This is one of our go-to meals. It is so, so easy and delicious.
You could skip the freezing part altogether and just make it the day of, but some times it’s nice to pull a bag out of the freezer, dump it into a pan or crock pot and dinner is done.
It’s a great summer recipe because you can grill it or cook it in the crock pot and not heat up your kitchen at all. We love it served over rice or sliced and served on a big salad.
While I was making the Italian Chicken on one end of the table, the above picture is what was happening at the other end of the kitchen table. Seeing my husband so intently working with Silas on his preschool and Silas just soaking it up melts my heart.
{My husband has been doing one or two of each of the children’s homeschooling subjects with them each evening after he comes home from work. It was his idea — and the children love it!}
{I think one of the reasons they enjoy it is because Daddy’s homeschooling often involves snacks, too. ;)}
Freezer-Friendly Italian Chicken
- One bottle of your favorite Italian salad dressing*
- 6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
To freeze: Put frozen chicken breasts in a freezer bag. Pour the Italian dressing over the chicken. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal it up. Freeze.
To thaw and bake:
- Quick Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer and run the freezer bag under cold water to thaw slightly. Pour all the contents of the bag into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Longer Marinating Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer, stick the bag in a bowl and let it thaw in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Pour all the contents of the bag into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or grill until done.
- Crock Pot Method: Pull frozen chicken out of the freezer and run the freezer bag under hot water to thaw slightly. Pour all the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until thoroughly cooked through.
This is delicious served over rice with steamed vegetables on the side. Serves 4-6.
*Want to change things up a bit? You can also use barbecue sauce or any other favorite salad dressing. Let us know if your family has a favorite variation of this recipe!
Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.
My daughter brought Italian Chicken home to us after being out on her own briefly for college. We don’t freeze the chicken with the dressing marinade though. If the chicken is frozen, we put it in the bag the night before with the dressing and put it into the refrigerator overnight. Or, I have picked up fresh chicken, poured the dressing over it and placed it in the fridge, turning occasionally. We let it marinate for at least an hour before cooking, which can add to the time until dinner. It only takes about 25-30 minutes to cook in a large skillet on the stove.
We like it with the stovetop-type stuffing which doesn’t take long to cook at all. It’s great with rice too. You can use any type you like. I can often get the stuffing cheap, especially around Thanksgiving. (Best savings to date: 10 cents a box @ Kroger and I bought a bunch!) We have also had this meal with the seasoned rice that probably isn’t as good for you but is good for a change and goes on sale frequently. (Plus there are coupons.)
Then we steam some veggies (frozen or fresh) and it’s dinner. I haven’t run into anyone who doesn’t love it!
We’ve done chicken breasts and buffalo sauce in the slow cooker before. Just shred it and mix with a tiny bit more sauce once it’s done, and then it’s awesome on nachos, in quesadillas, or in taquitos.
I also add parmesan cheese.
One of my favorites is to marinade with creamy dressing (ranch varieties are our favorite).
When the meat has thawed enough to easily separate from the other pieces and the dressing is wet, not frozen, I’ll roll it in crumbs (bread, cracker, or dry cereal of choice) and lay it out on a baking sheet that has been lightly greased.
Cover with foil or another pan, then I bake slowly until it is done (this keeps the meat moist and tender.
I’ve done this with chicken, chicken liver, and beef liver (cut into nugget size pieces). My whole family loves this variation:)
Those pictures of your husband and son working together are so sweet. Thanks for sharing.
we do snacks as part of homeschool too…it does make things messier though;)
Freezer cooking is the only way to go when you have a busy schedule. Thanks Chrystal for all your advise in this area!
I like the Culinary Treasures Balsamic vinegrette with basil dressing that is sold at Costco.
It’s funny I am making this tonight on the grill, except I marinate mine with the SUN DRIED TOMATOE dressing. We love it! I make enough for dinner and take a peice for my salad at luch the next day. We live on our grill in the summer. Keeps the house cool and the food is just better on the grill.
This is one of my favorites! In fact, it was one of the first chicken recipes I learned in college : ) I’ll have to put some up! Thanks for reminding my Crystal!
“And He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” I encourage you to encourage this. What a blessing. Praise the Lord, may the Lord bless your efforts 100 fold.
Just had to comment about your hubby and son’s school work. Looks like they are working on a Rod and Staff kindergarten workbook. When my children were small, we used those sweet workbooks, too. It brings back sweet memories to see your little boy coloring in one!
So I know this blog post is more about food…. but…. I commend your husband for being actively involved in your children’s home schooling. I was home schooled K-12, and while my Dad supported us being home schooled, he rarely help us with our work. My Mom did pretty much everything. Perhaps at times your husband will be tempted to not “do home schooling” since I’m sure he is a very busy man with his work. However, I say “keep at it” because it means more to your kids than you will ever know. 🙂
We’ve always done 1/2 italian dressing and 1/2 bbq sauce. We make extra of the sauce and set aside, then brush over the chicken while grilling. Yum!
I use the italian dressing, but also add a little La Choy soy sauce & some garlic salt. Yummy!
Seeing your husband so involved with your son is simply precious. I teach at a low income public school in NC and so many of my students live with just their mothers and dads are rarely in the picture at all, much less involved. I wish all children could have the benefit of two loving involved parents at home. Thanks for sharing those heart-warming pics of your two best guys!
We have made this recipe many times. I have even done it with beef. I finished up my recipe yesterday, but finally got around to posting it today. Been so busy. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and accountability to get the freezer full. I have REALLY enjoyed it. 🙂
The favorite on our house is half italian dressing with half honey mustard dressing/dip. Used a coupon with a Weis sale just this week for the honey mustard sauce.
I made homemade marinara sauce in the crockpot yesterday and split pea sausage soup in the crockpot today. Both were dinner and will make plenty to put into the freezer. I was lucky enough to be able to put together a double batch of the pumpkin muffins this afternoon. I have twin 8 month old boys. One napped and the other played in the jumperoo for the first batch. Then they switched for the second batch. This doesn’t happen very often and I took full advantage.
Like daddy, like son! So precious. We make this recipe a lot, and vary the type of dressing.
My mom marinated with half Italian dressing, half worcestershire sauce my entire childhood. Great on grilled anything- turkey, chicken, pork, steak, even shrimp.
Love the pictures of your husband and son! As I write this, my husband is sitting at the kitchen table helping our two boys with their schoolwork 🙂
I have tons of free (with coupon) salad dressing at home. Thanks!
I have been making this recipe for a long time. My whole family really likes it and it smells so good when it is cooking. It is great that your husband helps with homeschool subjects. My husband will do Bible study with the kids. Our daughter and him just finished reading the Bible this year. My son loves to have read aloud time with his daddy.
I made banana bread and chocolate banana bread today!
I was also able to send PB & honey sandwiches with my husband to work from the freezer. He was skeptical at first, but was willing to try it. He said they tasted as if they had been made that morning when it came time to eat them at lunch. This evening, he asked if his sandwiches are in the fridge. 🙂 This will be such a time saver for me each week.
I use this same recipe, except I add 8 oz of cream cheese in the last hour or so of cooking in the crockpot, and its all yummy and creamy. Very delish!
Hmm, now that sounds like an interesting twist!
I bought some chicken drumsticks on sale this week, do you think these would work, too?
Yes, definitely. You probably wouldn’t need to cook them as long, though.
We accidentally discovered we like this with the orange french dressing. I asked my husband to add the dressing to the crockpot, and he grabbed the first bottle he saw.
My mom made a baked version of this with carrots and canned potatoes when I was growing up. Now I make it in the crockpot with carrots and fresh potatoes. We just had it on Monday, in fact! I was just thinking today that it would be a good “dump” freezer recipe, but I wasn’t sure how the potatoes would hold up if they were frozen raw.
I’ve seen freezer-pot-roast recipes call for carrots and potatoes (both raw). I’ve never tried it… but I’m sure they’d be alright. If they aren’t ok when you try it, just boil them for a few minutes before you freeze them.
I’ve done a recipe that used raw potatoes lined on top of a dish, and its been hit or miss…sometimes it’s ok..sometimes they all turn brown…guess my foil seal wasn’t very tight. They might be ok in a bag, but you could always just do everything else and then only have the potato to cut up fresh the day of. Still saves lots of time! =)
My kids have mixed feelings about when their dad teaches them. My eldest loves it, cause dad rocks at science experiments, whereas mom flops most of them. My middle child hides his writing book because dad corrects too many spelling and grammar errors.
LOL! I love that daddy’s homeschooling involves snacks. That’s something that my dad would do. Aww, so sweet. Cherish that memory! Glad you got a pic 🙂
We do something similar… but to make the chicken stretch: after it is done cooking in the slow cooker, shred it and drain the juices. Then add 1 cup chicken broth, 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (or homemade version), 8oz pkg of softened cream cheese, and some italian seasonings. Return it all to the crockpot and cook on low for another hour. We eat it over rice the first night, then I mix it all up with the leftover rice and some broccoli, put it in a casserole pan, sprinkle some cheese, and bake it the next night.
I do this with fresh chicken breasts. You can use boneless thighs, though you’ll have to adjust the cooking time.
I have done this with other marinades…teriyaki, lemon-rosemary, garlic pepper, etc.
I love this recipe and the picture of Jesse and Silas just warms my heart. There truly is such a special love between kids and their daddies! Such a great idea for him to be involved with schooling 🙂
I use Newman’s own light Caesar dressing- it is delish!
My family does this a bit. We use BBQ sauce with ranch, pull it out, thaw for a minute, and bake it with bread crumbs over the top. It is delicious 🙂
Shawnda that sounds delicious. Would you mind providing us with the recipe (quantities,etc)
Oh my I just LOVE your hubby helping with homeschool! Yes! And I love the recipes. We just made that last week 🙂
How precious to see a father’s heart for his children! We have been grilling this recipe for years and it is sooo good! Either with baked potatoes or rice or sliced on a salad!
Three cheers for involved Dads! Woot, woot, woot!
Love it!
I posted my link to mine. I got a jump start on the snacks. I’ve been working on a recipe to duplicate a snack I found at the store, but I don’t want to pay that much for it. They turned out pretty well. Best thing is I can use my daughter’s soy yogurt and make her some as well. 🙂
Great recipie! There is a sale on chicken at my grocery this weekend…must do!
http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/05/22/tuesday-tutorial-freezer-cooking-bean-and-rice-burrittos/
My dad used Italian dresssing as a marinade for *everything* …steaks he grilled…fish, pork, etc. We love it! I haven’t put anything into the freezer this week, but I did cook up about 7lbs of split chicken breasts I had bought really cheap last week and I’ve been slowly using that up in meals. I’m going to make some chicken pot pies for the freezer tomorrow and use the rest of it up. My grandma’s recipe! Soooo good. I give them away to church people when they have babies and they all rave about them! http://www.savingmyselfsilly.com/2010/09/freezer-cooking-pot-pies-and-chicken.html
Thanks for sharing the recipe for pot pies!
You are very welcome! So easy to make, so I always make a few at once!
Maybe I need to start attending your church and have another baby? LOL