Freezer Meals: Chicken with Gravy

I've had a few friends ask about freezing meals, so I'm going to post my recipes on my blog.

Before Connor was born, I stocked up our freezer with 20+ meals. I didn't have to cook for 6 weeks, which was SO helpful. (Side note: Friends & family also brought us dinner for the first two weeks - THANK YOU!!) Instead of spending time preparing a meal, we enjoyed the beautiful Fall weather playing outside!

Now my freezer is depleted, and it's time to re-stock. My strategy is to triple one dinner, once a week. If anyone has a freezer meal recipe they enjoy, send it my way, I'm always looking for new recipes. I label and date each meal and keep a log of what I have in the freezer on a notepad on my fridge. If you don't have a deep freezer, you can still benefit from making a few make-ahead meals - it's so nice to have on hand when you're in a pinch!

I try to make meals that serve at least 6 - Randy likes to take leftovers to work the next day, and let's be honest, we eat a lot over here.

I'm going to start with my simpler, less time-intensive, meals first. This first one is from my friend Christy Ciccotelli. This is a comfort meal and we serve it with mashed potatoes (I make a large batch of mashed potatoes from a 10 lb. bag and freeze them flat in freezer Ziploc bags - I can get 4 dinners from a 10 lb. bag, a smaller family or a family that eats less than we do can probably get even more meals). You can also serve it with rice...

Chicken with Gravy (serves 6-8)
(triple the ingredients to make 3 dinners)
(Weight Watchers, 8 points)

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I use cream of chicken because Randy doesn't like mushroom)
• 2 cans skim milk
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb. chicken (tenderloins, breast, etc.
• A mixture of flour, salt, pepper, & paprika (to dip the chicken into)
• 1 egg, whisked
  
• 1-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, whisk the soup and milk. Dip the chicken in egg and then coat each side of the chicken in the flour mixture. Brown them for a few minutes (you can use a little oil or Pam to coat the pan). Add the chicken into the soup mixture. Top the chicken with a little bit of cheese, and more salt, pepper & paprika if you want.

To freeze: (This can be frozen up to 6 mos.) Line a dish with aluminum foil, then parchment paper. Place the ingredients onto the parchment paper. Wrap plastic wrap on top of the dish and then cover with aluminum foil. Label & date, then freeze. When the meal if fully frozen, you can take the meal out of the dish - it can be frozen in just the aluminum foil.

To Serve: Remove the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and place in the same size baking dish (you can bake the dish with the parchment paper). Thaw in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. When I don't have time to thaw (and this goes for any of my freezer meals), I will cook at a lower temp for a longer amount of time.