Our newest 10 Easy Crock-Pot Freezer Meals {Part 2} that you can prep all at once & store in the freezer until your ready to cook.
March is Frozen Food Month, and what better way to celebrate then to have a new 10 Easy Crock-Pot Freezer Meals {Part Two}! One of the reasons I do Crock-Pot Freezer Meals is you get the work all done in one setting. It’s the main reason why I enjoy doing them. I can grab a child or two, we can hunker down, execute our freezer meals for the next couple of months and when we are done, we are satisfied in knowing that we won’t have to do it again for a while. I can basically do dump and pour type meals in the morning, and with few exception (rice or noodles basically), I have minimal work in the evening when homework, swim lessons and church activities get in the way. I actually got most of these cooked a few months ago, but I was so busy with life that I have just not had the time to get them all typed out and ready to share. I am quite pleased that they all turned out so well. As I do these I find ways to make things easier to put them together. If I can purchase something pre chopped or minced I often get that kind. I shred onions instead of chopping for most recipes, as it’s faster and then my kids can’t pick out the onions. When I put the meat in each bag, I use vinyl gloves and just keep changing them out so I don’t have to keep scrubbing my hands every few minutes. The key to this is to have fun, but be organized.
First step is I write on a sticky note each recipe and the ingredients I will need. I do print out a hard copy of the recipes as well, but this is easier to deal with for the table. I also use a sharpie and write on a name brand gallon freezer bag the recipe name and the directions that I will need to follow.
I gather all of the ingredients except for the meat (and I don’t pour broth here) in my dining room because that is where my table is, and that is where we can sit down.
I place the gallon zipper bag in a quart pitcher as it holds it’s shape quite well so I can add ingredients without it flopping over. This picture is from my previous Crock-Pot Easy Freezer Meal . I add meat and broth or water last. I do one recipe at a time. Often my daughter is gathering the easier ingredients while I am chopping the more complicated stuff, then we head to the kitchen to add the meat and if necessary the broth, and then we get it freezer ready.
All together this entire process was about 3 1/2 hours. Getting the paperwork and bags ready, pulling out all the ingredients (I go to the store the night before and I don’t put anything away except ingredients that has to be refrigerated).
You tend to realize which recipes you should get ready back to back so that you can continue to use the same measuring cups and spoons. I pulled 2 big mixing bowls out this time. One bowl that held all the clean ones, and one to place all the dirty ones.
Expect to do some chopping. Lots of chopping!
Several other tricks I have learned along the way.
- I can’t stand touching raw meat for meat loaf, so we wear gloves, and I hate the mess so we use press and seal to cover the bowl first.
- I cut a piece of cardboard down and placed it into the freezer shelf before laying down the freezer meals.
- I cooked all the hamburger in one of my large crock-pots and the sausage in a smaller one, drain and pat dry before adding to the freezer bag.
- I also found purchasing fresh meat and not freezing it first was ideal because freezing and thawing meat multiple times tends to dry it out. So even though it may be a slight additional expense, we went for only fresh meat.
- Don’t buy gallon SLIDER freezer bags for these products. Ever again. nope, nadda. Only regular freezer zipper bags.
So measure out ingredients, pour in bag, mix up as needed in bag, lay flat on it’s side and squeeze out the air carefully while zipping shut and then laying it flat to freeze. Be sure to place that bag in some kind of container in the fridge while thawing (trust me again, thanks slider bags), but that is the gist. If you need some additional idea’s, head back over to the earlier Crock-Pot Easy Freezer Meals .
Here are the 10 recipes in our Crock-Pot Easy Freezer Meals Part 2:
- Crock-Pot Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
- Crock-Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Crock-Pot Turkey Sloppy Joes
- Crock-Pot Sweet Country Style Ribs
- Crock-Pot Chicken Parmigiana Meatloaf
- Crock-Pot Chicken Honey BBQ Drumsticks
- Crock-Pot Veggie Loaded Minestrone Soup
- Crock-Pot Chicken & Rice Soup
- Crock-Pot Quinoa Bean Soup
- Crock-Pot Beef & Rice