Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

As a working mom it can be really hard to come home at night and get dinner on the table.  Luckily as a teacher, I get to practice good habits during the summer including learning some new habits to help with the “end of the school year” dinner blues.

I have thought of this a number of times, but had never tried it, slow cooker freezer meals.  Take them out of the freezer, into the fridge, into the crock-pot and dinner will be ready that evening when I get home.  I decided to put this to the test to see if it really is something my family could handle and enjoy.  After one successful week of having dinner already prepped and ready to eat, we have moved onto a second week.  We are so enjoying the planning and preparations for a weeks worth of dinners.  It has been so nice to put it in the crock-pot and not have to think about dinner at 4, because it’s usually finished by then.  We have used several recipes, some are family favorites switched to slow-cooker style and others I have found on the internet.

This week’s recipes include:  For all of these I let them sit in the fridge to defrost for about 24 hours.

Beef and Mushrooms:

3 lbs stew meat, cubed
2 c sliced mushrooms
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup beef broth
1 packet dry onion soup mix
Put ingredients into resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.  When ready to eat, thaw for about 24 hours in fridge.  Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.  Serve over rice.
Black bean and Corn Salsa Chicken:
2 cans (15 oz) black beans
2 cans (15 oz)  corn, drained
1 pound chicken breast cut in chunks
1 package taco seasoning
1 c salsa
3/4 c water

Put ingredients into resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.  When ready to eat, thaw for about 24 hours in fridge.  Cook on low for 7 – 8 hours.  Serve over rice, with tortilla chips or tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Taco Soup:
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 lb ground turkey browned, drained, and slightly cooled
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes (I used one with diced chiles and one regular)
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 package taco seasoningPut ingredients into resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.  When ready to eat, thaw for about 24 hours in fridge.  Cook on low for 2 – 3 1/2 hours.  Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, etc.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo:
1 1/2  pounds chicken (mine was frozen so I did not cut into chunks, it was leftover from the week before)
2 jars (16 oz)  Alfredo sauce (I used light)
1 package (16 oz) frozen broccoli
1 green pepper, chopped
1 c (ish) mushrooms
Place ingredients in resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.  Mix together.  When ready to eat, thaw in fridge for about 24 hours, cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Serve over pasta.
The originals for these recipes are from here and here.
BBQ Pulled Pork:
2 pound pork roast
1 med onion sliced
1/2 c chicken broth
Stuff for Sauce:
2 c BBQ sauce
2 tbls dry mustard
2 tbls honey
1 tbls soy sauce
Place pork, onion, and chicken broth in resealable gallon sized freezer bag.  When ready to eat, thaw in fridge for about 24 hours, cook on low for 8 hours then shred the roast then add stuff for sauce and cook one more hour.  Serve with rolls or hamburger buns.

This recipe I got from Margaret, not sure where it originated or if it is original.
 
These recipes are new to our family, but have been tried by others.  We are looking forward to tasting them and adding them to our dinner repertoire.  I am going through some of our family favorites and trying to find ways to put them in the freezer and in the slow cooker.  As I come up with new recipes or changes to others I will keep posting and letting you know how it goes.Mary Catherine

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9 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

    1. We are just starting with freezer meals and I am already a fan! I loved your idea to look at everything you already have and make meals from it. I think I will try that for next weeks list of meals. Thanks for stopping by!

    1. It is definitely a new habit to get into, but well worth it. We are slowly working our way through these meals and are enjoying them, can not wait to get through the rest.

  1. My sister and I love getting together on a Sunday and making several freezer meals, usually ones for the crockpot! Thank you for giving me some new recipes to try, they sound great.

    And I’ve found that if I forget to get the bag out of the freezer the night before, placing the bag in a sink full of warm water to thaw it slightly then putting it in the crock works great too!

    1. Doing this with someone else would probably make it go much faster. I love the idea of thawing in warm water! I almost forgot to take a meal out the other day and wondered how we would get by, I will have to remember the warm water trick. Thanks!

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