Here's the finished product! My bags looked like they had a lot more in them than some of the pictures I saw from other bloggers - probably because my girls tend to consume the volume of a small football team, so I packed them full of veggies and more meat than the recipes called for. If you have teens in your house - this should be enough for a family of four. If you have little ones, you can omit a couple of pieces of meat and make your veggies go a little farther. (Or - send some leftovers to work with the hubby!) This took me about 3 hours of prep time (with my girls chopping veggies), not including the trip to the store (or the trips up and down the stairs to drag everything in - phew!) LOL! I must credit various editions of these recipes to pinterest.com - and I'm presuming mamaandbabylove.com was the original inspiration - but there have since been many variations. Here's one more for you!
Here's what you'll be making:
Savory Vegetable Beef Soup
Teriyaki Chicken
Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast
BBQ Chicken
Beef Stew
Here's your shopping list:
Some staples you probably already have in your kitchen (but will need to pick up if you don't):
basil, paprika, thyme, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, white sugar, olive oil, garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar, mustard and teriyaki sauce.
Don't forget to buy a box of freezer bags - I used 9 of them, and since you'll be putting liquid into the bags, I prefer the kind with the little plastic doo-hickey that you slide back and forth and actually "feel" it locking. (I'm sure you can tell why, so I won't share that story.) ;-)
And now, for my favorite part of this whole process... AN ORGANIZED GROCERY LIST! YAY... no more wandering aimlessly around the store hopelessly searching for bread crumbs! (Which you won't need for these recipes, anyhow... but still!)
FRESH PRODUCE:
(3-4) Green Bell Peppers
(1-2) Red Bell Peppers
(1) Zuccini
(1) Red Onion
(1) Bag of Onions (You'll need 8-10 onions)
(1) Bag of Potatoes (I bought red) (You'll need 14-16 small potatoes)
(1) Large bag of Whole Carrots
(1) Large bag of Baby Carrots
(1) Bunch Celery
(2) Heads of Garlic
MEAT:
5-6 pounds of Chicken Breasts (I bought the family pack and an extra pack of 4. We love chicken.)
3-4 pounds of Beef Stew Meat (Use more if you have teenagers!)
4 pound Chuck Roast
1-2 pounds Ground Beef
FRUIT AND VEGGIES/JUICES:
(1) Bag of Frozen Cut Green Beans (You will need at least two cups)
(2) 20 oz cans of Pineapple Chunks
(2) 15 oz cans Tomato Sauce
(2) 6 oz cans Tomato Paste
(1) 28 oz can Diced Tomatoes
(1) 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes
(1) Can V8 Juice (the size of a regular soda can) I bought a six pack - and drank some while we cooked! LOL...
(1) Can of Beef Broth
BAKING SUPPLIES/SPICES/PASTA:
(1) Bag/box of your family's favorite rice - to make two dinner portions
(1) Bag Egg Noodles
(1) Small Box of (Quick Cook) Tapioca (look right above the pudding/jello ;-)
(2) Boxes Beef Broth packets (or one large box of liquid beef broth
Steak Rub - your favorite kind of dry rub will work
Here's something similar to what you'll end up with on your kitchen counter....
Now you're ready to get cookin'! First, pull out 9 freezer bags and label them (with today's date, so you remember when you prepared them) accordingly: (Be sure to write the cooking instructions on each bag PRIOR to filling them.)
(2) Bags: Savory Vegetable Beef Soup (Place in crock pot with 1 1/2 cups water and 15 oz. beef broth. Cook on LOW 8 hours.)
(2) Bags: Teriyaki Chicken (Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to mixture. Cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 8 hours.) Serve over rice.
(2) Bags: Healthy BBQ Chicken (Cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 8 hours. Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.)
(2) Bags: Beef Stew (Cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 8 hours. Add 1/2 cup Sour Cream about 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over Egg Noodles.)
(1) Bag: Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast (Place onion slices on bottom of crock pot, roast on top of onions. Cook on LOW 8 hours.) Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
PREPARE YOUR MEAT:
First, brown the beef so it has time to cool while you chop veggies. After browning each set of meat, I put it in a bowl to cool and set it aside so I could reuse my seasoned skillet.
1.) Chop one onion and two garlic cloves and brown your ground beef with the onions and garlic (and a little olive oil to help it cook).
2.) In a heated skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil in it, brown (at a high temp) the beef stew meat until nice and toasty brown on all sides. (I cut my stew meat into smaller cubes before frying it.) Do not cook it all the way through - just brown the outside.
3.) Get your skillet and olive oil nice and hot again and add your chuck roast. I seasoned mine with some steak rub and garlic salt, but you don't have to. Brown both sides well. DO NOT wash your skillet out... you'll use this seasoning and juice for the gravy sauce for the roast... so YUMMY!
4.) Chicken does not need to be browned or cooked at all, and can simply be rinsed, patted dry and added to your bags. It will season better if not pre-cooked. You can, however, chop the chicken breasts in half, if you so desire.
CHOP VEGGIES AND FILL THOSE BAGS!
Okay, now you're ready to grab your favorite cutting board and knife and chop some veggies!
To simplify the measuring process, I chopped and loaded each bag as I went, so I was certain to have enough for each recipe. Here's how I did it.
Teriyaki Chicken (2 bags)
1.) Split a large bag of Baby Carrots between the 2 bags (no need to chop them, they'll be soft!)
2.) Cut Red Onion into large chunks and split between 2 bags
3.) (1) 20 oz can of Pineapple chunks in each bag (undrained)
4.) (2) Garlic Cloves (chopped) in each bag
5.) (4) Chicken Breasts in each bag (use two for smaller families)
6.) 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce in each bag (I used Kikkoman)
Savory Vegetable Beef Soup (2 bags)
1.) You have already chopped an onion and some garlic and browned it with the ground beef, right? If cooled, divide this mixture between the two bags. If not, add when cooled.
2.) (2) Whole Carrots - chopped per bag
3.) (3) Celery Stalks chopped per bag
4.) (4) Red Potatoes chopped per bag
5.) (1) can V8 split between bags
6.) (1) 28 oz can Diced Tomatoes split between bags
7.) (1) cup frozen Green Beans in each bag
8.) 1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce per bag
9.) 1/2 cup Beef Broth per bag
10.) (1) TBSP Parsley per bag
11.) (1) tsp Basil per bag
12.) 1/2 tsp Thyme per bag
13.) 1/2 tsp Salt per bag
14.) 1/2 tsp Pepper per bag
15.) (1) TBSP Sugar per bag (I omitted this - but it was in the original recipe, so I'm listing it.)
Healthy BBQ Chicken (2 bags)
1.) (2) Green Peppers sliced - split between bags
2.) (2) Red Peppers sliced - split between bags
3.) (1-2) Zucchini chopped and split between bags
4.) (3) Onions chopped and split between bags
5.) (6) Potatoes chopped and split between bags (I used 5 per bag, since I used Red Potatoes. You can substitute Sweet Potatoes, for a Southern touch!)
6.) (4) Garlic Cloves chopped and split between bags
7.) 4-8 Chicken Breasts (you can cut them in half, if you so desire) split between bags
8.) 1/2 TBSP Tapioca (uncooked) per bag
9.) (1) 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce split between bags
10.) (1) TBSP Brown Sugar per bag
11.) (1) TBSP Worcestershire Sauce per bag
12.) (1) TBSP Mustard per bag
13.) 1/4 tsp Salt per bag
Beef Stew (2 bags)
1.) (1 or 2) Green Pepper(s) chopped and split between bags
2.) (1) Chopped onion per bag
3.) (3) Chopped Carrots per bag (I used 4 per bag)
4.) (4) Chopped Garlic Cloves split between bags
5.) (2) 6 oz can Tomato Paste - one in each bag
6.) (2) tsp Paprika per bag
7.) 1/4 tsp Pepper per bag
8.) Add your cooled Beef Stew Meat - split between bags
9.) One can Beef Broth (can be added to crock pot upon thawing, instead of placed in freezer bag)
Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast (1 Bag) (http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/01/how-to-make-pot-roast-in-crockpot.html) I adapted mine from this recipe, but you can see the whole lowfat method here.
1.) Heat up your unwashed skillet with the seasons left from browning your meat and add 1 cup beef broth. Simmer until reduced to about half the liquid volume. Add 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar and simmer until broth thickens, scraping seasoning from bottom of pan as you go. Finally, stir in (1) 15oz can of Diced Tomatoes (drained) and simmer until it cooks down, about 5 minutes. Let cool before adding to bag.
2.) Place your browned (and cooled) roast into the bag.
3.) (3-4) Onions - sliced into thick rings - place in bag.
4.) Once cooled, add skillet sauce into the bag.
VOILA! YOU DID IT! (Unless you're just reading this and not actually doing it, of course!) ;-)
Here's what mine looked like all bagged up and ready to freeze:
Once ALL INGREDIENTS are in freezer bags, push all the air out and seal them. Lay them flat so they freeze in stacks. Once frozen, you can rearrange them. Take one (or two, depending on your family's size) out the night before you want to cook it and let it thaw in the fridge.
Here's my freezer... right after I put them in there.
We'll use two bags if we have company, but if not, we'll use just one and have a second one to cook a couple of weeks later. :-)
I will post an update on what I would change (if anything) about each recipe, once we try them all. Might be three or four weeks, though!
Now... off to make some Homemade Dishwasher Detergent! Will post that soon! Let me know what you think about your slow cooker meals and what you did differently - I'm always interested to see how everyone's tastes differ. Happy slow cooking!
