Crocktoberfest // Freezer Meals 101

 Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
3 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 chicken breasts cubed
  • 1 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups carrots peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 can pineapple chunks drained
  • 1 red pepper chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • can water chestnuts drained
Instructions
Assembly Instructions:

  1. Combine the cubed chicken breast, teriyaki sauce, water, brown sugar, garlic, carrots, pineapple chunks, red pepper, green pepper, and water chestnuts in a large resealable freezer bag.

  2. Squish to combine.

  3. Remove excess air from the bag, seal the top, and place it in the freezer until you’re ready to start cooking.
Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Pour the bag contents into crockpot. Cook on low for three to four hours.
Oven Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.

  2. Transfer the contents of the bag to a large baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350° and bake uncovered for 50 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Serve over rice.


Pesto Minestrone
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
 
Course: Soup
Keyword: soup
Servings: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups bowtie pasta
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 ribs of celery chopped
  • 3 carrots sliced
  • 1 cup white wine or you can use apple juice
  • 14-19 oz diced tomatoes with juice
  • 19 oz mixed beans
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/4 cup basil pesto
For cooking day:
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
Assembly Instructions:
  1. Place the bowtie pasta in a medium freezer bag

  2. In a separate large freezer bag, add the diced onion, garlic, celery, carrots, white wine, diced tomatoes, mixed beans, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, black pepper, parmesan cheese, and basil pesto.

  3. Squish to combine the ingredients. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Staple the bag of pasta to the large bag above the seal. Freeze.

Stovetop Cooking instructions:
  1. Transfer the minestrone soup ingredients to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.

  2. Pour the contents of the large bag into a stockpot and add four cups of vegetable broth. Cook over medium high heat until the liquid begins to boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes

  3. Add the pasta to the pot and continue to simmer the soup for another 10 minutes, until the pasta is tender, stirring the soup occasionally.
Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

  1. Pour the contents of the large bag into the bowl of the slow cooker and add the vegetable broth. Place the lid on top and cook on low for four to six hours or high for two to three hours.

  2. Stir the pasta into the soup 20 minutes before serving.
Carne Guisada
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
6 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: beef
Servings: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. stew meat cubed
  • 2 serrano peppers seeded and finely chopped (add more if you want more spice)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 5 ½ oz tomato paste
  • 2 ½ cups beef broth
  • ¾ cup water
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
Assembly Instructions:

  1. Combine the ingredients in a large freezer bag. Squeeze the ingredients together to combine the beef with the sauce.

  2. Remove excess air from the bag and seal to close. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.

  2. Pour the ingredients from the freezer bag into your slow cooker and set the crockpot to cook on low for six to eight hours.


BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Broiling
10 mins
Total Time
4 hrs 10 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 lbs. chicken drumsticks
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ¾ cups BBQ sauce divided
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Stir together the paprika, cumin, and salt in a small bowl.
  2. Place the chicken legs in a large freezer bag and add the spice mixture. Shake the bag to coat the chicken legs in the seasoning.
  3. Add the minced garlic and one cup of the BBQ sauce to the bag. Squeeze the bag to combine the ingredients and coat the drumsticks in sauce.

  4. Remove excess air and seal.

  5. Pour the remaining BBQ sauce into a medium freezer bag. Staple the bag to the large bag above the seal. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.

  2. Place the chicken in the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

  3. When the chicken is cooked through, transfer the chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the chicken with half the reserved BBQ sauce.
  4. Place the chicken under the broiler for one to five minutes, until the sauce starts to brown.
  5. Remove the pan from the oven and flip the drumsticks over. Brush with remaining sauce and return the pan to the oven to broil an additional one to five minutes.

How to Make Homemade Sloppy Joes:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 cup onion, chopped finely
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup green pepper, chopped finely
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard powder
  • 1/2 cup chili sauce
  • 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice

For the day of serving:

  • buns

Assembly instructions:

  1. Brown the ground beef.
  2. Put the ground beef in a large resealable freezer bag.
  3. Dump in all the other ingredients.
  4. Squish to combine.
  5. Remove the excess air and seal. Lay flat and freeze.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Cook in a crockpot for 2-3 hours on low or cook in a pot on the stovetop until heated through.
    Serve on regular or gluten-free sliced buns.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Cook in a stovetop pot over medium-low until heated through.
  3. Serve on regular or gluten-free sliced buns.

How to Serve Sloppy Joe Meat

Once you have your sloppy joe meat prepared, you might be wondering what to do with it. There are a variety of ways you can use your meat, giving you a few different options for dinner. That means you can freeze up a few batches and make a new meal every time you reheat it!

  • On a bun. The traditional way to enjoy a sloppy joe is on a bun. Use a regular hamburger bun or grab your favorite gluten-free bun to keep this recipe gluten-free. Try toasting the bun before adding the meat to keep the bread from becoming soggy.
  • Over fries. Bake some crispy French fries, then top them with sloppy joe meat and shredded cheese to enjoy a messy dinner the kids will love.
  • On nachos. Make sloppy joe nachos by spreading the sloppy joe meat over the top of tortilla chips. Top the chips with lots of cheese and enjoy them as a snack or appetizer.
  • In a baked potato. Create a stuffed baked potato with your meat for a quick and filling dinner. Bake your potatoes as usual, then cut a slit in the potato. Add some butter to the potato and loosen the filling. Then, top your potato with cooked sloppy joe meat and cheese.

African Thai Stew
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: African, Thai
Keyword: stew, vegetarian
Servings: 6
Calories: 384 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 large sweet potato cubed
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 1/2 green pepper diced
  • 2 tsp garlic minced
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 19 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 19 oz. can chickpeas
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 2 tsp. fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. lime juice
For cooking day:
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • optional: cilantro
Instructions
Assembly instructions:

  1. Put all ingredients in a large resealable bag and squish them together.

  2. Seal. Remove excess air. Lay flat and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Heat on the stovetop in a large pot for 25 minutes or in the Crock-Pot on low for 4-5 hours.

  3. Stir in 3 Tbsp. peanut butter and if desired, 1⁄4 cup dried cranberries and cook for another few minutes.

  4. Top with cilantro if desired.


Easy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Prep Time
5 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: chicken, chicken cacciatore
Servings: 6
Calories: 274 kcal
Ingredients
  • 3-5 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
  • 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 zucchini coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup onion chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Instructions
Assembly instructions:

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a large, resealable freezer bag.

  2. Dump the other ingredients in the bag.

  3. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze flat.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Dump bag contents into the slow cooker.

  3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Ensure that chicken is cooked through before serving.

  4. Serve over your choice of pasta noodles.

Easy Meatball Subs
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
5 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Servings: 6
Ingredients
  • 32 oz. frozen Italian style meatballs approximately 24 meatballs
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 24 oz. pasta sauce
  • 1 cup mozzarella shredded
  • 2 baguettes
  • 1 cup garlic butter softened
Instructions
Assembly Instructions:
  1. Combine the meatballs with the garlic, Italian seasoning, and pasta sauce in a large resealable freezer bag.

  2. Squish to combine, remove excess air, and seal.

  3. Place the mozzarella cheese in a separate medium freezer bag. Staple the small bag to the large bag above the seal.
  4. Slice the baguettes lengthwise and spread half the garlic butter along the inside of each loaf. Place the loaves back together and cut each one in thirds cross-wise. Transfer the bread to large resealable freezer bags.
  5. Place the bags in the freezer until you’re ready to cook your meatball subs.
Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.

  2. Pour the contents of the bag of meatballs into the slow cooker. Cook on low for five to seven hours.

  3. When ready to serve, place the garlic bread butter side up on a baking dish. Cook under the broiler until toasted.

  4. Arrange the cooked meatballs on one side of the bread and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Place the subs back under the broiler until the cheese is melted, then place the other bread half on top to serve.

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