Make Ahead Meals Part 1 (cooking ahead for the holidays)

In My Christmas Wish post I shared that I am attempting to pre-make 20 freezer meals and 10 crock-pot meals for the month of December so that I have time to enjoy the Christmas Season with my kids and keep up with homeschool.  We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves.  We are still enjoying fall but just planning ahead for busier times.  Most meals I am making one to eat now and another to freeze.  In the past, I  have spent a day, or days in my case, on freezer meal prep but I just don't have a weekend to give it this time around (we are having far to much fun playing in the leaves).
The first few meals I will Share with you are Chicken Tator Bake, Turkey Pot Pie, and Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.
Chicken Tator Bake (click the link for the recipe) is the grown up version of Tator Tot Casserole from Taste of Home and includes chicken instead of beef along with frozen veggies and a cream of chicken sauce.  The recipe posted online is for an 8x8 pan so I triple it to make two full 9x13's.  A 9x13 easily feeds our crew of seven plus leaves plenty for leftovers.  It has freezer directions on the recipe.  I thaw it completely before I bake it and we like our tator tots crispy so I bake it the whole time with the foil off.  A shortcut for cooking chicken for casseroles is to boil it for about 20 minutes in a large pot.  I cook up a 5lb family size bag of frozen chicken breasts and have lots of shredded chicken for casseroles etc.

*Freezer Tip 1...I have purchased lots of foil pans but find that after a few freezes and washes they start to fall apart.  I now line them with foil before filling them with yummy casserole.  It makes clean up much easier and they keep their shape and are able to be reused many more times.  It seemed so simple once I thought of it.
*Freezer Tip 2...Cover your casseroles with foil.  Label with a sharpie and be sure to include thawing and baking instructions.  As long as someone remembers to take the casserole out of the oven anyone can bake it because the instructions are right there.  No fumbling for recipes to figure it out.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken (click the link for the recipe) is a recipe that I found on Pinterest and has become a family favorite.  I throw in my frozen chicken with the salsa mixture in the morning and then shred the chicken in the crockpot about halfway through the day and continue cooking.  I think that because I use the frozen chicken it turns out pretty runny so I add about a cup of quick brown rice about 30 minutes before I am ready to serve and it is perfect.  The rice adds yummy flavor and we wrap it in tortillas.  Very quick, easy and yummy!

*This recipe is perfect for that leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.  I like to purchase extra turkeys around Thanksgiving time, while they are on sale, and use the frozen cooked turkey in casseroles year round.  It is a very economical lean meat.  You can substitute store bought pie crusts if you like to make the recipe easier.  I have found that substituting other cream soups in this recipe do not work well.  I once took this recipe some to friends with cream of chicken instead of cream of potato and tasted it later and realized that it was very bland.  They probably think I am a horrible cook!

Turkey Pot Pies (makes 2 pies)
4 cups shredded Turkey (can substitute chicken)
2 cans cream of potato soup
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables
*Mix above ingredients in large bowl.  Divide into two pie plates.
2 top Pie Crusts
     Pie Crust (makes 2)
     3/4 cup shortening
     2 cups flour
     1/2 tsp salt
     5-7 Tbs cold water
     Cut shortening into the four and salt.  Add water slowly and mix.  Divide in half and roll
     out into 10-11 inch circles.
*Place pie crusts on top of your meat, soup, and vegetable mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  This pot pie can be frozen before baking.  Bake frozen pie at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 60-75 minutes until the crust is brown.  I usually cover at least the outer edge of the crust with foil when baking for this long and remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.

There's a few to get you started.  The top rack of my freezer is starting to fill up and it makes me smile!!