Freezer Cooking with Slow Cooker Recipes (Use at your own discretion)
April 5, 2011 By
Stephanie
Welcome, Pinners! Please be sure to check out my Real Food
tab at the top to find more slow cooker freezer meals! Also, I love
to see everyone excited and sharing on their blogs and social media
when they use my recipes, but please be sure to link back to me and do
not publish the entire recipe! Thanks!
Be sure to check my FAQ page if you have any other questions. And my new Ecookbook, From Your Freezer To Your Family, full of new recipes, nutrition info, grocery lists and cute labels!
Like I mentioned in
my post the other week, the last time I did a
big cooking day, I had
big ah-ha moment.
Although, I had a blast with Lauren, it was logistically very
difficult to accomplish, between the juggling of cooking and childcare,
the prep work, organization and scheduling, it can be overwhelming.
So this latest big cooking day,
I did it by myself and only did slow cooker recipes.
Basically, all I was did was chop vegetables and assemble ingredients.
Even with doing it this way, it was still a 3 hour affair, but during
this time I was able to finish all the cooking AND the cleaning.
Most importantly my feet didn’t ache at the end like they normally do. I also didn’t have any sort of panic or anxiety leading up to the big cooking day like I normally do. HUGE.
I chopped all the vegetables with Penelope in her
Learning Tower
before nap (which was really fun, I went through all the colors of the
vegetables with her and talked about rainbows and made it a fun learning
experience).
Then I assembled everything during her nap (thank you Jesus, I can
now skip a pump session here and there and can do other things at nap
time than sit in front of a computer) and finished cleaning up after
nap, again with her in her
Learning Tower.
This time she played independently with a bowl of soapy water, she
made a huge mess, but the rags I used to clean up her mess where the
same rags I used to clean up my mess so it wasn’t that bad.
I just dumped the veggies into the gallon ziploc bags, then added the meat, then added the spices.
Once I was done and cleaned everything up, I felt like I had invented
electricity! I thought I was such a genius for finally (it took me
over a year, people) getting once a month cooking down to an efficient
and easy art form.
I am telling you it will change your life! Give it a try and tell me how it went!
Here are my recipes. I use a ton of vegetables in each meal, because
I don’t tend to eat a lot of veggies through out the day, so I try and
get them all in at dinner. And Peter is more apt to eat veggies if they
taste like barbecue or curry than as a plain side dish.
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken
3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, about 2 cups.
2 large green pepper, cut into strips or cubes, about 2 cups.
1 large red pepper, cut into strips or cubes, about 1 cup.
2 zucchini, chopped, about 2 cups.
2 cups chopped onion.
2 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca (or flour, or some other thickening agent).
2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks.
2 15-ounce can of tomato sauce.
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon ground yellow mustard.
2 clove garlic, finely minced, about 2 tablespoons.
1 teaspoon salt
Divide everything into two, one gallon freezer bags, shake it up,
seal, label and put in the freezer. Day of cooking, dump it into your
slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low 6-8 hours,
depending on your specific slow cooker.
Stephanie’s Goulash
3 cups chopped onions
2.5 cups coarsely chopped green bell peppers, about 2 cups.
4 large beets, peeled and diced, about 2 cups.
2 cups of baby carrots or diced carrots.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes, or whole and you can cut it after it is cooked.
4, 6-ounce can tomato paste.
2 tablespoons of Hungarian paprika or regular paprika (I used regular)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked noodles, do not add in freezer bag, cook separately, day of cooking.
1/2 dairy sour cream, do not add in freezer bag, use as garnish, day of cooking.
Divide everything into two gallon
freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. EXCEPT
the sour cream and noodles, the sour cream is for garnish after the meal
is cooked. Cook the noodles separately, the day of cooking.
Day of cooking, dump it into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6
hours, or low 6-8 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker.
Chicken Curry
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5-2 pounds chicken thighs, or breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces.
2 cups chopped peeled sweet potatoes.
2 cups baby carrots.
2 cup coarsely chopped mango. Or 2 cans of chopped mango.
1 cup chopped onion.
1 zucchini chopped, about one cup.
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 chicken bouillon, one per bag.
.5 cup raisins (for garnish)
.5 cup peanuts or cashews (for garnish)
Divide everything into two, one gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freeze.
To cook, take out of freezer and set on counter for about 30
minutes, then dump contents of bag into slow cooker. Cook on high for 4
hours, or low for 8 hours.
The next recipes were taken from
Ring Around the Rosies
Teriyaki Chicken
Medium – Large bag of carrots
Red Onion into Large Chunks
2 large cans pineapple (undrained)
4 Garlic Cloves
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce
Follow directions above, and split everything into two gallon freezer
bags. shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for
Bag: Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to crock pot, Cook on low 8 h
ours or high 4 hours. Serve over hot rice
Savory Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
2 cans stewed tomatoes
4 Tbs white wine
2 bay leafs
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion (I put one small in each bag)
1 cup chicken broth (see how I make mine below, or choose one w/ no msg or bpa)
2 tsp salt
4 cups broccoli
Follow directions above, and put everything (except broccoli) into
two gallon freezer bags. shake it up, seal, label and put in the
freezer. Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, add broccoli during
the last 30 minutes.
Lazy Day Stew
4lb cubed stewing beef
4 cups baby carrots
4 cups baby red potatoes (cut in half)
2 medium onions, chopped
10 oz package dried lima beans (optional)
2 cups celery, chopped
4 tsp quck-cooking tapioca
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (1/2 in each bag)
2 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
Follow directions above, and put everything into two one gallon
freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, Eat as a soup, or serve over
hot noodles or rice. I add a li’l bit of shredded cheddar or mozzarella.
Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
1 large bag of meatballs (or 2 small, you want about 12-14 meatballs
per bag – I make my own because it’s hard to find gluten free meatballs)
2 jar grape jelly (I use Polaner’s all fruit spread – no yucky hfcs, artificial colors or sweeteners)
20 oz bbq sauce (Trader Joe’s is really good – again, no hfcs or other yucky ingredients)
Put everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label
and put in freezer. Instructions for Bag: Cook on low for 2-4 hours
‘til warmed completely. Serve over hot rice w/ a side of veggies.
Sausage and Peppers
6 Italian Sausage (or chicken sausage)
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
1 large red onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans italian diced tomatoes
drizzle olive oil
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
Follow directions above, and put everything into two gallon freezer
bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for
Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, or grill. After cooking, serve over hot pasta
or on hollowed out, buttered crusty bread.
Browned Ground Chuck (I cook this while I’m throwing other meals together)
–
Italian Style
2 lb ground chuck (I always use at least 85/20%, and buy it in bulk on sale)
1 large chopped onion
2 shredded carrots (I add these to a lot of meals, easy/cheap way to bulk up a meal & add nutrition)
salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste you could also go ahead and add diced tomatoes if you want
Brown everything together, drain, put everything into two gallon
freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Instructions for Bag: Add to spaghetti, Shepherd’s Pie, other
casseroles)
-
Mexican Style
2 lb ground chuck (I always use at least 85/20%, and buy it in bulk on sale)
1 large chopped onion
2 shredded carrots (I add these to a lot of meals, easy/cheap way to bulk up a meal & add nutrition)
salt, pepper, taco seasoning & cumin to taste
you could also go ahead and add diced tomatoes if you want
Brown everything together, drain, put everything into two gallon
freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Instructions for Bag: Add to tacos, nachos, enchiladas, other
casseroles)
Shredded Chicken and Stock (I also cook this while I’m throwing other meals together)
4 large chicken breast
2 large onions, sliced
3-4 large carrots
4-5 stalks of celery
salt & pepper as desired
Throw all of above into a large stock pot full of boiling water. Boil
‘til chicken is completely done (about 20 minutes). Once it’s done,
remove and toss veggies, remove chicken and cool completely. once
cooled, shred with a fork (or in stand mixer with paddle attachment).
Place into two gallon freezer bags, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Instructions for Bag: Add to tacos, salads, casseroles, chicken salad,
sandwiches, etc.
Pour broth into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, remove from
tray and place in freezer bags. Use 2-4 as needed at a time in soups,
casseroles, stews, and other recipes!
