Veggie noodles!
April 18, 2012
You’re Next!
April 24, 2012
After getting such a bountiful bountiful basket I wanted to try something I had seen on Pinterest- Crockpot freezer meals! Let me tell you these were super easy and lots of fun to make! First I came up with a list of meal ideas. I made quite a few of them and intend to make some more in the upcoming weeks. I made Gallon size bags for my family, and quart size bags to give to my parents. Here’s the recipes and pictures of the ones I did make.
Apple, Pear
& Pork Deliciousness-
& Pork Deliciousness-
3 apples-
sliced
sliced
2 pears-
sliced
sliced
3# pork- cubed
1 onion-
sliced
sliced
Sauce:
1 ½ c. brown
sugar
sugar
1 ½ c. apple
juice
juice
½ c. vinegar
3 T. mustard
Cut up meat,
fruit & onions, divide into bags.
Mix sauce together then divide it among the bags.
fruit & onions, divide into bags.
Mix sauce together then divide it among the bags.
Makes 1 large
family size (gallon bag) and 2 small family size (quart bag)- or however you
choose to divide it J
family size (gallon bag) and 2 small family size (quart bag)- or however you
choose to divide it J
Instructions
to write on the bag:
to write on the bag:
Add 2 ½ c.
water (for gallon bag, 1 c. for quart bag)
water (for gallon bag, 1 c. for quart bag)
Cook on low
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
Chinese
Chicken:
Chicken:
1 ½ lbs
chicken- I used individually frozen tenders
chicken- I used individually frozen tenders
1 head bok
choy
choy
1 can sliced
water chestnuts
water chestnuts
3 cloves
garlic
garlic
1 t. fresh
ginger
ginger
2 yellow
squash- sliced
squash- sliced
2 zucchini-
sliced
sliced
Sauce:
2 T oyster
sauce
sauce
½ c. soy sauce
2 t. white
wine vinegar
wine vinegar
Cut up all
veggies. Divide veggies & chicken
into desired bag sizes. (I did one gallon size for our large family and one
quart size for my parents) Mix sauce
together, then divide it among the bags.
veggies. Divide veggies & chicken
into desired bag sizes. (I did one gallon size for our large family and one
quart size for my parents) Mix sauce
together, then divide it among the bags.
Instructions
to write on the bags:
to write on the bags:
Add 2 c. water
(for gallon size, for quart size I did 1 c.)
(for gallon size, for quart size I did 1 c.)
Cook on low
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
Sweet &
sour Chicken
sour Chicken
2# chicken (I
used individually frozen tenders)
used individually frozen tenders)
3 large cans
of pineapple chunks (with juice)
of pineapple chunks (with juice)
3 green
peppers-chopped
peppers-chopped
1 bag of baby
carrots
carrots
2
onions-sliced
onions-sliced
Sauce:
½ c cornstarch
3 ½ c water
1 ½ c sugar
1 c vinegar
Orange food
coloring
coloring
Chop veggies
then divide into bags with chicken. (I made 2 gallon family sizes and 2 quart
sizes) Add all the juice with the pineapple into the bags. Mix up sauce, then divide it between the
bags.
then divide into bags with chicken. (I made 2 gallon family sizes and 2 quart
sizes) Add all the juice with the pineapple into the bags. Mix up sauce, then divide it between the
bags.
Instructions
to write on the bag:
to write on the bag:
Add 2 c. water
(1 c for quart size bags)
(1 c for quart size bags)
Cook on low
6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours
6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours
Beef Stew
1# stew meat-
cubed
cubed
7 potatoes-
chopped
chopped
1 bag baby
carrots
carrots
1 onion-
sliced
sliced
4 celery
stalks- chopped
stalks- chopped
Sauce:
1 can tomato
sauce
sauce
1 can tomato
paste
paste
1 T
garlic-minced
garlic-minced
1 t. seasoned
salt
salt
1 t. garlic
& herb seasoning
& herb seasoning
1 T beef
bullion
bullion
Chop veggies
then divide veggies and meat into bags. (I made 1 gallon size and 1 quart size)
then divide veggies and meat into bags. (I made 1 gallon size and 1 quart size)
Mix sauce
together then divide among the bags.
together then divide among the bags.
Instructions
to write on the bag:
to write on the bag:
Add 2 c. water
(1 c for quart bags)
(1 c for quart bags)
Cook on low
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
Bacon Meatballs
2# ground beef
Bacon ( aprox
10 slices cut in half- will vary depending on the size of meatballs you make)
10 slices cut in half- will vary depending on the size of meatballs you make)
Sauce:
4 cans tomato
sauce
sauce
1 T garlic
Mold ground
beef into small meatballs, wrap with bacon and place into bags. Mix sauce then divide among bags.
beef into small meatballs, wrap with bacon and place into bags. Mix sauce then divide among bags.
Instructions
to write on bags:
to write on bags:
Add 1 c water
(1/2 c for quart size)
(1/2 c for quart size)
Cook on low
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
Chicken
Teriyaki
Teriyaki
2# chicken (I
used individually frozen tenders)
used individually frozen tenders)
1 ½ large cans
pineapple tidbits (with juice)
pineapple tidbits (with juice)
½ bag of baby
carrots
carrots
Sauce:
1 c. teriyaki
sauce
sauce
¼ c. soy sauce
Divide
ingredients into bags, then mix together sauce and divide it among the bags.
ingredients into bags, then mix together sauce and divide it among the bags.
Instructions
for bags:
for bags:
Add 2 c. water
(1 c for quart)
(1 c for quart)
Cook on low
6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours
6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours
Some of the other crockpot freezer meal ideas I have but have yet to make are:
Chicken Curry
Stroganoff (sp?)
Lemon Chicken
Italian Chicken
Zucchini & Squash hash
Breakfast Casserole (I’m not sure how scrambled eggs will freeze uncooked- I’ll let you know!)
UPDATE: I also recently tried these containers for freezer meals and even for freezing leftovers and LOVE them!
Let me know if you try these or any other recipes! atozformomslikeme@gmail.com
31 Comments
Thank you for posting these! I am going to try them at a Pintrest party coming up in a couple weeks. I'm hoping to impress my husband because I do not know anything about cooking.
Awesome! Hope they turn out great!
Love this idea! I usually prep crock pot meals the night before but this would be so much easier and the possibilities are endless.
Thanks! I LOVE these freezer crock pot meals- they are so easy. And it's great when you can buy all the ingredients at once and section them out for multiple crock pot meals.
Good recipes, but what is the #1, ect, for the meat? I'd like to make some of these, but would like to know how much meat per recipe
#1= 1 lb (or 1 pound) of meat.
Enjoy! 🙂
For the Apple, Pear, Pork recipe, is it prepared mustard or dry mustard?
I did prepared mustard, but I'm sure you could do either 🙂
For the beef stew, I was always told that potatoes could not be frozen. Does it taste the same?
of course you can freeze potatoes- you can buy frozen hash browns, cubed potatoes, fries etc. So you can freeze your own.
They taste amazing!
What kind of vinegar? Thanks!
For the pork…
Just white vinegar- but I'm sure you could use any kind you like 🙂
Can you half the recipes or will that mess up the final result?
You can totally half them! My kind of cooking is usually a little of this and that anyway- I try to put measurements on for other people but generally it's not something you have to have exact.
Do you let them defrost before putting them into your slow cooker?
Not usually, unless they wont fit into my crock pot then I will let it defrost enough to fit. That's part of the convenience 🙂
How many people do each of these meals feed? We have a family of 6 so I'm just wondering if I need to adjust it a little. 🙂
We have a family of 7 so that's what most of these are geared for. Some I will serve with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.
Does this recipe make 3 gallons? Just trying to see how much it really makes.
So I'm reading my previous answers and they didn't really answer…. I must have had a kid distraction (and pregnancy brain at the time)
Each recipe makes what's shown in the picture. I used Gallon bags (for my family size) and Quart bags (to give to my parents)
Hope that helps!
awesome ideas, thank you!
Are the meatballs browned previously, or do you put them raw into the freezer?
If raw, do you simply put those uncooked balls into the crockpot?
I just realized my answer didn't really answer your question- must have been a kid distraction (or at least that's what I'm blaming it on now)
I don't brown them before and put them in the freezer raw.
Then just put them in the crock pot raw. 🙂
Storey's- it depends on which recipe you are talking about. Most of them make what is shown or mentioned in the recipe. I put them in gallon size bags for my family and quart sized bags for my parents. The good thing about crock pot meals is you can stretch them if you need to by serving over rice, noodles, or potatoes.
Sea- I used the store bought meatballs that are previously cooked. I'm sure you could do them raw, they may just need more time to cook.
Regarding the pork is that 1.5 cups of brown sugar and apple juice or a half cup? 1.5 seems high and I'm preparing for a freezer meal swap and want to be certain that I'm preparing it correctly.
It's 1 and a half cups of each- the recipe makes 2 large family portions 🙂
A freezer meal swap sounds fun!! I wish I could get people here to do it.
Do you thaw the frozen chicken tenders before putting them into the bag with the other ingredients? And do you thaw the bags of food in the refrigerator before putting them in the crock pot?
I don't thaw them- since they'll all be frozen again soon I just put them all together as is.
When it comes to using the freezer crock pot meals you can put them in the crock pot frozen or defrost them first. It really wont matter- but if you do put it in frozen you'll want to make sure you cook it on low and allow extra time. (you will also want to keep in mind how it freezes so it will fit in your crock pot frozen)
If you defrost it first you can cook it on low or high and your times will be a little less.
It's not hard- but does have some range in times because of how different crock pots cook, as well as how frozen your freezer gets them etc. A little trial and error maybe at first until you know what works for you. 🙂
Thank you so much for these answers and the great recipes!
Ok, so I have mom brain sorry. How do you divide it up in the bags? Like a certain amount of ingredients or does this recipe just go in one freezer bag? I'm sorry lol
Don't be sorry! 🙂 Each recipe will make what it shows in the pic. I just try to divide it up as equally as possible. There's no hard fast rule to it- you can make as little or as much that works for your family. If they don't like one ingredient you can substitute it etc.