Slow Cooker Freezer Meals
Get a quick meal on a busy day by doing all the meal preparation ahead of time on a day when you have the time. Here are some general guidelines for choosing slow cooker freezer meals:
- Choose recipes that do not require the meat to be cooked first. For example, ground meat must always be cooked before adding to the slow cooker.
- Use fresh meat, purchased that day for assembly.
- Vegetables such as celery, onions, bell peppers, and carrots should be finely chopped as they can get a poor texture when frozen. For better texture, sauté and cool vegetables before adding them to the bag.
- Use good quality freezer bags.
- Label the bags with the following information:
- Recipe Name
- Date it was assembled
- Cooking Instructions
- List of ingredients to be added on the day of cooking*
- Remove as much air from the bag as possible, so that your freezer bags can lay flat in the freezer.
- Take out your meal in a bag from the freezer the day before cooking and thaw it in the refrigerator.
- Use your slow cooker freezer meals within 3 months.
- Any dairy products as they tend to separate and curdle once frozen and then thawed.
- Pasta to be added near the end of the cooking time to avoid overcooking it.
- Any vegetable that has a high water content, such as potatoes, zucchini and most squashes.
Try These:
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Easy
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EasySlow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew
Freeze ingredients chicken through salt. Follow the recipe and add the rest of the ingredients according to the directions on the day of cooking.
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EasySlow Cooker Teriyaki Drumsticks
Freeze ingredients chicken through garlic. Follow the recipe and add the rest of the ingredients according to the directions on the day of cooking.
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EasySlow Cooker Italian Bean Soup
Freeze ingredients carrots through parsley. Follow recipe and add chicken broth and potatoes the day of cooking.
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Easy
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EasySlow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Saute mushrooms and cool, then combine all ingredients and freeze
Using a Slow Cooker
Odds are, you’ve seen a slow cooker before. Check to see if you’re using this simple machine to its full potential!