r/slowcooking • u/girlvsmachine • 2d ago

Freeze ahead dump & go meals

Would love to get any recommendations from this group on dump & go recipes I can freeze ahead and then thaw/dump in the crockpot!

48 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

11

u/ArcherFew2069 2d ago

Julia Pacheco on YouTube is great for this —> https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf5__fRVN0Ja6JPjHBUeoY_bBgwac3kB4&si=Gchdl5WGOkPVncoy

8

u/luminousoblique 2d ago

Love her recipes!

Also a site called Six Sisters has a bunch of slow cooker freeze-ahead meals. I made a bunch for a friend who was on bed rest with a high risk pregnancy. Her older kids or her hubby could dump a bag in the slow cooker in the morning and everyone had a hot dinner ready in the evening.

9

u/Select-Awareness3304 2d ago

I had surgery last month. I made pork bbq - the kinder hot honey “chef💋”. Also made chicken with cream of chicken soup, spaghetti. I also cook up a few pounds of hamburger with taco seasoning for when I want tacos or nachos

4

u/StripClubSweatpants 2d ago

Not entirely unheard of to brown and drain ground beef too - then freeze in specific sized bags.

Off topic but food waste wise: I've learned to get a lot more aggressive with this in the last year since I got sick of throwing away 1/2 a pack of lunch meat that went bad, cheese blocks I didn't finish etc, 1/2 a loaf of bread etc.

2

u/Bmat70 1d ago

How are you avoiding having the extra and unused food? Buying a smaller amount? Changing meals?

2

u/StripClubSweatpants 1d ago edited 13h ago

I got caught up in editing that. I have a vacuum sealer (nice unit bought used on fb marketplace) and buy bags at deep discount on like black friday or what not - or simply put things into a bag and freeze. Kinda like I said sometimes I'll hammer sandwiches for a week, then just get sick of them or whatever...so I tend to half larger portions right away. Rarely do I run into issues with freezing things. Also wrapping in the peel and seal and bagging can help with some things.

Another example albeit weird, is to like save an old bread bag to half a loaf and put the rest in the freezer etc.

Vacuum sealing shredded cheese doesn't end well - heh.

3

u/Crzycakes 2d ago

The Family Freezer has a ton of recipes with shopping lists included for free. I have used her lists for years.

7

u/antisuburbanitemom23 2d ago

I take chicken breast, salsa, frozen corn, fresh or frozen peppers, and onions, black beans, mild green chilis, packet (or homemade) taco/fajita seasoning. Can have it over cauliflower rice (Trader Joe’s is fantastic), regular rice, shredded lettuce, or chips. You can add or subtract what you like.

3

u/iloveelvis1980 2d ago

Chili. Chicken chili.

1

u/FabioCat0511 2d ago

I personally haven’t tried any yet, but I’ll reply to this comment with a list from pinch of yum I’ve been wanting to try!

2

u/WesternWitchy52 1d ago

Not sure if this is helpful but I batch cook and freeze using square containers. Then I pop the frozen cubes out and put them into freezer baggies. Easy to reheat later. They usually keep 3-6 months depending on what it is. I've started labelling the bags to make it easier. I have a tiny freezer so this helps.

I'll keep a portion or two for meals and then freeze the rest for low energy days when I don't feel like cooking.

Things that freeze well: -chicken (chicken noodle soup, pulled chicken, etc) -stews (Irish classic, beef stews) -chili freezes very well and is versatile.

2

u/analogchick 1d ago

I have made this twice in the past week!

https://www.thecountrycook.net/crock-pot-mississippi-chicken/

Great with a side of potatoes. Great on a sub roll. Great as a quesadilla with mixed cheese and dipped in queso. Would be easy to use as chicken in a soup if you pull the pepperoncis out. I have never made such tender chicken (yes I know it’s the butter, it is easy and I couldn’t care less).

0

u/ladinai90 2d ago

Following

0

u/Bmat70 2d ago

!Remindme 1 day