start cooking them, but I found recipes that were popular and came recommended.
I prepped 4 bags of each recipe and made:
-Broccoli Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole
(this is the only one that will not go into the crock pot)
-Salsa Chicken
-BBQ Chicken
-Orange Chicken
-Brown Sugar Chicken
-Sloppy Jay's
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Broccoli Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole
*This recipe is already made for 4 servings, you don't have to multiply it by 4
-- 10 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
-- 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
-- 4 cups chopped broccoli, lightly steamed
-- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of celery because I don't like mushrooms)
-- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
-- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-- salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
To cook: Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator. Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8×8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9×13-inch pan). Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
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Salsa Chicken
-- 6-9 chicken thighs, or equivalent body parts (I used chicken breasts)
-- 1 can rinsed black beans
-- 1 1/2 cup chunky salsa
-- 1 cup frozen white corn
To Cook: Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. Cooking time will vary depending on whether or not your chicken is frozen, and how big the pieces are.
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BBQ Chicken
-- 2 cups sweet potatoes
-- 2 cups red and green bell pepper
-- 1 cup carrots
-- 2 cups onion
-- 3 cups zucchini
-- 2 tbsp flour
-- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
-- 2 cloves garlic
-- 1 tsp salt
To Cook- Dump bag plus one bottle BBQ sauce into crock pot, cook on low for 6-8 hours.
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Orange Chicken
-- 2 cups carrots
-- 2 cups bell peppers
-- 1 pound cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts
-- 3 cloves garlic
-- 1 tsp salt
-- 1/2 tsp pepper
-- 8 oz. orange juice concentrate
To Cook- Cook on low in crock pot, 4 to 6 hours
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Brown Sugar Chicken
**I have to add more chicken to this one, it was the last one we did, so we
ran out. I will add a picture once it ever stops snowing and I can get to the
store to get more chicken.**
-- 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
-- 1 cup Brown Sugar
-- 1/4 cup Sprite (I will add this once I add everything to the crockpot)
-- 2/3 cup Vinegar
-- 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
-- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
-- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
To Cook: Add all ingredients to Gallon Size Freezer Bag, except for the Sprite. When you are ready to cook this, put all ingredients into a crockpot, add the sprite and let cook for 3-4 hours on high.
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Sloppy Jay's
-- 1 pound ground beef
-- Ketchup
-- Dry mustard
-- Minced onions
Unfortunately, this one doesn't have a recipe because Jason makes his from scratch, hence the name Sloppy Jay's. I can list the ingredients, but there are no quantities because he "wings it"
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The grand total for all of the supplies for these 24 meals was $130. We used all chicken breasts in our chicken recipes, so that was a big chunk of the cost, chicken and beef alone were $65 of the cost. Next time, I'll make sure to buy that when it's on a better sale than it was, but since it was spur of the moment, I didn't have much choice this time.
I will keep you updates as we cook them!
How far along?: 17 weeks
