more freezer crockpot cooking recipes

Last fall, when I went to go hang out with my sis and new baby niece, I put together a batch of freezer meals for her. However, the post got buried and I just rediscovered it this week!

While I was there, we ate one of the batches of Texas Chowder together (YUM!), and my family would eat Honey Rosemary Chicken once a week, but I didn’t try the other two recipes, so I can’t give a review of those.

You’ll notice that the first recipe is just a regular soup recipe. I’ve started tripling or quadrupling a soup recipe to cook while I chop for freezer meals- the first batch becomes dinner that night and the other two or three are frozen for later.

TEXAS CHOWDER (triple or quadruple this recipe, prep it first and cook it while you prep the rest of the meals)

INGREDIENTS

1 Chicken breast, cooked and diced, 3 cups chicken stock, 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, 2-3 strips bacon, ½ stick of butter, 2 carrots, diced, 2 celery stalks, diced, 1 diced onion, 1 tsp minced garlic, ½ cup flour, 3 cups frozen yellow corn, 2 cups milk, salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS In a large pot, bring stock to a boil. Place the whole chicken breast in the stock and boil until cooked. Remove from pot and reserve the stock.

Peel potatoes and boil in a separate pot until almost finished. Cut into large chunks. Set aside.

Dice the celery, carrots and onions.

In a large skillet, cook 2-3 strips bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Drain most of the bacon fat from the skillet, but keep 2-3 Tablespoons. Melt the butter in the same skillet. Over medium heat, sauté the carrots and celery until almost tender. Add the onion and the garlic and keep sautéing until tender. Add the flour and stir until lightly browned.

Add the corn to the stock and bring to a boil. Mix in the vegetable mixture, the chicken and the bacon. Keep simmering for roughly 20 minutes. Near the end, add the milk and the potatoes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

IN THE BAG- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 bag frozen broccoli, 2 jars light alfredo sauce, 1 green pepper, chopped, 1 can sliced mushrooms, drained.

TO COOK- Thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

TO SERVE- Serve over cooked alfredo noodles (perhaps with a side of broccoli?).

 

Honey Rosemary Chicken

IN THE BAG- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces, 1/3 c balsamic vinegar, 1/3 c honey, 1/3 c olive oil, 3 T chopped fresh rosemary, 1 t salt. Let marinate for several hours in the refrigerator before freezing.

TO COOK- Let defrost completely in the fridge (24 hours). Add 1 cup of water and the contents of the bag to the crockpot. Then cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Ten minutes before serving, add cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

TO SERVE- Serve over couscous (or rice). Be generous with the sauce as you ladle- it’s fabulous.

And, of course, to make this little adventure a little easier, the shopping list for these freezer crockpot recipes is ready for you (the shopping list provides enough for one batch of each recipe- to make more meals at once, multiply accordingly). Enjoy!

ps- If you’re looking for more Freezer Crockpot Recipes- here are Round 1, Round 2, the garden edition, and Round 3.