Welcome to Part 1 of my Crockpot Freezer Cooking Series!
You can find my other menu’s here:
Crockpot Freezer Cooking Part 2
Crockpot Freezer Cooking Part 3
Crockpot Freezer Cooking Part 4
This week’s menu includes:
Brunswick Stew
Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions
Black Bean Chili
Chicken Fajitas
Fresh Spagetti Sauce
Follow us on Facebook! & Instagram!
Join our FACEBOOK GROUP to see all of our recipes in one place!
And be sure to subscribe for free weekly recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
This took about an hour to prepare all five meals. I chopped all the veggies & cooked the ground burger, and divided the meat into freezer bags. You don’t need to pre-cook the chicken or the sausage. I labeled each bag and noted additional ingredients, cook times, etc. I added veggies, spices and remaining ingredients to bags.
Directions for each meal are below.
Shopping List is at the bottom of the post.
Directions for each meal are below.
Shopping List is at the bottom of the post.
All meals will cook fine from frozen, but be sure not to add cold/frozen meals into a hot crockpot as it can crack. Many people have concerns about putting frozen food in the crockpot, but I have never had an issue. It is my understanding that once the food reaches a certain temperature, it is fully cooked and safe. If you have concerns, just thaw in the fridge the night before.
Cook times will vary depending on your crockpot. It may take you a few tries before you get used to how long things take. In general 6-8 hours on low will do the trick. If all ingredients are pre-cooked, 3-4 hours will work. There are a lot of different crockpots out there. Mine is from the middle ages, has no temperature gauge, only low and high. I have burnt things many times:) It’s a learning process, but you will perfect it with practice. Now get crockin!
Crockpot Spagetti Sauce
Ingredients:
6 large tomatoes diced (you could also use 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 T garlic chopped
1 T oregano
1 T basil (fresh if you have it)
1 T thyme
1/2 T herbs de provence
1 cup white wine
2T sugar
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
Place all items in freezer bag, lay flat and freeze. When ready to cook, put all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve over cooked spagetti or penne, top with parmesan cheese and serve with some warm cheesy garlic bread on the side!
Crockpot Black Bean Chili
Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef cooked & drained
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium green pepper chopped
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 12 oz. cans of black beans drained (you can use pinto or kidney beans if you prefer)
2 t. onion powder
2 t. garlic powder
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
Place all items in freezer bag, lay flat and freeze. When ready to cook, place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve with warm cornbread muffins!
Crockpot Italian Sausage with
Peppers & Onions
Ingredients:
1lb. Italian Sausage Links
1 large pepper
1 medium onion
2 cups diced tomatoes
2t. onion powder
2t. garlic powder
Mix all ingredients in freezer bag and freeze. When ready to cook, place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve on warm hotdog buns!
Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
6 Chicken Tenders or 1 lb. Chicken Breast
1 medium onion sliced
1 medium green pepper sliced
2 cups of salsa
1 can of green chiles
1 package of fajita seasoning (old elpaso)
2 T. olive oil
Place all items in freezer bag. Toss and freeze flat. When ready to cook place all ingredients in crockpot and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Remove chicken from mix, shred and then add back into the mix. Serve with warm tortillas and top with salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce, sour cream and shredded cheese.
Crockpot Brunswick Stew
I make this recipe at least once a week in the winter. I love soups on a cold winter night and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
6 chicken tenders or 1 lb. chicken breasts
1 can yellow corn drained
2 cups butter beans
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 white potatoes cut in cubes
1 medium onion chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue
2 t. onion powder
2 t. garlic powder
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. worcestershire
1t. hot sauce
2 T. butter
3 cups chicken stock
Place all items except the chicken stock in a large freezer bag. Label the bag and make a note to add 3 cups of chicken to crockpot before cooking. Once you are ready to cook, Place ingredients along with 3 cups of chicken stock to large crockpot. Cook on low-medium 5-6 hours. Remove cooked chicken tenders from stew, shred them and return to the stew. Serve with warm cornbread muffins!
5 Crockpot Freezer Recipes with Shopping List
Ingredients
- Shopping List
- 2lb. chicken (I like the frozen tenders, but any chicken will work!)
- 1lb. Italian Sausage Links
- 1 lb ground beef
- 5 medium onions
- 3 green peppers
- 1 box chicken stock
- onion powder
- chili powder
- cumin
- garlic powder
- oregano
- basil
- thyme
- hot sauce
- 1 packet of fajita seasoning
- white wine (you can use chicken stock)
- 6 large tomatoes
- 2 13 oz. cans of black beans
- 1 lb. butter
- ½ lb. frozen or fresh butter beans
- 1 13 oz. can corn
- 3 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes
- ½lb. potatoes
- brown sugar
- worchestershire
- ketchup
- bbq sauce
- celery
- 1 jar of salsa
- olive oil
- 1 small can of green chiles
- herbs de provence
- garlic
- hot dog rolls
- cornbread mix
- flour tortillas
- pasta
Instructions
- Print out the shopping list before your next trip to the store!
Thanks so much for linking this up to my party! I love this concept and will be using some of these recipes so I can do the same thing that you have done.
Have a great afternoon!
Julie
thanks Julie! you should definitely try these!
Hi! I’m heading over from the link-up at Sugar and Dots!
These are great recipes, and I can’t wait to try them – especially the Brunswick Stew. I’m always looking for easy meals for my family!
I’ve linked back to this post from my blog, Polka Dots and Lemonade! 🙂
thanks for stopping by! and yes, the Brunswick Stew is amazing!
How many people are these recipes supposed to serve?
What a great idea. I need to do this! Thanks for the recipes! And for sharing at the All Star Block Party.
Holly
thank you!
Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try these. I’m hosting a linky party “One Creative Weekend” at OneCreativeMommy.com. I’d love for you to visit and link up this idea and/or anything else you’d like to share.
thanks Heidi! I will definitely stop by!
This is just what we need- someone who has done all the work and made it easy for us! These are great recipes and I really love that you’ve laid it all out with a shopping list and everything. We really have no excuse not to do this now! Thanks for linking up to Gettin’ Krafty With It!
Thanks Kathie! these recipes are really easy!
The crockpot recipes sound delicious. Do you cook the crockpot meals frozen? I’m concerned about the coldness of the frozen ingredients cracking the crockpot as it heats up.
Yes, I cook them all from frozen. just be sure to turn the crockpot on after you place the frozen meal in. It will all heat up slowly.
I came over from Frugal Girls. What a great idea and these sound delicious. Can you give me an idea about how much the recipes make or how many they’d serve? Thanks so much!
I would say each meal would feed two-three adults. You may want to double them if you have more than that:)
Very nice. Waiting for new recipes. i am also interested to innovate some new dishes you may
take a look at Pakistani Recipes and comment
Just Brilliant! Thank you so much for this…I love to have a freezer full of dinners, and your planning makes it all seem so easy 🙂 Found you on Pinterest!
thanks faye! glad you stopped by!
Thank you for this great idea. My work week stress level has gone way down as a result of knowing I have dinner in the freezer and ready to go in the morning when I wake up. I have so far tried the sausage and peppers, the black bean chili and the pasta sauce. They were all delicious. I’m glad you are not afraid to use spices. I look forward to trying the other recipes.
Just wondering…on the recipes that say cook low for 6 hours…would it hurt to have it cook longer. I leave my house at 7:30am for work and don’t get home until around 6pm… will it burn the food? I can’t run home either to turn it on b/c I don’t work in the same town as I live. Just wondering if anyone has cooked them longer without having them ruined. Thanks!
It should be fine, but will depend on the crockpot. Do you have a thermostat on yours? mine just has low or high and it is usually fine on low for the day. the only thing that has ever overcooked in mine was the cheeseburger macaroni, but all those ingredients are already pre-cooked. things like soups, and frozen meals will do just fine. try a few things to get used to your crockpot, they are all different. happy crockin!
Hey Lady!
So I tried week one’s plan, and it was a big success in our house. Only slip-ups I encountered were that the shopping list was missing a few things, but I just sort of winged-it, and it all worked out.
I plan to do the other weeks that you have listed as well, and I’ve found that a lot of my friends are also interested in this, so I’ll be sharing your page with them via my own (new, as-yet-completely-unrefined) blog 🙂
Now for the question – when I was looking at this page last weekend and whipping up all the recipes, I thought I saw a link/page/post where you were talking about another gal that has a cookbook for all of this stuff too that you recommended – I’d love to take a look at it/buy it, but can’t find it now on your site…. Can you help?
Thanks for posting all of this, it’s the best one I’ve found! 🙂
Hi Kate!
Thanks for trying the recipes! I will definitely check the ingredient list and add anything that is missing. I tried to add a link to Mama & Baby Love, but it wasn’t working. She does have an excellent e-book on her page! http://www.mamaandbabylove.com/ecookbook/ Let me know how the other recipes turn out for you! Happy Crockin!
If I wanted to add some browned ground beef or Italian sausage to the spaghetti sauce, would it be ok to add before freezing/cooking? Or better to add after the sauce has cooked? Just wondered if you or anyone else has tried this? Thanks!
I would pre-cook the burger and add it to the sauce the last two hours of cooking.
I brown my hamburger / sausage meat mixture then freeze it. I thaw it in the fridge the night prior to making the sauce the next day that way its ready to add when the sauce is finished cooking. I add meat mixture to sauce last hour.
OMG, I could kiss you I swear. I am horrible at cooking and I care for my 94 yo father, these are going to help me so much. Thank you thank you thank you. Please keep them coming……
Suzanne
thanks Suzanne! I am glad I could help:)
The chili recipe seems to be missing a liquid component. What do you use and how much?
the chicken fajitas were a huge success with my fiance. Thanks SO much for the recipe. With a newborn around, this is my kinda cooking. It’s homemade, but a whole lot less work which gives me more time with my baby. Thank you!
your welcome:)
Do you cook the Italian sausage links first or just put them in with the rest of the stuff?
nope, I don’t cook them first
Hello, this is amazing!!! It sounds like the perfect solution for me. The only thing I wanted to ask is that I leave the house at 8am and don’t get home until 6pm on some days. Is it OK to keep these recipes on low for 10 hours? I’m going out now to but a slow cooker!! Thanks
I love these, I just wish some of them were more clear on whether or not you have to pre-cook the meat. I discovered on my own that I did not need to pre-cook the Italian sausage. Does the chicken need to be pre-cooked?
Ack. I’m embarrassed. I just saw the “you don’t need to pre-cook the chicken or sausage” line at the top of the page. Sorry! I guess I should read the entire page first. 🙂
Do you buy frozen chicken for all these recopies or do you use fresh chicken?
frozen chicken tenders, but you could use fresh as well
I love this idea, I may even try it for my oxtail stew.
Loved the meals! Thanks so much! Just a note, I believe the shopping list is missing herbs de provence and the 2 green peppers should actually be 3 green peppers (for Italian Sausage, Fajitas, and Black Bean Chili). Thanks again! 🙂
This might be a silly question but if I put it in the crock pot frozen to start cooking it, do I have to do anything to it (like breaking up the frozen block) or just put a giant block in the crock pot and it will do its thing? Or is it better to thaw in the fridge the night before and throw the thawed contents into the crock pot in the morning?
It usually does it’s thing, but feel free to thaw slightly first
Thanks for this one–made the Brunswick Stew and it lived up to the hype :o)
Love these! Thank you for sharing!! Do you have any more recipes?
Yes! I have four more parts to the series! https://bakedinthesouth.com/2012/07/5-crockpot-freezer-recipes-with-shopping-list/
Thank you so much for your recipes! I just made all five of these dinners and I VERY much look forward to eating them!
Thank you also for the shopping list, that made everything so much easier!
Peace,
~ Jenny@SmallTownHippies
What size crockpot do you recommend?
We are getting ready to move into a real apartment and a crockpot is something I am definitely going to invest in (especially with twins on the way!)!!!! I can’t wait to start cooking real food!
Hello! I just wanted to say I made and my family ate this entire menu!
Everything was wonderful! The italian sausage and chicken fajita meals were KILLER. My husband adored them!
I’ll be making your next menu plan (prt 2) this week!
Thank you again for your wonderful meals!
Yay! Glad you liked it!
Maybe a stupid question, but do you remove the casings from the italian sausage first or leave the casings on?
I leave it on
How long do you usually keep these in the freezer? I’m expecting at the end of July/early August and am getting antsy about prepping, especially when it comes to food. I love my guy, but I’m not going to want him to cook turkey burgers for lunch and pancakes for dinner every day while I recover 😉
I would say no more than three months
These all sound so great and I can’t wait to give it a try! Do you know of any longer timed recipes? I leave for work at 630 and am often not back until close to 530 and would love some great recipes for just throwing in the crockpot before work!
they make a delayed timer you can plug into a regular outlet, I think you can get them at lowe’s or home depot
We put these together yesterday to take along on our camping trip….they look so yummy and were pretty easy to make…we are looking forward to be eating the best meals in camp!!!! Thank you!!!! : )
The black bean chili was to die for!!!!! Only thing I messed up on was not pre cooking the beef. However, it turned out spectacular anyway!
Don’t know if I just missed it or what, but the ingredients list is missing fajita seasoning packet and hot sauce (just in case someone is printing that out to go to the grocery store).
What would you recommend using as a white wine substitute in the spaghetti sauce recipe? I am underage but would still love to give it a shot!
you can use chicken broth;)
I would like to do the Italian Sausage, but use turkey sausage instead. Have you tried that, or can you think of a reason not to?
turkey would be good too!
I froze 2 weeks of these recipes and have tried about 4 of them so far. We have not been disappointed!! So yummy & easy 🙂
yay! glad you liked them!
We had the Beer & Beef Stew last night and it was a WINNER! Wondering about the butter beans in the Brunswick Stew now…. do you use dry butter beans, or canned?
I use frozen
I was wondering about servings in each. I assume its four?
2-4 servings per meal
Hi, I posted earlier when I found your site and went to heaven but I forgot to ask what size freezer bags you use. Can you please let me know at your convenience. TIA
Hi, just wondering…. Can you put the burger meat in uncooked?
I would not recommend it:) it needs to be browned first. I like to buy it in bulk, cook it and divide it into batches and freeze. that way you always have some on hand to throw into recipes!
yummy
In the spaghetti sauce what can I use in place of wine?
I hope to try most of the meals this winter
Can I use other method of cooking? I followed recipes to the “t” and they never work 🙁 it’s so bad that you should see my husband’s face when he sees the crock pot on the counter haha. …but I can bake or cook anything…just not crock pot…maybe it’s my crock pot that’s broken? :-/
I want to try your recipes because it looks that all the work it’s already done…I need to get out of the kitchen soon before I lose my mind!!! May be a little bit too late though. …I cook 3 meals a day 7 days a week for a family of 4…