3 Freezer Meal Chicken Casserole
Makes 4 freezer meals. If making all 5 to put away in freezer, there is a shopping list in recipes titled 5 Freezer Meals Shopping List
Makes 4 freezer meals. If making all 5 to put away in freezer, there is a shopping list in recipes titled 5 Freezer Meals Shopping List
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 4 shredded, cooked chicken breasts
- 5 cups of cooked rice
- 2 cans of cream of chicken condensed soup
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 2 bags of frozen peas and carrots (i used mixed but you could use one bag of each)
- 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
- 3 cup of french’s onions
- 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (36g)
- Sodium 13952.8800283082 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- In a small bowl, combine the cheese and onions together – set aside (for the topping)
- In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients together, then separate into pans. Top each one with 1/3 of the topping mixture and freeze.
Managing Moisture and Freezing Times
When assembling dishes for long-term storage, freezing temperatures slow chemical reactions but do not halt moisture migration entirely. Cooked rice absorbs liquid as it sits, meaning casseroles stored past the two-month mark often develop a dry interior crumb once baked. Ensure the sealed containers are brought down to zero degrees Fahrenheit rapidly by placing them flat on the freezer floor before stacking.Adapting Fats and Dairy
Condensed soups provide emulsified fats that prevent the sauce from breaking during the thaw. Substituting heavy cream directly for canned soup changes the viscosity, resulting in a watery consistency once heated because the starches present in the canned base are missing. Hard cheeses like cheddar release oil when overheated, so adding the shredded dairy mixture only during the final fifteen minutes of baking prevents grease separation on the surface.Avoiding Common Texture Pitfalls
The most frequent error cooks make with pre-cooked poultry casseroles is over-baking the chicken until the protein fibers tighten and turn rubbery. Because the components are already thermally processed during initial prep, the oven stage only needs to reach an internal center temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover the baking vessel with aluminum foil for the first twenty minutes to trap steam, then remove the cover so the french onions on top crisp without burning.
