Freezer Prep For Crock Pot Meals

 Who couldn't use a few extra meals in their freezer, assembled and all ready to thaw out and pop into the crock pot? I spent yesterday doing just that. Lots of chopping, bagging, and washing dishes later, I was left with 11 meals (plus one in the crock pot cooking away so I didn't have to cook after all of that. LOL) and 3 bags (9 cups) of chicken stock.

The meals I chose were fairly easy to throw together, were fairly inexpensive, and only one required cooking anything ahead of time. (Tho the pot roast I had simmering away in the crock pot also served as lunch the next day after I transformed the leftovers into a delicious pot roast soup)

I wound up with:

• 2 meals worth of Sloppy Tamale Bake
• 2 meals worth of Enchilada Wrap Fixins'
• 2 meals worth of Italian Style Sausage and Peppers
• 1 meal worth of Steak Fajita fixins' 
• 1 meal worth of Chicken Tortilla Soup
• 1 meal worth of Chicken Salsa
• 1 meal worth of Chicken and Quinoa Skillet
• 9 cups of homemade Chicken Stock
• And the batch of Pot Roast Soup from the leftovers

What I used/did:
**For Enchilada Wraps, please click the name and it will bring you to the site where the recipe is located. Great stuff on that site, too!** I also stored everything in gallon sized Ziploc Freezer Bags. I recommend removing the bag you want to cook from, the night before, and placing it into a bowl in your fridge to thaw overnight. It helps when doing this to do everything "like" at once, so you aren't running around, going back and forth like a chicken with it's head cut off! (chop all veggies at once, slice any meats needed at once, etc)

Italian Sausage and Peppers:

• 3 lbs of sausage (I used chicken sausage because it's what I had on hand, but I usually use Turkey Sausage), sliced into rounds
• 2 jars of Organic Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• Parmesan Cheese to top with when cooked

1. Take TWO of the gallon freezer bags and place into each one, 1/2 of the sausage, 1 jar os spaghetti sauce, and 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning. 
2. Squish it all together, squeeze air out and seal bag. Freeze.
3. When ready to cook it, simply take it out of the freezer and put the bag into a bowl in the fridge to thaw overnight. 
4. Pour contents into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Serve on rice, noodles, or cauliflower rice and top with parmesan cheese.

Salsa Chicken:

• However many chicken breasts you need for your family (I usually use 4 large ones for this)
• 1 large jar of Organic salsa
• Mexican Blend shredded cheese to top with when cooked

1. Place chicken and salsa in ONE of the gallon freezer bags and squish it all up. Remove air and freeze.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before to thaw as mentioned above.
3. Place contents into crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high of 4 hours.
4. When the chicken is done, shred the chicken and place into a baking dish. Top with some shredded Mexican (or Cheddar Cheese) and bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes or just until cheese is melted.

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1) 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of onion, chopped
• 1 cup bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Add everything to ONE freezer storage bags. Let out air and squish it up a bit to combine. Freeze.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before and place in fridge to thaw.
3. Pour contents into crock pot and cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours.
4. When done cooking, shred the chicken in the crock pot.
5. Serve it up and top each serving with a little shredded Mexican Blend cheese and crispy tortilla strips

Easy Steak Fajitas:

• 1.5 to 2 lbs of steak, sliced into strips
• 1 onion, sliced into strips
• 2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1.5 oz package of Fajita seasoning (I use an organic mix)
• tortillas to serve on
• cheese, lettuce, tomatoes or whatever you like to eat on your Fajitas

1. Place everything into ONE freezer storage bag. Let out air, seal and squish to combine.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before to thaw in fridge.
3. Place contents of bag in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. 
4. Serve on tortillas with desired fixins'.

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet:

• 4 to 5 chicken thighs
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash Extra Spicy mix
• 3/4 cup of chicken stock
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of pre rinsed, dry (uncooked) quinoa
• parmesan cheese to top with

1. Place all ingredients, EXCEPT the quinoa, into ONE freezer storage bag. Let air out, seal and squish a bit to combine. Freeze.
2. When ready to use, take out of freezer the night before to thaw. Place contents of bag into crock pot. Add the quinoa and give it a little stir to mix.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4, until chicken is done.
4. Top with a little parmesan cheese and serve.