Kitchen Tip - Slow Cooker Freezer Kits

My life has gotten crazier.  I've been back to work for a month now.  

This year I work at the building that starts and ends the latest.  This means I can clock off at 3:45.  I usually don't leave the building until 4 o'clock most days.  The earliest I get home is 4:30.

Here's the dilemma:  Hubby has to be at work by 5:30 3 days and the other 2 days has to be at work by 6:00.  Even though there are 2 days, he has to be at work at 6:00, he has to drop Know-it-All at Kung Fu by 5:30.

So how do I get dinner on the table? 

There are 4 ways.

1. Tell Hubby what to cook 
2. Freezer cooking
3. Slow Cooker 
4. Food preparation during the weekend.

I'm to discuss the slow cooker method.  

My slow cooker looks nothing like this slow cooker.

Once or twice a month, I make freezer slow cooker kits.  The bags need to be labeled with the date, contents, and then cooking directions.

I then freeze them.  When I'm ready to use the slow cooker kit out of the freezer and put it in the slow cooker.  Sometimes I use a slow cooker bag.  Other times I don't use a bag.  It's easier to clean up if you use a bag.  

You can certainly thaw your freezer kit in the fridge the night before.  I don't because it takes longer for the frozen meals to cook.  During the day, I am busy teaching so I don't always have time to call or text Hubby to tell him to turn the slow cooker on keep warm or when to do that.  (If I tell him prior or leave him a note, it won't necessarily be done.  I have to call or text him.)

Here are some great blogs to find slow cooker recipes that could be frozen:

Eat at Home

Sidetracked Sarah

The Sassy Slow Cooker

A Year of Slow Cooking

Once a Month Meals

Please be careful with using potatoes.  Russet potatoes will brown easier because the amount of starch in russet potatoes.  Use red or yellow potatoes instead.  They are less starchy.

Oh, some recipes have you put some of the foods closer to end of the cooking time, I make 2 bags with the part you put in first and then the other bag.  I put both of those bags in another freezer bag.

As we eat some of the slow cooker freezer kits, I will start to post some of the recipes.  That is I'll post the recipes of the ones that were hits with my family.

Happy Cooking,

Traci

Pork and Sauerkraut (A Slow Cooker Recipe)

It's a family tradition to have pork and sauerkraut for our New Year's dinner.  My father-in-law would make a big pot of it and family members would eat the sauerkraut so that they would have good luck for the new year.  Since he died two weeks ago, I offered to make it this year.

I made some changes to how it was cooked.  First of all I made it in my slow cooker instead of in a big stock pot.  I also roasted potatoes instead of cooking the potatoes in the slow cooker with the meat and sauerkraut.  Hubby loved it and was impressed because it didn't have the bitter/sour taste you usually associate with sauerkraut.  He even took some to work with him to share with his co-workers.

The boys did taste the sauerkraut so they would have good luck but being kids didn't really like it.  At least they tried it which is better than on New Year's Eve.  I made fish for supper.  The fish was cooked with olive oil and a seasoning mix from one of my Foodie Pen Pals.  Hubby loved it but the boys wanted to give me excuses on why they could not eat it.  They still had to eat it but it was interesting on what excuses they came up with.  The best one is their brain was going to explode since I told them fish is brain food.

Now onto the recipe:

Pork and Sauerkraut in the Slow Cooker

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 -2 lbs. pork roast


• 16 - 32 oz. of sauerkraut (depending on how much pork you have)


• 1 big carrot or 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces


• 1 apple, peeled and cut into small pieces


• 1 - 2 Tbsp. brown sugar


• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Drain and rinse the sauerkraut several times to remove the brine.


2. Place the pork roast in the bottom of the slow cooker.  (Mine is 5 qt.)  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the pork roast.


3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the rinsed sauerkraut, apple pieces, carrot pieces, and brown sugar.


4. Place the sauerkraut mixture on the pork roast.


5. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.


6. Shred the pork and combine with the sauerkraut.


7. Enjoy with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes (just serving suggestions)!

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal

A couple of days ago, Tiffany from Eat at Home posted a recipe for cranberry orange oatmeal cooked in the slow cooker.  I've attempted to make oatmeal in the slow cooker and it did not turn out pretty.  Most of it was wasted.  

This recipe turned out great because I found a different way to cook the oatmeal in the slow cooker that did not burn or dry out the oatmeal.  The result was creamy oatmeal that I did not have to add any liquid to it when I heated it up the next day!!!!!!  :)

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal

adapted from Eat at Home  and the Motherload

Stars of the recipe:

• 1/2 c, steel cut oats


• 1 c. orange juice


• 1 c. water


• 1/4 c. sugar (I omitted this.)


• 1/2 tsp. vanilla


• 1/4 c, dried cranberries

Steps:

1. Find a bowl that is big enough to hold the oatmeal but small enough to fit in the slow cooker.  It also needs to be oven safe.


2. Spray the bowl with cooking spray and add the ingredients.


3. Stir!


4. Place the bowl in the slow cooker.


5. Pour water around a the bowl to create a water bath (an inch high).  Place the lid on the slow cooker.


6. Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours.


7. Enjoy!

BTW:  I used a 6 quart slow cooker.

Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Mmm!  Comfort food makes you feel good inside.  Pot roast is one of those foods.  As I was coming up with this week's menu, I decided pot roast should be one of our dinners.  The interesting thing was we had pot roast for our dinner at my in-laws last night.  The difference was how we prepared the roast.  The side dishes were different also.

I've made this recipe for over 10 years.  It is super easy and delicious.  After we have roast for dinner, another night during the week I make a hash (minus eggs) with the left over roast.  Yum!

Even though I like making baked potatoes cooked in the slow cooker, I'm not a fan of potatoes cooked with the roast.  We had buttered noodles with our roast.

 

Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

[gallery ids="4352,4350,4351"]

Stars of the recipe:

• roast (size depends on the needs of your family)


• 30 oz. can of tomato sauce


• optional:  russet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks, onions cut into chunks, carrots peeled and cut into strips

Steps:

1. Place roast into the bottom of the slow cooker.


2. If placing vegetables, place them on top of the roast.


3. Pour tomato sauce over the roast.


4. Cook for 3 to 5 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low.


5. Enjoy!

Menu Planning Monday - July 1st

Monday - (The Imaginative One's delicious food day.)

• B - French Toast Mini Muffins, fruit


• L - Long John Silvers


• D - Ham Steak, Crustless Zucchini Pie, Veggie

Tuesday - 

• B - Smoothie (Imaginative One's favorite breakfast), sausage links


• L - corn dogs, raw veggies, Cheez-Its


• D - Easy Pepper steak in the slow cooker, pasta, salad

Wednesday -

• B - French Toast Mini Muffins, fruit


• L - sandwiches, raw veggies, Cheez-Its


• D - Chicken and broccoli stir fry in the slow cooker, rice

Thursday - Happy Fourth of July!!!

• B - Smoothie, sausage links


• L - Corn dogs, raw veggies, Cheez-Its


• D - Hamburgers, French fries, veggie

Friday - 

• B - Cereal


• L - Waffle House (Going out with my mom to celebrate birthdays)


• D - Barbecue Chicken sandwiches, chips, salad

Saturday -

• B- French toast (or French toast sticks), fruit


• L - Pizza or sandwich


• D - Left-over night

 

Sausage and Sauerkraut

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 package of smoked sausage


• 1 jar or bag of sauerkraut, drained and rinsed off


• 3 Tbsp. of brown sugar


• 3 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard

Steps:

1. Cut the sausage into rings.


2. In a bowl, mix the sauerkraut, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard together.


3. Place sausage and sauerkraut into the crockpot.


4. Cook on low for 4 hours.


5. Enjoy with mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes.  (I also had corn and baked apples with it.)

Crockpot Pizza

 



 

 

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups browned ground beef (I omitted this.)


• 2/3 box of rigatoni (I used rotini.)


• 1 large onion chopped


• 4 cups of mozzarella cheese (I used 2 cups.)


• 2 jars of pizza sauce (I used 1 jar and added some water.)


• 1 package of pepperoni (I used 1/2 package. Next time I'm going to cut the pepperoni into smaller pieces.)


• salt and pepper taste

Steps:

1. Place all items in a crockpot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (I used a 3 quart crockpot.)


2. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. (Mine was done in about 3.5 hours.)


3. Enjoy

 

Beenie Weenies

I had another cooking blog on website.  I'm going to transfer some of the posts from there.

This is an easy meal to put into the crockpot.  It made more than enough food for my family of four that I put half of it in the freezer for another meal.:)

 Beanie Weenies

Stars of the recipe:

• 2 small cans of pork and beans or one large can


• 1 small can of Great Northern beans, drained


• 1 16 oz. package of hot dogs, sliced


• 1 lrg onion, chopped


• 1/4 cup of ketchup


• 3 Tbsp. of mustard (or more to taste)


• 2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (or more to taste)


• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed


• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Steps:

1. Place all the items in the crockpot.  (I gave it a stir.)


2. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.


3. Enjoy!  I served mine with green beans and biscuits with apple butter.

Green beans, potatoes, and ham

I lived with my grandparents, mom, and sister as a teenager. On most nights, we would sit down as a family for dinner. One of the meals, my grandma would prepare is green beans, potatoes, and ham in the crockpot.

I can still see the kitchen and her round crockpot full of the green beans, potatoes, and ham. We would either have it with bread and butter or a simple salad.

Whenever I cook something from my childhood, I try to tell my boys about it. The Imaginative One was five when my grandma died. During the last year of her life, they became so close. This is a way for him to have memories of her.

When I made this, the potatoes were at the bottom of the crock. So when Hubby looked into the crock all he saw was green beans and 1 piece of ham. He was nervous about what we were having. Once he saw the potatoes, he was relieved. He enjoyed the meal.





Stars of the recipe:
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends snipped off and snapped in half or 2 cans green beans drained
1 lb. baby red potatoes, quartered or halved, depending on size
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 lb. chopped ham
2 chicken bouillon cubes, unwrapped
Water
Seasoned salt, to taste

Steps:
1. Place potatoes, onions, green beans, onions, ham, seasoned salt, and bouillon cubes in crockpot. (I use a 4 quart crockpot.)
2. Place enough water in the crockpot to cover the food.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

Sausage, cream cheese, and Rotel dip

Yummy! Three ingredients that sound strange together come together in ooey, gooey deliciousness goodness. We had a family game night scheduled for my church. I decided to make a recipe from a while ago and a new recipe. I have Stephanie O'Dea's slow cooker cookbook. This one of the recipes in it.

Sausage, cream cheese, and Rotel dip

Stars of the recipe:

• Pound of breakfast sausage


• 8 oz. block of cream cheese


•  1-10 oz. can of Rotel

Steps:

1. Brown sausage and then drain.


2. Place browned sausage, Rotel, and cream cheese in a 1.5 or 2 qrt. Crockpot.


3. Cook on high for 45 minutes or low for 90 minutes.


4. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Honey Glazed Carrots in the Crockpot

My husband doesn't eat raw carrots but eats cooked carrots.  The Imaginative One doesn't eat cooked carrots but eats raw carrots.  So it makes it interesting for deciding what veggies to cook for dinner.  I saw this recipe and decided I needed to make it for Thanksgiving.  It fit the criteria of:  easy, quick, and cooks in the crockpot.  During the Thanksgiving parade, I prepped the carrots and let them cook right before dinner.  Since my crazy son doesn't eat cooked carrots, I also made corn for him. 

Oh, and the taste!  They were delicious.  Since it was so easy, I may prep the carrots and have hubby put them in the crockpot one day so we can have them for dinner.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Eat at Home

Stars of the recipe:

• 
  
  1 pound of carrots, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces


• 
  
  2 Tbsp. of butter


• 
  
  2 Tbsp. of honey


• 
  
  salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. 
   
   Spray 2 or 3 quart crockpot with cooking spray.


2. 
   
   Place carrots in the crockpot along with butter.


3. 
   
   Drizzle the honey over the carrots.


4. 
   
   Season with salt and pepper.


5. 
   
   Cook on high for 3 hours.

• 
  

 

Cranberry Relish - Crockpot Style

Today is Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

1. My family and friends


2. God showing me a talent. This talent has allowed me to see the beauty of his world in a way I've never seen it before.


3. Laughter - Hearing the boys laugh brings joy to my soul.


4. My students both current and former


5. My health - During June I suffered terrible headaches. For three almost four weeks I had headaches that were persistent. Luckily a trip to the chiropractor helped relieve them. Then in September and most of October I had a persistent cough. Fortunately for me both are better.


6. God giving me 2 boys who are bright and surprise me with their knowledge and insight about the world around them.

Now onto the recipe. On Sunday, my father-in-law informed us he was cooking a chicken for Thanksgiving. There was going to be only 6 of us for dinner and he didn't want to deal with all the left-overs. The family convinced him that he needed to make a turkey. I wanted to help make the dinner so I decided what I was going to bring. One of them items was going to be homemade cranberry relish. Yesterday I stumbled on this recipe.

Earlier in the week I had created a list of things I needed from the store. One of the items was an orange for the relish. My husband went shopping but didn't buy an orange. His reasoning was I had oranges at the house. I have grapefruit and clementines but no navel oranges. So I made a trip to Save-A-Lot to go get the oranges. Boy I'm glad I did. This recipe is easy and the end result was delicious.

Cranberry Relish

Stars of the recipe:

• 2 oranges


• 1 bag (12 ounces) cranberries, rinsed and picked over


• 1 cup sugar


• pinch cinnamon or Chinese five spice


• 3 tablespoons water

Steps:

1. 
   
   Zest the oranges.


2. 
   
   Cut off the remaining outer peel and pith and discard.


3. 
   
   Cut the peeled orange sections into small chunks and add to the slow cooker along with cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and zest.


4. 
   
   Add water.


5. 
   
   Cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours. (I had to put it on low for about 1/2 hour after cooking it on high.)

I hope you had a great holiday! What are you thankful for?

This post is linked up to Eat at home's Ingredient Spotlight.

Beanie Weenies

This is another easy meal to put into the crockpot.  It made more than enough food for my family of four that I put half of it in the freezer for another meal.:)

This was another homerun for my family.

Beanie Weenies

Stars of the recipe:

• 2 small cans of pork and beans or one large can
• 1 small can of Great Northern beans, drained
• 1 16 oz. package of hot dogs, sliced
• 1 lrg onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. of mustard (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (or more to taste)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Steps:

1. Place all the items in the crockpot.  (I gave it a stir.)
2. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Enjoy!  I served mine with green beans and biscuits with apple butter.

  
Happy eating,
Traci

Sausage and Sauerkraut in the Crockpot

I'm loving my crockpot and freezer cooking!  With my schedule this year, I'm able to feed the boys (big and little) a hearty meal within about 20 minutes of my arrival at home.  My hubby leaves for work less than an hour after I get home and I need to feed him before he leaves.  So I decided to utilize both crockpot and freezer cooking for this month's meal plan.  It's worked out wonderful.  This week I was the only one who ate out for dinner and that's because I stayed late at work to get some things done and left immediately after I got home to take the oldest to tap dance practice.  They ate out of the fridge that night.
This is one of the meals we enjoyed this week.  I prepped the meal and hubby put it into the crockpot for me.  I then enjoyed it for lunch the next day.  Someone told me that it smelled like a German festival in the teacher's lounge. 

Sausage and Sauerkraut

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 package of smoked sausage
• 1 jar or bag of sauerkraut, drained and rinsed off
• 3 Tbsp. of brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard

Steps:

1. Cut the sausage into rings.
2. In a bowl, mix the sauerkraut, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard together.
3. Place sausage and sauerkraut into the crockpot.
4. Cook on low for 4 hours.
5. Enjoy with mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes.  (I also had corn and baked apples with it.)

Happy eating,
Traci

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of September 12

We usually eat at my in-laws on Sundays.  Since we had a church picnic on Sunday afternoon and my mother-in-law had a class, I fixed our dinner on Sunday evening.  Needless to say, the meal was a success.  My husband who doesn't like eating left overs for lunch is planning to eat those for his lunch today.:)

Sunday - crockpot pizza, garlic bread, left-over veggies and fruit from the picnic

Monday - breakfast casserole in the crockpot, biscuits and jelly

Tuesday - honey mustard chicken, mac and cheese, veggies

Wednesday - Cincinnati chili over spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Thursday - sausage and sauerkraut in crockpot, baked apples, biscuits or rolls

Friday - nachos made with Fritos instead, salad

Saturday - beans and weenies in crockpot, veggie, biscuit or roll

For more great plans, visit Menu Planning Monday at I'm an organizing junkie.

Happy eating,
Traci

Crockpot pizza

My mother-in-law found this recipe in the newspaper.  She thought I would like to cook it for dinner one night.  When I made it yesterday, we were impressed with how much it did taste like a pepperoni pizza even with no crust.  I was also impressed with the simplicity of the recipe.

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups browned ground beef (I omitted this.)
• 2/3 box of rigatoni (I used rotini.)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4 cups of mozzarella cheese (I used 2 cups.)
• 2 jars of pizza sauce (I used 1 jar and added some water.)
• 1 package of pepperoni (I used 1/2 package.  Next time I'm going to cut the pepperoni into smaller pieces.)
• salt and pepper taste

Steps:

1. Place all items in a crockpot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (I used a 3 quart crockpot.)
2. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.  (Mine was done in about 3.5 hours.)

Happy eating,
Traci

Crockpot bbq ribs

When it's a work day, I often want easy meals because soon after I get home from work I need to have dinner on the table before hubby goes to work.  This recipe is supe easy because it cooks while I'm at work.  The smells that meet me at the door are divine and make my stomache rumble in anticipation of the meal.

Stars of the recipe:

• bottle of your favorite bbq sauce


• ribs (boneless or bone in)


• optional:  diced up onions 

Steps:

1. Put ribs (and onions if using them) in the bottom of the crockpot.


2. Dump the bottle of bbq into the crockpot.


3. Place water in empty bottle and swish around to get the last of the bbq sauce.


4. Pour the watered down bbq sauce over the ribs.


5. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

Pinto Beans and Ham

Last winter I found this recipe and have cooked several times.  The last time I made it, both boys gave it a thumbs up.  I enjoy this recipe because the recipe makes a lot so it stretches a buck and it is made in the crockpot.

Stars of the recipe:

• bag of dried pinto beans


• 1/2 lb. of ham chopped


• small onion chopped


• water

Steps:

1. Soak the pinto beans over night.  Make sure you put them in a big bowl and cover them with water.


2. In the morning, drain the beans.  Get rid of any debris which could have gotten in the bag.


3. Place the beans, ham, and onion in the crockpot. 


4. Put water in the crockpot so it's over the beans, ham, and onion.  Season with salt and pepper.


5. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.


6. Serve over rice or with cornbread.