Crock Pot Freezer Meals - learn from my mistakes

     Since having baby #2 I decided I needed some help in the dinner area, so I decided to do crock pot freezer meals! I started by searching for recipes online and found ZILLIONS of articles titled something along the lines of "33 3-ingredient crock pot meals" and "100 freezer meals for your slow cooker!"
     Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. I wanted easy. Minimal prep, minimal ingredients, minimal effort. So I dove in and picked out a few that were relatively simple and tried them out. Some were great, others... meh. So I made more of the ones we loved and am now trying out a few new recipes.
     Now that I've done all the hard work, I'm hoping to help YOU out by sharing the ones we love here along with a few tips/tricks I'm learning as a I go. Eventually, I'll put them all together in a cookbook.




Ginger Peach Chicken:

1 lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 C. Peach Jam
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 in. Ginger Root - peeled, grated
3 cloves Garlice - minced

Mix Jam, Soy Sauce, Ginger, and Garlic together in 1 Gal Ziploc bag. Add Chicken and mix around to coat with sauce. Lie flat and freeze.

Thaw overnight. Crock pot 4-6 hours on low heat. Shred Chicken and serve over rice or pasta


Ranchy Chicken and Potatoes:

3-4 lg. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 sm. bottle Ranch Dressing
1/4 C. water
3-4 lg. Potatoes - diced

Put chicken and potatoes in 1 Gal Ziploc bag. Pour full bottle of ranch over top. Pour water into ranch bottle and shake then empty into bag to get as much ranch as possible. Mix everything together in bag. Lie flat and freeze.

Thaw overnight. Crock pot 4-6 hours on low heat. Serve over rice and/or with rolls.


Salsa Chicken:

2 lg. Chicken Breast
1 sm. jar Salsa
1 8oz brick Cream Cheese

Pour salsa and cream cheese into bag and mush together. Add Chicken and coat with salsa mixture. Lie flat and freeze.

Thaw overnight. Crock pot 4-6 hours on low heat. Perfect in burritos, tacos, or cafe rio style salad!


Roast and Vegetables:

2 lb Roast (beef or pork)
1 lb Whole Baby Carrots
1 lb Potatoes - Chopped
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
1 pkt McCormick Mesquite Seasoning

Mix oil, vinegar, and mesquite seasoning together. Add roast, carrots, and potatoes to bag, then coat with seasoning mixture. Lie flat and freeze.

Thaw overnight. Crock pot 8-12 hours on low heat. Serve with bread/rolls.




***Tips/Tricks!***
- Don't use the fancy zipper Ziploc bags - they leak! Don't go for the generic brand either. This is one thing you want to spring for the name-brand. Get the regular Ziploc gal freezer bags.
- Always lie your meals flat to freeze them - this makes them thaw more evenly. Once frozen, you can store them however you like.
- Double the recipes, but bag them separately so that you can have the meal twice OR put both bags in the crock pot for guests. Doubling the recipe now means less work later!
- These recipes feed my little family of 3 perfectly with leftovers for lunch the next day. Alter them as fits your families needs.
- Each of these recipes can be done fresh as well - no need to freeze. Just toss all the ingredients in the crock pot and follow regular cooking instructions.
- Chop your vegetables to fit your cook times. Smaller veggies = smaller cook times, so if you have a meal that cooks for 6 hours and one that cooks for 12, you'll want to cut the 12 hour meal veggies bigger so they don't get mushy.
- You can add or substitute ANY veggies for anything you prefer. Onions in your roast? Go for it! Carrots with your ranch chicken? Yessiree!

My next experiments will be:

Creamy Potato Soup
Pork Chops and Potatoes
and
Pork Barbacoa

Stay Tuned to see what I think is worth making!