So I saw a few pinterest posts about prepping crock pot meals ahead of time as a time saver! I have thought about doing this for months now and FINALLY sat down last night and pin pointed a few good looking recipes I wanted to try! Here are the recipes I used. I went and shopped for everything which included a list that you HAVE to have to make this work well. Otherwise you will have set everything out only to find out you are missing a few key items...FAIL! You need to have everything ready to make this work! Here is my list I used. You can do this any way you see fit, spreadsheet, word doc, but I feel a notebook with list is best for me!
This trip I actually went to Walmart. Usually I shop Publix but I needed to go to Walmart for specific things and actually found their prices to be better plus it was a one stop shop! I bought lean ground beef for $3.89 lb, chicken breasts were $8 for 8 breasts, lean extra trim stew meat was on special for $4.88 for 1.5 lbs. The veggies were pretty cheap too and like I said I had a ton of errands to do today and one stop shop was awesome and a must for today.
The canned items were tomato paste, tomato sauce, black olives, pineapple chunks, and 2 cans of diced tomato's. I always try to buy no salt added, all natural, and reduced sugar, etc if I use canned items....the healthiest you can afford is great. Walmart does not have a good selection of organic like Publix does so I tried to buy as good as I could. Def go to Publix for the best selection! I wish I did. Here are the recipes I used this go around. I got them from my Paleo cook book, websites, etc.
Paleo Taco Soup (DOUBLE THIS RECIPE TO MAKE 2 DINNERS)
**LABEL FREEZER BAG PRIOR TO --COOK FOR 6-8 HOURS ON LOW.
1-lb lean ground beef or grass fed beef
1 red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, dash of salt and pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 -4 oz can green chili's
4 tomato' s diced
1 cup salsa
cilantro to garnish (when cooked)
avocado to garnish (when cooked)
Dump everything into a large ziploc freezer bag. When ready to eat, thaw out the night before. Cook 6-8 hour son low. Top with cilantro and avocado!
SLOW COOKED BEEF STEW (DOUBLE THIS RECIPE TO MAKE 2 DINNERS)
**LABEL FREEZER BAG PRIOR TO--COOK 6-8 HOURS ON LOW
2 lbs Lean stew meat or grass fed stew meat
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
6 oz can tomato paste
2 handfuls of baby carrots
1 handful of fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen peas
2.5 cups beef broth,
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme (I skip this)
1 tsp marjoram (I skip this)
1 bay leaf (I skip this)
Dump everthing into a large freezer bag. When ready to eat, thaw out the night before. I serve this over brown whole grain steamed rice. Yum!
Teryaki Chicken (DOUBLE THIS RECIPE TO MAKE 2 DINNERS)
**LABEL FREEZER BAG PRIOR TO--COOK 8 HOURS ON LOW
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1 red onion, cut into larhe chunks
20 oz can pineapple, undrained
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts (more for left overs)
1/2 cup teryaki /sesame sauce
Dump everything into a large ziploc freezer bag. When ready to eat, thaw the day before. Add 1/4 cup teryaki sauce to crockpot/mixture and cook on low for 8 hours.
Enchilada Chicken Stew (DOUBEL THIS RECIPE TO MAKE 2 DINNERS)
**LABEL FREEZER BAG PRIOR TO --COOK 8 HOURS ON LOW
2 chicken breasts (more for leftovers)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalepeno chopped (no seeds)
1 4 oz can chopped green chili's
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 14 oz cand iced tomato's
1 7oz can tomato sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish (when cooked)
avocado to garnish (when cooked)
Dump everything into a large ziploc freezer bag. When ready to eat, thaw the day before. Cook on low 8 hours. After its done, use fork to shred chicken. Top with cilantro and avocado!
Eight meals ready to go! Here is what we made for dinner tonight! Paleo Taco Soup! Yum!!!
