Having a well-stocked freezer is invaluable – because you really never know what life will throw your way. Whether you’re forced to stay home because of a COVID quarantine or you just can’t make it to the store because of car trouble, having meals in the freezer ready-to-go can be immensely helpful.
Today, I’m going to show you what I keep in my freezer for emergencies – and how I use it.
Continue readingI love a good freezer recipe – and I love that this one isn’t your typical casserole or soup. Now, don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of casseroles and soups in my freezer – but this is a great choice for nights when you just want something different.
I generally make these in batches of 4-5 dinners. You can swap out the protein, too – pork, beef, and shrimp all work well here! It’s also a great one to get the kids to help with. Jake can help with the measuring and dumping; Julie helps shake all the ingredients up!
Freezer-Friendly Chicken Fried Rice
(A Kate’s Recipe Box Original)
Serves 4
5 cups cooked rice
1 ½ cups peas and carrots
½ cup diced onions
2 cups chicken– cooked and diced
2 Tbsp. fried rice seasoning
2 Tbsp. oil
4 eggs
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 dashes pepper
In a gallon zipper bag, toss together the rice, peas and carrots, onions, chicken, and seasoning. Shake well to combine. Seal, label, and freeze.
Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet. Dump rice mixture into the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat, breaking up any chunks of rice, until hot – about five minutes. Push rice mixture to the side of the skillet. Add 1 Tbsp. oil to the empty side of the skillet and add eggs. Cook and stir until eggs are thickened but still moist. Combine eggs with the rice mixture. Turn off the heat. Stir in soy sauce and pepper. Serve.
Fried Rice Seasoning
¼ cup garlic powder
4 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
Whisk together and stir in an airtight container.
Two years ago when Jake was born, we stocked the freezer with dinners we could throw together. It worked amazing so we knew we’d do it again – but this time, I had a different approach.
With Jake, we were only feeding ourselves – so I could wait until my husband came home from work if the baby was fussy or I wasn’t feeling it. That just doesn’t fly when you have a toddler that wants to eat at 5 pm on the dot so this time I concentrated on meals that I could pull out of the freezer and pop right into the oven or slow cooker.
It’s worked really well. I’m still finding a chance to make dinner 2-3 nights a week but it’s been so nice to have the freezer stash for nights that are a disaster!
Here’s what we had in the freezer when Julie was born:
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Oven Fajitas
Cheddar Ranch Chicken Thighs
Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Roast
Slow Cooker Hawaiian Hula Pork
Chicken Potstickers
Spinach Prosciutto Lasagna
Taco Stuffed Shells
We also loaded up on bags of veggies and rice that we could throw in the microwave and a few frozen meals from Trader Joes. And, of course, Girl Scout Cookies.