Easy Meals

Instant Pot Freezer Meals: Chicken Paprikas

Dear Sis,

I’m so glad I had this in the freezer during your visit. It can be an extra challenge to get dinner on the table in time when I have company. Its always nice to have a few freezer meals set aside for these hectic times:)

Chicken Paprikas

Serves 4-6

Prep Ingredients:

2 lb. chicken thighs cubed

1 onion, chopped

2 T paprika

2 T tomato paste

1 gal freezer bag

Serving Day Ingredients:

1 c chicken stock

1/2 c sour cream

8-12 oz egg noodles (prepared and buttered)

Prep Instructions:

  1. Date, label, and copy serving day instructions onto freezer bag with a permanent marker.
  2. Combine all ingredients in prepared freezer bag. Freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions:

  1. Add stock and freezer meal to instant pot.
  2. Pressure cook 8 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes. Quick release remaining pressure.
  3. Simmer to reduce sauce to desired thickness. Stir in sour cream.
  4. Serve over buttered noodles. 

Pairing Ideas: simple side salads and possibly fresh dinner rolls.

Back to the Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Dinner is served!

Love,

b

Clicking on ads helps pay for our blog. Thanks for visiting:)




Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Minced Beef Stroganoff

Dear Sis,

Tonight we tried another instant pot freezer meal. This one is pretty yummy like all the rest! I’m on a winning streak.

Minced Beef Stroganoff

b
Instant Pot Freezer Meal
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

Preparation Ingredients

  • 1 (1-gal) freezer bag
  • 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
  • 1 lb. mushrooms diced
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 T avocado oil
  • 2 T parsley flakes
  • 1 T Worcestersire sauce
  • 2 t minced garlic
  • 1/2 t thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 1 (8 oz.) tub sour cream
  • 1/2 c beef stock
  • 1/2 c red cooking wine
  • 1 (12 oz.) pkg. egg noodles

Instructions
 

Preparation Instructions

  • Date and lable freezer bag.
  • Heat 1 T oil overmeidum heat. Brown beef, drain if needed. Cool on a plate.
  • Heat another T of oil. Saute mushrooms, onion, and garlic until excess moisture is cooked off mushrooms. Pour onto a plate to cool.
  • Combine cooked ingredients and remaining preparation ingredients in prepared freezer bag. Seal and save for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Combine bag contents, stock, and wine in pressure cooker pot. Seal and pressure cook 8 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes, quick release.
  • Stir in sour cream. Serve over buttered egg noodles with a side of green beans.
Keyword beef stroganoff, instant pot, freezer meal

Return to Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Love,

b

Like our content? Clicking an advertisement helps us pay for our blog!




Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Beef Vegetable Soup

Dear Sis,

These freezer meals have been so handy! We normally have to wrap up homeschool by three in the afternoon to start dinner, but we can school all the way to 4:30 PM with these instant pot freezer meals, which is inevitable on days we don’t begin until well after lunch:)

Beef Vegetable Soup

b
Instant Pot Freezer Meal, Beef Vegetable Soup
Print Recipe
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

Preparation Ingredients

  • 1 lb stew beef 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 lg potato chopped and blanched
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 carrots peeled and sliced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 1 c tomato sauce
  • 1 c frozen green beans
  • 1 c frozen peas
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1-gal freezer bag
  • 1 1-qt freezer bag

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 3 c beef stock

Instructions
 

Preparation Insturctions

  • Date, label, and copy serving day instructions onto one of the 1 gallon bag.
  • Place frozen vegetables in qt freezer bag, seal. Place remaining ingredients into labeled gallon bag, press out air and seal. Place both bags into another gallon freezer bag. Freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Add gallon bag and stock to instant pot. Pressure cook 10 minutes., natural release.
  • Stir in frozen vegetables. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Keyword instant pot, freezer meal, beef vegetable soup

Back to the Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Dinner is served!

Love,

b

Clicking on ads helps pay for our blog. Thanks for visiting:)




Instant Pot Freezer Meal – Orange Chicken

Dear Sis,

Another good instant pot freezer meal. I really appreciate how little work I need to do on serving day! 

Orange Chicken

b
Instant Pot Freezer Meal Orange Chicken
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Preparation Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb chicken thighs cubed
  • 1/2 c orange marmalade
  • 1/4 c hoisin sauce
  • 2 T low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T ginger paste
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • 1 1-gal freezer bag

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 1 c chicken stock
  • 2 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 T cold water
  • 2 green onions chopped, (optional)
  • sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions
 

Preparation Instructions

  • Date, label, and copy serving day instructions onto a 1 gallon freezer bag.
  • Combine all ingredients in prepared bag. Press out air and seal. Freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Add bag contents and chicken stock to instant pot. Pressure cook 8 minutes, natural release 10 minutes, quick release remaining pressure.
  • Using saute function, stir in dissolved cornstarch and boil until sauce thickens. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds if desired. Serve with a side of green beans.
Keyword instant pot, freezer meal, orange chicken

Back to Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Dinner is served!

Love,

b

Clicking ads helps pay for our blog! Thanks for visiting:)




Instant Pot Freezer Meal – Beef and Broccoli

Dear Sis, 

This is the first recipe in our Instant Pot freezer meal series. I did have to make a few changes. I added 2 T brown sugar to balance the flavor so it wouldn’t be too bitter for my little people. I wish I would have added the broccoli after reducing and thickening the sauce. Ours was too thin, but I couldn’t reduce it more without overcooking the broccoli. Without further ado, the recipe:

Beef and Broccoli

b
A freezer meal for the Instant Pot.
3.50 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Prep Ingredients

  • 2 1 - gallon freezer bag
  • 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb broccoli florets, frozen
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 T dark broan sugar, packed
  • 2 T hoisin sauce
  • 2 T low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T cooking sherry
  • 1 T ginger paste
  • salt and pepper to taste

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 2 c rice
  • 1 c vegetable stock
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • 1 t sesame oil

Instructions
 

Prep Instructions

  • Lable gallon bag with date, recipe, and preparation instructions for cooking day.
  • Set frozen broccoli florets aside. Combine all other ingredients in gallon bag, press out air, and seal.
  • Place broccoli and prepared meat mixture into second gallon bag, press out air, seal, and freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Prepare rice in your usual way. We use a rice cooker.
  • Add stock and frozen meat mixture to pressure cooker. Pressure cook 10 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes. Then, release remaining pressure before opening.
  • Stir cornstarch into 3 T cold water until dissolved. Pour into cooked meat mixture. Using saute function. reduce and thicken sauce to desired consistency.
  • Add frozen broccoli, cooking until heated through. Serve over rice.




Dinner is served!

Love,

b

Back to the Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

New Year Freezer Meals

Dear Sis,

I have an extra freezer dedicated to housing freezer meals. I find that just as often as we use freezer meals, we give them away… To a neighbor who had outpatient surgery, a mom friend who has a new baby, etc. Sometimes the best gift is a home cooked meal!

Two years ago, I got an Instant Pot as a holiday gift. The first year, I didn’t like it. The second year, I learned to make soups, stews, and one pot meals in it. This year, now that I am over the learning curve, I use my Instant Pot regularly, from steaming fresh vegetables in a flash or whipping up a side of potatoes, rice, or pasta. My goal is to extend my Instant Pot recipes to include freezer meals. Sometimes I need to use a freezer meal with only an hours notice! 

In the coming weeks… and months, I will be testing new recipes. This post will serve as a directory that links to individual posts that take a recipe from preparation to presentation.

Instant Pot Freezer Meals

Beef Vegetable Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Chicken Paprikash

Orange Chicken

Creamy Tomato Chicken

Ginger Chicken and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli

Minced Beef Stroganoff

Happy Cooking!

Love,

b




Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta

Dear Sis,

Today we had a delicious dinner that tasted way better than the amount of work I put into it! It’s another from the Taste of Home Almost Homemade 2013 cookbook we found at the little free library some weeks ago. 

Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta

Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken breasts thin sliced
  • 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
  • 1/4 c water
  • 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese soft
  • 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms drained
  • 1 (9 oz) pkg refrigerated linguine cooked

Instructions
 

  • Place chicken in a slow cooker. Combine dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 1.5 hours.
  • Whip together cream cheese and soup until smooth. Fold in mushrooms. Pour over chicken and cook another half hour.
  • Serve over fresh pasta.

Everyone enjoyed it! It’s always wonderful to add another recipe to my cookbook of family approved recipes:)

Love,

b

Lunch with Aunt Angel

Dear Sis,

This morning my sous chef and I had an early start, so we could me Shepherd Pie and Cookie Pudding for Aunt Angels lunch visit.

While I chopped the onion, Sous Chef William chopped the potatoes. Daddy is in the background sitting on the floor while baby sister spins counter-clockwise in the doorway bouncer:) She always uses her feet to spin counter-clockwise (shoulder shrug).

Josh browned the beef for me, while I put Charlotte down for her morning nap. Making lunch was a family affair:) When I came back, we put William’s potatoes on the stovetop to boil. 

While I made gravy and mixed veggies into the beef, my sous chef got busy crushing the chocolate sandwich cookies. He has a few refined techniques:

This first technique is a broad spectrum approach to cookie smashing.

The second technique is more precise and can be used to target cookies that escaped smashing during the application of the first technique.

I have a homemade shepherds pie recipe on the blog, but I have made some changes to accommodate life with a baby and toddler. When I’m in a real pinch, I use Bob Evans pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store. I thought I’d share my new mom hacks. Also, though I have not tried it yet, I’m pretty sure this could be a freezer meal. 

Busy Mama Shepherds Pie
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 pound lean ground beef
  2. 1 onion, chopped
  3. 2 cups beef gravy
  4. 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
  5. mashed potatoes
  6. shredded cheese (opt)
Instructions
  1. Brown beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat.
  2. Stir together beef, gravy, and vegetables in a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
  3. Top generously with mashed potatoes.
  4. Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
  5. Add shredded cheese during last 10 minutes of baking time, if using.
Adapted from b
Adapted from b
Tag Sis, You're It! http://www.tagsisyoureit.com/
I used GFS beef gravy mix: 2 c water and 1/2 c mix, whisked and microwaved in 30 second intervals until thick.

We had a wonderful afternoon with Aunt Angel! Our monthly lunches are such a treat:)

Love,

b