Slow cooker freezer meals.

I've spent the past few months pinning slow cooker freezer meals on Pinterest. 

Monday, while I was thawing ten pounds of pork loin to repackage, I figured there was no better time than the present to try making some meals. 

Here's the cast of characters:

 

 I gathered up Ziploc baggies, pork loin, garlic, oil, cornstarch, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, ground cloves and pepper.

The most time consuming part was cubing the pork loin.  After that it was simply label the bag (I added the cooking instructions on it with a Sharpie), dump in the ingredients, remove the air and seal. 

I was able to finish six meals in under thirty minutes....despite three phone calls and this:

Here's what I ended up with.....as well as my minimal mess:

Not too shabby.  If you include my clean up time - putting things away and loading the dishwasher - it's still under forty minutes. 

Here are the links to the recipes I used:
Homemaking on the Homestead
Sweet surprise Iowa chops

Updates on the week.

Well, our bee adventure has begun.  Ronnie is officially on his way to Ripley to pick up his bees.  When I asked him to make sure his Dad got a picture of he & Zelda getting the bees. he asked "Why? Because you've never met anyone named Zelda?".  Um, No.  Because she is Zelda the bee lady and I want to see her. 


So now it's 4:30am and I can't sleep.  I thought I would let you know what I think of the freezer cooking.  I have to say, it's been great.  It was well worth the initial effort.   I really believe it's the reason we haven't been eating out.  There is always something in the freezer ready to go.  I've had no issues with freezer burn - everything has stayed well wrapped in there. 
Here what I will do differently the next time:

• Label better - If I had more meals, I think I would have forgotten what was what in the freezer.  I'm going to try a fat sharpie the next time.
• Use real baking dishes instead of disposable.  I'm going to look for cheap baking dishes at yard sales this summer for freezer cooking.
• Change how I make the garlic bread.  The recipe is great, but when it's cooked it's a little soggy.  Next time I'm going to pop it under the broiler after it's baked to crisp it up a little.  
• Make more french toast.  This was a morning lifesaver and probably Ronnie & the boys favorite thing.  I liked that I just had to throw it in the oven for 20 minutes from frozen and it was ready to go.  
• I'm also going to look in the Bulletin Board and check store sales for a small freezer.  My big upright is still very full with the cow & deer.  Don't get me wrong, we are making a big dent in it, but we also have another cow in the field right now and I'm hoping to have a pig butchered this year.  I'd like to have a small chest freezer dedicated to my month of meals and extras like milk & bread.

I know without a doubt, I've saved at least $100 this month with freezer cooking, just from not eating out as much.  I also haven't gone to the store as often, which has to be a savings.  Let's face it, no matter how disciplined you are, it's really hard not to pick up a little something extra at the store.  Another thing that I really like is that I have less to clean up, because I did that when I was making the meals.  For the most part, it's just a baking dish, grill pan or cookie sheet and the table settings.

Conclusion:  I like freezer cooking and will definitely do it again.

Check back later for an update on Ronnie's bee adventures!

Charli

Something new.

Ronnie is turkey hunting today. All I really have to do is finish & deliver a Batman birthday cake this morning. Don't get me wrong, I could do lots of things that need done - cleaning closets, painting porch railing - really the list is almost endless. But instead, I have decided to try my hand at freezer cooking today.

On the list for today:
Pizza kits - shredded cheese, sauce, & dough
Banana bread
Applesauce bread
Breakfast cookies
Oven french toast
Chicken Bacon Sub
Garlic bread
Shredded chicken - for salads, tacos, sandwiches
Marinated chicken tenders
Red sauce - for pizza or spaghetti/pasta
Hamburger patties
Lasagna
Taco meat
Protien bars
Chocolate chip cookie dough (maybe)
Cinnamon rolls (maybe)

While not a complete menu, I think it's a good start to help me out during the month. I'm also planning on taking a lot of it to the beach in a cooler. That way I can save money by cooking at the beach house, and still have a bit of vacation for myself from cooking 3 times a day. I went to the store yesterday and stocked up on some good buys, and of course we still have Luscious Lucinda in the freezer for all our beef needs. I hit Walmart at just the right time and picked up 6 loafs of French & Italian bread for $0.90 a loaf, which will be our french toast, subs & garlic bread. I also picked up almost 10 pounds of very ripe bananas at Shop & Save for $0.29 a pound that will go into the banana bread (obviously) and the protein bars. I have 4 episodes of TUFF puppy and 3 GodRocks Bibletoons DVR'd for the boys and a new bone for the dog. That should buy me at least 3 hours of minimal distraction time.
Ronnie wants to go get our garden vegetables in the evening, so I'm going to do all I can and call it quits at 2pm.
I'll let you know how it goes - if I have the energy to post after all that cooking!

Blessings!
Charli

Update:
It's 11:19am and I am calling it quits. Ronnie came home early from hunting. He and the boys are taking me out to dinner for Mother's Day and to get the plants for our garden. That's way more important than my to do list.
Here's what I've accomplished today:
4 containers red sauce
4 complete pizza kits - dough, sauce, cheese
4 garlic bread
1 pan lasagna
1 pan cream cheese chicken
2 dozen banana muffin
2 chicken bacon subs
6 bags french toast
1 bag Dijon marinated chicken tenders
3 bags marinated chicken breast

Not too bad. I also made & delivered the Batman cake and quickly stopped at a yard sale on the way home. I got some great Tupperware and magazine holders for the schoolroom, as well as a couple other items. Ronnie is taking a nap while I clean up the kitchen (and myself). All in all, a pretty good day. I'm excited to see if this ends up being a day to day help or not. I might start scheduling a cooking day and a baking day monthly. We'll see.
Hey, did you hear that? That's my dirty kitchen calling my name.
Have a great Saturday!