Freezer Meals Round #2

Wohooo, we just finished trying all of our meals in our 2nd round of freezer meals and I'm excited to share the recipes and our thoughts/modifications on each one! In case I haven't said it enough, this bulk freezer meal cooking has made my life SO much easier, especially with baby <3 Yes, it does take up 1-2 hours of time when I prep everything (which is difficult to find sometimes) but it is absolutely worth it to have so 15-20 meals ready for the month! 

Trevor and I have tried all of these recipes and we liked them! I'm not posting any we didn't like or wouldn't make again :) I put my suggestions/modifications at the bottom of each recipe too <3 Enjoy! 

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

1 lb. stew meat

2 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, thickly sliced

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce 

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (This was difficult to find, I had to go to a local asian market)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in freezer bag, label, and freeze flat. Defrost the night before and dump all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If it will be longer just add a bit more water so it doesn't dry out. Serve with fresh green onions and rice.

**I would recommend not cooking this on low for more than 6 hours, ours did get a bit dry! I didn't try to add water though, so that may work too! We don't like our beef "well done" though, so 5 1/2 hours was perfect! 

Recipe from: www.whoneedsacape.com

Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions 

Ingredients

1lb. Italian Sausage Links (I used turkey sausage links) 

1 large pepper

1 medium onion

2 cups diced tomatoes

2t. onion powder

2t. garlic powder

Directions 

Mix all ingredients in freezer bag, label, and freeze flat. When ready to cook defrost in fridge the night before & dump all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve on warm hot dog buns. 

**I used turkey sausage to make it healthier & we did not serve it on hot dog buns, I sliced the sausage links and served it over whole wheat penne pasta! 

Recipe from: www.baked-inthesouth.blogspot.com

Maple Dijon Chicken

Ingredients

6-8 Chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts)

1/2 C Dijon Mustard

1/4 C Maple Syrup

1 T Rice Wine Vinegar

1 can of Sliced Mushrooms, drained

1 onion sliced

Directions 

Mix all ingredients in freezer bag, label, and freeze flat. Defrost in fridge the night before. Dump all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. 

**Trevor did not like this recipe but I did! You def have to like the flavor of honey dijon AND maple to like it! I also would recommend cooking it on low for 5 1/2 hours so the chicken doesn't dry out! 

Recipe from: www.whoneedsacape.com

Pepper Steak (recipe makes TWO bags)

Ingredients

2 lbs round steak (cut against the grain)

2 cans crushed tomatoes

2 green peppers, sliced

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp ground ginger

Mix ingredients between TWO bags, label, and freeze flat. Defrost the night before in fridge. Dump in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours. Serve over rice. 

**I would recommend cooking this on low for no more than hours to prevent it from drying out. Again, we don't like our meat "well done", so you may have a different preference! I served it over brown rice! 

Recipe from: www.ringaroundtherosies.net

Chicken Cacciatore (recipe makes TWO bags)

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

1 package of sliced mushrooms (or canned)

2 6oz cans of tomato paste (I used pasta sauce)

2 Tbsp Italian seasoning

4 cloves minced garlic

2 cups chicken broth

Split ingredients between TWO bags. Defrost the night before in fridge. Dump ingredients in crockpot and cook on low 6-7 hours. Serve over pasta.

**The only modification was that I used a jar of pasta sauce instead of tomato paste. I served this over whole wheat angel hair pasta!

Recipe from: www.ringaroundtherosies.net

Beef & Mushrooms 

Ingredients

3 lbs stew meat, cubed (I used 2lbs, 3lbs seemed like too much!)
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
2 (4 oz each) cans mushrooms, with liquid (or fresh of course)
1/2 cup apple juice
1 (1 oz) packet dry onion soup mix (I used my own onion spices for this)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in bag, label, and freeze flat. Defrost in fridge the night before. Dump all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10. Serve over rice. 

**I used less meat (see above) and used my own onion spices (tastefully simple). I also cooked it on low for about 8-9 hours. Served over brown rice!

Chicken Curry (recipe makes TWO bags)

Ingredients

6-8 chicken breasts 

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1cup of dry cooking sherry

½cup of butter

8 green onions chopped

4tsp of curry powder

Salt and pepper

Directions

Mix all ingredients (except butter) into two bags. Label and freeze flat. Defrost in fridge the night before. Dump all ingredients in crockpot with butter and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice. 

**The only modification I made to this recipe is cut the butter in half, so I put about 1/8 of a cup in the crockpot with the bag. I recommend cooking on low for 7 hours so it doesn't dry out! 

Recipe from: www.six-cents.com