For the past few months, I have been relying on crockpot/freezer meals to give my family tasty dinners. Every couple of weeks, I spend a couple hours in the kitchen preparing these meals and freezing them. Then, in the morning, I pull out a meal, put it in the crockpot, and have carefree dinner preparation that night. It has truly been a life-saver for me and given me lots of extra time. The good smells make my family happy as they anticipate a tasty dinner.
Even better, I found a friend who appreciates doing this too. We double our batches and then swap. Even more carefree!
Here are some things I have learned:
1. Keep a record of how you change recipes.
2. Keep the links to the recipes you use.
3. Rate how your family likes the recipes so you can repeat winners and delete losers.
4. Prepare ziplock bags before cooking by writing name of dish, serving size, and any instructions needed for cooking and serving (i.e. cook on low 4-5 hours or on high 2-3 hours, add milk products at the end instead of freezing etc. or serve with brown rice or noodles etc.)
5. Prepare 4-6 meals at a time and double the batches if you have freezer space or are swapping with a friend.
6. Make a list of all vegetables needed for these recipes and do all the chopping at once. Put in separate bowls.
7. Prepare beef and chicken recipes at separate times. Be sure to cut the meat as described. Separate styles of cutting are appreciated to add variety to meals.
8. I usually put all the vegetables in. Then add the meats. Then add the spices and other additions that make the recipe unique.
9. Press out all air and freeze bags flat and stacked in freezer.
Our Family Favorites:
Here are links or directions to my favorite recipes: My family gave each of the following recipes 5/5 or 4/5. So these are ones that we will be repeating at home regularly.
I usually try to cook the beef recipes longer and the chicken recipes shorter. So 8-10 hours for beef on low or 4-6 hours on low for chicken. If I don't have that much time, I'll do it on high for less time.
| Southwest Flank Steak | 1.5 lbs flank steak |
| served with rice pilaf and salad | 1 onion, chopped |
| benefits from overnight low crockpot 10-12 hours | 3 cloves garlic |
| 1-16 oz jar chunky salsa | |
| 2 tsp chili pwd | |
| 1/2 tsp salt | |
| 1/4 tsp pepper | |
| 1 red pepper | |
| 1 yellow pepper | |
| Taco Chili | 1 lb cooked ground beef |
| low 6-8 hours or | 1 onion |
| high 4-5 hours | 1 can corn, drained |
| 1-8 oz can tomato sauce | |
| 2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes | |
| 1 sm. can diced green chilis | |
| 1 pkg taco seasoning | |
| tortillas-served with the above ingredients at the end | |
| fritos | |
| cheese |
| Recipe | Ingredients |
| Chicken Chili | 2 Tbs olive oil |
| good with cheese, sour cream, fritos, rice | 1 Tbsp cornstarch |
| 1 med. onion, chopped | |
| 1 can chopped green chilis, drained | |
| 2 tsp cumin | |
| 2 tsp chili powder | |
| 1 lb chicken breast | |
| 1 tsp salt | |
| 1 tsp pepper | |
| 2 cups chicken stock | |
| Chicken Fajitas | 1 green pepper |
| 1 red pepper | |
| 1 yellow onion | |
| 2 cloves garlic | |
| 1 Tbs honey | |
| juice from 1 lime (not included) | |
| 1 Tbs chili powder | |
| 2 tsp cumin | |
| 1 tsp paprika | |
| 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes | |
| 1 lb chicken breast (used more) |
| spicy shredded pork | http://newleafwellness.biz/2014/02/13/slow-cooker-spicy-dr-pepper-shredded-pork/ |
| French Dip Sandwiches | http://crockpotladies.com/crockpot-french-dip-sandwiches-3/ |
| Mongolian Beef | http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/11/easy-crockpot-mongolian-beef/ |
| Rustic Chicken Soup | http://whoneedsacape.com/2014/02/rustic-chicken-slow-cooker-stew/ |
| Thai pork with peanut sauce | http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-thai-peanut-pork/ |
| Kung Pow Chicken | http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/kung-pao-chicken | ||
| Pork Carnitas | http://www.mykitchenescapades.com/2012/11/pork-carnitas.html | ||
| Chicken Curry | http://newleafwellness.biz/2013/03/11/slow-cooker-chicken-curry-recipe/ | ||
| Spicy pepper beef | http://newleafwellness.biz/2013/09/25/slow-cooker-spicy-pepper-beef/ | ||
| Beef roast and carrots | http://newleafwellness.biz/2014/09/08/8-healthy-freezer-crockpot-meals-75-minutes/ | ||
| Herbed Chicken | http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/paprika_rubbed_chicken.html |
