Friday, June 28

5 Crockpot Freezer Meals

One of the best things our friends did for us after B was born was bringing us yummy homemade dinners. It was SO wonderful not to have to worry about cooking while we were getting used to this tiny new part of our family. So we like to pass that blessing on when we get the chance. And it turns out we have just that chance right now! One of our good friends unexpectedly had an early delivery so we've been putting our heads together with a few other friends to get their place ready for the return home, including stocking their deep freeze with lots of yummy, ready-to-go meals.


I wanted to do crockpot meals because of the easy prep and easy cooking later, but I don't know much about freezer meals or crockpot meals. So it was pinterest to the rescue! I pulled recipes from a few sites I had pinned and wound up with a list of 5 dinners (the recipes come from here, here, and here). And while I was at it, I made a second batch for our freezer for after baby #2 makes an appearance. So I made a total of 10 freezer meals, and spent just over an hour on all of them! All the recipes are below, and I even made a printable shopping list with everything you need to make all 5 dinners (just double it if you want a set for yourself).


I started by labeling all the bags with the name and cooking directions for each meal. I cut all the meat first and put it into the bags, and then added all the veggies and other ingredients (I was careful to choose recipes that didn't require any cooking ahead of time, it was all just chopping and tossing it in a bag). Then into the freezer they went!


It was actually really easy, and I made great time since I waited until B was asleep for all the cutting & bagging. Want to make a set of freezer dinners for yourself or a friend? Here are the recipes for the 5 meals I made:



Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion chopped

Directions:
Throw all the ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag and give it a shake to mix them.
To cook: thaw in the fridge for 24 hours, then dump it in the crockpot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Serve with spaghetti noodles.
(recipes source)



Hearty Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1 lb. beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cubed
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. can tomato sauce
package frozen green peas

Directions:
Toss ingredients in a a gallon size freezer bag and give it a shake to mix.
To cook: thaw in the fridge 24 hours, the cook in the crockpot on LOW for 7-10 hours or HIGH for 5-6 hours.
(recipe source)



Salsa Chicken Tacos
Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans corn, drained
1 package taco seasoning
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup water

Directions:
Throw everything in a gallon size freezer bag and give it a shake to mix.
To cook: thaw in the fridge 24 hours, then cook in the crockpot on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or LOW for 7-8 hours.
Shred chicken and serve on tacos, nachos, or rice with your favorite toppings.
(recipe source)


(and no, there's not actually meat in this bag yet. my bad, guys.)

BBQ Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:
2lbs chicken breasts
1/4 c. dried minced onion
1 can whole cranberry sauce (16 oz)
1 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:
Toss everything in a gallon size freezer bag and shake to mix. 
To cook: Thaw in the fridge 24 hours, then cook in the crockpot on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours. 
(recipe source)



Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can pineapple (slices or chunks) drained and juice reserved
1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Toss chicken, pineapple, and bell pepper in a gallon size ziploc freezer bag. In a bowl combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, corn starch, salt, and pepper and mix until cornstarch and sugar dissolve. Pour into ziploc and shake to mix. Freeze.
To cook: Thaw in the fridge 24 hours, then cook in the crockpot on HIGH for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours. Serve with rice.


In no time you'll have a nice little freezer stash! Perfect for busy weekends or those crazy days with a new baby. I laid them as flat as I could in the freezer so they'll *hopefully* be a little easier to store/sort through. It seemed like a big job when I started, but a little over an hour for 10 meals ready to go in the crockpot?!? So worth it.


What is your favorite thing to make for a new mom? Do you have a favorite freezer recipe? Have you done a big freezer prep like this before? I'd love to hear any tips or suggestions! And don't forget, you can print a shopping list for all 5 meals here. And I've added some burritos to my freezer stash - check it out here!

32 comments:

  1. My favorite dish to make for new moms is a Chicken and Rice dish along with a side salad and some form of desert. These recipes look delicious!

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    1. Mmmmmm, chicken and rice sounds right up my alley. ;)

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  2. These recipes look fantastic! Will share for sure. :-)

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  3. Thank You! I've been looking for recipes like these here that I can make and freeze.

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  4. We have a moms recipe group on facebook and most of us are school teachers. We try to help each other out with easy/healthy recipes. This is exciting so we can prepare at least 5 meals, (if not 10) for when we all start back to school!!! This looks super! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome! That sounds like a fun group. :)

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  5. Thanks so much for sharing! I've been looking for meals like this to help out when I go back to work. Do you think these would work if you put them in the crock pot frozen? I've had some recipes for freezer-to-crock-pot that work well. I'm so bad about remembering to thaw stuff out! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been putting them in straight from the freezer and they have been fine. I just add an hour to the cooking time and everything has worked out!

      One thing to note - I believe the potatoes go in the stew, the recipe doesn't say. Anyway, I chopped them up and threw them in there and it was good!

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    2. Thank you! I always forget to pull them out ahead of time so I've been letting them thaw until the next day. Glad to know it works either way! :D
      And thank you for pointing that out - they do go in the stew and I'll fix that now.

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  6. I was wondering what the servings were per baG?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry to say I don't know! Next time I make them I'll pay better attention to how many servings we get out of it. :)

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    2. Just seeing this, and I have the same question. How many servings per bag?

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  7. Stupid question but need to ask it. How do you flatten the ziploc bag with ingredients in it without the sauce leaking out?

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    Replies
    1. You seal it standing up (make sure you let out the air). Then lay it down and smoosh everything around to make it flat. :)

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    2. Once the air is out of the baggie, zip it and lay it on a cookie sheet horizontally to freeze. You can lay each on top of one another till solid. Once hard they can stand upright in a freezer (or $1 store) basket for easy organization.

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    3. Yes! Storing upright is a great tip! Thanks!

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    4. While freezing flat does allow for easy storage, we find that if you aren't defrosting first (because we ultimately forget to defrost - EVERY TIME), it's HARD to get it to fit in the pot. We learned quickly to freeze naturally with the seal upright (and air smooshed out), then it fits right in the pot without thawing. Just run a little warm water over the bag for a few minutes before plopping into pot to release the bag from creases and cook all day on low. Yes, takes up a little more space, but if you aren't a think a day ahead person, this might be a good tip.

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    5. Good call! I've lacked that foresight several times and been stuck trying to fit a flat meal into the crockpot. :)

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    6. You can also get your bags flat by sealing while standing them up. Put a straw in the middle of the opened area and suck the air out while sealing the from each side toward the middle. You are sucking the air out so it is sanitary and gets the air out and the bag flat.

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    7. You'd need to be careful not to suck up any of the ingredients, especially if there is raw meat in the bag!

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  8. When the recipe calls for chicken, do you put the whole breasts in or cut it up?

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    Replies
    1. I left the taco one whole and shredded it after it cooked. The rest I cut up, but you could shred them also if you prefer. :)

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    2. Thanks. That's what I was thinking of doing, but didn't know if you recommended otherwise!

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  9. The chicken cacciatore was a hit!!! Gonna try the BBQ cranberry next. Thanks for the tips!!

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  10. Love these! What size cans of cream of mushroom for the vegetable beef stew? Chicken cacciatore was a hit!! :)

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    Replies
    1. Glad you're enjoying the recipes! I just used the regular soup can size. :)

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  11. Just found these and I"m SO excited about making them this week in preparation for baby #3's arrival! This is my first foray into crockpot freezer meals... do you know how long they stay good in the freezer?

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    1. I hope these worked well for you (and congrats on the baby!!) I'm pretty new to freezer meals too, but I think the longest we kept them for was 5-6 months and they were still good. :)

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  12. Hi! for the Hawaiian Chicken, what size can do you use? I have a big 20 oz can in my pantry but I dont know if thats too much pineapple (and juice) for the recipe. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. I've used both sizes, but I love pineapple so I don't know how much it would take for me to say it way too much! ;) I would use about half the juice for a larger can.

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