Freezer Cooking With Crock Pots and Other Food Related Discussion

photo credit "Mama and Baby Love"

So I came across these freezer meals you can put right into your crockpot....I thought...how awesome! You bag up some meals and the day you want to make them, you get them out of the freezer, defrost a bit and dump into the crock pot. I really think I am going to try this. I found some great recipes and helpful hints and tips here at Mama and Baby Love and also here at The Krazy Coupon Lady.

 I read reviews and concerns that went both ways on this type of freezing and cooking

•  placing raw meat in the bags with the rest of ingredients - I think this is ok...it is going straight to the freezer - hey I ate dirt as a kid....I am still here....
• the veggies may get mushy and the sweet potatoes might taste like the carrots, visa versa....I don't know....I think if you don't let them get freezer burnt and use the bags within a month it should be ok and still taste fresh?
• not blanching the veggies - sort of same as the above....
• too much sodium using the recipes with cream of ... soups....for those with sodium issues, I think there are reduced sodium soups??? OR....just don't make those recipes and/or find a substitution 

Now, I do not like to leave the crock pot on while I am at work. We have 2 older models and I am just not comfortable leaving it on even if on low. That is just me and one of my quirks. I will though leave it on overnight while we sleep as we do have smoke detectors if that makes any sense.
These would make great Saturday and Sunday meals as well as covered dish meals, my day off meals, and just having them on hand for a "just in case" meal. So, if I made about 8-10 of them up a month, it would cover most of those days. Also, I don't want to have one every night as we do like other types of food for supper.

• breakfast for dinner - bacon/sausage with egg sandwiches/omelets and maybe some pancakes
• chicken ceasar salads
• pork chops, stuffing and either buttered noodles/mashed potatoes and a steamed veggie
• oven baked chicken  with the above side dishes - love a crispy skin (yes we eat the skins here...)
• Tacos!
• Fish - broiled, fried or baked - either will do
• Seafood - broiled, fried or baked as well.

You know, things like that. Although there are other things I could make in the crock pot with simple easy prep that I don't have to pre freeze, but most of these I make on the stove top in a dutch oven.

• ham/green beans and potatoes (all mixed together with some onion added) - ( I use ham hocks )
• soups - potato or veggie 
• chili
• pork and sauerkraut ( I slow roast this in the oven or crock pot - depends on my mood and the day)

Those are just an example of things we like to have for supper.

Our diet changes over the summer - we do more grilled meat, steamed/grilled veggies, pasta salads, fruit salads - things like that. 

With all of that said, I will still try the freezer to crock pot method for a portion of our meal preparation as I see it has many benefits. 

I can pick 4-5 recipes per month, purchase the items to make at least 8 of them (2 of each), peel, chop, bag and freeze and those meals are ready to go. 

So far my favorite ones that I saw were

• BBQ chicken
• Brown sugar chicken
• Beef sandwiches
• Goulash

I have also googled freezer to crock pot recipes and found others for beef stew and other fun meals. 

One last thing about crock pot cooking - I found a great idea to wrap potatoes in foil and place in crock pot and slow cook - this would be great for a family/freinds baked potato bar topping night! Use smaller potatoes so everyone can have more than one with different toppings! Everyone bring a topping to share and all you have is supply the baked potatoes! Hmm....Mom....you reading this? Lets do this one family supper night.....