Freezer meals!

I love freezer meals! Who doesn't? I do this from time-to-time, whenever the mood strikes. Or whenever I'm over run with vegetables fresh from my garden. Hooray for fresh veggies! I recently tried the following new recipes. I had not planned on doing a big batch, so I didn't think to photograph my successes. Next time.

I'll update here as I pull them out, and let you know how they turned out!

Chocolate zucchini muffins (Uh oh! Cannot find this recipe!)

Crock pot chicken in a hurry (with wings and thighs)

Crock pot chicken cacciatore
Result: It's not the fanciest recipe so I wasn't expecting too much, but I was still pretty disappointed. I used veggies fresh from my garden, and my favourite tomato sauce (I haven't canned my own yet). It smelled awesome but it was really bland. 2/3 girls liked it, which is great, but I'll pass next time.

Crock pot marinated pork
Crock pot pork loin and veggies

Crock pot italian turkey soup
Result: Delicious! We're not big bean-eaters, but everyone at this up! Addison asked for seconds! I made it according to directions, and froze in two freezer bags. I served one bag at a time, and it was not enough. Next time I will double it and use two bags as one serving.

I also froze six cups of caramelized onions, an additional ten cups of shredded zucchini, and made amazingly awesome delicious yummy lemon zucchini loaf. The latter, however, did not make it to the freezer before it was eaten entirely. This may have happened twice. I've heard it freezes well. I need to try again when I'm home alone, so my family can't sneak in.

Slow cooker BBQ ribs

I don't cook ribs often, but this recipe is fantastic. There was a fair amount of sauce leftover that could easily be used for grilling.

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Servings: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 7 hours 10 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Crock pots recipes are fool proof
Variations: We were out of hot sauce, so I omitted that.
Source: Allrecipes

4 pounds pork baby back ribs
2 cups ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot sauce

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place ribs in shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.

In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs and turn to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until ribs are tender.

 

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

Mine didn't look as pretty as the picture online, but it tasted great! I like using the Slow Cooker when it's super hot outside, so we don't have to heat the house.

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

Servings: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Throw in the crock pot and let it cook. Easy!
Variations: Change up the pasta, cheese, and pasta sauce
Source: Tablespoon

1 (15 ounce) container part-skim Ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ziti pasta
2 jars of pasta sauce
2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped basil leaves
2/3 cup water

In a medium bowl, combine all three cheeses and the salt. In another bowl, pour the pasta sauce and stir to combine if using different flavours.

Pour ziti into colander and rinse with cold water allowing water to stick to the pasta.

Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray.

Pour half of the pasta in an even layer on the bottom of the crock pot. Pour half of the sauce on top. Evenly distribute half of the cheese mixture on top of the sauce. Repeat again, layering pasta, sauce, and cheese mixture. Sprinkle the chopped basil on top.

Pour water into slow cooker and place lid on top. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until pasta is tender.

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacoes

I love tacoes.

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacoes
Servings: 4
Time: 4-6 hours
Ease of difficulty: Crock pot = easy
Variations: I completely omitted the pepper
Source: Gimme Some Oven

1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds beef (boneless chuck roast)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Flour tortillas
Favorite taco toppings

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. Once the oil is hot (it will shimmer a bit in the skillet), place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side.

Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker. Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the slow cooker, and mix into the shredded beef.

Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I love my crock pot.

Servings: 4
Time: 4-6 hours
Ease of difficulty: As easy as it gets. Throw three things in the crock pot and let it do its thing.
Variations:
Source: Real Mom Kitchen

• 6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
• 1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
• 10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
• 5 Tablespoons real butter
• 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 cloves roasted garlic (directions are below)
• 1- 1 1/2 Cups warm milk
• 1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. I put a little parsley on top to serve.

I didn't make the delicious-sounding potatoes that are listed with this recipe, but I will as soon as parmesan cheese goes on sale! The pork was great with whipped garlic potatoes. Even Addison loved it! Added bonus!