By Leslie Means 
Here’s where it started:
Several years ago, Mom and Dad delivered monthly meals to our home for ONE FULL YEAR. It was a Christmas gift to my sisters and me, and greatly appreciated. I documented each month’s meals and recipes. (You can read about it here!)
Well.
They did it again for Christmas, but this time, it’s freezer meals—and we must go to their home to pick it up (which I love).
These meals are technically for the nights when our husbands cook, but in my house, my husband does a lot of the cooking anyway—so it’s a break for us both!
Here’s the note Mom included:
As an awesome dad to our grands, we would during this next year desire to lend you a hand.
When you’ve drawn the short straw, and it’s your time to cook, one time per month into your freezer you can look.
We’ll provide an entrée to come to your aid, just add a side or some lemonade.
Follow the directions and pop into the oven, there should be enough to feed your family and maybe a cousin.
Since age upon us has crept, we ask that you retrieve the frozen items for you we’ve prepped.
One hint that you might note, is that if you bring a grandchild with your food to retrieve, you may find there is another bribe up my sleeve.
Occasional desserts and sides may be lurking there, just waiting for us to share.”
The menu for each month is below. You’ll also find recipes (where available). Enjoy!
January
January’s meal was chicken pot pie and WOW it was good. It’s a great one to try! (Mom said Dad cut each piece of chicken into bite-sized pieces for us.)
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
3 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken (from grocery store)
2 1⁄2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) frozen premade pie crusts
Directions
Mix chicken and vegetables in a bowl.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk to cooked onion mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thick, 5-10 minutes. Add chicken and vegetables when thickened.
Place chicken filling in the bottom crust. Flip second crust out of its pan (do this while crust is frozen) and place upside down over bottom crust, crimp edges together with a fork or fingers. The pan shape in the top crust will melt down over the chicken mixture during baking.
Put several small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
If you freeze this recipe, as I did, you will need to adjust baking time and temp. I usually do 350 degrees for about 90 minutes from frozen. It depends on your oven. Place on baking sheet before baking.
If you freeze this recipe, cover in foil before placing in freezer. It should last in the freezer for about 4-6 months.
February
The meal for February was Freeze-and-Reheat Breakfast Burritos and Jumbo Breakfast Cookies. They were delicious, and my girls liked them for easy snacks or on-the-go meals!
The other “bribe up her sleeve” this time was bread pudding! We enjoyed our breakfast/dessert with coffee.
Freeze-and-Reheat Breakfast Burritos
March
This one was a St. Patrick’s Day theme!
Mom and Dad delivered this meal after my son’s music concert. My son especially loved the dessert. “Mom, I want more of Grandma’s pie!” We had a BUSY week when this one was delivered, and it was such a gift to know dinner was in the freezer!
April
April has been a BUSY month, but we made it to Mom and Dad’s for Easter—and picked up our treat while we were there. Of course, they made this one with homemade apple pie filling, which came from their own apple trees.
My sisters tell me this one is DELICIOUS. It’s still in our freezer—I’m looking forward to a big piece with a cup of coffee soon!
May
May’s freezer meal arrived a little late—because I didn’t get my bum down to Mom and Dad’s in time.
So, they delivered it to us today. (Thank you!)
It’s “Make-It-Again May”—a favorite dish made once more.
We all chose Mom’s meatloaf, because it’s delicious. Dinner tonight is ready to go!
“Meatloaf recipe I grew up with as scavenged from Mom’s head”
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 diced medium sweet onion (about 1 cup)
- 1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
- 3 eggs
Mix above ingredients together. I use my heavy duty mixer but you can use your hands to mix.
Top meatloaf with following glaze before baking in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. I’ve given you amounts for glaze ingredients but I actually just eyeball it and taste when I think it looks good.
Glaze
- 4 T Ketchup
- 1 T mustard
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
June
June’s freezer meal arrived at my doorstep again this month! (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)
This one is a summer treat to kick off the new season.
We had a choice this time.
Lemonade and Sopapillas or Snickerdoodles
My family chose the Sopapillas–because I never make those, and they are tasty! We put ice cream and honey on top of ours as well. I’ll throw recipes below as usual.
The lemonade is homemade, of course, and SO VERY DELICIOUS. If you’ve ever had a glass of homemade lemonade, you know there’s nothing quite like it!
July
Brunch Buddies Enchiladas
We stopped by Mom and Dad’s for lunch last week (hot dogs on the grill, pasta salad and apple pie) and also picked up July’s freezer meal!
And yes. I ate that in the evening because a two-meal day made by my mama is a win.
This one is perfect for brunch or anytime, really—but I ate it for dinner.
These were tasty and a great way to get more protein in your diet (especially if you’re middle-aged like me and trying to eat your weight in protein).
Brunch Buddies Enchiladas
Taste of Home, The Complete Brunch Cookbook
Ingredients
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
12 flour tortillas (6 inches)
10 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 °. Place 2 cups cheese, ham, green pepper, onion and tomato in a large bowl; toss to combine. Place 1/2 cup mixture off center on each tortilla. Roll up and place in a greased 13×9-in. baking dish, seam side down.
In another bowl, whisk eggs, cream, flour and seasonings until blended; pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; add toppings.
Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and a knife inserted in egg portion comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casserole. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 °. Cover casserole with foil; bake as directed, increasing uncovered time to 25-35 minutes or until cheese is melted and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165 °.
August
Mom and Dad are back with this month’s freezer meal. This one is perfect for back-to-school season. They stopped by our house with Banana Foster Baked French Toast!
This would be a great one for breakfast OR if you’re like our family and have teens leaving for school at 7:15 am—a great dinner!
This recipe is below. Mom tweaked the original a bit.
Enjoy!
Bananas Foster Baked French Toast
Recipe from Taste of Home, The Complete Brunch Cookbook Magazine
Prep: 20 min. + chilling • Bake: 35 min. • Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, cubed
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground allspice
- ¼ cup chopped pecans, optional
- 3 large bananas, sliced
- 12 slices bread
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 5 medium eggs
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions:
Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave, covered, 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in brown sugar, cream, cinnamon, allspice and, if desired, pecans. Add bananas; toss gently to coat.
Transfer to a greased 13×9-in. baking dish. Arrange bread over top, trimming to fit as necessary.
Place the remaining ingredients in a blender; process just until blended. Pour over bread. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°. Remove French toast from refrigerator while oven heats.
Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
Let stand 5-10 minutes.
Invert to serve.
*If you are going to freeze this recipe, do so after you pour the ingredients over bread, before refrigeration. Thaw in fridge overnight before cooking.
1 PIECE 658 cal., 31g fat (17g sat. fat), 218mg chol., 584mg sod., 84g carb.
(39g sugars, 4g fiber), 14g pro.
September
Growing up, we had roast every Sunday after church.
If we were lucky, we would also have red pickles with the roast.
Never had a “red” pickle? Well. It’s actually cinnamon pickles (made with red hots!), and although they aren’t hard to make, they are very time-consuming. I have made them exactly one time (last summer), and it was a lot.
BUT IT IS WORTH IT. They are my favorite (My son’s favorite too.)
Mom made red pickles with her leftover cucumbers for our September treat. Enjoy!
Here’s a recipe I used last summer
October
Slow-Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Guys, this is our favorite meal of the year so far! It was absolutely delicious. Mom made it like one of those pre-packaged freezer meals you buy at the store—but this one was so much better.
I threw it in the crockpot yesterday afternoon, and by 6:30 we had dinner on the table. After a long weekend of sports and activities, this meal felt extra special. We finally sat down together and devoured it.
This is definitely one to try. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
November:
My sister had ankle surgery, so Mom and Dad made 5 meals for my sister and her family—! The rest of us agreed we didn’t need anything this month. 😉
December
Root Beer BBQ Slow Cooker Brisket
Ooh—I can’t wait to dive into this one. Mom and Dad delivered the brisket in December (actually, I met them in the mall parking lot because Mom had shopping to complete!) and we haven’t had a chance to make it yet. I am waiting for a night when my family is all home (does that ever happen anymore with teens in sports/events?)
Incredibly grateful—as always!
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