Part 4 – 1 Hour + 1 Mess = 5 Crock Pot Dinners

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I finally finished part 4! It took me a lot longer than I wanted but so many recipes weren’t working. Then the holidays arrived and any meal planning went out the door. I actually have a chili recipe and a different beef stew recipe that were great, but I can’t find the recipe. There aren’t too many pictures because I lost them 🙂 Sorry!

n case you missed it check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,  Part 5, Part 6 and and Part 7  of my 1 Hour + 1 Mess = Crock Pot recipes. There are now 35 recipes! 

 

Shopping list (Click here for printable version) 

• 1 ½ lb lean stew meat, cut in 1 inch chunks
• 2 lbs boneless pork loin roast, lean, all fat trimmed off
• 4 lbs  boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
• 3 large onions
• 5 clove of garlic
• 1 lb carrots cut up
• 4 medium potatoes, cut in 1 inch cubes
• Optional- bunch of celery
• 2 tsp beef bouillon or 2 cups beef stock
• 1 ½  cups V-8 juice
• ⅓  cup Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
• 2 cans (4.25 oz each) diced green chiles
• 2 tbsp chopped jalapeño, or more to taste
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies (Ro*Tel Mild)
• 1 (24 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 16oz jar of salsa
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
• 1 (1oz) packet Ranch Dressing powder

When you prepare the meals

• Crumbled tortilla chips
• cream (sour or Mexican)
• shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican mix)
• 1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
• 1 8oz brick of cream cheese
• rice

Pantry Items

• salt
• ground black pepper
• garlic powder
• 
1 tbsp cumin
• chili powder
• ½ cup milk

The 5 recipes in this set are Crock Pot Beef Stew,  Salsa Verde Pork, Tortilla Soup, Ranch Pork Chops, and Southwest Chicken. Click here for the printable version of the recipes.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 ½ lb lean stew meat, cut in 1 inch chunks
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp beef bouillon or 2 cups beef stock
• 1 ½  cups V-8 juice
• ⅓  cup Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
• 3 clove of garlic
• 4 medium potatoes, cut in 1 inch cubes
• 1 lb carrots cut up
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Optional- bunch of celery

Instructions
Add onion, meat, water, beef bouillon, V-8 juice, Country Bob’s sauce, and garlic clove into your freezer bag.

Write on the bag:

1. Dump contents of the freezer bag into your crock pot.
2. Add 4 medium potatoes, cubed and 1 pound of chopped carrots.
3. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low for 8-9 hours.

 

Salsa Verde Pork

• 
2 lbs boneless pork loin roast, lean, all fat trimmed off
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
3/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cans (4.25 oz each) diced green chiles
• 2 tbsp chopped jalapeño, or more to taste
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies (Ro*Tel Mild)
• 1/2 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 
1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Place all the ingredients in the freezer bag.

Write on the bag:

1. Dump contents of the freezer bag into your crock pot.
2. Cook on  high  for 4-5 hours or low for 7- 8 hours.

Serve with rice

Tortilla Soup

• 1 ½ – 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 (24 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Crumbled tortilla chips
• cream (sour or Mexican)
• shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican mix)

Instructions:
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, garlic, water, chicken bouillon, and spices into a freezer bag.

Write on the bag:

1. Dump contents of the freezer bag into your crock pot.
2. Cover, and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours
3. When it’s done remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. The smaller the better since you can’t really cut up your soup.
4. Tip – once you remove the chicken place the chunky stuff into a blender and blend until smooth. My kids don’t like chunks but they loved this soup!
5. To serve, mix in some cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

This was a huge hit in our house. My son even asked for it the next day and he’s only 4 years old!

Ranch Pork Chops

• 1 (1oz) packet Ranch Dressing powder
• 6 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
• 1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
• ½ cup milk

Instructions
Add the pork chops and ranch dressing packet in a freezer bag.

Write on the bag:

1. Dump contents of the freezer bag into your crock pot. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup and ½ milk.
2. Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.

We love to eat this with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It’s important not to overcook them because it makes the best gravy!

Southwest Chicken

• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 16oz jar of salsa
• 3-4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
• 1 8oz brick of cream cheese

Instructions:
Add the corn, black beans, salsa, and chicken to the ziploc bag.

Write on the bag:

1. Dump ingredients into the crock pot. Cook on high for 6-7 hours and low for 7-8 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before the meal is going to be served remove and shred the chicken.
3. Cut up the cream cheese into chunks and add to the crock pot with the chicken.

Serve over rice. We also added some shredded cheese on top and it was delicious!
If you are not a fan of black beans you can omit them or just add half the can. I don’t really like them but they were good in this recipe.

Additional notes:

• Crock Pots can cook differently so make sure you have the proper cooking time. I use a 6.5 quart crock pot.
• 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.
• If you use chicken breast from the large bag of frozen chicken please not that 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.

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You can also check out my Batch Cook Day!