Freezer Meals: Chicken Fajita Casserole

Chicken Fajita Casserole
Makes 4 8x8 freezer meals.

1 4-lb whole chicken
6 cups cooked Minute Rice (3 cups dry rice + 3 cups water)
1 Knorr Rice Sides Fajita flavor
2 can of Rotel tomatoes
2 packs of fajita seasoning
1 quart-bag of frozen corn
2 cans of black beans (undrained)
1 6oz can of black olives, sliced
4 cups of shredded Mexican cheese

Crockpot your chicken overnight. Then debone it and shred all your chicken into one bowl.

As an aside, here's how to make Easy Chicken Stock  

Put all the scraps (bones, skin, etc) back in the crockpot with the chicken broth. Fill with water and turn on high for 5-10hrs. Strain the chicken stock into a container and put in fridge overnight for the fat to harden on the top. Toss fat, then divide chicken stock into 2-cup freezer safe bags and freeze for later. Delicious homemade chicken broth. 

Now, back to our reguarly scheduled program:

Mix all ingredients (except cheese), then top with cheese. Freeze for an easy meal later! Bake at 350 until heated thoroughly and cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and tortilla chips.

Adopted from the Shabby Creek Cottage's Tex Mex Chicken Casserole.

Affordable shopping tips:

I had everything on hand for this except the chicken and the olives, so my shopping trip didn't cost me much. Many of these items are things that I watch for sales on and keep on hand for later. 

• 1 4-lb whole chicken - I watched for whole chicken to go on sale for $0.99/lb; so it cost me $4
• 6 cups cooked Minute Rice - I don't think I've seen Minute Rice on sale, but I buy the off-brand to save some money on rice
• 1 Knorr Rice Sides Fajita flavor - Watch for the 10 for $10 sale, then these are only $1 each
• 2 can of Rotel tomatoes - Occasionally, these will be on sale for $0.99; usually around a big game b/c people use them in Rotel dip
• 2 packs of fajita seasoning - HyVee seasoning packets go on sale for 3/$1, so when they do, I stock up
• 1 quart-bag of frozen corn - I used fresh corn that we did ourselves over the summer, but HyVee frequently has bags of frozen veggies on sale for $1
• 2 cans of black beans (undrained) - These are usually $0.88 each, and it's even cheaper (and there's less sodium) if you opt to buy the dry black beans and cook them yourself
• 4 cups of shredded Mexican cheese - Watch for the cheese sale. $1.67/bag is what we've been keeping our eye out for.