Originally uploaded by thats swell.
Wanted to pass an idea on to all of you…have you seen the ‘new’ crockpot meals by Banquet? (I think). They’re everything you need – meat, veggies and all – to throw in a crockpot. It’s a great idea, but not very cheap and I’m pretty sure it’s full of preservatives we don’t need.
So I decided to make my own! It spawned off the fact I had some veggies that were going bad, so I decided to dice them up and freeze them for later – but then decided to take some recipes I had and turn them into ‘ready to go’ homemade crockpot meals.
Both the recipes I used called for beef – one had stew meat that had to be browned ahead of time anyway, then I added all the veggies, etc. The other called for ground beef that I browned ahead and added the rest. I combined everything in a ziploc bag and added a recipe card that stated what items were already in the bag and what was needed (ie a can of tomato sauce, etc.) and how long to cook it.
We’ve cooked one of the meals (I might use the other tomorrow night) and it turned out really well! I also had some rice that is cooked (cause we don’t use Minute Rice anymore, so it’s easiest to cook a lot of rice at once then freeze it) that was frozen – and I was able to get that out of the freezer and prepare it too to serve with the crockpot meal.
Just a suggestion…and a glimpse into my meal planning and the shortcuts I take!
realworldmartha said,
November 19, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
Great idea. All those convienent foods come with a price and a bunch of other things you don’t want. I stopped using minute rice too. I use a rice cooker instead (in the microwave). It cooks brown rice in a jiff! I use the Pampered Chef one. Not sure if there are others on the market.
Blessings,
Debbie aka The Real World Martha
Chelle said,
November 27, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
Any chance you will post some of the recipes you put together? I have such a hard time cooking for my family that I have really come to hate it. I would love some simple recipes.
Pat Jenkins said,
November 30, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
I would love the recipes in more detail. I am always seeking good crock pot
recipes. The only one I have right now, is quite easy and very good. Gourmet maga
magazine offers 5 ingredient meals. This is only two ingredients and two steps.
1. Take a pork shoulder and place in crockpot
2. Pour 2 cups of favorite barbecue sauce on top (like KC Masterpiece)
I cook mine for ten hours, serve with rolls or rice and a side salad. It makes a
delicious pulled pork sandwich.
ladiesofthehouse said,
November 30, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
Wonderful idea! I love my crockpot and actually bought a bigger one with a removable
liner so cleanup is a breeze. I keep a whole file filled with easy recipes that are nutritious and
use ingredients that I usually have on hand. Making the meals up ahead of time and freezing
them would make the use of the crockpot even better–thanks for the tip!