Freezer Cooking!

Happy Monday friends. I thought I'd share with you something I've been doing recently. Freezer Cooking!

The idea behind freezer cooking is to prepare your meal ahead of time, throw all the ingredients into a zip-lock bag and then when when your tired after a long day you don't need to come up with a meal because you already have one ready (and preservative/sodium free as well) 

I teamed up with two other moms who have two small kids about the same ages as mine. I feel like this works well because we are all serving the same number of people and so our portion sizes are the same. So far we've met twice and I'm sure we'll do it again. How frequently your group meets is totally up to you. Each time we've met, we've all brought a different recipe to share. If you're interested in trying this out here are a few tips to get you started:

• Pick two-three other ladies who have families that are close to the same size as yours.
• Pick a meeting time and place-you'll need a place where you can easily spread out-so someone's dining room table is usually the best option.
• Come prepared. Before you meet each person should choose a recipe and send the ingredients list of that recipe to the other members of the group. So, if you have three members in your group then you'll have three recipes you'll be preparing. Once everyone has sent out the ingredients list -go get all your ingredients. 
• Freeze! On the day you get together you'll want to bring an insulated bag with all of your ingredients and any other tools you might need. Like a cutting board or knife. You should also bring three gallon size zip-lock bags and a sharpie so that you can write out what the meal is on the bag before you freeze it.
• Just follow the directions. Follow the directions of each recipe and fill your bag with the necessary ingredients. Label your bag and be sure to have a copy of the recipes, along with directions, for everyone to take home. 

The process itself doesn't take very long, make 15 minutes per recipe and you get to chat and catch up while doing it. When you leave you have three meals that you can stick in your freezer that are basically dinner ready. Most of the recipes out there (and there are tons!) are made for the crock pot. So, keep that in mind.

I'll share one of my favorite recipes so far, that works great for freezer cooking

Easy Crockpot Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans-drained

1 can of corn-undrained

1 can of rotel tomatoes-undrained

1 package of ranch dressing mix

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of onion powder

8 oz package of cream cheese-cut into chunks

2-3 chicken breasts

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into your freezer bag and freeze. When ready to eat, pour contents of bag into your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, pull chicken breast out and shred and then return to slow cooker. Mix together and serve!

How easy is that!! You can of course serve this will sour cream, or tortilla chips, or guacamole-whatever you'd like. 

Now go find some friends and start freezer cooking