Freezer Meal Recipes for Active Families
February 21, 2023
This post continues the theme of how to have healthy food on hand for active families on the go.
It provides the recipes mentioned in my blog:
How to Spend Less Time in the Kitchen with an Active Family.
Each of the recipes below are a hit with my family and I’ve found them to be super versatile, as well as easy to make. Depending on how much meat I have on hand, I may double or even triple the recipe! For example, I recently made the barbacoa and pulled pork recipes and tripled them because I had enough meat to do so. This will save me so much time in the kitchen for future meals! 
I put some in the fridge for that week (dinner and lunches) and the rest goes into smaller freezer bags in the freezer for future meals. I used to make the mistake of putting ALL the meat in one giant bag and then I had the problem of having to eat all that meat in a week or toss it. I certainly didn’t want to toss it and my family was so sick of it by the end of the week that they never wanted to see it again! So do yourself a favor and get quart sized bags or better yet, a Food Saver machine!
Shredded Chicken
This is the easiest and most versatile of the recipes here. You can literally use this in place of chicken in almost any recipe you eat. My daughter actually eats this just as a snack or as her protein for a meal. No need to buy rotisserie chickens when you have your own shredded chicken at home!
Ingredients:
- 3 chicken breasts
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 c. broth or use my homemade bone broth recipe (see recipe here)
Directions:
You can make this in a Dutch oven, slow cooker or instant pot depending on what you have available. Dutch Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients in Dutch oven and cover with lid. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Shred when done. Slow Cooker: Put all ingredients in slow cooker and turn on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Shred when done. Instant Pot: Put all ingredients in slow cooker and turn to high for 10 minutes and natural release for 5 minutes. Make sure your instant pot is set to “seal” before starting to cook!
What you can make with this:
- Put on pizza
- Quinoa salad with chicken on top
- Put on a salad
- Stuff in a baked potato w/broccoli & cheese
- Put in soups
- Chicken broccoli quinoa bake (see recipe here)
- Anything you’d use chicken in…the possibilities are endless!
Salsa Verde Chicken
Ingredients:
- 3 chicken breasts
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 16 oz store-bought salsa verde
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
Directions:
You can make this in a Dutch oven, slow cooker or instant pot depending on what you have available. Dutch Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients in Dutch oven and cover with lid. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Shred when done. Slow Cooker: Put all ingredients in slow cooker and turn on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours. Shred when done. Instant Pot: Put all ingredients in slow cooker and turn to high for 10 minutes and natural release for 5 minutes. Make sure your instant pot is set to “seal” before starting to cook!
What you can make with this:
- Eat a small bowl of it as your protein for that meal (my favorite because it’s so tasty!) w/cilantro brown rice and sauteed veggies
- Put in tacos
- Make a burrito bowl w/sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and guac
- Nachos: top some whole grain tortilla chips with the chicken, cilantro, bell pepper, green onions and guac.
- Taco salad
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
I use this recipe for my Instant Pot pulled pork. If I have the time, I will smoke the pork on our smoker using a totally different recipe. But let’s be honest, most of the time I don’t have the time to devote to that so I use this recipe way more! It’s quite frankly the best I’ve found and my WHOLE family loves it, which is a win-win for me!!
What you can make with this:
- Makes for an easy dinner w/canned green beans and either baked potato or instant mashed potatoes
- Pulled pork sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bun and side salad
- Make a pulled pork bowl w/microwave brown rice, can of pinto beans, sliced avocado, green onions and chipotle in adobo sauce if you like a little spice
Barbacoa
Traditionally you’d make barbacoa with beef but this last time I made it with venison from a deer my husband caught on the last day of the season! If you can get your hands on some venison, I highly recommend it. It’s a great lean source of protein that’s organic! This recipe is another WHOLE family favorite because the meat is so flavorful and it’s also so versatile. You can get several meals out of this meat and no one will know that it’s a dreaded leftover!
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs beef or venison roast cut into fist-sized chunks
- 1 whole onion, quartered
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- ½ cup broth or use my homemade bone broth (see my recipe here)
- 3 T. apple cider vinegar
- 1 T. lemon or lime juice (I never have lime on hand so always use lemon)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- Dash of cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- If you like spice, add a can of chopped green chilis
Directions:
Slow cooker: put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred meat when done. Instant pot: put all ingredients in the instant pot for 60 minutes on high. Let it naturally release pressure when done for 10 minutes and quick release the rest. Shred meat when done.
What you can make with this:
- Stuff in a sweet potato topped w/cilantro and green onions
- Tacos or burrito bowls
- Enchiladas (can make this ahead of time and freeze)
- Mexican beef stew (see recipe here)
- Barbacoa grilled cheese and tomato soup
- Taco salad
- Nachos
Need help with a meal plan for your busy family?
Contact me any time to schedule a free 30-minute consultation, so we can discuss your particular situation and goals.
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