Freezer to Crockpot Cooking

Hi, everyone. I am super excited to share this blog entry with you! I was losing brain cells wandering around Pinterest the other day, when I stumbled upon a genius idea. Stephanie, Mama and Baby Love blogger, has perfected the art of freezer cooking with slow cooker recipes. To save time, money, and sanity, she has come up with a great routine. I followed this routine today like an exact science, and I am already thrilled with the outcome.

Here's the scoop:

Stephanie shared 3 recipes for this month. Her recipes provide enough food for two gallon size freezer bags, which is about enough for 4 meals per bag. That equals 2 dinners, and 2 leftover meals, per bag, which equals about 24 meals between the 6 bags. Cook one or two recipes a week, and you're golden for dinners, AND some lunches, for about a month. The three recipes I followed are below. We are trying the Chicken Curry tonight, and it is smelling amazing. Please try this, I am telling you, it will change your life.

Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken

3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large green pepper, cut into strips
1 large red pepper, cut into strips
1 zucchini, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca (I used corn starch)
2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Stephanie's Goulash

3 cups chopped onions
2.5 cups coarsely chopped green sweet peppers
4 large beets, peeled and diced
2 cups of carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika or regular paprika (I used regular)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked noodles
1/2 dairy sour cream

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Chicken Curry

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons curry powder
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups chopped peeled sweet potatoes (I used red)
2.5 cups baby carrots
2 cup coarsely chopped mango (I used peaches)
1 cup chopped onion
1 zucchini chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
chicken bouillon (I used 1 cup of water and 1 cube)
.5 cup raisins (for garnish)
.5 cup peanuts or cashews (for garnish)

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

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.

xoxo,
Emily