Kitchen Adventures || The best “frozen dinner” I’ve ever had…
Believe it or not… working from home has had us working longer, harder hours than ever. To the point that it’s been hard to find time to prep and cook like I was before… Enter: Freezer Meals. Game changer guys! One day, I batched up about 7 different freezer meals. Most of them yield 4-6 servings so for each of us that’s 2-3 meals worth. I was a little concerned because I’m one who tastes and adjusts as I cook and by going this route, there was no tasting until it was done. I did adjust slightly once it was done, but I was pretty dang proud for myself for how good this tasted right out of the bag!
That was the best part too… It took maybe 5 minutes to put this together in a bag and all I had to do when I was ready to cook it was dump it in the instant pot. You will need the larger 2 gallon freezer bags for this OR divide it into (2) 1 gal. bags.
I’m going to include instructions for both the instant pot and the crockpot. The only other step for this would be to make the rice if you’re using it. (I suggest it, but you know how your body responds to it).
Anyway, try this out and tell me it’s not the best dang frozen meal you’ve eaten! 😉
Sausage and Chicken Gumbo
INGREDIENTS
12 oz Andouille Sausage
2 Large Chicken Breasts
16 oz Frozen Okra
1 red bell pepper – diced
1 medium yellow onion – diced
3-4 cloves garlic – minced
28 oz can of petit diced tomatoes – include the juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 dashes tabasco or hot sauce (leave out if you prefer mild)
*Optional, but HIGHLY recommended 🙂
serve on top of white rice
*Add gumbo file’ powder – add about a tbsp once it’s done
INSTRUCTIONS
Label a 2 gallon (or 2 1 gal.) freezer bags with the date, the name of the recipe, and the cooking instruction. Add all ingredients (except rice and file) to the bag, seal it trying to get as much air as possible out of it and lay it flat in the freezer.
If you want to cook it immediately, go for it using the instructions below.
For instant pot-
From frozen, add the contents to the instant pot. You may have to thaw slightly and break it into chunks. Add 1/4 cup water. Cook for 12 minutes at high pressure then allow 10 minutes for natural release.
If cooking fresh, cook for 10 minutes at high pressure, then allow 10 minutes for natural release.
Once it’s done, shred the chicken, add the file powder and eat up!
For crock pot –
From frozen, add the contents to the crock pot. Again, you may have to thaw slightly and break it into chunks. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 5-6hours.
From fresh, cook on high for 3 hours or low 4-5 hours.
Once it’s done, shred the chicken, add the file powder and eat up!