Freezer Meals

Now that we have all survived the holidays and all the chaos that comes with them, I have been buckling down on those things I have put on the back burner for the past 3 months.  One of these projects is working out how to make some freezer meals.

For those of you who aren't up on this latest fad in food prep, basically, in theory you are spending a lot of time up front for prepping these meals which you freeze and then pull them out and cook later.  Specifically I have been looking for recipes to work with crock pots.  I mean if you are really looking for a hands off cook after all that prep, there's no better way than the crock pot.  Since I upgraded the crock pot I am excited to use it all the time.

I have been using pinterest for some inspiration in picking some of recipes to use.  So I decided to start small and go with 4 options from a couple of websites.  Three were designed to be freezer meals and I kind of sort of turned a regular crock pot meal into a freezer meal.  We will see how that works out. 

It took about 3 hours from start to finish (meaning from gathering ingredients to clean up) to do all of these.  I also using a food processor for the chopping which I think saved a load of time.  I wasn't in a race and was just enjoying my afternoon to myself so I am sure there's room for improvement.  I think if I did this more and became familiar with all the recipes and prep and it would get faster.  As it is, I still think it wasn't all that bad given how many meals and how many leftovers it will make for us.

In the short term, your kitchen does get quite messy, just keep yourself organized as best you can.

So here's what I chose to make (originally sources linked if you are interested in more recipes)

Beef Burritos - http://www.savingyoudinero.com/2012/06/12/1-hour-1-mess-5-crock-pot-meals/
(6+ servings)

• 1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)
• 1 diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)* You can freeze the rest of these to save and use in the future.  Great in chili, process in a food processor and add to mayo for chipotle mayo, or use in other recipes which call for them.
• 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)

1. Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag.
2. When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
3. When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite recipes. My kids eat it as long as we have leftovers.

* Tip from what I did in addition to the above.  I put the above marinade into a 1-gal freezer bad and then also purchased Burrito Wraps, put 1 cup of Mexican cheese in 1-quart freezer bag, and 1 cup of rice in a regular sandwich bag.  Then I put all of this (well tried, the wraps wouldn't fit), into another 1-gal freezer bag to hold it all together.  It helps have everything together do you don't get to the meal and say, "aww crap, I am out of X."

The next two are both from this website: http://lovingmynest.com/learning-activities/cooking/freezer-crock-pot-recipes/

Pork and Veggies

1 lb Pork Roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
4 Carrots, sliced
½ pound Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
1.5 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Combine ingredients in a large ziptop bag, freeze. Thaw contents of bag and place in a slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over hot rice. Serves approx. 5-6 people.

* Again I put all of these ingredients into a 1-gallon freezer bag, then 1 cup of rice into a sandwich bag and both of those into another 1-gallon freezer bag.

Creamy Farmhouse Chicken and Garden Soup

1/2 package (16 ounces) frozen pepper stir-fry vegetable mix * I just used a stir fry mix I liked, I think it was an Asian mix. 
1 cup frozen corn
1 medium zucchini, sliced
2 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup half-and-half (or non-dairy milk for dairy allergies)
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed *not sure why you could thaw them just to re-freeze them.  I politely ignored this step.
2 tablespoons chopped parsley *I used dried, conversion is on the bottle for fresh to dried ratio
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 can (14 ounces) fat-free chicken broth

Put all ingredients in a Ziploc bag except chicken broth. Freeze. Thaw and put in slow cooker and add chicken broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir in 3 cups prepared noodles. Serves 7-8 people.

The final one I made into a freezer meal from this site: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/10/19/chicken-tikka-masala-crockpot/

Chicken Tikka Masala {Crockpot}

Yield: 6-8 servings | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

8 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, or about 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.)

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 (29 oz.) can of tomato puree

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. Garam masala

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt, or to taste

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1-3 tsp. cayenne pepper (depending on your heat preference)

2 bay leaves

1 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp. cornstarch

Chopped parsley or cilantro, for topping

Instructions Adapted for my Invented Freezer Meal Version:

1. Place everything up to the bay leaves in a 1-gallon freezer bag.  Seal bag and mix well to coat. Label it "marinade"
2. In a 1-quart freezer bag mix together heavy cream and corn starch.  Label it "cream".
3. In a sandwich bag (no need to waste a freezer bag on rice), put 1.5 cups of rice in the bag. Label it "1.5 cups of rice - add 3 cups water".
4. Place all 3 bags into 1 1-gallon freezer bag.  Write the cook instructions on the outside: "ADD TWO BAY LEAVES.  Cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).  When done, add "cream" bag mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up. At the time you put the cream in, cook the rice."