Personally, I am having knee replacement surgery in a few weeks and I was searching for easy to do menus and recipes for my family to deal with while I was out of commission for several weeks. I ran across this and loved the ideas! ~ Phyllis
8 Slow Cooker Freezer Meals that can be made in 1 Hour!
(Bonus: They actually taste good and are approved by my family!)
Slow Cooker BBQ Spareribs
Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of country-style pork ribs
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 Tablespoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
Directions:
Place pork in resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over pork. Mix together in bag and zip closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours.
Serve with Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole (which can also be made in advance and frozen) and a bag of frozen corn.
Black Bean Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey works too!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package mild taco seasoning mix
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
1 (16 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed (you could use kidney beans or pinto beans)
2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis
1 package mild taco seasoning mix
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
1 (16 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed (you could use kidney beans or pinto beans)
2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis
Directions:
Brown meat and onion, drain. Let meat cool for a minute, then dump into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.
Brown meat and onion, drain. Let meat cool for a minute, then dump into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.
Dump the remaining ingredients into the bag, mix together, and zip bag closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or LOW for 2-3 1/2 hours.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or LOW for 2-3 1/2 hours.
Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets
2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce (I use light)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.
Serve with cooked fettuccine noodles, green salad, and Easy Parmesan Knots.
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts
1 (26 oz) jar of chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.
Garnish: chopped black olives, shredded Parm cheese
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles and garnish with olives and cheese. Also would be delicious withCheesy Garlic Sticks.
French Dip Sandwiches
Ingredients:
2-3 lb beef chuck roast
2 cans (14.5 oz each) beef consomme (it is right next to the soups and beef broth)
6-8 hoagie buns
Directions:
Place roast in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and pour beef consomme on top.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8-11 hours (or HIGH for 5-7 hours). Remove roast from slow cooker and save extra juice for dipping! With 2 forks, shred roast and serve meat on buns. We also love to melt Provolone or Swiss cheese on top.
Serve with Baked Potato Wedges and fresh fruit.
Ingredients:
1 pound beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours).
Serve with 3 Ingredient Parmesan Rolls.
(I double-bagged this stew because it stuffed the freezer bag to the brim! Better safe than sorry!)
4 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours).
Serve with 3 Ingredient Parmesan Rolls.
(I double-bagged this stew because it stuffed the freezer bag to the brim! Better safe than sorry!)
Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Sprinkle with fresh or dried rosemary for serving.Serve with Oven Roasted Vegetables.
Cilantro Lime Chicken w/ Corn and Black Beans
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours).
Serve with tortillas and toppings such as with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.
Recipe adapted from Over the Big Moon.
Putting the meals together is actually pretty fun.
The first thing that I did was label all my bags with what was going inside and how long to cook them in the slow cooker.
I then placed all the meat inside each bag (I don't really like handling raw meat, so I figured that I would just get it over with).
I then printed off the recipes and just added the ingredients called for to each bag.
You might find it easier to chop and prepare all your produce and other items, but I like doing it one recipe at a time. Just do what works best for you!
And less than 1 hour later, I had 8 freezer meals all ready to go!
Other tips and suggestions:
-Don't forget to add Ziploc gallon-sized freezer bags to your shopping list!
-All of these recipes can lay pretty flat, making them easy to stack in your freezer (they really won't take up much room).
-They seem to work best in the slow cooker if you can let them thaw in the fridge for about 24 hours before serving them. If you are not able to thaw them beforehand, plan on them cooking for a lot longer in the slow cooker.
-Each of my recipes feeds my family of four (2 adults and 2 kids) for dinner and then we usually have two leftover lunches for the next day. If you are only making food for 2, you could easily split these meals in half.
-Slow Cooker Liners will make clean up a breeze!
-Don't forget to add Ziploc gallon-sized freezer bags to your shopping list!
-All of these recipes can lay pretty flat, making them easy to stack in your freezer (they really won't take up much room).
-They seem to work best in the slow cooker if you can let them thaw in the fridge for about 24 hours before serving them. If you are not able to thaw them beforehand, plan on them cooking for a lot longer in the slow cooker.
-Each of my recipes feeds my family of four (2 adults and 2 kids) for dinner and then we usually have two leftover lunches for the next day. If you are only making food for 2, you could easily split these meals in half.
-Slow Cooker Liners will make clean up a breeze!
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