6 Meals in 2 Hours {The Joy of Slow Cooker Freezer Cooking}

I love my slow cooker. It is the most used appliance next to the microwave in the Rivas household. I also love dumping food from my freezer into the slow cooker, turning it on and then going about my day until dinnertime. I never knew this was possible until I stumbled upon Mama and Baby Love while I was pregnant. I was looking for easy freezer meals to make so that we would have food ready to go during the first few weeks after Liam was born. (It ended up working out beautifully! )

When I found the Freezer Cooking with Slow Cookers Recipes post I knew immediately that this was for me. As I said, I love my slow cooker and the idea of having everything ready to go was perfect. I like the idea of freezer cooking, but I just do not have the time (or the dishes) to spend an entire weekend cooking. Yes, it's all done, but then I have to put it in the oven a second time. ha!

Slow cooker freezer cooking is basically prepping everything, throwing it in a bag, labeling it and then throwing it in the freezer until you need it! My method of freezer cooking goes a little something like this :

1. Write the name of the recipe, cooking time and the date on a gallon size freezer bag.
2. Chop any vegetables needed for the recipe, put them in the bag.
3. Throw in the meat
4. Toss in anything extra. Seasonings, spices, tomato paste, etc.
5. Zip it up, give it a good shake and squeeze to mix everything together. 
6. Move on to the next recipe! 

The day before you want to enjoy your meal just place it in the refrigerator overnight and pop it in the slow cooker the next morning. You could also leave it on the counter a few hours before placing it in the slow cooker. It's okay if it's still frozen in places. Easy peasy!

A couple weeks ago I did 6 meals in 2 hours and that was with stopping to give Liam lunch. That is what I love about this! As requested on my Facebook page, here are the recipes I used that day.

• Beef Tips and Gravy from The Country Cook. I served this over mashed potatoes with a side of peas and mushrooms. 

• Barbecue Ribs  and Chicken Cacciatore from Six Sisters' Stuff.  This post has a lot of good slow cooker freezer cooking tips too!

• Stephanie's Goulash from Mama and Baby Love. This is served over egg noodles that you cook that day before serving dinner. I also recommend the Chicken Curry at this link. It's delicious and gets made pretty frequently around here.

• Greek Chicken from Tone it Up! Blog. I used chicken breasts for this recipe instead of a small whole chicken and I served it over couscous, because that's what I had!

• New Potatoes, Green Beans and Ham  from Food.com (by Carole in Orlando). Very simple, but delicious. This is one of the few ways Liam will eat green beans!

That same day I also made 2 dozen egg cups for breakfast. I did a dozen spinach, mushroom and a dozen sausage and mozzarella. They are basically little crustless quiches. These are great for popping into the microwave for a quick breakfast. Those recipes can be found below.

• Spinach Egg Cups from Manila Spoon. 

 and

•  Individual Quiche from Mama and Baby Love.

To freeze these, I just wrapped each one in tinfoil and then placed them in a gallon size bag labeled either Spinach or Sausage.  Place them in the refrigerator the night before to defrost them. The next morning wrap in a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds without the tinfoil, of course. ;)

There you go.  A few breakfasts and dinners that are easy and delicious!

I think most slow cooker recipes can be adapted to freeze. So, if you'd like some more recipes, check out my Slow Cooker board on Pinterest!

Let me know if you have any questions! <3