Hawaiian Chicken Freezer Meal

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever!

If you've been checking in on me you know I've been fixing up more crock pot freezer meals for two. If you like what you see and have more mouths to feed, go ahead, double or triple the recipe. It's all good.

Hawaiian Chicken Freezer Meal

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vinegar

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice (use what is in the can)

1/4 can of large pineapple chunks

This recipe screams "Make 2 or 4 baggies to freeze" because of the portions above. Besides, when will you use that other 3/4 can of pineapple chunks. Right? :)

Add all ingredients to the bag labeled as such. Freeze. Thaw. Cook in crock pot 2-3 hours on low or until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

The original recipe came from http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/freezer-meal-recipe-crock-pot-hawaiian-chicken/

I really liked this one. I hope you do to.

Linda

Garlic Honey Chicken - crock pot style

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever!

Who doesn't like honey in a recipe. Let's dive right in.

Garlic Honey Chicken 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 cup honey

Feel free to double the sauce if you like.

Add all ingredients to a freezer bag. Freeze. Thaw. Cook on low 2-3 hours or until chicken is done. Serve with your favorite veggie to top it off! Serves 2.

Enjoy!

Linda

Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Mushrooms

New Recipe Wednesday - in search of the best crock pot meal ever.

Ok, I'm busted. You have realized by now how I love to prepare make ahead meals. Let's face it, life gets crazy we have things to do and not all of us love spending all day in the kitchen. I'd much rather be crafting, sewing or searching through flea markets for my newest treasure. So while the weather is cold, let's enjoy some freezer meals that are sure to please.

First up Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Mushrooms

This recipe will be serving the newlywed or empty nester. If your family has more mouths to feed simply double or triple.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 pear sliced

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

Place all ingredients in a labeled zipper bag. Freeze. Thaw. Cook in crock pot on low for 2-4 hours or until chicken is done. 

Enjoy!

Linda

Meat Stew and Bean Stew - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Meals for Two

Yes we are close to the end of this series. As I have mentioned before all I did was take the recipes from Mixing with Michelle and cut them down to feed two people. These meals are geared to be healthy and portion controlled. These last two are both stews and in my opinion are both good. So go ahead and buy all the ingredients and make them up on the same day. Enjoy individually later!

Let's start with Meat Stew

1 lb meat (beef, pork or whatever is on sale) cube

1 onion

1/2 acorn squash, cubed

1/2 zucchini, sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 can canned tomatoes
1/2 can beef broth

Put all ingredients in a gallon zip lock bag ( I only had quart size). Freeze. Thaw bag and add contents to crock pot. Cook on low 4 hours or until done. Stir occasionally.

Bean Stew

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry beans, black or pinto, rinsed

1 carrot peeled and finely chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1.5 Tbsp uncooked brown rice

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

black pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients, minus the broth, in a zip lock bag. Freeze. Thaw, add broth and bag to crock pot. Cook on low 4-5 hours. 

As you could see both stews took similar ingredients so why not make both. You'll be one step ahead!

I hope you enjoyed this series. I thought it was really handy to buy ingredients and prep all ten recipes and then freeze as make ahead meals. I also like the portion control. So be healthy and this will make you happy. 

Happy eating! Linda

Sausage and Bean Supper - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

If you haven't noticed these recipes are geared more to a winter time meal. This one will not disappoint. Let's make this entire recipe! It's enough for 2 meals for 2.

Sausage and Bean Supper

1 lb Ground Turkey  - be sure to rinse the meat. I add seasoning to ground turkey to get my sausage flavor
1 Onion Chopped
1 Celery Stalk Chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1.5 tsp Dry mustard
¼ cup sweetner of choice - xylitol
1 can Tomatoes with Chili Peppers
1 can Butter Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

Brown ground turkey and chopped onion. Stir in the seasoning. Let cool. Divide all ingredients into two zip lock bags. Label bags as above. Freeze. Thaw contents of one bag. Cook on low in crock pot for 4 hours. Stir occasionally. You may choose to cook less than 4 hours. Serve with shredded cheese over rice. 

Don't skimp on making the seasoning. It truly is yummy. If you don't want to follow the link to make it, I have provided the recipe below.

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 tsp paprika

2/3 tsp garlic powder

1/3 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix and add to ground turkey as above.

We only have two more recipes in this series to cover. I hope you are not bored with Crock Pot Cooking yet. The beauty of these recipes is that you can make them all ahead and freeze up to a year. When you're in a hurry pull one out and it looks like you've put alot of work into something that took minutes on the day of eating.

Up next...Meat Stew and Bean Stew

Linda

Pork and Veggies - Crock Pot Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Meals for Two

Wow, we are on our 7th recipe of the series. How do you like them? I would love to know. Leave me a comment at the bottom. Until then let's try Pork and Veggies!

Pork and Veggies

1/2  lb Pork Roast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 Onion, chopped
1/2  Green Bell Pepper, sliced
1 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 small acorn squash, cubed

1/4 pound Fresh Mushrooms, sliced

4oz Chicken broth
3/4 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Combine ingredients in a large ziptop bag, freeze. Thaw contents of bag and place in a slow cooker. Cook on low 4 hours. Serve over hot "rice" - ie. riced cauliflower or shredded and steamed cabbage. 

If you're just dropping by I've been sharing some recipes from Mixing with Michelle. You can find the original recipe here. I have cut these recipes down to feed the newlywed or empty nester. They are geared toward smaller portions and a healthy lifestyle. I have really been likely these last several recipes but this one was bland. Maybe you have some suggestions to spice it up? Let me know.

Next Wednesday...Sausage and Bean Supper

Linda

BBQ Chicken - Crock Pot Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

Let's agree, these recipes have gotten better haven't they? And this one won't disappoint either. You're probably still thinking about last weeks Moroccan Beef. But let's dive in.

BBQ Chicken

I live in the heart of the Midwest where BBQ is wildly loved and devoured. This has a little twist to it. I hope you like it as much as we did. 

• 2 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large green pepper, cut into strips or cubes
• 1/2 large red pepper, cut into strips or cubes
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cups chopped onion
• Gluccie to thicken
• 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 15oz cans of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons THM brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground yellow mustard
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced, about 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• Label freezer bag. Mix ingredients and add to freezer bag. On the day of cooking, dump it into your slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker. 

I cannot express enough how handy it is to take all 10 of these recipes, buy all the ingredients then take a day to prep them all! Make ahead meals at its finest. This was a keeper. Enjoy!

Next up...Pork and Veggies

Linda

Moroccan Beef - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

Are you enjoying these recipes in this series? They may be a little different than what you typically put on your menus. I am always ready to try something new. This week...

Moroccan Beef "Healthified"

Yep, you see the label on my bag. This is for the gang to enjoy or make it for yourself and have plenty of leftovers. Just remember, portion control! But if you fear the overeating go ahead and cut the recipe in half. Less temptation.

1/2 cup sliced onion

2 lbs beef roast. (I have to laugh because in the original recipe it says to get grass fed beef) I'm originally from Iowa where we have corn fed beef. LOL

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

Add all ingredients to a gallon size freezer bag labeled appropriately. On cooking day, thaw and place in crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. (depending on your crock pot temp) Shred with a fork and serve over Rice, Cauliflower Rice or in a tortilla. This huge recipe feeds 8.

We thought it was delicious! If you're checking in for the first time in this series start here to get in the groove of what's going on.

Enjoy!

Linda

Jambalaya - Crock Pot Meal for Two

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

The last two weeks have been ho hum. But not this week. This is so good you'll want to make ahead two batches. The recipe below will be split into two bags for two different meals. Let's jump right in.

Jambalaya

1.5 cups chicken broth
2 bell peppers
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large 16oz., can of diced tomatoes (leave in juice)
1 garlic clove, diced
1 bay leaves
11/2 lb large shrimp raw and deveined (optional - I don't add it to mine)
2 ounces chicken diced
1/2 pkg spicy Andouille sausage
1/2 head of cauliflower graded into a fine rice consistency
1 cup okra
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning

Split all ingredients except the chicken broth into 2 zip lock bags.  This recipe makes two meals worth. On the day of cooking add chicken broth and cook on low for 4 hours. Warning!! This is spicy. If you can't handle the heat I would buy a less spicy sausage and go lighter on the Cajun Seasoning.  We loved this one. I hope you do too. Let me know if you have questions.

Next up....Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Rosemary

Linda

Chicken Curry with Cabbage and Peppers

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

Welcome back! I hope you checked in last week and tried my first in the series No Potato Beef Stew - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for two. If not click the link and read a little background on this series. I've taken it from Mixing With Michelle and put my only little spin on it. It is healthy, you may loose a few pounds, and it is geared toward the empty nester or newlyweds. Double the ingredients to make it for 5-6 people but I'm blogging about meals for two. So enjoy!

Chicken Curry with Cabbage and Peppers

1 to1.5 lb boneless chicken, cubed
2 cups milk - I used Almond.
2 tsp curry powder
1 small yellow onions
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2  head of cabbage, chopped

Label you ziplock bag. Add all ingredients minus the milk. Freeze. Cook on low for about 4 hours until done. Add milk during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Ok, confession time. We did not like this one. We labeled it "not a do again". Really was very bland. Even with the curry powder. But I want you to make the call. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Check back with me and we'll make Jambalaya. Spoiler alert! This is a keeper!

Linda

No Potato Beef Stew

New Recipe Wednesday - Crock Pot Freezer Meals for Two

I know some of you have been patiently waiting for this blog. Here it is finally. I'll take every Wednesday in September and October and share a crock pot freezer meal for two.

I really cannot take credit for any of these meals. I did some searching and came across Mixing With Michelle. If you click the link it will take you to her THM Crock Pot Cooking Menu Session 1. She gives you 10 recipes that you can prepare ahead of time and freeze to later make in the crock pot. Her recipes typically feed 5-6 people. The THM stands for Trim Healthy Mama. It is a whole eating plan. You must at some point click the link to read in more detail. But I digress, I typically only cook for two. Whether it be for my husband and I or maybe my youngest son, still living at home and I if hubby is out of town. Now if you couldn't resist and clicked the link you saw that Michelle creates a shopping list for all of these 10 meals. And I thought I'm game, I'll buy all this stuff cut the recipe in half and have 20 freezer meals. It took me that afternoon and the following afternoon with interruptions to prepare all 20 meals. Not bad considering the night before I wanted a meal all I had to do was thaw and the next day throw it in the crock pot. If you want to do it in this fashion, you got it, click the link. In hind site I would have tried some of the meals first to see if we liked them before diving in head first. So I am going to give you a recipe by recipe format. If later you loved what you ate and want to do the shop, prep and freeze for 20 meals go for it. We still have 3 meals in the freezer and I did this last winter. :)

Here we go...

No Potato Beef Stew for 2

1 lb Beef Cubed
1 cup chopped onion
2 large peeled and diced turnips (optional)
1/2 can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried thyme
2 medium carrots chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried parsley
2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
3 cups green beans
1 cup beef broth
salt and pepper as desired

Place all ingredients into a gallon zip lock bag (EXCEPT the broth)  that you have labeled with a sharpie as to what it is. I also added cooking instructions to make life even easier on the day of cooking it.  Freeze bag. On cooking day add broth and cook for 4 hours on low.

I have to tell you, either my crock pots cook at a higher temp than most but I always cook for less time than what the directions suggests. If you can keep an eye on it so as not to overcook it. I rated each recipe after we had eaten it. This one was a little bland. It was just good. Not great. Not excellent. Just good.

This is what my kitchen looked like when I made all 10 recipes, thus 20 meals according to the THM plan. Day 1.

And day 2.

It was fun. But again, I suggest you take the recipes one at a time and taste test first. 

Check in next Wednesday. We'll make Chicken Curry with Cabbage and Peppers. 

Linda