I have been seeing lots of posts about freezing pre-made
crock pot meals lately, and thought “why not?”
So, I decided to undertake the mission.
I did not clip any coupons; I guess that will have to be the goal for
next time! This was not for the faint of
heart; it took me about 6 hours to complete this.
Step 1, I decided
what I was interested in making. My
husband is a vegetarian so that adds a bit of complication. The meals chosen were:
Pancakes, waffles, omelets, smoothie packs,
chai latte mix, crispy edemame
Pasta sauce,
vegetarian chili, spicy peanut sauce, chicken tender, chicken chili, beef stew,
biscuits, chicken parmesan, vegetable soup, Hawaiian chicken, Salisbury steak,
lemon pepper tilapia, potato wedges, roasted squash, and some odds and ends.
Step 2: Off to the grocery! I spent about $125. But, I also got some things from my garden
and pantry.
Step 3: Chop! First, I soaked all of the beans in separate
containers.
As things
were chopped, they went into separate bowls to make measuring easy. 1 step at a time! Don’t give up!
Step 4: Cook what needs it
Step 5: Assemble, label and date
everything! Use masking tape on
containers. Frozen items are good for
about 6 months as a good rule of thumb.
You may also want to write cooking instructions on containers if you
think you will forget.
Step 6: load the freezer!
Step 7: Clean up the mess, (This is
where kids really come in handy.)
Step 8: Enjoy a latte and congratulate
yourself
THE RECIPES!
I have added the links to recipes that are not mine. give credit where credit is due!
Smoothie packets:
Freeze POM juice, Almond milk, and Greek yogurt in ice cube trays. When they are frozen, put 1 POM juice, 1
Almond milk cube, and 2 yogurt cubes in a baggie, add about ½ cup of frozen
blueberries and raspberries. Freeze
until you are ready to use. Just run the
bag under some water to thaw a bit and blend.
Add ice if needed. (you could substitute frozen peaches and mango, just
use pineapple or orange juice.)
I just made the pancakes
and waffles using the box mix. Cool
and put 2 pancakes or 2 waffles in a Ziploc bag. Freeze, they can be popped in the
toaster!
For omelets,
whisk your eggs with a little milk, Add in what you like. (I used mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and
cheddar cheese.) Spray cupcake pans,
scoop ¼ cup into each well, and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Place in container. You can microwave in the morning!
Chai latte mix:
I add a can of fat free evaporated milk to cut the sweetness.
Now, onto the crock
pot meals
Vegetable soup: Sorry, I am not much of
a measurer. Put the ratio your family
enjoys into a Ziploc bag.
Diced
potatoes, chopped carrots, green beans, corn, chopped celery, chopped onion, 2
bay leaves, 2 vegetable bouillon cubes, 2 chopped garlic cloves, and some
chopped tomatoes. To make, put in Crockpot
with water or tomato juice. Cook on low
8 hours or high for 4. Salt and pepper
to taste, remove bay leaves before serving.
Beef stew: diced beef, chopped celery, carrots,
potatoes, onion, a good shake or Worcestershire, 1 bay leaf, 1 minced garlic
clove, 2 tbs flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.
When you cook this, add beef broth.
Cook 8 hours on low. I serve with
biscuits. (I bought some frozen and just
bake the dough right before serving.)
Hawaiian chicken: 6 chicken breasts, 1 jar bbq sauce. When ready to cook, add 1 can pineapple
chinks in juice. Cook on low 6 hours. Serve over rice.
Vegetarian and chicken chili: remember those beans you soaked? Time to drain them. I used 1 cup of black, great northern, and
kidney beans per bag. Add some chopped
tomatoes, a ranch seasoning packet, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs paprika, 2 tbs chili
powder, 1 diced jalapeño, and onion, chicken if desired.
To cook,
place all in crock pot, add tomato juice to cover, cook for 8 hours on
low. Add frozen corn at the end and cook
until heated. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with cheese, and crumbled corn
chips. We also like a little sour cream
and black olives. When you get tired of
eating it as soup, cook down until thick and use as burrito filling. We love this recipe.
Chicken tenders and chicken parmesan:
For tenders,
cut chicken breasts into strips, for parm, leave breasts whole.
Take panko
bread crumbs; add salt, pepper, a little onion and garlic powder.
Melt some
butter.
Dip chicken
into butter, coat with panko. Layer into
containers, separating with waxed paper or parchment.
For cooking:
tenders take out what you need, heat some oil in a skillet, pan fry until done.
For chicken
parm, take out what you need, place on baking sheet, bake for 20 minutes at
350. Cover with some pasta sauce and
sprinkle with cheese.
Spicy peanut sauce: mix 1tsp red curry paste, ½ cup
peanut butter, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp red chili flakes, and 1 can of coconut
milk. Heat on low until peanut butter is
melted. Thin with a little water if
needed. Salt and pepper to taste. Add some more chili flakes if you would like
it hotter. This works great with
noodles. (Toss with noodles, add some chopped scallions and toasted
peanuts. Good hot or cold.) Or, use as a dipping sauce for chicken
fingers.
Lemon pepper tilapia: mix panko crumbs with salt and a fair amount
of pepper.
Melt butter,
add lemon juice. Dip tilapia fillets
into butter, coat with crumbs. Place in
container separated by waxed paper or parchment.
To cook,
take out what you need, bake at 325 for 15 minutes,
Salisbury steak: basically, make your
favorite meatloaf recipe. Form into
about 6 inch balls, press down a bit, roll in flour. Brown in oil, but do not cook all of the way
through. Place in containers. Add a few mushrooms. To cook, Place in baking dish, cover in beef
broth. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.
Roasted squash: cube squash; mix with
olive oil, old bay seasoning, and salt.
Shake to coat.
To cook,
roast at 400 for 20 minutes.
Crispy edamame: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese, paprika,salt &
pepper to taste. bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
Odds and ends: I also have bags of
leftover diced squash, cut some potatoes into wedges, seasoned some diced
potatoes with seasoned salt and garlic powder, cooked off the leftover beans,
and froze in 2 cup bags, cooked some rice and froze in 2 cup bags, I sliced
some zucchini into strips to use in place of noodles and grated some for bread
later. I also sliced some eggplant and
coated in panko crumbs for eggplant parmesan.
I also cooked off the rest of the beef and chicken breasts. Then, I divided them into 2 cup bags. The hamburger can be added to things, the
chicken can be used for chicken salad.
Please
remember, I only have 3 people living at home and one is a vegetarian. I made mass quantities of food. When it comes time to cook, I just pull out
what I need and leave the rest in the freezer.
I made the odds and ends items with the hopes of this lasting a full
month.
I am already
on the prowl for next month’s recipes!
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