I’m Just A Dump Cook – Freezer Meals

I thought I’d share one of my strategies for taming the take-out monster. Like everyone, I have days where I either don’t feel like cooking or I’m too tired to cook. Ordering two large pizzas can cost quite a bit even if you have coupons and eating out in a sit down restaurant will cost us even more even if we order water with our meals. So one of the things I try to do is to have something ready in the freezer that won’t take long to cook. That’s why I’m a dump cook! These are easy, freezer friendly dump chicken dinner recipes that you can make ahead. Dump & Go Dinners!

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Dump cooking just means that you Dump your mix into a gallon freezer bag with your chicken (I’ll do one for meatballs another day) and freeze it. Then when you want it you Dump it into a pan and cook it! Or stick it on a grill and cook it. You have a no fuss easy to make ahead dinner!

Easy Freezer Chicken Dinner Recipes

I like boneless skinless chicken breast because they’re quick and low fat. Kroger had them on sale last week and I always stock up when the price is low. But this will work with everything – wings, legs, thighs, bone-in breast – just adjust your cooking time. You can use fresh chicken or add the marinades to those individually frozen chicken breast (do not defrost and re-thaw).

For defrosted boneless skinless chicken breast it’s about 25-35 minutes depending on how hot your oven runs. For other chicken pieces it can run closer to an hour. You can also use your crock pot too!

You may want to season your chicken pieces with salt/pepper in addition to the marinades. This just depends on your individual tastes.

All recipes use 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

To Freeze:

Dump all ingredients including chicken pieces in a gallon size freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, label your bag, lay flat in freezer. Once frozen you can stack them on end to save space.

To Cook:

Defrost in your refrigerator overnight (I have cooked these frozen and they were fine for us – I increase my cooking time)

Just take your bag and DUMP into a greased baking dish-Cook at 350 in preheated oven until done usually 25-35 min for defrosted chicken breast.

For crockpot: Cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours or until no longer pink.

Dump Chicken Recipes:

*****All recipes use 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8 – 10 boneless chicken thighs (which you can cube before freezing if you prefer or leave whole).

Terriyaki Dump Chicken

1 clove crushed garlic
1.5 tbls. minced ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
1.5 tbls. brown sugar
1.5 tbls. cider vinegar
1.5 tbls rice wine vinegar or sherry

I recently made this and took some new photos. I served it over Low Mein noodles. Delish!

Sweet Orange Ginger Chicken

1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tbls. honey-mustard
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper (optional)

Cranberry Chicken

1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
2 tbls. melted butter
1 tbls. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Garlic Dijon Chicken

2 cloves minced garlic
4 tbls. Dijon mustard
2 tbls. lime juice

Herb-wine Chicken

1 cup red wine
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 lemon sliced thinly
2 tbls. minced parsley
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Russian Chicken

16 oz Russian salad dressing
2 pkgs. dry onion soup mix
2/3 cup apricot preserves

Chili Maple Glazed Chicken

2 Tbls. water
1 Tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tblsp. Maple Syrup
1 Tblsp. Chili Powder

Lemon Marinade Chicken

2/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Minced Onion

Even if you dump a 1/2 bottle of barbecue sauce in a baggie with some chicken and then freeze it for later use you’re ahead of the game! Or maybe you have your own favorite marinade recipe – try that as a dump recipe.

These are very forgiving dinner recipes AND most of the time you’ll have everything you need already in your pantry.

What’s your favorite easy to make dinner recipe?