I love preparing crockpot freezer meals on the weekend. I have plenty of time to prepare everything and get ready for the week. Having meals prepared prevents us from eating out as much and we always have a healthy, homecooked meal ready every night!
This weeks menu includes:
Meatloaf with Rosemary Potatoes
Honey Sesame Chicken w/ Broccoli
White Chicken Chili
Beer & Beef Stew
Beef Stroganoff
Chop and prepare all vegetables and set aside. Label all bags with recipe title, date, additional ingredients, cook times, etc.
Meatloaf & Rosemary Potatoes
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs or crushed butter crackers
1 package onion soup mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup ketchup
3 T. worcestershire sauce
2 T. steak sauce (A-1 sauce)
1/4 cup chopped onions
Potatoes
1 lb quartered red potatoes
3 T. olive oil
1 T. rosemary
Combine all ingredients for meatloaf and form into a loaf pan. Pack it really well to ensure the meatloaf is firm and not mushy. Place pan into a freezer bag and freeze. Place potatoes, olive oil and rosemary in separate freezer bag, toss well to coat and freeze. When ready, remove meatloaf from pan and place in bottom of crockpot. Put potatoes around edge of meatloaf and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve meatloaf with warm potatoes & green beans!
Honey Sesame Chicken
1 lb chicken tenders
3 T olive oil
1 cup honey
2 T sesame seeds
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 package frozen brocolli
Place all ingredients in freezer bag, toss to coat and freeze. When ready, place in crockpot and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken & shred, then return to sauce. Serve over hot cooked rice.
White Chicken Chili
2 T. olive oil
1 T corn starch
1 medium onion chopped
1 can chopped green chilis, drained
2 cans white beans (drained)
2 t. cumin
2 t. chili powder
1 lb chicken tenders
2 cups chicken stock
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
Place all ingredients except chicken stock in large freezer bag, toss to coat and freeze. When ready, place ingredients in slow cooker, add chicken stock and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken, shred & return to crockpot. Serve with warm cornbread.
Beer & Beef Slow-Cooker Stew
2 lbs. stew beef
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 celery stalks chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 lb. potatoes chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 bay leaves
1 T parsley
1 cup dark beer
1 cup beef stock
1 can tomatoes with green chilis (Like Rotel)
2 t salt
1 t pepper
Season beef with salt & pepper. Place all ingredients in large freezer bag except beer and beef stock. When ready, place stew mixture in crockpot, add beer and beef stock and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Beef Stroganoff
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup butter
1 lb. stew beef
1/8 t paprika
2 cups chopped mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
Mix sour cream, cream cheese and mushroom soup in small bowl. Add all ingredients to a large freezer bag, toss well to coat and freeze. When ready place ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over hot noodles or cooked white rice.
Shopping List:
1 lb. ground beef
bread crumbs or crushed butter crackers
1 package onion soup mix
2 eggs
ketchup
worcestershire sauce
steak sauce (A-1 sauce)
3 onions
1 lb quartered red potatoes
olive oil
rosemary
2 lb. chicken breast or tenders ( I use tenders)
honey
sesame seeds
soy sauce
sesame oil
1 package frozen brocolli
1 can chopped green chilis
2 cans white beans or cannelini beans
cumin
chili powder
chicken stock
3 lbs. stew beef
1 lb. butter
1 bag celery
1 bag carrots
1 lb. white potatoes
garlic cloves
bay leaves
parsley
1 can dark beer
beef stock
1 can tomatoes with green chilis (Like Rotel)
paprika
1 package mushrooms
sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
corn starch
cream cheese
Great recipes. Everything sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party!
Holly
These all sound divine! Someday I hope to be so organized.
Thanks for sharing on The All Star Block Party!
should the meal be thawed first? Sspecifically the meatloaf and potatoes
Just enough to get it out of the bag. I put it straight into the crockpot on low.
this might sound totally stupid, but you do take the meatloaf out of the tin before placing in the crock, right?
It shouldn't be in a tin.
I put mine in a tin and then into a freezer bag. But you can put it straight into the bag as well. If you have it in a tin, take it out first and place in the bottom of the crockpot:)
Awe! No pictures?! I like your pictures. Im making a recipe powerpoint/book and now i have a bunch without pictures. 🙁 lol
I made the beef stew today (with all beef broth instead of beer and a little more of the veggies). My husband loved it! I don't think he's been this excited about a recipe in the 13 years we've been married. Thanks for sharing.
Your recipes look great, can't wait to TRY them. I have 3 adults in my family…will this feed that many or do I need to change amounts in your recipes for the CROCK POT freezer?
Do you have any suggestions for 10 plus hours of cooking? I have a programmable crockpot that goes to warm when done, but everything is always over cooked, sitting in loads of juice/sauce but dry as a bone.
I've never seen diced bagged potatoes in the deli section in my grocery store. Could you just buy a bag of raw potatoes in the produce section and dice them? Are the deli potatoes already cooked a little or is there any difference? Thanks.
These look great! Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely going to have to give this a try! 🙂 (Found this via Pinterest)
Love the shopping list!
Do you find that the meatloaf makes the potatoes really greasy? I'd like to try this one, but I wonder if everything will end up in a pool of grease. Can anyone comment that has made it?
Also, I thought it was not food safe to put frozen meat in the slow cooker since it does not come to the required temperature quick enough. Would it be safer to defrost in the fridge overnight?
Thanks for any comments, I look forward to trying these meals!
I'm a cook for a living and I thought the same thing at first, but as long as the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F (165 for chicken) it will kill any bacteria that might grow during the cooking process.
Sure! That would work fine!
Thanks Debbie!
May I just suggest that you start wearing a cape? Seriously, you are a life saver, hero of a woman!! These recipes/weekly planners have been such a God-send for my family! Just knowing at the end of the day when my family of 4 comes home from work and school to a yummy smelling house and the question of "what's for dinner" is already in the pot (literally!) has made life so much less chaotic, and makes coming home even more rewarding! Today I am printing out our 3rd shopping list and can't wait to see what tasty treats you have in store for my family this week! Not only are the recipes easy and quick to prepare, they are soooo yummy and have added much needed variety to our table. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with the world. I am one grateful mamma!!
They're the perfect amount for a family your size! We are a family of 4 (2 teenagers) and some of the meals I have to add a little extra side dish to stretch, and some meals leave me with a good sized leftover for lunch for 1 the next day… go for it! You won't regret it!!
thanks mandy!
This is terrific…thank you so much for sharing these recipes!
Ruth
omg this is the best just wish it was printer friendly @ lynnmom143@aol.com
These sound great! Weather is starting to cool off (a tiny little bit) down here in OZ, so I'll be pulling the slow cooker out soon. 1 Question though, I just want to confirm… a "T" in the recipe is for tablespoon and "t" is for teaspoon, correct? We use different abbreviations here so I want to be sure!
That is correct.
I just made the sesame honey chicken and the broccoli was really mushy after all that time in the slower cooker (4-5 hours) – am i missing something? also, is the consensus to thaw in the fridge overnight, or can we put them straight in the slow cooker frozen? i am trying three more of these this week!
I have made make-ahead freezer bag meals several times before, and I agree with above replies to comments–if the meat is done, it's DONE. If the interior of the meat is sufficiently cooked, that means the bacteria cooked off as well. Has anybody out there touched food fresh from the CrockPot, or accidentally wrist-grazed the pot during cooking? It's HOT. Don't be fooled by the "slow" in "slow cooker"–these machines pack power. Thanks for these recipes–I haven't tried any yet, but they look way more my style than the first recipes I came across for this style of slow cooking. My plan for this week is to make a round of bags to have on hand. So excited!
My one suggestion to readers is to add the raw meats to the bags as the LAST step. This avoids cross-contamination when working hands might graze parts of the bags that were touched by raw meat. I'm a total germaphobe, so I prefer to feel free to touch everything until that last, careful round of cutting and bagging.
if a 6 quart crock pot is used will the meals burn? is a smaller crock pot better?
The only suggestion I have is to freeze the bags sitting somewhat upright. I couldn't fit the frozen meal (which I froze like you pictures- flat )into my crock pot until I thawed it out in the micro. for a few minutes. OR… should I have let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight?? Not sure on that one…
Can u use already frozen meat and combine in freezer bag ? I usually buy frozen chicken
Yes T is tablespoon and t is teaspoon:)
I use a smaller crockpot, so the cook-time is often less.
Yes, I use frozen chicken tenders and just throw them in the bag when I am preparing
I thaw them out slightly so they will fit:)
I am in the process of adding a printable feature to the blog:)
Veggies will usually get mushy in the crockpot, if you don't like them mushy, I would add them in half way through the cooking process.
not sure on this one:( could you cook for less time?
I recommend getting a slow cooker with a time delay start. I want one badly, but for now, I come home on my lunch break and turn the crock pot on.
How many does one bag feed? I have a family of 4 so should I double it?
Just wondering why you use chicken tenders? And could this be replaced for regular breast?
Thank you! Excited about this one.
You could buy a timer that you plug the crock pot in so it comes on at the right time. They sell timers for christmas lights that I use many times for my crock pot.
Just wondering, can you freeze potatoes, and sour cream, and cream soups? I always thought thoses were no-no's when it came to freezing? If it works, I'm loving it!!!
Are there any beans in the chicken chili? I didn't see them in the ingredient list.
Just finished making these! I am so excited and I loved that I had most of this stuff on hand. Thanks so much for sharing these.
Is crockpot the same as claypot?
I have something like this : http://depositphotos.com/6245209/stock-photo-Clay-pot.html
I just made black bean chili and it was good, my question is. I took it out of the bag and it was a solid frozen block and wouldn't fit into my crockpot until I microwaved and chipped at it to make it into smaller pieces? I would rather be able to pull them out frozen the morning of instead of the night before..any suggestions?
I am wondering if your have any ideas for diluting the sweetness of the honey sesame chicken? I made two batches of this. My husband wasn't crazy about how sweet it was when we ate the first one and I hate to waste the second meal!!! If you can suggest a way to dilute the sweet taste I would appreciate it. Thanks for posting this blog. Freezer cooking has been great for our family!
I couldn't find "chicken tenders" at our grocery store, so I just used chicken breasts or boneless/skinless thighs, and it worked out wonderfully. 🙂
Just add less honey? 1/2 cup? 🙂
How much is "1 pkg frozen broccoli" ??
Yum! I am trying to figure out the amounts for a family of 8 or more :). I might just double and use two crockpots…
I'm wondering that too. 🙂
I made the meatloaf and potatoes today. The meatloaf came out great, and was actually less greasy than oven-baked meatloaf! But the potatoes?? I did just as instructed, left the potatoes in kind of big chunks, coated with olive oil and rosemary and froze in a separate bag. When I got home today, most of the potatoes were BLACK! They were spongy and really gross. There were a few down lower in the pot that we ate and they were okay…but most of the potatoes were totally ruined. Now I wish I had not pre-frozen the potatoes.
I made the chicken chilli yesterday and bagged up the rest up them. Today we are having the meatloaf. The ingredients were very cheap to buy and it was super easy putting everything together. The chili was great! Thanks for putting this together. Can't wait to look at the other recipes
I just found your site on pintrest- love the recipes and shopping list. Thanks!
Question- if I have the meat for these recipes frozen already, do I thaw them, make the recipes and then re-freeze? I was always told not to refreeze meat of any kind once it's been thawed, so I just thought I would check. Thanks.
I found this site on Pinterest and was very excited to try these recipes since they aren't what my family normally eats. I had the Sesame Honey Chicken the first night and though it was decent, by the time the chicken was done the brocolli had turned brown. Last night we tried the meatloaf and I wasn't impressed at all. In fact, I couldn't even finish my plate. The meatloaf was way too wet and the potatoes didn't get done very well (even with adding an extra hour on high). They were also pretty greasy from the fat off the meat even though I used lean beef (93/7). Tonight we are trying the stew and while it seems better than the meatloaf the potatoes still aren't cooking right. I believe this has something to do with them being frozen. It's also very greasy. When I tasted the broth to see if it needed anything my mouth was greasy. I'm not really looking forward to the other recipes unfortunately due to the issues I already had. I absolutely love this concept and looking at the good reviews and comments you have I don't see what could have gone wrong.
How do you freeze uncooked potatoes without them turning black? I tried that one time, not knowing what would happen and was sooo disappointed when they turned black.
Is it because you put them in the crock pot frozen, and cook right away from that state? I think the time I tried, I thawed the potato recipe before cooking and that's when they turned black. It's been so long now that I can't remember the exact sequence of events. At any rate it put me off of trying to freeze uncooked potatoes!
This has saved my life as a medical student. Thank you.
Chicken tenders here (Canada) are the same as chicken nuggets (breaded), so I am assuming that chicken tenders in these recipes really mean fresh/frozen chicken pieces cut in serving size pieces?? (Breasts, thighs, whatever?)