You don’t need to have grown up during the depression era to dislike wasting things. Each person has their own motivation – whether it is money, the environment, or the availability of resources. The bottom line is that we don’t want to be always throwing food away. Sure you can have it for lunch the next day but that can get boring pretty quickly!
We know that sometimes when you are prepping for a meal plan, you end up with some ingredients leftover. So whether you have 2 cups of cooked chicken, extra cooked ground beef, or some leftover veggies that you just chopped… this post will offer you various recipes to put those ingredients to good use before they expire.
Using up those leftover ingredients to put into a quick & easy freezer meal means your effort won’t go to waste in the fridge. It means not wasting food (or the time, money, and resources that went into it). And best of all, it means you’ll have another make-ahead meal in the freezer.
Below you’ll find recipes that:
√ Have few ingredients… so, you’re more likely to have them on hand.
√ Are easy to make… meaning you’ll be more motivated to make them.
√ Have been tested (and tasted) for quality… so, you know they’ll be yummy & hold up well in the freezer!
(Quick Tip: If none of these recipes appeal to you, you can do still find your own to make with Once A Month Meals with ease! Simply use the search bar on our recipes page. Type in the ingredient you have on hand and want to use and hit ‘enter’. Recipes with that ingredient will appear for you to sort & pick from!)
Cooked Chicken
You can use cubed/shredded chicken interchangeably in most recipes.
Shredded Chicken with Summer Veggies – Ready to Eat Dinner
Jody’s Chicken and Noodles – Dump and Go Dinner
Low Carb Chicken Enchilada Bowl – Dump and Go Dinner
Chicken Chimichangas – Dump and Go Dinner
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice – Dump and Go Dinner
Aunt Sissy’s Poppy Seed Chicken – Dump and Go Dinner
Ground Beef
You can use ground turkey
Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole – Dump and Go Dinner
Easy Freezable Beef Enchiladas – Dump and Go Dinner
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup – Dump and Go Dinner
Instant Pot Hamburger Helper – Dump and Go Dinner
Pizza Casserole – Dump and Go Dinner
Slow Cooker Creamy Sloppy Joes – Dump and Go Dinner
Veggies
Eat Your Veggies Casserole – Dump and Go Dinner
Skinny Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken and Veggies – Dump and Go Dinner
Slow Cooker Veggie Taco Chili with Brown Rice – Dump and Go Dinner
Cheesy Quinoa and Veggies – Ready to Eat Dinner
Grilled Veggie and Bean Burritos
Sweet Potato Veggie Breakfast Wraps