I participated in a freezer meal exchange for the first time last weekend! I was surprised a few weeks ago when a facebook group I belong to put out the call. Since I love to have meals in my freezer, I signed right up! We worked out the logistics, shared recipes we thought we would make, and then got busy cooking. In all, eight crunchy mamas {me included} decided to participate.
I found a recipe for Lemon Broccoli Farfalle with Chicken at Lovely Little Snippets and adapted it to fit my needs. I was drawn to this recipe because I had a ton of broccoli in my garden {free}, lots of lemons in my fridge {that I picked up for 10 cents each!}, and cheese that needed to be used up. Even better, noodles {1.19 a box} and chicken {1.68 / lb} were on sale that week so that helped keep my total cost down too. I also wanted to make a light meal, and this definitely fit the bill!
I spent the better part of Friday afternoon prepping the meals {from 2-5:30 ish}. The noodles took the longest because I cooked them one box at a time. Well, I got impatient at the end and cooked the last three boxes together. Everything else I prepped at the same time. When one box of noodles finished, I assembled the casserole in a 9×13 pan and let it cool as I worked on the next box. Then I bagged everything in a gallon ziploc and froze it. Easy peasy!
Last Saturday, we all met up at a lovely farm home , watched the kids play, and chatted. It was such a nice morning with lovely weather and great conversation. And then, we got down to business. We each set out our meals in the kitchen and took one of everyone else’s. I brought home a freezer full of prepped meals – 8 meals in all! Plus, I miscounted and had enough ingredients for two more freezer meals of my own recipe! I also got rid of a bunch of kale… {not that you can tell because.it.just.won’t.die.} hehe! 
You can see the original recipe at Lovely Little Snippets. Here’s how I adapted it to fit my needs – basically I doubled the recipe, changed the way I cooked the chicken, and changed up the cheese. I’d love to hear if you’ve ever done anything similar and what meal you took!
| Lemon Broccoli Farfalle with Chicken {for the freezer} |
- 1 box farfalle noodles
- 2 heaping cups cooked, cubed chicken
- 2 cups cooked, chopped broccoli
- 4 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 4 TBS olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- shredded cheese {whatever you have on hand}
- Cook the chicken. I sauteed mine over medium heat in olive oil and seasoned with dried basil & oregano, salt & pepper {~10 minutes}.
- Cube the chicken.
- Cook the noodles al dente according to package directions.
- Cook & chop the broccoli.
- Mix lemon juice and olive oil.
- Combine noodles, chicken, broccoli in a 9×13 pan.
- Stir in the lemon juice/olive oil combo.
- Grate fresh cheese on the top. {I used Asiago, white cheddar, fontina}
- Let cool 10-15 minutes, then put everything in a gallon freezer bag. Squeeze out all the air you can.
- Freeze.
- On Baking Day, thaw.
- Place in greased 9×13 pan. Add a bit more cheese if you’d like. Cover with foil.
- Bake @ 350 until heated ~ 20 minutes.
- Enjoy!
About Michelle
Welcome! I'm Michelle and I'm glad you're here. Simplify, Live, Love is a blog about simple life in rural Iowa. We are a self-employed, frugal, green, mostly homeschooling family of 6 working to go off the grid on a modern day homestead in Eastern Iowa. Please subscribe for gardening tips, green living hints, recipes, fun giveaways, and frugal ideas. Thanks for stopping by.
Oh, how fun!!!!
I have never done a meal exchange like this, sounds like a great idea! Your dish sounds delicious!
Do you cook the broccoli? If so, how long? Do they get mushy?
I blanch the broccoli for 4 minutes or so (add it to the noodles for the last few minutes of cooking) and I don’t think it gets mushy.
Did it freeze well? I know noodles don’t freeze well.
I think some noodles freeze fine – especially lasagna noodles. My husband didn’t particularly like the thawed version, but I thought it was ok. I tried to under cook them so they wouldn’t come out too mushy and it sort of worked…