Today was a busy day of chopping veggies and preparing for the week. I decided to create seven days worth of meals for the crockpot, to simplify my week. To give me ½ hour of beauty rest each morning, I went ahead and got my chopping over with on a lazy Sunday. Above, I have included a picture of the Morrocan Chicken, Cheesy Garlic Chicken, and Chicken Noodle Soup freezer bound. If you want to do this, here is my menu, and the recipes follow….P.S. I’m doing weight watchers to get my swimsuit figure back by summer, so I have added the weight watchers points next to each meal.
Sunday: Mexican Chicken Soup (9 WW points)
Monday: We are attending a dinner/program for the Library Association
Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff (11 WW points)
Wednesday: Moroccan Chicken (6 WW points)
Thursday: Beef Stew (8 WW points)
Friday: Cheesy Garlic Chicken (7 WW points)
Saturday: Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup (6 WW points)
For these meals, I chopped a big bowl of carrots (5 lg carrots, peeled), one of celery(5 stalks), one of onion(3 onions), and then minced five cloves of garlic. I stirred together my herbs for the Morrocan Chicken, and placed them in a small bowl. I went ahead and rubbed three to four chicken breast with the spice rub, put it in a labeled freezer bag, and washed my hands with soap. Then I divided up the rest of the veggies to the other labeled bags, and stuck it all in the freezer. I didn’t chop my chicken, as I figured I could just tear it apart with a fork after it cooked. Chopping frozen meat is no fun!!!. However, I did have my hubby chop my stroganoff meat for me. Thanks honey!!!
Mexican Chicken Chowder: In the crockpot or bowl, mix a 14oz can of chicken broth, a 28 oz can corn, 1 cup water, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 4oz can diced green chile pappers, ½ package taco seasoning mix, ½ cup each celery and onion and 3 boneless skinless chicken breast. (If you are freezing this, you might spray the freezer bag with cooking spray before putting the mixture in there to prevent sticking) When you are ready to cook it, dump the contents in the slow cooker, and turn on low for six hours. If you will be at work longer than six hours, it will probably be fine cooking a couple hours longer(especially since it started frozen). It is just soup, after all. When you are ready to serve it, add an 8 oz carton of sour cream and ½ cup to 1 cup cheese. I’m serving this with grilled cheese quesedillas.
Beef Stroganoff: Take 2lb beef round steak and cut off the fat. Trim the meat into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, stir one 10-3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup, 1 chopped onion, and the meat. Add this to your sprayed, labeled freezer bag. When you are ready to cook it, throw it in the crock pot for 8 hours on low. When it is almost dinner time, boil three cups of egg noodles to use as a bed for your stroganoff. Also, make a veggie or salad.
Moroccan Chicken: In a small bowl, stir together 1tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 1-1/2 tsp cumin, ½ tsp cinnamon, and ¼ tsp turmeric. Rub this on three to four chicken breast and freeze in labeled freezer bag. When you are ready to make it, add it to the slow cooker, pour ½ to ¾ chicken broth over it, and cook on low for 6 hours. I’m serving this with couscous and green beans.
Beef Stew: Brown 1-1/2lb stew meat in 1 tbsp oil. In a bowl, mix together ¼ tsp each salt and pepper, 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 to 3 tbsp Worchestershire, 3 tbsp quick cooking tapioca (to thicken stew), 1 chopped onion, 28 oz beef broth, 1 -3 chopped potatoes, 3 chopped carrots, and pour gently into labeled freezer bag. Add the meat, and then add the two bay leaves, seal it up, and freeze it. When you are ready to cook, pour it in the slow cooker and cook on low for nine to eleven hours. Make or pick up some hearty bread to go with this.
Cheesy Garlic Chicken: This one only takes 3-1/2 hours on low, so you might make this on a weekend, or throw it in on your lunch break if you get a chance to go home. In a bowl, combine 4 to 5 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca, & ¼ tsp salt. Put in the labeled freezer bag with a bag of frozen cauliflower, ¾ cup chicken broth, and 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. When cooking, empty the freezer bag into the cooker, cook on low for 3-1/2 hours, Stir in a small package of frozen green beans, cover, and cook for 30 minutes more, turn off the slow cooker, stir in 4 oz of Neufchatel cz (or cream cheese if you are feeling naughty), and cover for 10 min. Then stir, and serve, sprinkling each serving with mozzarella cheese and chopped tomatoes. Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread.
Chicken Noodle Soup: In a bowl, stir 1 10-3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup, 1 minced clove garlic, ½ tsp each dried sage and dried thyme, ¼ tsp dried rosemary, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 28 oz chicken broth, 2 chopped stalks celery, 2-3 chopped carrots, and 1 chopped onion. Put a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the labeled, no stick sprayed freezer bag, and pour the bowl mixture over it. Seal the bag, and stick it in the freezer. When you are ready to fix this, empty the bag into the slow cooker, and cook on low 6 hours. Add ½ a 16oz package of frozen egg noodles and cook for one hour more on high. Serve with some saltines, and fresh chopped carrots.
Enjoy your easy dinners this week!!!
P.S. The inspiration or recipe for most of these meals came from the cookbook Better Homes And Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes Volume 2. There were tons of recipes and even some really good Italian pasta ones I made last week. If you want more, get this book. It is wonderful.
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