Freezer to Crockpot Meals

[bananacake]

I did an experiment once. Even in my super old slow cooker, my frozen chicken was at a safe temp within 2 hours

[Earthmummy07]

That's a good point, I have a meat thermometer, I could just check

[tempus vernum]

Originally Posted by bananacake

I did an experiment once. Even in my super old slow cooker, my frozen chicken was at a safe temp within 2 hours

I was going to say that I think even the lowest temp crockpot would heat faster than any thawing method except the microwave

Glad someone experienced chimed in Yay bananacake

[charla]

Italian beef is in the crockpot for supper tonight! It smells soooo good. And how easy was that just to dump it in!

[bananacake]

Originally Posted by charla

Italian beef is in the crockpot for supper tonight! It smells soooo good. And how easy was that just to dump it in!

Did you mix your own seasonings? I can't remember what the recipe calls for I make my own Italian Dressing Mix and use that.

[tempus vernum]

We loved sesame chicken.

We couldn’t tolerate Italian beef (tummies). Not sure if peppers the cut I bought of what) loved the taste but everyone’s tummies were upset! I joke we have delicate stomachs

[bananacake]

I just use beef and spices for Italian beef. All the peppers contain corn.

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------

So for future reference, you can just skip the peppers if you normally tolerate a roast. I also don't use pre-mixed spice packs. I just mix the following and keep it in a jar, using 2-3 T for a roast.

Italian Dressing Mix
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

[charla]

I used this recipe for the Italian seasoning and just put all of it on the roast. I hope it won't be too much spice.

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

Oh and on Tuesday when I made crockpot bolognese sauce, I ended up making enough for supper that night plus two freezer bags for two more meals.

[charla]

Oh my goodness, that Italian beef is so very yummy. I made one change to the recipe besides using my own Italian dressing seasoning mix. I added one cup of beef broth instead of water since I had beef broth already opened. I can't wait to make up some more for the freezer!

[RiverRock]

I want to try making the Italian Beef. I'm hoping to find the pepperoncini peppers at the Italian market today. The picture for the recipes shows the peppers whole. Do you remove them to shred the meat?

[charla]

It was pretty easy to shred around them. I felt like the stems on the peppers were kind of a pain so thinking about taking them off before I freeze next time.

[charla]

So this week I'm planning on serving these two freezer meals this week: Chicken Teriyaki and Balsamic Roast and Carrots. Both recipes are a pdf so I can't link, but if anyone is interested I could type the recipes out in my own words.

Up today after grocery shopping I hope to make the following meals for my freezer:

Cranberry Orange Pork Loin Roast
Slow Cooker BBQ Boston Butt
Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops
More Italian Beef

[RiverRock]

If you think those two recipes are good enough to share I am interested. I don't want you to go through the effort of typing them out if you wouldn't make them again, though.

I had a bit of a crockpot fail this week. I bought a bean mix with seasoning and followed the directions but the beans took way longer to cook than the packaging stated. Like twice as long. It made me think of this thread and the suggestion to pre-soak beans. I need to try a taco soup mix that is frozen and not shelf stable. It should be easy enough to figure out, but if anyone already has a good recipe please share.

[bananacake]

Originally Posted by RiverRock

I need to try a taco soup mix that is frozen and not shelf stable. It should be easy enough to figure out, but if anyone already has a good recipe please share.

You're looking for a recipe for taco soup?

Taco Soup

Instructions & Additions to Write on Bag
Add to crockpot:
4 ½ cups water
1 bag diced tomatoes (I freeze a quart of diced tomatoes separately so the freezer bag isn't too heavy)
6-8 hours on low

Ingredients for the Freezer Bag

Beans
About 1 lb pre-soaked pinto beans

Chopped Stuff
Corn, 1 cup
Onions, 1 cup

Spices
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (I use one I found on the internet - one with no starch)

Sauces
1 ¼ cup tomato sauce

[charla]

The Balsamic Roast Beef with Carrots was much too sweet. We didn't really like it. I won't make it again.

The Chicken Teriyaki had good flavor, but was definitely ugly-looking after spending much of the day in the crockpot.

I'll share the recipe for it in case anyone wants to try it.

Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki
1 lb chicken breasts (I used three chicken breasts for three people)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, grated or minced
1-inch ginger, peeled and grated or minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables (I used one from Aldi with carrots, broccoli, baby corn, and sugar snap peas)
(I also added one can of sliced water chestnuts, drained, because we really love those things).

I put the frozen veggies and water chestnuts in the bottom of a freezer bag, put chicken breasts on top and mixed up the sauce and poured on top. I began thawing it the day before and dumped it into the crockpot and cooked on low for about 6 hours. I served it over rice with an Asian slaw and pineapple and mandarin oranges on the side.