Chicken and Broccoli Freezer Meal Recipe

Chicken and Broccoli

What a delicious dinner! AND...it came from the freezer. This is a wonderful recipe you can make several of, tuck them in the freezer, bring one out on a day you don't have time to cook (or just really don't feel like cooking), and not a soul will know it was frozen. It tastes every bit as good as if you made it today.

Use a bag (or box) of frozen broccoli or start with fresh broccoli. If you start with fresh broccoli you'll need to blanch it before you add it to the recipe to freeze it. This is not an issue if you are going to bake it today, but if you intend to freeze it, drop the broccoli into boiling water. After 2 minutes, drain and run cold water over it or plunge it into a bowl of cold water. Drain it very well and blot it with paper towels. Then add it to the recipe.

This is a great recipe to make a lot of. Freeze several pans since it will keep for at least 3 months in your freezer. If you use the 30 Meals in One Day Software just edit the recipe to make as many as you desire. A simple click and the amounts will be calculated for you. You can even change the serving size, so if a serving size at your house is bigger or smaller than the recipe says, you can adjust the recipe(s) to match your family exactly. Add the recipe to your shopping list and voila! Every single thing you need to make as many as you like are added to your Shopping List. How marvelous.

We love this Chicken and Broccoli at our house so I always make several. I also freeze several single serving sized pans (they come in NINE different sizes and all are microwaveable so they are so easy for her to heat AND disposable so she has easy clean-up and I never lose any pans I care about) since I like to send meals with darling daughter when she comes home from college. She is vegetarian so I replace the chicken with "chicken." I find it in the freezer section, oddly the vegetarian section is by the frozen breakfast foods at the grocery store where I shop. Weird. Whatever. Anyway, it comes in a bag and looks just like slices or strips of chicken. Not breaded or anything, although it is seasoned. I cut this "chicken" up and use it in any recipe that calls for cooked chicken, when I am making meals for her. I also replace the cream of chicken soup with mushroom or sometimes celery soup. Delicious. Lani loves this meal as much as we do. Perhaps you'll want to try it with the cream of celery soup as well.

Oh...and for those of you who are opposed to using cans of 'cream of' soups, don't let that stop you from enjoying this great recipe. If it's the fat you are concerned about, replace it with the fat-free version. If it's any other reason, replace it with a homemade version. Perhaps I'll post a great recipe for the homemade version. It's not as convenient but boy howdy is it good.

Chicken and Broccoli

1 16-ounce bag frozen broccoli OR 1 pound fresh broccoli

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

pepper (as much as you desire)

3 cups cooked, chopped chicken

1 cup French fried onions

Thaw and squeeze water from frozen broccoli. If using fresh, drop cut broccoli into boiling water. Cook 2 minutes, drain, plunge into cold water. Drain, blot with paper towels. In a large bowl, combine soups, milk, mayonnaise, lemon juice and pepper. Mix well. Add broccoli and chicken. (Do not add onions until baking! They will turn soggy in the freezer.)

Bake now or spoon into freezer bag(s) or disposable freezer pan(s). This recipe makes 6 servings.

To serve: Thaw. Bake covered for 1 hour at 350. Uncover, top with French fried onions and bake 10 minutes longer.

This recipe comes from the book Dinner is Ready! , page 198. This book contains more than 150 recipes to freeze AND instructions for making 30 Meals in One Day!