10 freezer to crockpot meals

adulthood has changed me -- i'm not the fun and spontaneous person i used to be! i was blessed with 5 days off (yes, 5 days) between winter semester and spring semester, and i spent every minute doing boring housewifey stuff. you know, like laundry, cleaning the apartment, rearranging the living room, and making freezer meals. 

but let me tell you, making those freezer meals was one of the best decisions of my life! totally worth the social sacrifices. you can do it too! it's so easy. the hardest part was spending hours on pinterest researching and looking for the best recipes. i tried to pick ones that had some similar ingredients. after that, all you need is a buttload of food, money, and ziploc gallon bags! 

i picked 8 recipes to make 10 meals (i doubled two of them). i went to costco and harmons and bought everything i didn't already have. i spent a total of about $110, with some of the purchases being spices, oils, or bottles of things that i can keep using for a long time. 

i let the bags of chicken thaw out, and then i laid out all the other ingredients. i was ready to dominate! i labeled ten 1-gallon ziploc bags with the recipe name, cooking time, and any other instructions. i turned on les mis. then i chopped away and packed a bag at a time! 

things got pretty crowded. 

it was really time consuming, but really simple. it took me almost 3 hours, but to be honest i was taking my sweet precious time. i wasn't in a hurry at all. also, i was feeling a little OCD so i washed my hands like 492 times. and i probably worked longer than necessary because i didn't chop all my veggies at once, i went recipe by recipe. and i had to stop chopping peppers to sob while anne hathaway was singing. bless her heart. 

anyway, the few pieces of advice i have for this project are to add the liquids LAST, and make sure each bag thaws for a good amount of time before you dump the contents in the crockpot. duh and duh -- but for noobs like me, those things didn't come easy :) also, get as much air out of the bag as possible, and once everything is in the bag, squish it around with your hands so the contents are distributed evenly. 

 now for the moment you've all been waiting for... pictures and recipes! 

cilantro lime chicken

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts

juice from 2 limes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 (16 oz) bag corn

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

to cook: 

cook on low for 8 hours

shred meat and serve on tortillas

chicken broccoli alfredo

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli 

1 large green pepper, chopped

2 (16 oz) jars alfredo sauce

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

serve over noodles

hawaiian chicken

in the bag: 

2-3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs soy sauce

1/2 can of large pineapple chunks

1/2 cup of pineapple juice (from can) 

to cook: 

cook on low for 6-7 hours

shred and serve over rice

teriyaki chicken

in the bag: 

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces 

1 cup teriyaki sauce 

1 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

a few sprinkles of ginger

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

creamy italian chicken

in the bag: 

4 chicken breasts

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 can cream of chicken

1 dry packet of italian seasoning

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

honey rosemary chicken

in the bag: 

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup honey 

1/3 cup olive oil 

3 tbs rosemary, chopped

1 tsp salt

to cook: 

cook on low for 6-8 hours

bbq chicken

in the bag: 

4-6 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 (12 oz) bottle of bbq sauce 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vinegar 

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

to cook: 

cook on low for 4-6 hours

chicken fajitas

in the bag: 

2 green peppers 

1 onion

3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

taco seasoning packet

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

to cook: 

cook on low for 5-6 hours

shred meat and serve on tortillas

that's all! i doubled the teriyaki chicken and the cilantro lime chicken because i thought they sounded the best, but i'm excited to try all of them! can you tell i'm not a huge red meat person :) ? and i am not one to plagiarize, so let me give you the sources for these recipes. i got the chicken broccoli alfredo and cilanto lime chicken from six sisters stuff. i got the honey rosemary chicken from kojo designs, hawaiian chicken and chicken fajitas from this post, and then i got teriyaki chicken, sweet bbq chicken, creamy italian chicken from over the big moon. she has great tips and ideas. how did people know recipes before pinterest? pinterest and these ladies just saved me from 10 nights of dinner-prepping stress.

so there you have it. $110, 1 hour of grocery shopping, 2.5 hours of prepping, and i was able to stuff my freezer with 10 meals - ready to be eaten!  

good luck to you all, and let me know how it goes!
p.s. if you have any great crockpot recipes, i would love to hear them.
p.p.s. my blog is now on bloglovin' so make sure to follow!