Recipes with Frozen Chicken Breasts: King Ranch Chicken, Easy Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
If you’re not cooking with frozen chicken breasts, you’re missing out on some frugalicious and fast dinners!
You’ll love frozen chicken breasts because they are a frugal shoppers delight! I just bought a 4-lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts at Randall’s (a Safeway owned store) for $6.76 using my Randall’s card and a store coupon. For some wonderful reason, frozen chicken breasts are frequently on sale, and you don’t have to worry about them expiring right away!
You’ll love frozen chicken breasts when you discover how easy they are to prepare. Did you know that you can prepare perfectly shredded chicken by putting them in your crock pot with 1/2 cup water on low for about 6 hours and then use 2 forks to shred?
You’ll love frozen chicken breasts because there’s no trimming or stinky parts to deal with, and when you’re a vegetarian mom cooking for a family of carnivores – this is really important!
You’ll love frozen chicken breasts even more when you try these 3 easy meals that can all be made from one 4-lb. bag!
King Ranch Chicken – A Texas favorite!
- Ingredients:
- 3 frozen chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 green pepper, chopped*
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped*
- 1 onion, chopped*
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can Rotel or store brand diced tomatoes and green chiles, do not drain
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 cups crushed tortilla chips
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- *time and money saving tip: Kroger sells a frozen onion and tri-color pepper blend that perfect for this recipe!
- Directions:
- Cook chicken in crock pot and shred (see directions above).
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the bell peppers and onion until tender.
- Stir in chicken, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and Rotel tomatoes.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
- Place half of the crushed tortilla chips in a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Layer with half the chicken mixture and top with half the cheese.
- Repeat the layers ending with the cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 325 for 45 minutes or until bubbly.
- Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
- Serves 6
Easy Chicken Enchiladas – another Texas favorite!
- Ingredients:
- 3 frozen chicken breasts or 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 16 oz. sour cream
- 8 oz. package of cream cheese
- 3/4 cup of picante sauce
- 3 cups mexican cheese blend, shredded
- 1 large can of red enchilada sauce
- 20 fajita size flour tortillas or white corn tortillas
- optional: green onions and sliced black olives for garnish
- Directions:
- Cook chicken in a crock pot and shred (see directions above) OR shred a rotisserie chicken.
- Mix together shredded chicken, sour cream, cream cheese, picante sauce and 1 cup of cheese.
- Pour half of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.
- Put about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of a tortilla, roll and place seam side down in the pan. Continue rolling the enchiladas and place closely to each other to fill the pan. If you are using corn tortillas, you may need to warm them to make them pliable…about 15 seconds in the microwave will do the trick!
- Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and 2 cups of cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes or until bubbly.
- Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
- When serving, top with sliced green onions and sliced black olives if desired.
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
- 3 frozen chicken breasts
- 1, 6 oz. package long grain and wild rice mix (like Uncle Ben’s or the store brand)
- 8 oz. package fresh sliced mushrooms
- 2/3 cup Good Seasons Italian dressing
- 8 oz. sour cream
- Cook chicken in a crock pot and shred (see directions above).
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Mix together chicken, rice, mushrooms, Italian dressing and sour cream.
- Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Simplify your cooking and join the frozen chicken breast revolution! Of course if you absolutely prefer fresh chicken breasts, feel free to substitute fresh!
Enjoy these frugalicious and fast recipes!
Related posts:
- Make Your Own Fast Food!
- Frugalicious and Fast Dinner Ideas!
- Freezer cooking- AKA Super Mom’s dirty little secret!
- Chili – Frito Pie
- Pizza Fun 101
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Great, easy to prepare recipes.
Good site.
[...] Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole [...]
What size crock pot do you use when making this? I have a 6 qt but i think it will be too big.
Remember, you’re only using the crock pot to cook & shred the chicken, so the size of the pot doesn’t matter. As with any crock pot recipe, cooking times can vary depending on your pot! Thanks for being a Budget Diet reader! I hope you enjoy my recipes and discover some money saving tips!
I like these recipe ideas but I never have the time to throw chicken in the crock pot for 6 hours. I tried just baking them in the oven like I usually do and they turned out great. Just have to cut them into strips with a knife.
Glad to hear that it works well in the oven!
[...] Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole, Chicken Enchiladas, King Ranch Chicken…these recipes start with shredded chicken that you’ll prepare in your crock pot. [...]
I am very excited to try some of your crockpot recipes. I love my crockpots, but need more quick recipes to use. Thank you very much,
My definition of an easy crock pot recipe…throw it in & forget it! See my recipe index (left side of this page) for more easy crock pot recipes.