Freezer Crock Pot Meal Ideas

With Fall approaching, I have seen many posts about freezer crockpot meals, so I decided to round up some of my favorites and make some of my own.  I bought almost entirely organic ingredients (a few things I could not find between 4 stores) and use hormone/antibiotic free range meats.  I made Margarita Chicken (2 bags), Beef Stew, Rosemary Apple Chicken, Chicken Taco Chili, and Thai Curry (2 bags), plus bought ingredients for a new chicken tomato recipe I am planning to try so 8 full meals (most will include leftovers for at least some of us as well).  I also bought gallon freezer bags, brown rice, Ezekial Tortilla (for taco chili leftovers), and even have some leftover veggies for snacking.  My total cost (using quality ingredients) was 106.64 so divide that by 8 meals is $13.33 per meal for a family of 4 plus leftovers.  I am pretty excited!  I plan to just keep these in the freezer and maybe have one a week or use in emergencies when I do not have a meal planned or plans change.  Now that I have done a small version of this, I may expand and do some more!

Margarita Chicken
Beef Stew
Rosemary Apple Chicken
Chicken Taco Chili
Thai Curry

Margarita Chicken (in the Crock Pot)

1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos
3 Tbsp Margarita Mix (liquid)
Sea Salt
Pepper

Whisk Together, then add:

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup cut green beans
2-3 Frozen Chicken Breasts, cubed

Place in Freezer Bag or Crock Pot for 4-5 hrs on low.  I served mine on top of Jasmine Rice.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

1.5 lbs beef stew meat
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 tomato, diced
2 medium red potatoes, diced (sweet potatoes would be good too)
1/4 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (or powdered garlic)
Sprinkle Thyme
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea Salt
Pepper
Any other spices you like
1 cup beef broth (or veggie broth would likely work as well)

Place in freezer bag or crockpot for 5-7 hrs on low.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Rosemary Chicken

1 Chicken Breast, 2-3 Chicken Thighs (I forgot to buy thighs so used all breasts)
2 apples, peeled and diced
Squirt of lime juice
1/4 sweet onion diced
2-3 Fresh Rosemary Spriggs
Sea Salt
Pepper
2 Tbsp water (to help liquify a bit so we could seal the bag)

1.  Dice and place all in a freezer safe gallon bag (or right in the crock pot).
2.  Cook on low 6 hrs or high 4 hrs.

I served this with brown rice on the side and some steamed green beans.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

This recipe is similar to a taco soup, regular chili, or my crock pot chicken black bean salsa soup but a bit different and I liked the differences!  Great flavors and so simple!  Plus, you could alter and add more/less veggies, more/no beans, and any toppings you like.

1 can Organic kidney beans, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups favorite Organic Salsa (I am currently enjoying Publix Greenwise Organic Salsa-medium)
2-4 carrots, peeled and diced (the original recipe called for corn but I enjoyed the carrots)
1 can diced organic tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning (or make your own, I used Simply Organic brand)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
3 frozen chicken breasts (you could do more or less and use fresh if you wanted)

Toppings ideas:  Shredded raw organic cheese, cilantro, diced avocado, tortilla chips, onions, etc.

Add all ingredients except chicken to crock pot and stir until well combined.  Place the chicken breast on top and cook on high for 6 hrs, or cook on low for 10 hrs.  About 30 minutes  before serving, remove chicken breast and shred, then place back in crock pot and stir well and let sit on warm until ready to serve.  This is perfect for football nights or just cook Fall/Winter evening meals and is great left over as well!  

Slow Cooker Applesauce

I have never tried making my own applesauce, so decided to give it a try!

8 medium apples (I used a mixture of granny smith and pink lady)
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp raw honey

Slow cook on high for 4 hours, them mash or blend.  Refrigerate leftovers!

Minestrone

The weather is getting cooler and Fall is definitely upon us (if you ask my husband and daughter, they say Winter is coming).  I made this soup with frozen farmer's market veggies so it's fresh and tasty!  You could add/edit vegetables or add quinoa or pasta or rice-really, go crazy!

1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 T garlic flakes (or diced fresh)
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced eggplant
1 cup diced zucchini
3-4 cups diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning Mix
1-2 fresh rosemary spriggs
1-2 cups water (depending on how saucy you like it)
1 can organic kidney beans

Mix together and simmer on low for 4-6 hours.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Marsala

With the busy Summer months beginning, I have been using my crockpot a lot since we have been busy swimming, going to parks, and hanging out!  Monday at our house is gymnastics night so it's my crockpot night!  This is a quick and easy recipe that tastes super yummy and you can add whatever veggies you want!  I am also thinking you could add rice or pasta to make it more filling and go farther!

2-4 frozen chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. brown rice flour
1 cup organic chicken stock
1/2 cup marsala cooking wine
Chicken seasoning, Salt, Pepper, whatever you like to season (just make sure it is without msg)
Sliced carrots
Asparagus cut into bite sized pieces
Sliced baby bella mushrooms
(you can use whatever veggies you want, these were all available fresh from the farmer's market, except the mushrooms which were on sale at the store this week)

1.  Place the wine, chicken stock, rice flour, and seasoning in the crockpot and stir sauce well.
2.  Add veggies and chicken breasts.
3.  Stir together and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 or more hours (I usually do low for the first 6 hours, then switch to warm for another 2-3 hours since I am home on and off throughout the day).
*If you were to add rice or pasta, I would add the last couple hours so they don't get too soggy!
4.  This turns out almost creamy and the flavors blend so well!  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Fajitas

I got this from a friend who makes lots of yummy crock pot meals for her family. We had it served over brown rice, but she liked it in tortillas like a fajita. Another good option could be on top of a salad!

1 lb. frozen chicken breast (I sliced mine)
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 can organic kidney beans
1 onion sliced
1 each green and red bell pepper sliced
1/2 lb. mushrooms diced (not in the original recipe, but my family LOVES mushrooms in everything)
1/2 cup diced green beans (not in the original recipe, but I had some extra in my fridge so I added them)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 tsp sea salt

Cook on low 5-6 hours. This also made quite a bit so we had leftovers. Enjoy!

Thai Curry (In the Crockpot)

I found a similar recipe online but I changed most of it, so here it is!

1 can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. Red Curry Paste
1 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 Tbsp. Garlic Flakes/Powder
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
Sea Salt

*Whisk together

1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups cut green beans
2 cups cut mushrooms
1 lb mostly frozen chicken breasts (diced into chunks)

*Stir Chicken and Vegetables into the sauce and cook on low in the crockpot for 5-6 hours. You could also leave the chicken whole and cut/shred at the end. I served mine over Jasmine rice, but it would be great by itself too! It had a little spice, but it was still very tasty according to my 3 year-old! She ate her whole bowl with no complaints (which is big success in our house)! Feel free to add/omit vegetable to enjoy what your family loves! I used what I had in the fridge already, and I prepared this the night before so all I had to do what throw it into the crockpot at noon and quickly make the rice before dinner time! It was very tasty!

Taco Soup

This is just a quick soup recipe! I used packets for the seasoning but you could probably mix and match your own seasonings. This is great topped with raw cheddar cheese and avacado slices similar to a chili!

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (browned)
2 cans diced tomatoes (one can could contain some chilis if you like it spicy)
1 can pinto beans
1 can black/chili beans
1 packet taco seasoning (I used Simply Organic)
1 packet ranch seasoning (I used Simply Organic)
(the original recipe called for one can or corn but we don't eat much corn so I skipped it)
*you could also add carrots or celery if you are trying to sneak veggies into your kid's diet!

Brown the meat and drain. Mix all ingredients together and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Make a big batch so you may be able to freeze some! Enjoy.

Salsa Chicken Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe on a crockpot recipe website, but of course I altered it to our family's liking. It tasted great, and it made a lot of soup. We had company so five of us ate it for dinner and there was enough leftover for lunch the next day! It was warm and tasty...my three year old loved it too!

1 pound free-range chicken (I used frozen chicken breast tenderloins)
2 cans organic black beans (drained)
3 cups organic chicken broth
2 cups diced mushrooms (plus a handful of dried gourmet mushrooms)
2 tsp. organic cumin
1 jar organic salsa (your favorite kind, I used Archer Farms brand)
Shredded, raw cheese, avocado slices (as an optional topping)

Then, simply cook in the crockpot all day. I did high for 4 hours, then low for 4 more hours with my crockpot! If you are gone all day, you could probably just do low for 8-10 hours. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors will disperse...mmm! Then, we shredded the chicken before we served it. This was not too spicy and had great flavor, if you like spicy foods you may want to add some chili powder or chipotle powder!

Crock Pot Chicken

As many of you know, I am due any day to have our second child...so I have decided that I need to start making more crock pot dinners so that I am spending less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying my growing family! So, yesterday I threw this meal together and it turned out great!

1 lb. semi-frozen chicken breasts (thick-cut)
5-6 diced tomatoes (I had some frozen from summer time, so they were so fresh and tasty)
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
3-4 whole carrots, sliced
1 cup water (more or less to cover the ingredients)
Lots of Sea Salt
Lots of Italian Seasoning (grinder includes basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
Little Ground Pepper
Garlic
Onion Salt
*I didn't measure any of the spices, so you could add lots or a little to your liking!

1. Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. After 3-4 hours, open crock pot and stir well...also adding more spices if you would like.

I served this over a small amount of brown rice, but you could enjoy it plain or over brown rice pasta if you wish. The chicken was tender and fell apart as we ate it! Next time, I will likely add other veggies such as green beans or zucchini, but I just used what was in my fridge this time. The prep time was about 5 minutes and we got to enjoy the italian smell all day long!