Crock Pot Freezer Meals Part 1

I keep forgetting to take pictures of these - so I haven't been posting the recipes.  Finally decided to just post the recipes and try and remember to upload pictures later!

A few notes:
1. Any of these can be assembled in the crock pot the day of.

2. If you assemble the ingredients ahead of time and put them in the freezer, they can be put in the crock pot frozen or you can thaw them out prior to putting them in the crock pot.  If you want to just throw everything in froze (EASY PEASY!), put the zip lock in some hot water for a few minutes to get the bag unstuck from the ingredients.

3. For easy morning prep, label your zip locks with the name of the recipe, cooking time, and any extra items that need to be added to the crock pot.  This is also super helpful if you forget to start the crock pot in the morning and ask you 16 year old son to do it when he's home from school on his lunch hour...not that I would have ANY experience with that ;-)

4. I've found most of these recipes online, and have modified them to my families tastes.  Feel free to follow to a T or be creative!

5. I've found that when stocking the freezer with meals, it's best to chose a few recipes with lots of chopping and a few that don't involve much chopping that way you can do a bunch without killing yourself.


 TERIYAKI CHICKEN

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2 lbs bone-in or boneless chicken (I like thighs, but you can use whatever kind your family prefers)
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced (or more depending on how much you like garlic! If I'm in a hurry, I just use garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- OPTIONAL: 1 can pineapple chunks

Day of cooking: Add 1/2 cup chicken broth

Cook time: 8 hours LOW

Serving suggestions: cooked white or brown rice and green veggies (can top with sesame seeds)

Serves: 4 to 6


BBQ RIBS

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2 lbs boneless ribs (I've also used bone in and it was yummy!)
- 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Cook time: 8 to 10 hours LOW

Serving suggestions: mashed potatoes, veggies, or favorite BBQ sides

Serves: 4


SALSA CHICKEN

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2.5 to 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken (breast or thighs or combo)
- 16 oz jar of favorite salsa
- OPTIONAL: sprinkle in some cumin and lime juice to kick up the flavor

Cook time: 6 to 8 hours on LOW

Serving suggestions: use as meat for rice bowls, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or burritos

Serves: 4 to 8 or more, depending on how it's used after cooking

Super Easy Salsa

 

I've been trying to cook out of the pantry this week and I needed some salsa to go with our burrito bowls the other night.  I did a bit of research on line and then threw this together ...

2 x 400g (14oz) cans of tomatoes

1 small can of green chillies

1 small red onion, cut into 8chunks

whole garlic cloves, to taste

1 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

1/2 tsp cumin, more or less to taste

juice of one lime

1/4 tsp sugar

Put everything but the tomatoes and chillies into a food processor or blender.  Pulse it til it's chopped up.  Add the tomatoes and chillies and pulse til it's as smooth or chunky as you like.  That's it.  So easy.  So yummy. 

Used the leftovers in chicken chimichangas last night !

Breakfast Burritos

My sister Ellie taught me how to make these ...
although, I've added a few little homemade salsa's of my own to the mix ....

There are lots of components ... and no real measurements, it depends on how many you are cooking for ... you'll work it out !

Potatoes: Chop 'em small and shallow fry with garlic powder and salt in a bit of olive oil. Fry til crispy (or done to your liking) These take a while so get them started and then do everything else.

Bacon: Chop and cook til crispy.

Eggs: Scrambled. Do these at the end so that they are hot when you serve !

Tomato Salsa: For this one I diced two tomatoes, 1/4 of a red onion (finely diced), 1 clove of freshly minced garlic, 2 handfuls of fresh coriander, salt, pepper and the juice of one lime. Mix.

Green Chili Salsa: 1/4 of a red onion (finely diced), 3 cloves of garlic (minced), 2 tins of fire roasted green chilies, 1/2 cup chicken stock. Sautee the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add the chilies and the chicken stock. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. Keep it going til the sauce thickens up.

Cheese: Cheddar. Grated.

Flour Tortillas: Warmed

Top the tortillas with whatever combo of ingredients you want ... add Sour Cream too. Fold it up and eat it ! So good !!

I was going to add Avocado this time too but I forgot. I think it would be really good ....

Salsa Fish Packets

Salsa Fish Packets

Favorite White fish (we've used Tilapia and Swai)
Favoite Salsa
Optional: pickled jalapenos

Place fish on a piece of foil (big enough to fold into a packet - we use a double layer of heavy duty foil).

Top fish with favorite salsa.

Optional: place single line of jalapenos along top of fish.

Fold foil closed into a packet.

Grill packets on high for approximately 10 minutes (or until you open packet and fish is flaky and done).

Enjoy!

Bell Peppers Stuffed with Salsa, Rice & Beans (Crockpot)

4 large bell peppers
2 ½ cups cooked brown rice
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tomato salsa
3 scallions, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sugar

Cut the tops off the bell peppers, save for later use, and remove and discard the seeds and membranes. Arrange the peppers upright in a 5 ½ - 6 quart slow cooker.
(My Crock Pot is only 4 quarts and they turned out fine.)
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the rice, beans, salsa, and scallions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Fill the prepared peppers evenly with rice mixture, packing it lightly. Replace the pepper tops. In the same mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, cumin, oregano and sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over and around the peppers in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours, until peppers are fork-tender but still hold their shape.
Serve hot.

Note: Adapted from a recipe from the book titled: Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Burrito Bowl

This is such an easy meal ... I love it.

We just throw everything on the table, or on the kitchen counter, and everyone

makes their own bowl to their own liking.

Here's what we have in ours, but you can do whatever you like, that' s the beauty of the burrito bowl !

Brown Basmati Rice, cooked and mixed with lime juice and fresh coriander (cilantro)
Black Beans
Grated Cheese
Spring Onions, Sliced
Black Olives
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Salsa (optional)
Jalapenos (optional)

That's it ... then just fill your bowl with whatever combination takes your fancy ...



My bowl.



Rory's bowl.

**

yum

Salmon with An Amazing Salsa

Tonight for dinner we did Salmon Steaks on the BBQ with Grilled Pineapple Salsa, corn on the cob and Pumpkin Lentil Salad. Every single bit of it was DELICIOUS !!!

For the salmon ... usually we buy it with the skin on but it wasn't available this time so we went with no skin. Rory rubbed it with butter and BBQ'd it on the Weber ~ 6 minutes each side. It was beautiful !!

The Pineapple Salsa was so easy ... I did it just the way she said ... except, I didn't add the salt and I chopped the jalapeno and served it on the side for those who wanted it.

1 large pineapple
1/3 of a large red onion, finely diced
juice of 2 small limes
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

Take the skin off your pineapple, slice into 4 or five big slices. Grill pineapple on a medium hot grill ... about five minutes each side. Be careful not to cook it too long ... You're aiming for caramelized ... not burned.

When your pineapple is done, remove from heat and let cool completely. Dice the pineapple into small pieces, then toss with the remaining ingredients. DONE. So easy. So yummy !

Mexican Chicken ~ with Unprocessed Modifications

I discovered and first cooked this recipe over a year ago. I was wanting to cook it again but the salsa doesn't fit with our unprocessed specifications. Lots of preservatives in store bought salsa ! The other night, I decided to experiment with it and it was a huge success !! I neglected to take a photo so am going to repost this old one with both recipes in it ...

All I did the other night was change a few ingredients, the rest is the same.

So ... Instead of the jar of salsa ... I added ...
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies
and a few dried onion and garlic flakes.

I cooked the chicken for 6 hours. Turned it off for a couple hours. Turned it back on 30 minutes before we wanted to eat to throw in the cream cheese ... but ... see instructions below for all those details ...

I found this amazing recipe over at 'from Mommy's kitchen'.
Made it the other day and we loved it.
Kids loved it.
I loved it.
Rory loved it.
Rory even loved it for lunch the next day !
And I have another full meals worth frozen to eat in the next week or two !!
Love that !
Lots of love involved with this meal !

Here's the recipe ...

4-5 boneless chicken breasts, frozen
1 can black beans (15 ounce)
2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
3 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced (optional) - I didn't have any fresh so I used dried.
1 jar of medium salsa (16 ounce)
1 package low fat cream cheese (8 ounce)

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the cream cheese.

Cook on high heat for 5-6 hours , until chicken is fully cooked and falling apart. A half an hour before serving, stir to break up the chicken and add the cream cheese, let melt, mix it in just before serving.

Serve over rice.

PS .. Next time we have it we are going to try serving it in ................ drum roll please ............ yep, you guessed it ........... flour tortillas !!!!!!!!

A Little Taste of Mexico

I think I probably should have called my recipe blog "101 Great Recipes Shay Has Given Me" ! We had friends over for dinner last night and I knew I was making Chicken Chimichangas but I didn't know what to make with them. I emailed Shay the night before and by morning I had some great ideas waiting in my in-box ... gotta love that about the time difference !
~

Fennel and Orange Salad - from Shay
(this was a bit spicy but next time I won't go so heavy on the chili powder and I think it will be fantastic !! I just finished the leftovers tonight ... yum !)

2 or 3 oranges ( I used 2 )
fennel bulb, sliced (cut sticks and bottom off, chop in 1/2, cut out V-shaped root )
red onion, thin sliced
clilantro

for dressing:
olive oil
lime juice
lime zest
salt
chili powder

All you do is segment (and de-seed) the oranges, add fennel, onion and cilantro. Make dressing and mix into salad. Simple ! The dressing is to taste. I used probably 1 tbls (or less) oil, a whole lime, a pinch of salt and next time I'll only use a pinch of chili powder. Play around with it. Just remember that the flavors will be stronger once they've sat a while ...

Guacamole.
My Mom gave me this recipe years ago.

2 avocados, one mashed, one chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
red onion, diced
garlic - to taste, I use about 4 or 5 cloves - crushed
splash of lemon juice
cilantro ( coriander leaves ) - I use dried for this recipe

Mix all those things together. EASY DONE ! Very Tasty !! Do ahead because it's yummiest after it's sat for a while.

Ok ... here's the homemade salsa recipe that Shay emailed me ! SOOOOO good !!

28 oz. diced tomatoes, can
28oz. crushed toms, can
3 serrano peppers, seeded, ribs remove
2 lemons, juiced
3 garlic, minced
3 tbsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. vanilla (weird I know, but good)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Salt
1 sm. Purple onion (red onion)
1/2 bunch green onion (spring onion)
1/2 bunch cilantro (coriander leaves)

Put everything, but onions and cilantro, in the blender till chunky. You can reserve some of the
diced tomatoes to add after to make it chunkier if you like. ( I reserved the whole can of diced tomatoes) And I diced the purple onion, finely sliced the green onion, and chopped the cilantro to add at the end. THIS MADE A LOT of salsa !

Oven Baked Chicken Chimichangas
I used to be on a mailing list called Real Food For Real People. I got this recipe from one of those emails. It's a great one. I made it the other night ... took some photos so I could share it with you all.
--
What you need:
1 and 1/2 cups cooked and thinly diced chicken ( about 2 breast )
2/3 cup salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 chopped green onions
6 eight inch flour tortillas
2 TBLS melted butter ( last night I didn't use the butter, I used olive oil and there was no difference in the taste !! )
--
Mix salsa, cumin, oregano, chicken, cheese and onions. Place about 1/2 cup chicken mixture in centre of each tortilla. Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place seam side down in a greased casserole dish. ( You'll see from my photo below that I don't fold this way ... I just roll them. They fit in my pan better that way !! ) Bursh very liberally with melted butter. Bake at 400F degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. ( watch them the first time you make them ... mine don't ever take that long to cook ) Sprinkle with additional cheese. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

I should have taken a new photo last night ... this is an old one that I took when I first posted this to Leah's Recipe Exchange.