8 crock pot freezer meals - DONE!

I found this link on pinterest and decided to try it.

Yesterday I did the shopping, made the soup for dinner, we're having the roast today.  It's in the crockpot as I type!  The only thing is I went to three stores and could not find beef consomme. So I used brown gravy mix. :/

I'm killing two, maybe three, birds with one stone by eating healthier, saving money and time.

It really took about an hour to get these ready.  My kids helped so of course it took longer.  Just kidding. :)  They actually helped organize it while my hands were all covered in chicken juice. Eww!

I don't know that we'll eat all of these in one week, but I love having options on days that are busy and MANY of our days are busy!

I picked up this cookbook at the grocery store check out counter.

I'm trying out a few recipes and thought I would review them here as I go along.

The first one I made was the Southwestern Casserole. It made 2 casseroles.  There was plenty! I cooked one and froze the other.  The ingredients are familiar but I made a few substitutions.  I always seem to make substitutions.  I only had one can of tomatoes, and we don't like kidney beans so I added Ranch Style Beans. If you can't get these where you live I'm sorry :(.  But I guess "chili beans" would do.  I didn't rinse them as they recipe stated for the kidney beans.  Since I didn't have that extra can of tomatoes, I figured it needed the moisture.  I ended up adding just a little water.  Overall it was a great taste!  We liked it.  I'm thinking you could even add corn if you like it.  I like corn but my hubby's not keen on it, so I probably will never add it.

We also made this spaghetti casserole.  Oh my!  It was soooo yummy!  I will definitely be making this one again! 4 stars!  Even the hubby had seconds and he's not a spaghetti guy.

I liked the enchilada lasagna. Again I made some substitutions.  I used chicken, next time I will use beef.  I think the chicken just didn't give it enough oompf.

That's all we've tried so far.  I hope to try several more recipes.  There are some really good ones in there!

Cooking ahead

Sometimes called freezer cooking or batch cooking, whatever it's called I enjoy doing it! If you are trying to eat healthy, save money by not buying convenience foods and stop eating out it's the only way to go.

These are all in my freezer ready to go:

• WW Friendly apple cinnamon Pancakes
• Healthier French toast(I used egg whites and some flax seed mixed with water, only a little yolk, cooked on the griddle with butter flavor cooking spray)
• Crispy chicken strips (I make strips instead of drumsticks)
• Grilled chicken
• Pigs in a blanket (diced up turkey smoked sausage and WW 2-point biscuit recipe)
• Breadcrumbs for recipes
• Chopped up onion, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper
• Vegetable Broth for using in recipes
• Black Beans (made in my crock pot)
• Chick Peas (made in my crock pot)
• Browned ground turkey w/onions

I may make some pinto beans and black-eyed peas in my crock pots today and add them to the freezer as well.

Actually as I was looking in my freezer just now, there really isn't anything in there that I didn't make, except for some purchased frozen vegetables. That's a good feeling!

Having these foods ready to go in case something comes up and I can't make dinner saves us from eating out, keeps us on budget and keeps us from making bad food choices.

Planning is the key!

Bulk Cooking

I don't like once a month cooking, but I kind of like once a week cooking. Who knew?

Tonight I made -

• Taco Salad (We ate that for supper)
• Sausage/Egg/Cheese Breakfast burritos
• Sausage/Egg/Cheese English Muffin Sandwiches (Last week I made bacon)
• Roasted Chicken Legs (I used "light" margarine instead of butter)
• Crispy Chicken Strips (I used chicken breasts instead of drums)
• Grilled Chicken Breasts to use in recipes later in the week
• I cooked up a pound of ground turkey to use in a casserole

Now we have some quick easy (healthy) breakfasts and suppers for next week.

No excuses for eating out!

Bulk Cooking

I tried the once-a-month cooking one time.  Didn't like it.  But what I do like is doing a little "bulk" cooking every couple of weeks.

What I do:

• Chop, slice and dice up all the veggies for veggie trays or cooking
  
• Grill the chicken breasts
  
• Brown the ground beef/turkey that will be for casseroles etc
  
• Make meatballs or meatloaf or patties
  
• Roast some veggies for later
  
• Make pancakes or french toast
  

This is what I store the meats in after cooking. My mom bought it for me.  I think maybe for my birthday??? I can't remember.  I wouldn't have bought it myself but since she did, I use it!  I like it!  I can grill chicken breasts, put them in one of these bags, freeze them, take out what I need and reseal it!  They're fun to use and help cut down on waste.

Yesterday I did all the slicing and dicing.

Today I cooked all the meat and have 2lbs of pinto beans in the crockpot.

I only spent a couple of extra hours in the kitchen.  Now my recipes will be quick and easy to prepare this week. Yay!