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

ElliesAlley

I've started a new adventure. My Grandma Morris taught me and my sister to sew when we were 8. We made matching tops and scarves for our 4-H project. Got a blue ribbon by the way. Growing up my Grandma Mellinger would wear an apron everyday over her dress. Both Grandmothers loved to garden, freezing or canning what they grew. And, I consider both of them to be very crafty and creative. Which leads me to my new adventure. I've taken my love of sewing and memories of days gone by and created ElliesAlley. 

In my shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElliesAlley  you'll find Aprons and Home Decor. I also have a Facebook page www.facebook.com/ElliesAlley .

Please swing by both sites for the latest apron I've sewn or a new recipe and much more. You may not see new posts on the Lindaloo blog but don't worry. Follow me on Facebook, like my page and feel free to comment. The more you do the more you will see my posts in your feed. Or you can always search for ElliesAlley on Facebook. I'm hoping to reach new and old friends so feel free to share my Facebook posts!

Thanks for checking in on me. 

Linda

Etsy.com/shop/ElliesAlley

www.facebook.com/ElliesAlley

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