Frozen Dinners

I am sure that visions of packaged chicken nuggets or TV dinners are running through your head, but those aren't the frozen dinners I am talking about. What I am talking about is having a complete homemade meal in your freezer that you can cook on those days you can't take the time to prep, make a meal, and clean it all up. We all have those things that come up like sickness, running around all day and not having time to prepare dinner, or just not feeling like making a meal.

In the past, I would just have Lee pick up $15-$20 worth of fast food or takeout. I can tell you that that didn't always get a favorable response from Lee since a) he didn't like blowing our budget on fast food/take out and b) he preferred a nice hot meal when he got home - what man doesn't? So I decided that I would freeze meals for the future. I am not talking about an elaborate freezer cooking session. What I mean is that when you are making a freezer-friendly meal like a casserole or pasta dish, you just double the recipe, put half in a freezer dish/bag, and freeze it. Then when you need it, you just thaw it out a little (if needed) and toss it in the oven.

Personal story - This week I have strep throat. Today Lee pulled out a Chicken Pot Pie and let it thaw for a few hours. He threw it in the oven and baked it. It tasted just as good as the other one we had over a month ago. Here is what it looked like:

Here is the recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chicken
1 bag (1 lb) frozen veggies
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
½ cup milk
1 pkg Pillsbury pie crusts (2 in a package)*
* You can use only 1 pie crust for the top to save calories/fat

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put 1 pie crust on the bottom of a pan (if desired).
Mix chicken, veggies, soup, and milk.
Add to baking dish.
Put 2nd pie crust on top of mixture.
(Freeze if desired).
Bake for 30 minutes.