McNelis - CROCKD Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

Table of Contents

Copyright

Crockd: Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

Copyright 2015 by Kelly McNelis

This book was written to help readers prepare slow cooker freezer meals. The author is not liable for the use or misuse of information provided.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

www.newleafwellness.biz

Kindle Conversion by MelindaMartin.me

About the Author

Dr. Kelly McNelis is a psychologist, blogger, and author of three other cookbooks: No Cook Freezer Meals , 15-Minute Freezer Recipes , and Easy & Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes . Kelly lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, Andy, and their three young daughters, Cameran, Isla, and Caiden. Kelly shares her favorite crockpot recipes and freezer meal prep sessions on her blog, New Leaf Wellness .

PDF Printable Pack

Download a PDF of the grocery list, nutrition information, and printable labels here.

Introduction

I have three young daughters, so I dont have a lot of time to cook. I spend one hour prepping freezer meals on the weekend, and thats all the cooking that I do all week. Instead of cooking, I play with my daughters, go running, and work on my new leaf wellness blog. im excited to share my method of freezing meals with you because I know its going to save you time, stress, and money too. ive taste-tested hundreds of freezer recipes, and Im sharing my familys favorites in this book.

Why Slow Cooker Freezer Meals?

The great thing about slow cooker freezer meals is that they dont require any cooking ahead of time. Simply combine the meats, vegetables, sauces and spices, and freeze!

Since slow cooker freezer meals dont require any cooking ahead of time, theyre very easy and quick to make. Theyre also absolutely delicious because they dont taste like leftovers at all.

While all of the recipes in this book include instructions for freezing before cooking, theres no reason why you cant skip the freezing step and add them right to your slow cooker instead. They will taste exactly the same.

Ready to simplify your life? Lets get started!

Tips For Preparing Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

Required Materials

One of the best things about slow cooker recipes is that they dont require any special kitchen tools. All you need is a vegetable peeler, a cutting board, a good chopping knife, and a slow cooker.

I own three different slow cookers and have tested several others. Here is my favorite one. it is a great price and has a timer and clips for transporting your meals to other peoples houses.

• Crock-Pot 6-Quart Programmable Cook and Carry Slow Cooker

If you need more space for freezing, or would like to freeze your meals for more than three months, I recommend purchasing a chest freezer like this one:

• Midea upright freezer

I use these name-brand freezer bags:

• Hefty Gallon-Sized Freezer Bags
• Ziplock gallon-sized freezer bags

This food chopper is nice for chopping vegetables (especially onions!):

• Vidalia chop wizard

I use these baggy clips to keep my freezer bags upright while filling them:

• Jokari baggy clips

Disclosure: The materials listed above include Amazon Associate links and I earn a very small percentage of the sales price if you purchase something after clicking on them.

Safety

Readers often ask, Is it safe to freeze raw meat and vegetables together? The answer is, Yes. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service , freezing to 0 F inactivates any microbes bacteria, yeasts, and molds present in food. While some people are wary of combining raw meat with other food, its perfectly safe in the freezer.

Ingredients

Meat - The cut and quality of meat is especially important in frozen slow cooker meals. I recommend using the meat recommended in my recipes ingredient lists and avoiding substitutions when possible. For chicken recipes, do not buy chicken tenders or thin-sliced breasts both of these cuts of meat are likely to dry out in the slow cooker.

Broth Many of my recipes call for chicken broth or beef broth. I typically make my own or buy cartons of broth from the grocery store. if you like bullion granules, you can save money by using them instead and freezing them right in the bag with your freezer meals. (Bullion will add more salt to the meal though.) If you freeze bullion with the meal, Add water the day-of cooking.

Beans My recipes call for canned beans, but you can substitute dried beans that have been soaked and cooked.

Potatoes I used to be cautious about freezing potatoes raw, but have found that they freeze perfectly when done correctly. To keep potatoes from browning, chop them last and add them to the top of your freezer bag.

Labeling

Label your freezer meals with the following:

• The name of the meal
• The ingredients inside (optional)
• Cooking instructions, including if it needs to be thawed before cooking and ingredients (if any) that need to be added the day of cooking
• Use-by date (most freezer meals will last in a standard freezer attached to a refrigerator for up to three months)

For your convenience, filled-out freezer labels are included at the back of this book.

Prepping Freezer Meals

Heres how I prep a bunch of meals at once:

1. I label my freezer bags ahead of time (to save time).
2. I print all of my recipes.
3. I prep all of the fresh veggies and add them to the bags.
4. I focus on one bag at a time and add its beans, sauces, spices, etc.
5. I add the meat to all of the bags last so it isnt sitting out at room temperature too long. since its the last ingredient added to the bags, its also the first one dumped into the slow cooker (which is what you want the meat closest to the heat source).

Experiment and have fun figuring out what works for you.

Thawing Freezer Meals

I recommend thawing slow cooker freezer meals in your refrigerator overnight before cooking them. If you forget to do so, you can do a quick thaw by placing the frozen bag in cold water.

Cooking Freezer Meals

Some of my recipes include a range for the recommended cooking time (for example: Cook on the low setting for 4-6 hours.) This is because every slow cooker is different. A large, powerful slow cooker will cook freezer meals much faster than a small, less powerful one. If a recipes recommended cooking time is longer than what your slow cooker typically needs to cook a meal, decrease the cooking time. If you are brand-new to slow cooking, you may need to experiment a bit to get used to your slow cookers cooking times.

If you would like more detailed information about freezer cooking, I highly recommend my no cook freezer meals ebook. It contains 77 pages of step-by-step instructions and expert advice that will teach you how to prepare, package, and cook freezer meals safely and efficiently.