Since I received several requests for the freezer meal recipes we used for making meals for the needy family in our church, I would love to share them in a series of posts. I would consider all of these excellent frugal and nutritious meals! We have used these many times over for freezer cooking!
Chicken Divan
2 or more cups cooked brown rice
2 bunches fresh broccoli, lightly stemmed & chopped
2-3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (see recipe below)
½ cup mayonnaise
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp curry
½ cup grated cheese
½-3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp melted butter, optional
Since canned soups often contain MSG, I have learned how to make it from scratch, see below. It is also a lot healthier this way, because you can use whole wheat flour and raw milk, if you like. Use one recipe of the soup to replace these cans.
Combine soup (whether canned or homemade) with mayo, lemon and curry. Keep the mixture relatively thin by adding further milk or water. Additional salt may be necessary. Gently steam broccoli until tender.
Grease a 13×9 pan. Layer rice, followed by broccoli and then the chicken. Pour creamed soup mixture over the broccoli. Sprinkle cheese on top. Combine crumbs and butter, sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. For freezer cooking, leave unbaked and cover to freeze. If frozen, you may have to cook 1 hr or longer.
Condensed Creamed Soup Substitute
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt or more to taste
12 fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 cups of milk (less for a thicker soup)
Heat butter and oil then add flour and salt, stirring to make a roux. Add mushrooms and cook about a minute, just to soften. Add milk and stir until thickened. This is a substitute (and a great one at that!) for two 10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup. To make cream of chicken, simply omit mushrooms, add 1 tsp. chicken base (a paste, like bouillon but without the MSG) and substitute half the milk with chicken broth or stock. To make cream of celery, substitute celery for the mushrooms and proceed as listed above.
Well, God is so good! I have had a thought in the back of my mind for weeks now about looking for an alternative to cream soups with MSG. But I’ve never taken the time to look!
But tonight I was reading meal plans over at Keeper of the Home (which I originally found through you!) and she linked back to this recipe!
I should have known that the answer would be here! Your blog is so helpful. Thank you Lindsey!
Do you think I could use quinoa instead of the rice? I didn’t know if it would work or not in this recipe.
By all means! A great suggestion!
This recipe is awesome!! The family loved it! No leftovers over here!
Thanks for your soup recipes.Sounds delicious will try it.
Thanks so much for the soup recipe! I refuse to buy most because of the msg and have occasionally found an organic soup, though this is definitely cheaper!
This is really good. I substituted mustard for the curry powder just because I wasn’t in the mood for curry and it came out great. I’m sure the curry is good too : )
Do you use curry powder or curry paste? This looks delicious! Thanks!
Curry powder.
That’s funny, I did a search for it, and that’s the one I picked to try. LOL It’s okay to freeze the chicken soup like the mushroom isn’t it?
I would imagine so.
We don’t eat mushrooms, and I’ve often wondered if I could make my own cream of chicken soup since I use it in casseroles alot, and it’s expensive. So how would I make cream of chicken soup since we don’t like mushrooms?
Here is a recipe from Tammy’s Recipes.
Any recommendations for mushroom substitute? I’m allergic…
You can easily substitute for a chicken soap base (similar to campbell’s chicken soup) . I don’t have a recipe but I am sure you can find one online.
I’ve been looking for a substitute for canned soup forever!!! This is so exciting. I have found lots of yummy and easy recipes involving canned soup but just can’t bring myself to use it with all the salt, preservatives and the BPA risk in the cans. Thanks!
Yum Yum Yummy! When my hubby and I were engaged he came over to my house for dinner and my mom had cooked Chicken Divan. He turned to me and said (only half jokingly), “If you can cook like this, then I definitely want to marry you.” We of course did get married, but for years I have been looking for a substitute for the creamed soups particularly for this recipe. I have found it!!! I didn’t have the chicken paste so I used the broth and seasoned the “soup” myself. It turned out oh so yummy and there was not a bit of MSG in it.
Thank You for your blog. I love it!
Dear Lindsay,
Have you tried using the substitute cream of mushroom in a crockpot where it cooks for many hours? I thought I heard somewhere that the roux will break if you cooked it that long. Any hints? Absolutely love your site!
No I have not. Sorry!
I made the Chicken Divan this past weekend, and it was divine!
(Nice rhyme there.) We make our own mayonnaise at home, and I happened to have an organic Meyer lemon on hand. The broccoli was still crisp-tender once the casserole baked up. I sprinkled the bread crumb/cheese topping with some nutritional yeast and a bit of paprika for color. Amazing! It won raves from DH and our toddler. Imagine that! Thank you, Lindsay…wonderful recipe!
This looks great. I’m looking forward to trying your recipes. I like to make huge meals and freeze for my family. I have a friend who is 80 and has to cook for his wife and care for her and he gets tired so I want to bring some freezer meals over for him.
Great recipes. Was wondering if you could freeze the cream of mushroom soup for future use and to save time. Thanks,
I am sure you could! I have yet to try it but I freeze practically anything now a days!
You can, but sometimes the texture comes out differently – more grainy.
Lindsay, your blog is awesome!
I have been looking everywhere for a simple cream of mushroom soup replacement recipe, and I finally found it here! Thank you!!!!
This may be a really stupid question, but I have never made or (to my knowledge) had a freezer meal. I want to make some this summer, but do I cook them before I freeze them or assemble and freeze, then bake? Also hpw long do these keep? Thanks for your time.
Kim,
It depends on what you are making, but it works either way. The freezer meals that I have specifically shared here are pretty much cooked already, but you do normally freeze them after preparing, before the baking step. When getting ready to cook, I will pull it out and bake for an hour or so, otherwise they can get overcooked.
But I also freeze extra soup or cooked beans, etc. because I like to make them in large batches and then freeze in smaller batches for individual meals. Saves time and energy!
Freezer meals keep for 2 months or so. Depends on how thoroughly you wrap them or seal them. For casseroles use freezer paper! Everything else I store in glass jars or containers (as long as you leave two inches of space at the top, as the dish expands when it freezes!).
I truly love your blog. You have such great information!
Great recipes, Lindsey! Can’t wait to try them.