I never have been that great at being a chef, honestly if you wanted a grilled cheese I would have told you the best bet was to make it yourself and my kids would have said the same. You see, I was famous for burning grilled cheese; all.the.time. Yet now, as I work to create a family life for the first time in a few years, one that truly feels home and family-ish to me, I have wanted to make better meals. We all have to fight our horrible metabolism in our family gene pool so making better meals was a must for our health. While I still include menu items that maybe are not all healthy, I feel this is a step up and I am more about balance than cutting one thing out of our diet completely.
For our first week testing out some frozen crock pot meals, I created hot italian sausages, pineapple glazed ham, teriyaki pork chops, and chicken cacciatore. These meals were all prepared ahead of time over the prior weekend and let me tell you what, preparing meals ahead of time really makes for a yummy smelling kitchen and freezer all week long! I can give you feedback on each of these recipes, because the family has already chomped down on them;
- Hot Italian Sausages – was a no go, we will not make this again. We much prefer the crispy texture of sausage and these were too tender for our liking.
- Pineapple Glazed Ham – this was okay, but not that great. While the ham was delicious this recipe shouldn’t have so much crushed pineapple in it next time around.
- Teriyaki Pork Chops – This was a total win! Our family loved the flavor and texture of these pork chops, served over rice with green beans.
- Chicken Cacciatore – this was a total two thumbs up from my fiance and tween! The taste was perfect and while the recipe didn’t say to do so, we shredded the chicken in the sauce after it had cooked for the full term, creating a better mixed up option and the family loved it served over white rice.
The above recipes were derived from Slow Cooker Freezer Meals offered on Six Sisters’ Stuff website.
This week we will try some different frozen crock pot meals, I am having so much fun finding recipes online and changing them up to fit our family. This week we will try the following frozen crock pot meals that are sitting in the freezer waiting to be taken out to enjoy;
- Chicken & Dumplings
- Beef Barley Stew (I replaced barely with white rice)
- Curry Chicken
- Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Potatoes
- Pulled Pork
There was a sixth recipe, all were taken from TheBusyBudgetingMama.com website, this sixth recipe was for lasagna/pasta sauce but I decided to create my own meat sauce to freeze for a spaghetti dinner later in the week instead.
Brandy Ellen’s Meat Sauce Recipe – Freeze and Use Later
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef
- 28oz can of Diced Tomatoes
- 24oz jar of Spaghetti Sauce
- 2 Gloves of Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- Optional; 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 Resealable Freezer Bag
Let’s Get Started:
- Brown the ground hamburg with white rice and garlic mixed in.
- Drain browned hamburg, add spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 8 minutes while stirring ingredients together.
- Add 28oz can of diced tomatoes and italian seasoning together in freezer bag.
- Label freezer bag “Meat Sauce” also note the date on bag to ensure you use it within a week of freezing.
- Let hamburg, rice, garlic and spaghetti sauce cool down.
- Add cooled down hamburger mixture into freezer bag and seal tight.
- Place in Freezer for future use.
Enjoy: Set the freezer bag of meat sauce out one day ahead of time to ensure it has time to thaw out. Cook in sauce pan over low/medium heat until reaches desired temperature. Use on top of spaghetti or any favorite pasta choice.
You are one smart cookie to make the meal ahead of time. Why have I never thought to do that LOL? I use my crock pot a lot & this would save time.
I like to make things ahead and freeze them too, but I honestly don’t do it near enough!
I find the best way to do sausage in a crock pot is for sausage and peppers. they are just melt in your mouth good. 🙂
The pork chops look good. I’m interested to hear how the chicken, broccoli and potatoes come out this week!
I love using my crockpot. I need to start making meals ahead of time so I can just pop them in the crockpot and go!
Perfect timing! I was just at an event and am expecting my first crockpot! I am bookmarking this article right now!
This is truly an amazing recipe. I just thought of trying it later for dinner! 🙂
I really enjoy using my crockpot. I like to leave in the morning and come home to the delicious smell of a ready to eat meal.
I keep planning to start doing this!!! Pinned this! Thanks for reminding me.
I use my Crockpot all the time, but I have never done freezer meals. Once I get my big freezer here I’ll have to start considering that!
I need to do this more often! I love my crock pot and these meals are so easy and efficient!
I would love to do this! I like the crockpot meals that involve no precooking.
We will put the roast in frozen occasionally and it turns out so tender!!!
I was just thinking about actually doing this. My question is, are these meals just prepped with spices, and veggies raw and then put into the crock pot?
Love crock pot recipes and love the smell of the house when a crock pot meal is cooking!
I’ve really wanted to get into doing these frozen cock pot meals! Thanks so much for the guidance, there is so much to learn!
I am a terrible cook, but I need to do something like this. We can’t live on grilled cheese and hot dogs if Daddy’s not home to cook!
That’s one of the best parts of cooking. There’s more for later. I always portion it out for freezer use. 🙂
I absolutely love the idea behind this. I’ve done it {kinda sorta} on a much smaller scale. Once I made a big batch of meatsauce that I could use for several meals. I loved being able to pull bags of that out and just use it when I needed it. Spending one day though, cooking up a bunch of meals is totally worth the time invested (esp. with the help of a crockpot) when you have a whole week’s worth of meals ready. I need to just break down and do it!
I am always so nervous to try to cook anything in my crock pot! You make this look so easy though. Good idea with preparing the meals ahead of time.
I really want to make several dishes to cook later like what you did in the freezer. How convenient!
Thanks to Pinterest, my crockpot has been getting quite the workout this past year. I have found some real winners, and using the crockpot has saved my sanity on busy nights when we just want to come home, eat, and fall into bed!
Great tips. We love crock pot meals.
I love making freezer meals! They make it so easy to get dinner on the table on the weekdays! MMM I want to try that Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Potatoes!
thanks for testing this out and sharing your opinions! I’ve been creating some crockpot meals, too. I shared a tomato soup recipe today!
I loved making freezer meals when I Was pregnant! I saved them for when my son was a newborn, they were awesome!
Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate hearing which meals don’t work along with which do!
I so admire people who plan ahead and don’t have to rush around like maniacs trying to figure out what’s for dinner each night. The maniacs would be my family, by the way. I may definitely try some of your meals and see how they turn out. Thank you!
I use my slow cooker all the time, but never froze meals ahead of time. It seems like so much work! But I guess taking a little more time one day will save lots of time on other days, right?
Meal planning and cooking ahead are two GREAT ways to not only save money but also save time. You are definitely off to a good start on your crock pot/freezer friendly meals.
I love using my crock pot! It’s a life saver! We are so busy during the week. All of my freezer meals help us save time and eat healthier when I don’t feel like cooking.
I need to do more crockpot meals, and we’re trying to switch up a few things in our eating as well. Looks like you’re doing a great job!
I always say I’m going to cook more and then I never do! I really really want to though!
I love making up crockpot freezer meals! Chicken teriyaki is my favorite!