A Different Question For Y'all

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

Any easy, make-ahead crock-pot recipes any of you swear by? I'm thinking that on my next grocery run I should get some stuff and take a day to prep/freeze some meal components so that on busy days I can just throw them in my (super nice, totally free, hand-me-down) crockpot and not have to think about dinner that day. I feel like my crockpot is such an underused resource in my household and like it could be really helpful if I just knew what to do with it! I've only used it once to make a cheesy chicken spaghetti that was fairly delicious but that unfortunately involved prep when I got home in the form of cooking the spaghetti and adding it to the sauce. I'm looking for recipes that I can make ahead, freeze, and then just dump in the crockpot and forget about!

[ksw1978]

Check out Pinterest! I get a lot of really delicious recipes from there. There's some sites that have dump bag recipes that you can prep and keep in the freezer, I can't remember the website names though. A couple family favorites though:

Chicken and bacon bake: chop red onions, potatoes, carrots, and put them in the crockpot. Wrap boneless chicken thighs in a slice of bacon then layer these across the top. Drizzle with bbq sauce. Then cook on high for 4 or low for 8 hours. It's amazing, the bacon fat goes through the veg and it all tastes so good!

Easy chili: 2lbs ground turkey, can mixed beans, large can of chopped tomatoes, 1-2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (trust me on this!), cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with a dollop of Daisy and some shredded cheese and fresh cilantro. I use leftovers to stuff baked potatoes the next day. It's actually best cooked overnight, left in the fridge for a day, then cooked again on low to heat through. The flavors are so much better then.

Chicken and sweet potato curry: boneless chicken thighs, chopped red onion and sweet potato and summer squash, 1/2 a little jar (I use a whole one as I like it slightly spicier!) of red Thai curry paste, can of coconut milk. Cook on high for 4 or low for 8 hours. I serve with brown rice with chopped cilantro stirred in.

Beef in beer stew: stewing steak, chopped carrots and potatoes, 2 tablespoons better than bouillon beef, 1 can or bottle of Guinness. Cook on low for at least a day! Serve with warm French bread for dipping in the scrummy gravy!

My crockpot saves my life through the fall and winter. It's going to be even more important now I'm starting nursing school in a month! Good luck, there's so many easy and yummy recipes that you shouldn't ever get bored!

[Hello_14]

I love the Crockin' Girls site for a lot of recipes. If you go onto Pinterest look into freezer crock pot meals as well! LOVE my crock pot. If you haven't already you should also look into the Instant Pot! A lot of meals will be made with that bad boy come Fall when I start my nursing program!

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

Check out Pinterest!

I'm not going to quote EVERYTHING but thank you! This is perfect, great ideas