Hope Comerford - Fix-It and Forget-It Slow Cooker Freezer Meals 150 Make-Ahead Dinners, Desserts, and More!

For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Good Books, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or . Good Books is an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.goodbooks.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design by Mona Lin Cover photo by Bonnie Matthews Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-390-5 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-392-9 Printed in China Table of Contents Welcome to Fix-It and Forget-It Freezer Meals About four years ago, I ordered a freezer meal workshop kit. My hope was to have some meals ready to go when life got hectic.

I took the time one weekend to assemble all ten meals in the kit, then stuck them in my freezer to cook at a later date. It took me a couple hours that day to assemble them, but I was left with ten assembled meals I could pull out of the freezer whenever I needed and cook when I was ready! I LOVED how convenient it was! All that prep work, done at once, was a not so bad. Ive attended several other freezer meal workshops since and always assemble at least twenty meals to keep in my freezer for our super busy times of the year. This got me thinking why not put together my own freezer meal cookbook?! So, I did! In this book, youll find 150 freezer meal recipes that you can prepare ahead of time in freezer bags and then pull out of the freezer when youre ready to cook them. Sometimes everything youll need will be right in the bag. milk, rice or quinoa, sour cream, etc.), but that will be noted for you in the recipe instructions. milk, rice or quinoa, sour cream, etc.), but that will be noted for you in the recipe instructions.

I generally pull out two or three freezer meals each week to cook. You may have a larger family, so you might pull out four to seven meals. Do what works best for your family. This book is designed for just about anyone! Whether youre busy, you like to plan ahead, or just like things ready to go! So, lets get preppin and pack that freezer full of goodness! How Does This Book Work? Each recipe is laid out in a specific fashion. First of all, youre given a glance at how many the recipe will serve, how long it will take you to prep the ingredients, and what size slow cooker would be best for the recipe. Following that, youll have the following format: Ingredients Needed at Time of Preparation: These are the ingredients that will go into the freezer bag.

Preparation Instructions: These are the instructions youll need to assemble the ingredients in the bag. Youll notice that the preparation instructions will always tell you to remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible before sealing. There is more information on this in the next section, so keep reading. Information for Freezer Bag: Everything below this heading will be what will occur when you are ready to cook your freezer meal, and will be the information needed on your bag if you so choose. I suggest printing off the label by visiting http://x.co/FIFILabel. Your other options are to handwrite the instructions on the bag with a permanent marker, or to just write the title of the recipe and page number on the bag with permanent marker so you can refer back to this book once the contents of your bag have thawed.

Having this information affixed to the bag is incredibly convenient, so I strongly suggest the first option. Needed at Time of Cooking/Serving: These are the additional ingredients youll need to either quickly finish preparing the recipe, use later in the recipe, or items youll need at the time of serving. Serving Suggestion: Sometimes its nice to have some suggestions on how to serve what youre cooking. Youll find these throughout the book. Instructions: These are the cooking instructions for when youre ready to cook your freezer meal. Notice that every recipe will instruct you to thaw the bag completely before cooking.

Always thaw in a refrigerator, or in another safe manner. Tip: Occasionally you will run across a tip that will make the recipe easier, or change it up a bit. We hope you find them helpful! A Guide to Freezer Meals Set aside an afternoon or morning to make 1020 meals at a time. Even though it sounds like a daunting task, this book will make the process a cinch. Make a list of the recipes you want to make, then get excited! You may even consider making multiple batches of certain meals. This is going to make your life easier in the long run! Make a shopping list for the recipes youre going to make.

Look at all the ingredient lists for the recipes youve chosen. As you write them down, categorize your list to make shopping a breeze! I love that I can grab all the ingredients I need quickly when Im preparing freezer meals because all of my produce, meats, seasonings, etc. are grouped together on the list. Be sure to check in your pantry to see what you already have so you dont buy more than you need. Buy precut veggies if you can. This will cut down on some of your prep time, but probably wont save you money.

I like to buy precut mushrooms because I know they take a lot of prep work and I can easily find them presliced. If you cant buy or find precut veggies, save some time by using your food processor. This makes chopping all the onions SO much easier! Have a butcher prepare your meat for you. Just call ahead and let them know exactly what and how much you need. They may even give you a discount, all while preparing your meats just the way you need them. Have lots of freezer bags on hand.

You will need gallon-sized storage bags for the most part for this book. I buy them in bulk so I always have plenty on hand. If youre not a freezer bag user, then use good freezer-safe containers. Make sure to label all of your freezer bags well. Always put the date youve prepared the bag on them so you know how long its been in the freezer. Print off the instructions by visiting http://x.co/FIFILabel for each recipe and affix them to the bags.

This will save you a lot of time and energy! Be sure to thaw your freezer meals completely before cooking unless its otherwise noted in the instructions. You will need 24 hours or more in your refrigerator to defrost them. Help to avoid freezer burn by removing as much of the air as you can from your freezer bags. Little coffee stirrer straws can help you get most of the air out. Insert the straw in the center of the bags opening (being careful not to touch the raw ingredients) and while youre sucking the air out, close the bag tightly around it, then slide the straw out and finish sealing. If you have a vacuum sealer, you may even consider that route.

For best results, use your freezer meals up within 46 months of freezing. What if you want to make the meal now and freeze it later? Ive included some freezing tips just in case for you in the next section. Freezing Tips So, what if you want to make these meals and then freeze them? Honestly, its easy! You cook them, cool them, then freeze them! Here are my tips: Always let food cool completely to room temperature; cool in the refrigerator and then freeze. Be sure your food is in a freezer-safe bag or storage container and is tightly sealed. You want to remove as much air as possible prior to freezing. Make sure to label all of your freezer bags well.