Lemon Rosemary Chicken - Freezer to Crock Pot

This is the time of year where it seems like heavy meals abound.  There's the office party with prime rib or steak.  There's the blustery days with chili and stew.  Sometimes you're sick of heavy meals and just want something good, filling, but not too heavy.  Lemon Rosemary chicken is a wonderfully light meal that can easily be made in the crock pot.  The citrusy flavor is the perfect compliment to the rosemary.  This tastes great served with rice or served alongside a salad and crusty bread.  

I used chicken tenders in this recipe, but you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or even a whole, cut up chicken to make this recipe.  If you use bone-in chicken, be sure to place it in the bottom of the crock pot, bone side up, so that the meat cooks through.  

Lemon Rosemary Chicken: 

1-1/2 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

1/2 C lemon juice 

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil 

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Lightly brown chicken in a nonstick pan or pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Place in bottom of 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.  Remove air, seal, and then massage to distribute ingredients.  To cook in crock pot, either thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours or place entire frozen contents of zippered bag into crock pot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.  If cooking from frozen, increase cooking time by 1-2 hours. 

Ranch Crock Pot Pork Chops - Freezer to Crock Pot

Finding new ways to cook pork chops can be challenging.  A friend told me about this, and I just had to try it.  Ranch Crock Pot Pork Chops are a great way to cook pork tenderloins in the crock pot and have a savory gravy to serve over potatoes, rice, or on toast.  

When I was told about this, I had one of those forehead-slapping moments that was like, "Really?  Three ingredients?  Why didn't I think of that!"  The ingredients were so obvious.  I don't know why I hadn't put them together before.  Plus, just about anything with ranch is awesome. 

Without further adieu, here they are:  

RANCH CROCK POT PORK CHOPS
4-6 thick cut pork tenderloins or chops (I prefer tenderloins)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 package powdered ranch dressing mix

Put the powdered ranch dressing mix in a gallon zippered bag.  Put the chops in the bag, and shake to coat the chops with the dressing mix.  Add the can of chicken soup and enough water to "wash out" the can.  Remove air from bag, seal, and then massage to distribute the ingredients.  When ready to use, remove frozen block from bag and place in crock pot.  Cook approximately 6-8 hours on low or 4-6 on high.  You might need to remove the chops and whisk the gravy with a wire whisk in case lumps have formed.  Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or toast.  

If cooking immediately, just place chops in crock pot along with cream of chicken soup, and sprinkle dressing mix over the top.  Stir until blended then cook for 6-8 hours on low.  

The gravy that this makes is excellent, so if you want extra gravy, you might consider doubling up on the cream of chicken soup and ranch dressing mix.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Lime Chicken - Freezer to Crock Pot

Chipotle lime chicken is a zesty dish with bold flavors that compliment one another well.  Tomato sauce, cilantro, vegetables, and spices kick this up a notch beyond ordinary.  

Put this in the crock pot in the morning, and come home to a flavorful and satisfying meal without a lot of effort. 

Chipotle Lime Chicken

**This recipe makes two meals.  Cut ingredients in half to make just one recipe.**

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
Canadian/Montreal steak seasoning
2 cups diced onion

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped carrots

2  14 oz. cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup lime juice

2 tbsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

4 garlic cloves

3 Tablespoons dried cilantro

Divide chicken breasts into two 1 gallon zippered freezer bags.  Season both sides of each chicken breast liberally with steak seasoning.  Add remaining ingredients, squeeze air from bags, and seal.  When ready to cook, place frozen chunk in crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 8-9 hours.  Serve over rice or noodles.   

Freezer to Crock Pot - Smothered Pork Chops

Crock pot smothered pork chops are a nice change of pace from the usual fried or grilled pork chop.  These come out tender and fall apart (as evidenced by the photo!).  This is a flavorful recipe that brings out the flavor of the pork chops while providing a satisfying and savory gravy to serve over noodles or toast.   

This was part of a post showing make-ahead crock pot meals.  See the original post  HERE.

Smothered Pork Chops

3-4 boneless pork tenderloins/chops 

1 large onion, cut into rings

1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

About 1 tablespoon Montreal/Canadian Steak seasoning 

4-6 peeled and sliced potatoes when ready to cook

Season pork tenderloins with steak seasoning, and layer with onions in 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Add cream soup and remainder of steak seasoning.  Squeeze air out of bag and seal.  Freeze.  When ready to cook peel and slice 4-6 potatoes and place them in the bottom of the crock pot.  Then place the entire block of frozen food on top of this in the crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.   Serve over noodles or toast. 

Freezer to Crockpot - Pepper Steak With Noodles

Pepper Steak with Noodles is a wonderfully rich dish that is easily made in the crock pot.  Put this on to cook in the morning, and come home to the wonderful aroma of peppers and spices.  This beef dish makes its own rich gravy, and is excellent served with noodles, over rice, or mashed potatoes.  

This recipe was originally noted in my post HERE, but I wanted to feature this as its own post, as this is one of our favorites. 

Pepper Steak

2-3 pounds beef stew meat or cut up round steak (See earlier post regarding saving on meat)

½ cup flour

1 tsp. pepper

1 large onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic (I use the already-minced garlic and use 2-3 teaspoons)

2 green/bell peppers, cut in strips

2 14 oz. cans Italian or plain diced tomatoes with ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 cubes beef bouillon or 2 Tbsp. beef bouillon granules

4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. Montreal/Canadian steak seasoning

2 Tbsp. A1 steak sauce

Place flour and pepper in zippered freezer bag.  Shake to mix.  Add stew meat and shake to coat pieces thoroughly. Leave flour and meat in bag. Add remaining ingredients, remove air, and seal.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 6-8.  Stir well before serving to allow sauce to blend and thicken.  Serve over noodles or rice.  

Freezer to Crock Pot - Pork Green Chili

We love spicy food.  This recipe for pork green chili fits the bill.  It is not a heavy chili but is very flavorful and uses broth and other spices to create interesting and satisfying flavors.  

This works well in the crock pot  and can be cooked straight from the freezer.  It also works equally well when made stove top.  Serve it with tortillas or spoon it over rice.  Top with a dollop of sour cream, and you'll be in heaven. 

Pork Green Chili

2 Tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil

3 lbs. pork, cut into medallions (I used pork tenderloins)

Ground black pepper

1 large onion, chopped

2 minced garlic cloves

2 green (bell) peppers, chopped

2  (4 oz.) cans green chiles, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons dried cilantro (If using fresh cilantro, increase to ½ cup).

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cup water and 1 chicken bouillon cube)

Lightly brown meat in oil over medium heat.  Lightly pepper meat and place in the bottom of a 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Add remaining ingredients.  Squeeze air out, seal, and massage ingredients to distribute. 

When ready to cook, place in crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours or low for approximately 8 hours.  Serve with rice, tortillas, and sour cream. 

Stovetop version:  Lightly brown meat in oil over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, and peppers and saute until onions are translucent.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 1-1/2 hours. Stir periodically and check liquid level.  Add water as needed.  

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

 

Crock pot baked potatoes are an easy way to cook potatoes without heating up the house or turning on the oven just took cook a few potatoes.  There are two ways to make them.  I recommend using a softer potato for this like a red potato or Yukon gold.  I know they are not generally recommended for baking, but we got a batch of Russets a while back that could have been used for stones!

First is the foil method.  Wash and scrub thoroughly.  Do not peel. Coat each potato with olive oil then dust with salt.  Wrap in aluminum foil and place in crock pot.  No need to add any type of liquid.  Cook on low 6-8 hours on low or high for 3-4 hours. 

The second method is just the plain potato method.  Wash and scrub potatoes thoroughly, then place in crock pot.  Again, cook 6-8 hours on low or high for 3-4 hours. 

The foil potatoes will have the more traditional baked potato taste to them.  The unwrapped potatoes will have more of a steamed consistency and flavor.  

This is a great way to either make potatoes for a meal or to have them for twice-baked potatoes, potato salad, potato soups, hashbrowns, or any other recipe for which you need cooked potatoes.  It's an economical and easy way to have cooked, whole potatoes without having to either boil them on the stove or bake them in the oven! 

Crock Pot Apple Butter - Easy Christmas Gift!

This year we had an abundance of apples, so my weekends for a couple of months were spent canning apples. The tree was so loaded that we would have to pick apples just to keep the limbs from breaking!  Crock pot apple butter was one of the easiest projects for preserving the apples.   

This is made overnight in a 5 quart crock pot.  It takes very few ingredients.  You just need some time and effort to peel, slice, and core the apples, put the ingredients and apples in the crock pot overnight, and the next morning you'll have a batch of apple butter! A one-piece peeler-corer-slicer makes dealing with the apples a breeze. 

Crock Pot Apple Butter

5-6 pounds tart apples peeled, cored, and sliced/chopped (I use the peeler-corer-slicer like this one:  Peel Away Apple Peeler (Google Affiliate Ad)) 

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

Instructions:  Place apples in slow cooker.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl then pour over apples and mix well.  Cover and cook on high 1 hour.  Reduce heat to low and cook 9-11 hours (this is why I say to do it overnight!).  Stir occasionally, scraping sides to prevent sticking.  Apples will be thickened and dark brown.  If there is still a lot of liquid, uncover and cook 1 hour longer.  

At this point, the apple butter may be lumpy.  You have three choices:  You can stir/whisk it and leave it with some lumps.  You can use a potato masher to mash it throughly by hand, or you can use a food processor to puree it in batches before preserving it. 

This will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator, unpreserved.  It will also keep in the freezer or deep freeze for up to a year.  You can also can it in jars by pouring it into sterilized canning jars, topping it with a lid and seal, then processing it in a water bath for 20 minutes.  Apples are one of the easiest things to can because of their acidity, so this is an excellent option. 

Apple butter is excellent served with hot, fresh biscuits.  I also like it stirred into oatmeal, and you can add it to muffin batter or pancake batter for a wonderful spiced apple flavor!  It would be an excellent gift along with a few other goodies in a gift basket. 

This post contains links from affiliates. 

Freezer to Crock Pot - Margarita Chicken

Margarita Chicken is another yummy, spicy dish that can be made ahead of time by mixing the ingredients, then storing it in the freezer until it's time to cook.  Place this in the crock pot, and come home to a tasty meal. Despite its name, it does not have an overt citrus taste.  The flavors blend nicely to make this a terrific main dish.  

This would be a great meal to also add veggie packets.  See THIS POST for information on how to make foil packets for the crock pot. 

 

Crock Pot Margarita Chicken

4-5 frozen uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

1 T soy sauce

2 minced garlic cloves

3 T liquid margarita mix

Mix sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Place chicken in the bottom of the 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Cover with sauce.  Squeeze out air, seal, and freeze.  When ready to prepare, place frozen block in crock pot.  If using packets, prepare and then place on top of chicken and sauce, then cover with lid.  Cook on high for 7-9 hours.   

A little side trick:  When this comes out of the crock pot, the chicken may still look white.  If you would like a little bit of a bark/grilled effect, place the chicken on a foil covered cookie sheet and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.  Then slice and serve.  

 

Freezer to Crockpot – Taco Soup

There are a million variations on taco soup. It’s easy, it’s tasty, it’s filling, and you can often ad-lib the ingredients to compensate for items you don’t have or use variations to suit your taste if there are ingredients you don’t like.   

Most recipes I have seen say to use a specific type of meat.  Realistically, you can use anything that you have or omit the meat completely  I like either browned ground beef or browned steak pieces/stew meat, but you can also use chicken and even kielbasa that’s been cooked prior to adding it to the pot.

Here’s the recipe. 

Taco Soup

DO NOT DRAIN CANS OF INGREDIENTS. 

1  to 1.5 lb. meat of choice (if fatty meat such as hamburger meat, cook beforehand)

1 small chopped onion

1 can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes (or other diced tomatoes with green chiles)

1 can plain diced stewed tomatoes

1 can kernel corn (not cream corn)

1 can kidney beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 pkg. taco seasoning

(These are all the regular small-sized cans (around 14-17 oz.), not the large cans.)

Again, do not drain cans of ingredients. Combine all ingredients in 1 gallon zippered bag and freeze.  When ready to eat, add to crock pot and cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours. 

Stovetop variation:  Combine all ingredients in 5 qt pan, adding dry ingredients last.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Serve with crackers, tortillas, or Indian fry bread. 

 

SUBSTITUTIONS: 

Vegetarian:  Omit meat completely or substitute cooked lentils, tofu, or TVP.   

Meat:  Use browned hamburger meat, stew meat, or cut up pieces of round steak, boneless skinless chicken breasts, or even cooked shrimp.  You may also use thinly sliced and browned Kielbasa or smoked sausage alone or added with the other meats for an interesting taste combination.  Just make sure when using any fatty meat, such as hamburger meat or sausage, that it’s browned and drained before adding it to the recipe.

Beans/corn:  My hubby isn’t a fan of corn but will eat it in stews.  I sometimes substitute navy beans, garbanzo beans, or black-eyed peas. 

Tomatoes:  Use any canned tomato combination that suits you based on what you have.  I like Ro-Tel tomatoes because they already have peppers in them, and we tend to like our food very spicy.  However, you may substitute tomatoes with chipotle peppers for an interesting combination or even tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic.  If you do not have tomatoes with chiles in them, you can use regular diced stewed tomatoes and add a couple of tablespoons of chopped canned green chiles.  I have also used fresh tomatoes but added a small can of tomato paste to thicken up the soup, as fresh tomatoes tend to have more liquid.  

Salvaging Meat That's Tough or a Bad Cut

<p>Image courtesy of [image creator name] / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Ever cook meat and have it come out looking and tasting like shoe leather?  We have two tried and true ways of salvaging bad cuts of meat or meat that we've somehow flubbed the cooking process. Nothing makes me madder than ruining food, so I am always determined to save it if I can. 

Method #1, crock pot shredding method.  

Works for any type or cut of meat. Place meat in crock pot and cut in chunks to make it fit, if necessary.  We particularly use this if the meat has been cooked but at the end of the cooking process it's tough.  It works especially well for grilled items like steaks, chicken breasts, or pork tenderloins.

Place meat in crock and add enough broth or bouillon to cover it about halfway.  It doesn't even matter what type of bouillon.  Beef, chicken, vegetable... any of it is good.  It doesn't even have to match.  For this process, it's fine to use chicken broth with beef or vice versa.  Cook meat on low for 8 hours.  Shred inside crock pot.  Either add 1/2 bottle of barbecue sauce OR 1 packet of taco seasoning mix.  Allow to cook for another hour or so.  Remove shredded meat and discard drippings/sauce.  This will not have a strong flavor but more of an essence of whatever seasonings you added. 

If using barbecue sauce, then use shredded meat in sandwiches or add to baked beans and use more full-strength barbecue sauce. 

If using taco seasoning, use as meat for enchiladas, soft tacos, flautas, etc.  

Method #2, oven method.  

Especially good for large cuts of meat such as roasts or other thick but less expensive cuts. 

Place meat in a large pan.  Add water or broth, enough to fill halfway.  Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook in a 200-250 degree oven for 8 hours.  We usually do this overnight.  

The next morning, this usually comes out tender, juicy, flavorful, and falling apart.  

Meat is too expensive nowadays for it to be ruined and need to be thrown out.  Usually one of these two ways is an excellent way to salvage meat that's just not quite come out how it was expected and is an economical way to get your money's worth! 

Freezer to Crock Pot - Pot Roast with Veggies

The combination of pot roast and veggies is a yummy, satisfying, and comforting meal, especially after a long day.  Walking into your house and smelling the wonderful aroma of a hot meal is like a little slice of heaven.  This is an easy recipe and can be prepared ahead of time, put into the freezer, then cooked in the crock pot for a hearty meal.  (See my confession about this roast below.*)

SLOW COOKER POT ROAST

One 2-3 pound roast, trimmed of excess fat (see below for substitution)**

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1 packet onion soup mix 

2-3 carrots cut into medallions 

1 small onion cut in large chunks (optional) 

2 cubes beef bouillon or 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules

1/2 cup water

 

When ready to cook, 3-4 potatoes cut in chunks.

Trim roast and cut slits in meat.  This is important, as the meat starts to cook it tends to contract and can take longer to cook.  Place roast in 1 gallon zippered freezer bag and add all ingredients except potatoes.  When ready to cook, add potatoes to crock, along with frozen roast and veggies.  Allow to cook for 8-10 hours on high (necessary to get the internal temperature of the roast up where it needs to be). 

*Here's my confession.  The poor roast pictured above had a real workout.  I put the chunk in the crock pot, turned it on, and went on my merry way.  The problem is that the crock pot wasn't plugged in!  D'oh!  I found it about 1-1/2 hours later. Aacck!!  I plugged it in and turned the crock on high, but even at 11:30 last night, it still wasn't done.  I ended up taking everything out of the crock pot, putting it into a large bowl, and sticking it in the fridge because cooking it overnight would have been too much.  I got up this morning, put everything back in the crock pot, and cooked it 4 more hours.  Luckily, it was ready to go by lunchtime.  Unfortunately, some of the carrots and potatoes were worse for the wear, but everything still tasted good! 

** If you do not have roast, another inexpensive cut of meat can work, such as round steak.  What I have done in the past is to get approximately 2-3 pounds of round steak and cut it into medallions.  Use the rest of the ingredients, as directed.  Cook on high 6-8 hours, and check doneness of meat.  This comes out more like a stew than roast but can be a great way to use a less expensive cut of meat. 

Freezer to Crock Pot Cooking Tips

• Link to post with above photographed recipes is HERE.
•  I use 1 gallon zippered freezer bags.  They are more durable than regular zippered bags.  The 1 gallon size is usually equivalent to a 5 quart slow cooker.
•  When you’re ready to cook your items, always start with a cold crock pot.  Do not preheat the crock.  If you put cold items into a crock that’s already heated, the crockery insert could shatter or crack. This is also true for items that have just been in the refrigerator.  Cold+hot=Shatter. 
•  I cook items straight from the freezer.  It takes longer to cook, but I’ve never had a problem.  Some people prefer the recipes are thawed first.  If so, thaw the entire bag of ingredients unopened for 24 hours in the refrigerator, and then add to the crock.  Adjust cooking times as necessary. 
•  Write what’s in the zippered freezer bag on the outside before adding ingredients.  Include cooking times, directions such as to add potatoes, serve over rice or noodles, etc.  You may think you’ll remember what’s in that bag, but two weeks from now you might not. 
•  Crock pot cooking temperatures vary.  When in doubt, allow more time to cook rather than less. 
• When using meat, you will need to precook meats with a high fat content such as hamburger meat or certain cuts of stew meat.  If in doubt, precook.  I also recommend rinsing these meats before adding them to the freezer bag.  Since you will be cooking them again in the crock, there might be more fat that comes out during the cooking process. 
•  Place meats in the bottom of zippered bags and place ingredients on top.  Once everything is added, squeeze out air, seal the bag, and massage slightly to distribute ingredients well.  This ensures meats are surrounded by ingredients.  This is important when you’re ready to cook because sometimes the meat can stick together as it is cooking, increasing time needed for everything to cook evenly.
•  Less liquid is better than more.  The funny thing about cooking in a crock pot or slow cooker is that it generates liquids from the items that are cooking, since condensation is trapped.  You can always add more liquid later if the recipe seems dry or thick.
•  If at the end of cooking your recipe seems to have more liquid than intended, turn the crock pot on high, remove the lid, and allow some of the liquids to simmer/boil off until it’s the desired thickness. 
•  You can make almost any crock pot recipe a freezer-to-crock recipe.  Just remember that potatoes and pasta do not freeze well.  I’ve seen recipes that say you can use both of these items, but my experience is that the potatoes and pasta come out mushy, with the exception of lasagna.  I add potatoes at the time I put ingredients in the crock.  I cook pasta separately and add it just prior to serving, as we tend to like our pasta al dente.
•  Almost any casserole can be adapted for cooking in a crock pot. 
•  Almost any soup can also be adapted for the crock pot.  Just decrease the liquid significantly (by at least 1/2 if not 2/3).  When I make soup in the crock, I start with as little amount of liquid as possible then add liquid toward the end, if needed. 

I will be posting more freezer-to-crock pot meals in the coming days and weeks.  I just need photos.  Photographing food is a lot harder than it looks! 

Freezer to Crockpot or Grill 2

Sunday night, I hurriedly whipped up a batch of 3 freezer to crock pot recipes and 1 freezer to to grill recipe. Some notes about making these recipes:  I show these packed flat, but when I put them in the freezer, I tend to stand the bags upright and make them as round as I can so that they will fit the shape of the crock pot.  I use a 5 quart crock pot/slow cooker.  If you have a smaller, 1-2 quart slow cooker, you might want to divide these into two bags.

I cook these recipes straight from the freezer.  I do not thaw them first, as I've found that sometimes the recipes with flour in them will clump.  It's perfectly safe to cook from frozen, and the food comes out just the same as if it were thawed.

To remove the frozen chunk from the bag, I either run hot water over the outside enough to loosen things, or run hot water into a plugged sink and submerge the bag for a few seconds to loosen the contents.

Finally, it helps to stir things and let it cook just a little bit more right before you're ready to serve.  This distributes all the ingredients well and makes sure nothing is clumped. Some of these recipes make their own type of gravy, so it's important to stir before serving to make sure everything's where it should be. 

Here are the recipes I used:

Mango Chipotle Chicken for the Grill

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle Kraft Mango Chipotle Dressing and Marinade

2 tablespoons Poultry/Chicken Seasoning

Place chicken in a 1 gallon zippered freezer bag, add ingredients, squeeze air out of bag, then seal and “massage” to distribute seasonings well.  When it’s grill time, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator, then place on grill, cook to desired doneness and enjoy!

Smothered Pork Chops

3-4 boneless pork tenderloins/chops (See earlier postregarding savings on meat)

1 large onion, cut into rings

1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

About 1 tablespoon Montreal/Canadian Steak seasoning 

4-6 peeled and sliced potatoes when ready to cook

Season pork tenderloins with steak seasoning, and layer with onions in 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Add cream soup and remainder of steak seasoning.  Squeeze air out of bag and seal.  Freeze.  When ready to cook peel and slice 4-6 potatoes and place them in the bottom of the crock pot.  Then place the entire block of frozen food on top of this in the crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.   Serve over noodles or toast. 

Easy Beef Tips

3 pounds stew meat (See earlier post regarding saving on meat)

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon pepper

1 packet onion soup mix

½ medium onion, chopped

1 can beef stock (or 1 cup water plus 1 beef bouillon cube or 1 Tbsp. bouillon granules)

Place flour and pepper in 1 gallon zippered bag.  Shake to mix.  Add stew meat into bag, reseal, and shake to coat stew meat well.  Reopen bag and add in remaining ingredients.   Squeeze out air, and seal. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.  If this seems a bit thin/watery, remove the lid from the crock pot, turn the crock on high, and cook another hour to allow some of the water to evaporate. Serve over noodles or rice.

Pepper Steak

2-3 pounds beef stew meat (See earlier post regarding saving on meat)

½ cup flour

1 tsp. pepper

1 large onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic (I use the already-minced garlic and use 2-3 teaspoons)

2 green/bell peppers, cut in strips

2 14 oz. cans Italian or plain diced tomatoes with ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 cubes beef bouillon or 2 Tbsp. beef bouillon granules

4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. Montreal/Canadiansteak seasoning

2 Tbsp. A1 steak sauce

Place flour and pepper in zippered freezer bag.  Shake to mix.  Add stew meat and shake to coat pieces thoroughly.  Add remaining ingredients, remove air, and seal.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 6-8.  Serve over noodles or rice.  

Michelle's Freezer to Crock Pot Chili

I dearly love a hot bowl of chili on a cold night.  While it's not been all that cold lately, it's been cool enough that I've just wanted something hot and spicy for a meal.

I've made this chili numerous ways.  I'm posting this recipe not because it's anything special but instead to talk about making freezer-to-crock pot items and to also talk about substitutions.

For crock pot meals, I make recipes based on a 5 quart crock pot. 

Michelle's Chili 

1 to 1.5 pounds ground beef, browned, drained, and rinsed*

1 to 2 14.5 oz. cans of kidney beans drained and rinsed**

1 to 2 packets of chili seasoning (enough to season 2 pounds ground beef)***

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1to 2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (we like hot, but adjust to your taste)****

1 4 oz can diced green chiles (optional; this makes it very hot)

Brown the ground beef until there is no pink, drain, and rinse thoroughly to remove fat.  To freeze, place ground beef and remaining ingredients into a bowl and stir thoroughly to combine.  Spoon into a 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag.  Squeeze all air out, seal, and place in freezer.

For crock pot chili, remove frozen chili from freezer.  Run hot water over exterior of bag in order to loosen enough to remove the block from the bag.  Place in crock pot and cover.  Cook on high 2-3 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

If you wish to just cook this in a pot, then return ground beef to pot and add remaining ingredients.  Simmer on low for about 30 minutes.  Add water as needed to keep chili from burning or becoming too thick. 


*This is up to you, but I recommend draining and rinsing the meat, even if it is extra lean.  Because you may be putting this in a crock pot, more fat will cook out in the process, and if you do not drain and rinse it thoroughly, you might find your chili with a little too much grease floating on the top.

** Substitution alert:  Substitute any canned cooked bean you like such as pinto, black, or even navy beans. Just make sure the beans are drained and rinsed.  I say 1-2 cans because some beans are bulkier than others.  Put one can in, eyeball the chili, and then decide if you want another can of beans. We like 2 but less is OK.  Any bean will work, and you might find an interesting combination that you like even better than the original recipe.  Different types of beans also make the dish more visually appealing.

***I use Williams Chili Seasoning, but it may be a regional thing that is not available to you.  The Williams Original Chili seasoning is made to season 2 pounds of ground beef.  Use whatever you like, just make sure it seasons 2 pounds of beef. My pet peeve is to find a great recipe but it contains some obscure ingredient that makes cooking not worth it.

****I use Ro-Tel tomatoes, but again this might be regional.  You can use any brand that is canned with chopped green chiles.  As a substitute, you can use one can of diced tomatoes in juice, 1 tsp. onion flakes, and about 1 tablespoon canned diced green chiles.

Freezer to Crock Pot Cooking

A month or two ago I discovered freezer to crock pot cooking, and it has been life changing for me.

I tend to be on the frugal side and believe in trying to conserve resources any way possible. Some would call me a tightwad. I just call it being innovative.

Freezer to crock pot cooking appealed to me because I could prepare meals ahead of time, freeze them, and then the day I needed them, dump them in the crock pot and go. My family and I could come home to a hot meal that didn't require a lot of effort.

I check my local grocery store, Homeland, weekly to see what deals they have. Last week I found hamburger meat marked down, and I bought it!!

Now it was time to come up with some things to make.

Some meats can be frozen raw with recipes, but generally hamburger meat cannot because of the fat content. The meat must be cooked first and then added to recipes. Using the freezer to crock pot method, I looked at some recipes and decided to make them crock pot friendly.

I made:
 Two batches of tater tot casserole base.
 One batch of Mexican casserole base.
Two batches of taco meat.
One batch of Italian-seasoned meat.

I froze the remaining meat to be used for hamburger patties in the future.

My next few posts will provide the recipes for the above casseroles.