Fall Cooking

Since fall is here I've been dying to get in the kitchen and cook some yummy food! However, with my new job and nannying two days a week I've been working around 45-50 hours a week. That doesn't leave a lot of time for cooking - especially when I get home around 6pm or later. I've really been wanting to try out some recipes in my crock pot, but I don't really have any besides pulled pork. You can only make pulled pork so many times before you get sick of it. The other day as I was searching the web I came across some easy crock pot recipes that you make ahead of time, put in a freezer bag, and freeze until you make them. All you have to do is unthaw them in the fridge for 24 hours before putting them in the crock pot. I made three of the recipes in under 30 minutes. They were so easy to do! I made french dip sandwiches, hearty beef stew, and cilantro lime chicken. If you are interested in trying the recipes yourself, here's what you do:

Lay out your gallon size freezer bags and label them. Put the date on the bag too so you know when you prepared the meals:

 French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2-3 lb chuck roast

2 cans beef consommé (right next to the soups and beef broth)

6-8 hoagie buns

Directions:

Put the chuck roast in the freezer bag. Pour the cans of beef consommé over the meat and freeze.

When ready to cook:
Remove from the freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook in a crock pot on LOW for 8-11 hours (or HIGH for 5-7 hours). Remove the roast from the slow cooker and save the extra juice for dipping. With two forks, shred roast and serve meat on buns.

Hearty Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced (I used a can of carrots)
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to cook:

Remove from freezer and thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Cook in a crock pot on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6).

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to cook:
Remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Serve with tortillas and toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.

Let me know how your recipes turn out and what you think!