10 Meals in an Hour™

Do you wonder if it’s possible to make 10 meals in an hour? This post will show you how to become a meal-prepping ninja! Take the stress out of dinnertime!

If you follow this blog regularly, you know I’m a pretty big fan of simple, easy recipes that taste great and don’t take a lot of time, effort or expensive ingredients to throw together. I’m also a huge fan of recipes that can be made and frozen ahead of time to save time on hectic weeknights. Because let’s face it: Life is busy and none of us need MORE things to do (or to feel guilty about.)

Over the past few months I’ve been working on developing some great go-to “cheater” recipes that I could use to create a comprehensive, quick and easy freezer-cooking meal plan. My goal was to develop five foolproof recipes that I could then use to create ten freezer meals in one hour or less. In order to make the cut, each of these recipes would have to meet ALL of the following criteria:

• Deemed delicious by both my kids and husband
• No pre-cooking required (aside from browning ground beef)
• Freezer friendly
• Easy to cook
• Uses everyday, budget-friendly ingredients and pantry staples

Well friends, I am happy to tell you that all these months of trial and error have finally come together, and today I am sharing my very first LWSL Quick & Easy 10 Meals in an Hour™ plan! In this one post you will find everything you need to prep ten awesome freezer meals in about an hour of hands-on time (not including grocery shopping).

Just think, in just one quick Saturday morning session you could have two weeks’ worth of absolutely delicious, family-friendly weeknight meals all ready to go! Sound good? Let’s do it!

Before you begin, you will need to gather your tools & supplies and also make sure that you have all your groceries on hand. I find it is easiest to go grocery shopping the day before I do my cooking. To save time unloading, only put away the items that need to be refrigerated.

Finally, make sure your kitchen counters are cleared of clutter and sanitized and empty your dishwasher and sink of any dishes. (If this is your first time doing any freezer cooking, be sure to check out this post for more tips on freezer cooking like a pro!)

10 Meals in an Hour™

Here are the five recipes we will be making:

• Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Oh-So-Easy London Broil
• Quick & Easy Taco Soup
• Orange-Glazed Pork Chops
• Creamy Italian Chicken

Here are the supplies you will need:

• 10-gallon-size zipper freezer bags
• Avery 8163 shipping labels or permanent marker
• large mixing bowl
• cutting board
• sharp knife
• garlic press
• can opener
• dry measuring cups
• liquid measuring cups
• dry measuring spoons
• liquid measuring spoons
• 12-inch frying pan
• stand or hand mixer

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Produce

• 18 cloves garlic
• 2 lemons
• Fresh parsley (optional)
• 1 large sweet onion

Pantry Staples

• Honey
• Olive oil
• Soy sauce
• Dried minced onion
• Seasoned salt
• Black pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Red wine
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire sauce
• Dried thyme
• Brown sugar

Canned/Dry Goods

• Dijon mustard
• 1 8oz. jar orange marmalade
• 1 15oz. can pinto beans
• 1 15oz. can black beans
• 1 15oz. can kidney beans
• 2 15oz. cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 packets taco seasoning
• 1 16oz. bottle Italian salad dressing
• 1 package Italian salad dressing mix
• 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

Dairy

• Sour cream (optional)
• 2 8oz. packages cream cheese
• Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Meat

• 8 pork chops (approximately 6-8 ounces each)
• 7-8 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 2 pounds London Broil beef
• 1 pound ground beef

Frozen

• 1 16oz. bag frozen corn

PRINT

Be sure to print the following recipes:

• Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Oh-So-Easy London Broil
• Quick & Easy Taco Soup
• Orange-Glazed Pork Chops
• Creamy Italian Chicken

PREP

1. Set out cream cheese to soften.
2. Prep your bags—Use a permanent marker to label each bag with the name of the recipe, date prepared and cooking instructions. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! While you might think that you’ll remember what is in every bag, I promise you will forget!
3. Brown ground beef and set aside.
4. Drain & rinse kidney, pinto and black beans; set aside.
5. Chop onion and set aside.
6. Peel garlic and set aside (or mince if not using garlic press, then set aside).
7. Prep chicken if necessary.

PREPARE:

1. Prep Quick & Easy Taco Soup using instructions found here. (Use only 1 cup or about half of the already chopped onion.) Divide mixture into 2 freezer bags, press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
2. Prep Oh-So-Easy London Broil using instructions found here. (Use remaining chopped onion.)  Place meat into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
3. Prep Orange-Glazed Pork Chops using instructions found here. Place meat into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
4. Prep Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with marinade, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
5. Prep Creamy Italian Chicken using instructions found here. Place chicken into 2 freezer bags and cover with cream cheese mixture, then press out excess air and seal well. Place bags in refrigerator.
6. Once all prep is complete, place all bags in freezer until needed. After you’ve made your meal plan for the coming week, consider setting an alert on your phone to remind you to take your bag out to thaw the day before you plan to make it!

Want more 10 Meals in an Hour? Check out the entire series!

1. 10 Meals in an Hour
2. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 2
3. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 3
4. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 4
5. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 5
6. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 6
7. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 7
8. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 8
9. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 9
10. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 10
11. 10 Meals in an Hour Part 11

Have you tried making 10 meals in an hour yet? What tricks or tips can you share?

If you love this resource, be sure to check out our digital library of helpful tools and resources for cleaning faster, taking control of your budget, organizing your schedule and getting food on the table easier than ever before.

Click here to get full access to our Home Systems Toolbox now!

PIN FOR LATER

And that’s it! Pretty darn easy right? Ten delicious freezer meals in about an hour–does it get any better than that? You can check out the rest of our 10 Meals in an Hour posts here.

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Have you ever tried freezer cooking? What are your family’s favorite freezer friendly recipes?