1 Hour + 1 Mess = 5 Crock Pot Meals!

**Update – Here’s part 2 with 5 more recipes, Part 3 with 5 more recipes, Part 4, and Part 5 with 5 more recipes. So far we have 25 recipes. Up next is soups and chili’s and then may desserts!

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We are all very busy people. We have jobs, kids, baseball practice, etc. Because of our busy lives we don’t get to eat dinner together very often. I took 5 of my favorite slow cooker recipes and put together a plan to spend 1 hour in the kitchen assembling 5 freezer bags with dinners that I can just throw in the slow cooker!

With this list below you will have Garlic Honey Chicken, Beef Burritos, Chicken Fajitas, Hawaiian Chicken, and Teriyaki Pork Chops. These dinners easily feed our family which consists of 2 adults and 3 kids.

Click here for the printable version of this meal plan.

Shopping List

• 2 Lbs London Broil
• 5-6 Lbs Chicken
• 4 Pork Chops (about 1 inch thick)
• Brown sugar
• White sugar
• White vinegar
• Garlic cloves – 12
• Soy sauce
• Large can of pineapple chunks
• Onions 1 large or 2 small
• Whole peppercorns
• Apple cider vinegar
• 16 oz plain tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle pepper (you can buy a small can and freeze the leftovers)
• Chili Power
• Ketchup
• Honey
• Chicken broth
• Peppers (Your choice for the Chicken Tacos)
• Taco seasoning
• Paprika

You will need more ingredients, but you just need the ingredient above to make your bags.

First take 5 large freezer bags. Grab a Sharpie and label each bag. You should also write the instructions on the bag. Cut up the onions – half slices and half diced, cut up the peppers, and peel the garlic (You can dice the garlic as you fill up your bags).

Go through and add all the meats to the bags. Then go back and add the rest of the ingredients. (You can fill them up in any order, this was just my preference.) Freeze the food and make sure the food will fit in your crock pot when it’s frozen. Take them out in the morning and cook according to the instructions.

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
(4-5 servings)

• 2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½  cup white sugar
• ½  cup vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• ½   cup of pineapple juice (use what’s in the can)
• ½  can of large pineapple chunks

Add all the ingredients to the bag. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. Serve it over rice and enjoy. While I am cooking the rice I  like to shred the chicken and put it back in the juice before I serve it.

Beef Burritos
(6+ servings)

• 1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)
• 1 diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)
• 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)

1. Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag.
2. When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
3. When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite recipes. My kids eat it as long as we have leftovers.

* If you like the taste of chipotle but not the spiciness, you can remove the seeds.

You will also need:

• 16 burrito sized flour tortillas
• Anything else you like on burritos – cream, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

We also like to add Cilantro Lime Rice to our burritos. All you need to do is make some white rice and add lime juice, cilantro, and salt.

Garlic Honey Chicken
(4-5 servings)

• 1 ½  to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ⅓ cup  soy sauce
• ⅔  cup ketchup
• ¼  cup honey

(Feel free to double the sauce if you like extra sauce)

Add all the ingredients to a freezer bag. Cook 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.  We like to eat this with mashed potatoes and a veggie.

Teriyaki Pork Chops 
(4 servings)

• 4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick
• Salt and pepper to taste (you can sprinkle them before you add them to the bag.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ⅓ cup chicken broth

Add the pork chops, garlic cloves, brown sugar,  soy sauce, and chicken broth to the freezer bag. Write the following instruction on the bag –  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7 hours. We ate this with mashed potatoes.

Chicken Fajitas
( 5-6 servings)

• 2 peppers (your favorite)
• 1 onion
• 1 1/2 pound chicken breast
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• taco seasoning packet
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt

You will also need tortillas, cheese, cream, etc.

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)
2. When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
3. When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.

That’s it! I actually did this in about 45 minutes! Since we also like to eat rice with a few of these dinners, I like to make a large batch at the beginning of the week and heated up what we need. Some of these meals make enough food so you can eat them for leftovers. We used the leftover chicken fajita meat to make fajita quesadillas.

I have made all these dinner and I can’t believe how easy it has made my life. I have a seven year old, four year old and 2 year old – so it’s hard to find time to make a good dinner. I put the stuff in my slow cooker when my  2 year old naps and when it’s dinner time I just have to think about side items. This really reduce the mess in the kitchen.

Additional notes:

• My slow cooker cooks at a high temperature, so please check your food to make sure you have the proper cooking time.
• According to the official Crock Pot website, you can safely cook frozen meat in your crock pot. If you still don’t like the idea, you can put the bag in the fridge the night before and it should be defrosted by the morning.
• I use chicken breast from the large bag of frozen chicken. This type of chicken has a layer of ice which melts and can dilute the flavor of your meal. You will not have this problem with fresh chicken.
• If your slow cooker has a hard to remove layer of gunk on it, try soaking it with a half a sheet of fabric softener. It will wipe right off!
• Never put the plastic bag in the crock pot. Always dump out the contents to prepare your meal.
• When you freeze the bag, make sure the frozen lump (for lack of a better work) will easily fit into your crock pot.
• One reader suggested putting the dinners into crock pot liners and then into the freezer bag.

Click here for the printable version of this meal plan.

So what do you think? Do you like this idea? If so, I can test out a bunch of recipes and get another 5 recipes together to share. I loved this. It really was a huge help in the kitchen!

You can also check out my Batch Cook Day!

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