Hi y'all! I'm so excited to share these new recipes with you, I don't even know what to say in my intro today! I ran out of frozen crockpot meals last week, and knew it was time to prep some more for this month. My in-laws are in town for a visit right now (yay!), and my sweet mother-in-law assisted me in the kitchen today while bagging these up.
I could not, for the life of me, find many recipes for meals that involve prepping, freezing, thawing, and crockpotting (now a word). I easily found both regular freezer meal and crockpot recipes, but not the combination of the two. So, I decided to create some recipes myself based loosely on regular crockpot recipes I have wanted to try. Here is what I tried today. I will update when I actually heat and try them, to let you know what needs to be changed. The following recipes provided 8one gallon sized freezer bags of food, which will be enough for about 20 meals. Let me know if you try them. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Emily
No-Peeking Peking Chicken
8 bone in chicken thighs
salt and pepper
3/4 cup chopped scallions
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cups soy sauce
3 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. ginger
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1 bag frozen snow pea pods
1 red pepper chopped
Chicken and Corn Soup
1 lb red potatoes
1 lb sweet potatoes
4 lbs chicken thighs
4 cups chicken broth (which I will add the morning of)
4 scallions
4 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1 bag half ears of frozen corn
2 red peppers chopped
Roast and Vegetables
2 lb chuck roast, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion cut into 8ths
1 bag baby carrots
1/2 teaspoon celery or onion salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, DO NOT DRAIN
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 beef boullion cubes, softened
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn, DRAINED
6-8 small red potatoes, cubed
Garlic Chicken
2 pounds chicken thighs
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 medium onion
2 large green peppers
1 red pepper
1 zucchini
Mix all of the ingredients for each recipe together and divide evenly into two, 1 gallon sized freezer bags per recipe. Seal, and freeze. On the day of, thaw the bag on the counter for about 30 minutes, dump into the crockpot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Love it! I Pinterested the original blog where you got this idea, but I am much happier with your recipes I think. I wanna do these right away! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLoring
I'm so glad you found them. Stephanie was definitely a huge inspiration! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog on Pinterest. I'm in a freezer cooking club and looking for an easy meal to put together for 9 other families. I am so excited to try your recipes.
ReplyDeletemrsuribe - I'm so glad you found me too! I hope you enjoy the recipes and find them useful. I will be creating some new ones next month.
ReplyDelete-Emily
How did they turn out?
ReplyDeleteThey all turned out well, with the exception of ratio of meat to veggies. I definitely would have added more chopped vegetables in most of them. However, they all tasted great and our favorites were the Roast and the Peking Chicken.
ReplyDelete-Emily
Thank you for this! I am a busy mom of 4 and a nursing student. I am always on the lookout for freezer and crock-pot recipes. This is the best of both worlds!
ReplyDeletehow many servings do each of these make??
ReplyDeleteMichelle - You are so welcome! I understand busy, and hope it helps you as much as it has helped my family. :)
ReplyDeleteAnon - It depends on the recipe. I'd say most of the recipes make about 4 adult servings.
I am a busy grad school student and LOVE my crockpot!! I can attend school for 12 hours and return home to a hot, healthy meal<3
ReplyDeleteSmiley - same here :)
ReplyDeleteFor the Chicken and Corn Soup....do I peel/chop the potato's first?
ReplyDeleteAnon - that is completely up to you. I chop but do not peel. :)
ReplyDeleteHow do you split the ingredients of each recipe? Do you just put it all together and half it into 2 ziplocs? I hope that made sense :)
ReplyDeleteHi there! Yes, that is exactly what I do. I mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and then dish approximately half into each ziploc. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteWhat size crockpot are you putting these in?
ReplyDeleteAnon - I use the large oval size (I'm not sure if it is 6 or 8 quarts). I hope that helps. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you cook the meat first?
ReplyDeleteAnon - the short answer is no, I don't typically cook the meat first. However, a fattier cut of meat would do better first cooked and drained as the excess fatty oils (what is that really called anyway?) can change the consistency.
ReplyDeleteI am having such a hard time reading your blog because it's so dark. Then the instructions are obscured by the background patterns! I really want to try these things!
ReplyDeleteHi Kara,
ReplyDeleteHmm..are you viewing it from a phone? The format on the computer appears to be the patterned background, with a white background overtop and then the instructions. Does that make sense? The writing should not appear on top of the pattern.
No on an iPad, the background is black and the writing is gray
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea, thank you!
ReplyDeleteHmm..Kara I'm not sure why it's showing up that way on the iPad...I know it isn't that way on the laptop. I'm sorry! If I knew how to fix it for you I would.
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise!
I just wanted you to know that i am using your recipes for a Christmas gift ... my sister is very limited in her abilities, but these recipes allow me to prepare healthy meals that she can 'cook' simply! I am calling it the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS DINNER~
ReplyDeleteI love your idea here. Great way to help out those in need at church as well. Like shut ins or people who had surgery recently. Thanks for the ideas.
DeleteDo you add your meat to the bags ?
ReplyDeleteNo liquid added?
ReplyDeleteThe red peppers are red bell peppers, right? Also, the chicken thighs in the Chicken & Corn Soup and the Garlic Chicken...are they bone-in? or no bones?
ReplyDeleteAnon - the red peppers are indeed red bell peppers. I used bone in chicken thighs in the soup. The chicken literally fell off the bone at the end. Hope that helps :)
ReplyDeleteAnons - I did add the uncooked meat the bags, but I added the meat last so it remained refridgerated throughout the prepping process for safety.
ReplyDeleteThe only liquid added is listed (such as sesame oil), the rest of the liquid comes from the veggies.
Mrs. Incredible and Anon - thank you so much for your sweet comments. I am so glad you were able to use these recipes to bless others.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the
ReplyDeleteNo-Peeking Peking Chicken and Garlic Chicker there is no liquid in it, what do you serve with it, rice, noodle, ...? For the Chicken and Corn Soup, do you add the 4 cup of liquid with each bag or 2 cups per bag?
Romy
I just made the Peking chicken and the roast. Peking chicken is for dinner tomorrow night. I was so easy to put together. Thanks for the recipes
ReplyDeleteI found the vegetables change in their texture after freezing and even adjusting cooking time and method did not work. They were not freezer burned. I did blanch and cool (correct term? ) prior to freezing. Did you freeze the potatoes completely raw? Did they turn out ok?
ReplyDeleteso i'm wondering....in order to get the meat into quantities specified in each recipe I will have to defrost thr meat that's in my freezer then refreeze in the gallon baggies??? is that safe...to defrost then refreeze meat?
ReplyDeleteIt's never safe to defrost and refreeze raw meat - better to start with fresh and freeze it once!
Delete