By the time summer rolls around I am going to be in my third trimester and I will be very very pregnant and uncomfortable. So I am planning ahead! I found some great crock pot freezer meal recipes that I think will be great for summer. By doing the prep work now, all you need to do is thaw your pre-made meal and throw it into the crock pot. No need to slave over the stove or turn your oven on during the summer heat. Easy meals mean more time outside enjoying the weather!
There is nothing better in the summer than a ice cold Corona and lime and some mexican food! These crock pot chicken fajitas will be a great meal. Be sure to pick up some tortillas and sour cream and shredded cheese for toppings when you are ready to cook this.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
– 3 Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips
– 1-2 Tbsp Fajita seasoning from packet
– 1 medium onion sliced
– 1 medium pepper sliced (I used an orange pepper)
– 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
Label your Ziploc bag and add the chicken strips. Add in the fajita seasoning and smush around. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix around. Lay flat in your freezer.
When ready to eat, thaw and dump everything into the crock pot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
You can find the original recipe HERE
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I chose this chili recipe because I thought it would make great chili burgers or chili dogs. We love to grill in the summer time and this will make a yummy topping for hot dogs and hamburgers.
Crock Pot Chili
– 1lb ground beef
– 1 diced onion
– 2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
– 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
– 1/4 cup ketchup
– 1/4 cup water
– 1 (15oz) can red kidney beans
– 1 packet chili seasoning mix
– 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
– 1 Tbsp sugar
Brown ground beef and diced onion together. While it is browning, mix all other ingredients in gallon size freezer bag (be sure to label your bag first!). When the meat and onion is cooled, add it to bag. Mix around and lay flat to freeze.
When ready to eat, thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
You can find the original recipe HERE
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Nothing says summer like some BBQ ribs!
Crock Pot BBQ Spareribs
– 2lbs of pork ribs
– 1 1/2 cups ketchup
– 1 1/2 Tbsp seasoned salt
– 1/2 Teaspoon liquid smoke
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1/2 cup white vinegar
Label your gallon size freezer bag and put in pork ribs. Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl and pour over ribs. Seal bag and place in freezer.
When ready to eat, thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
You can find the original recipe HERE
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I thought this would be a great dish for summer BBQs or potlucks. You can serve them by themselves or put over white rice!
Crock Pot Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
– 1 bag of frozen meatballs (the one I picked up was 32oz and had about 65 meatballs in it)
– 16oz grape jelly
– 28 oz bottle of BBQ sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Rays)
Mix BBQ sauce and grape jelly together in a separate bowl. Split the meatballs between two bags. Pour sauce evenly between both bags and mix around. Lay flat and freeze.
When ready to eat, cook on low for 2-4 hours.
You can find the original recipe HERE
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I love that this recipe included pineapple in it. It reminded me of Hawaii 🙂
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
– I medium bag of carrots
– 1 red onion cut into large chunks
– 2 large cans of pineapple undrained (I used canned pineapple chunks)
– 4 cloves of garlic
– 4 chicken breasts (I used 3 extremely large pieces which I think will be enough for our family)
– 1 cup Teriyaki sauce
Label freezer bags and split all ingredients into two bags. The ingredients are easy to split up evenly. Smush around in bag to make sure everything is mixed. Lay flat to freeze.
When ready to eat, add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
You can find the original recipe HERE
I am thinking of making a master shopping list. Let me know if this is something you would be interested in!
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What a great idea, copied and saved in my food folder, Thanks
Does the meat need to be cooked before putting in the bags?
This is a great idea and can't wait to try it 🙂
Some people brown their meat before putting in a slow cooker, but I never have.
I make a lot of 'ziploc' meals and freeze them for my slow cooker. 😀
Thank you so much!! I really need these and I love that you've given us the links so we can choose more recipes. You're so thoughtful and generous! BTW, I made one of your owl hats the other day…too cute!!
Would LOVE a master grocery list! This would be GREAT for lazy days!
yes please re: master shopping list … 🙂
Awsome recipes and a great idea!!
These all look awesome! Definitely going to have to try them 🙂
Great recipies for freezer/crockpot cooking. Pinned.
We may have met by chance…but we become friends by choice.
http://simpleesue.com/french-toast-grilled-cheese-sandwich-with-an-italian-twist/
I love your blog and have crocheted several of your patterns. Including the carrot pouch which my 2 and 4 year old girls loved 🙂 With two little ones I also make a lot of freezer meals…if you get the chance one of my favorite freezer cookbooks is Fix Freeze Feast 🙂
This is so great! I love prefrozen crockpot meals. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will be pinning and would also love for you to come and share this on our link party.
http://www.huckleberrylove.com/2013/04/much-ado-about-monday-no-3.html
Hope to see you there,
Jamie
http://www.huckleberrylove.com
I love how your thinking summer already!! and this is a great reminder that summer should be no fuss meal time, thank you!! Your awesome and so is your blog! 🙂 Michelle
I am definitely interested in any shopping list – or even more of these great freezable meals that you would like to offer!!
I am IN my third trimester–we have 2 weeks left, give or take. I am so thrilled to have found this article on Pinterest! If we don't have a new baby in our house on Sunday I'll have to go grocery shopping and get everything ready. woohoo! A master grocery list would be super handy if you happen to get the chance to make one. Question: for the meat, can I just put meat I already have frozen in the recipe mixed up with the other ingredients
I love these freezer meal ideas for the crockpot! Timesavers like these are so helpful. Found you on the ISBMTF link party! Following you on Twitter 🙂
I am in my third trimester right now and am planning to do this tomorrow! I made myself an ingredients/shopping list (though I have many of the sauces and seasonings in my pantry already), and figured I should share. I included all of Sarah's recommendations for brands and such. If anyone uses this and finds I left something off, I am sorry, but I am 99% sure it's good to go since I just copied and pasted the ingredients and moved them around to categorize:
Meat
– 7 Chicken Breasts
– 2lbs of pork ribs
– 1lb ground beef
– 1 bag of frozen meatballs (about 32oz/65 meatballs)
Vegetables/Produce
– 3 onions (2 medium, 1 red)
– 1 medium bag of baby-cut carrots
– 1 medium orange pepper
– 4 cloves of garlic
Canned Goods
– 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
– 2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
– 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
– 1 (15oz) can red kidney beans
– 2 large cans of pineapple chunks
Sauces/Condiments
– 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
– 1/2 Teaspoon liquid smoke
– 1/2 cup white vinegar
– 28oz bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce
– 16oz grape jelly
– 1 cup Teriyaki sauce
– 1 3/4 cup ketchup
Seasonings
– 1-2 Tbsp Fajita seasoning from packet
– 1 packet chili seasoning mix
– 1 1/2 Tbsp seasoned salt
– 1 Tbsp sugar
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
Misc
– 5 Gallon Freezer Bags
– Sharpie Marker
– 5 Crock Pot liners (optional)
*** NEED 7 Gallon Freezer Bags- I didn't realize at first that 2 of the recipes were split between 2 bags.
So, I did it! 5 meals (which I think I can get 10 meals out of for just my husband and me) are in the freezer are ready to go! Thanks Sarah!!
A few things that I found by reading the original recipes and comments on those pages that might help others:
-For the teriyaki chicken, use baby-cut carrots, mince the garlic cloves, and cut the chicken breasts into halves or fourths.
-For the chili, the kidney beans should be drained.
-For the ribs, if your grocery store only has racks of ribs like mine, cut them into chunks that will fit in the bag.
I made this printer-friendly Google Doc for myself with the shopping list and recipes if I decide to do this again later. Thought I should share: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FNxBDc4v7q1g66tFUCyt1l2HIIb_m-50SSx7s7amGMk
Now, I can't wait to try everything! (if this baby ever comes- he/she's already 2 days late!!)
Thanks for the list and the tips..can't wait to try this myself.
All of these look great! Can't wait to try them. I work late..home at 8pm most nights and this will keep my husband from running out to get take-out on my late nights.
Congrats! (I'm sure you've had the baby) Our baby is 7 weeks old now. =) I can't wait to try this. Our family has 2 teenagers, an 8 y.o., 3 y.o., and us parents who will be eating off this menu. Do you think I should double the ingredients? I have a large crock pot.