Freezer meals day 1

 What a day of cooking we had. In this post you will find all of the recipes we used in the first half of our full day of cooking. 

Cuban Pork

This makes amazing tacos and burritos but can also be used in Cuban sandwiches.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of one orange
• Juice of two limes
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small sweet onion , sliced thin
• 6 cloves garlic , peeled and smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast

We put everything in the crockpot and cooked in on low all day. If you plan to freeze put everything in a gallon freezer bag and freeze. We pull it out the day before so that it is partially defrosted when we put it in the crockpot, but you can do it from frozen on high all day if you prefer. We reserved 1 cup of the meat for our Brunswick stew.

Barbecue pulled pork - https://www.juliapacheco.com/barbecue-pulled-pork/ We have been using this recipe for a few years and enjoy it. Sometimes I use root beer or coke, but use what you have. We reserved 1 cup of the meat for our Brunswick stew recipe. We serve this one in hamburger buns with some extra bbq sauce, some pickles or slaw make it special as well. We like to cook this one and freeze it cooked, but you can place it all in a freezer bag and cook later in a crockpot all day on low. 

Burrito Sauce - We make this often. We use it on burritos, quesadilla and tacos. It is slightly sweet, creamy and spicy. We typically double the recipe, but this is enough for 4 burritos as is, 

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 teaspoons of minced picked jalapeno
• 2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• dash of salt
• juice of one lime

Put everything into a blender and blend until smooth. You can also dice the jalapeno very fine and mix it in a bowl instead. Serve over your favorite Mexican dish. 

White chicken chili

• 1/2 onion diced
• 2t. dried oregano
• 2-3 chicken breasts based on size and how much chick you want. We use 2 typically. 
• 2 tablespoons chicken or veggie bouillon
• 1 can great northern, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed(if you cannot find use 2 cans of great northern)
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white hominy, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white corn, drained and rinsed (you can use yellow corn if you already have it)
• 2t. cumin
• 6 cups water

Combine all ingredients into the baggie and freeze. Defrost the night before and either simmer for 30 minutes in a large pot or in the slow cooker all day. Don't forget to add 6 cups of water.

Garnish with corn chips, pepper or regular jack cheese and sour cream. If you like heat a little jalapeño is awesome as well. 

Beef dip sandwiches - The literal best!  

• 3-4 lbs. beef Tri-tip 
• 2 Tablespoons Montreal steak seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon
• 2 Tablespoon Worcestershire
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 can mushrooms drained
• 1 onion grilled

Place all items except the mushrooms and onions in a gallon freezer bag. In a smaller zip lock add canned mushroom and onion. Seal the smaller bag and place in with the roast to freeze. This can freeze up to 3 months. 

To make remove the bag from the freezer and defrost. Put into a crock pot and add 1 cup of water. Cook on low all day until the roast shreds or 30 minutes in your instant pot and let it release sit for 30 minutes extra time before releasing pressure.  Using forks shred the meat. Serve on a toasted hoagie roll or bun. Cook up the mushroom and onion in a pan until warm and put over meat in the bun, add a little cheese if you like, we love provolone or mozzarella melted over the meat. We love to use the leftover liquid to dip the sandwiches in.  This will feed 6 people. 

Pepperoncini beef sandwiches

• 1 beef chuck roast (about 3 lbs. 
• 4 cloves of garlic sliced into thin pieces. You can use minced as well but we found this to be a little more flavorful. 
• 1 jar of pepperoncini peppers and the liquid
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon
•  1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup of water ( when you cook)

Place everything into a gallon freezer bag and place in the freezer. 

To cook we like to defrost the night before. Put the contents of the bag, 1 cup of water into a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours until the roast shreds. Shred the meat and remove a little of the juice from the crockpot before adding it back in so it isn't too juicy. We serve this on hoagie rolls with a slice of provolone and a little mayo if you want to add a pop of creaminess. We like to toast the buns up before adding the meat for a little extra yumminess. 

Beef tips with gravy - We love this recipe but slightly changed it to work as a freezer meal.  https://thecozycook.com/wprm_print/beef-tips-and-gravy. We add a slurry at the end of cooking in the slow cooker to create the gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes for an amazing meal. 

Beef and broccoli 

• 2 lb round steak, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 cups of raw broccoli
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon

Add all ingredients into a gallon freezer bag. This will be good in the freezer or 3 months. 

To cook. We like to defrost overnight. Place all ingredients along with 1 cup of water into a crockpot and cook on low all day. Remove about 1/3 cup of the liquid and add 2-2.5 tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot to make a slurry, add to the pan and stir in well. Allow to cook for 20-30 more minutes to thicken. Serve over rice or with your favorite noodles. 

Chef Jacks Corn Chowder - Here is the original from Paula Deen https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/chef-jacks-corn-chowder/ We found this to be a little rich for our taste. See our version below

• 6 teaspoons chicken bouillon 
• 2 cups half and half
• 4 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 small stalk diced celery
• 3 gold potatoes diced
• 1 small finely diced carrot
• 1 small diced onion
• 1 stick Butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch freshly ground Nutmeg

Place everything into a gallon freezer bag. You can defrost or cook from frozen. Add 6 cups water to the crockpot along with the bag. Cook all day on low. You an also bring to a boil and cook stovetop for 1 hour on a low boil. 

We love to serve this with some ham or bacon on top, cheese, green onion or serve over rice. 

Brunswick Stew  - https://heygrillhey.com/brunswick-stew/

We use the above recipe but use the 1 cup of Cuban pork and 1 cup BBQ pork in place of the brisket and pulled pork. Add 2 tablespoons of chicken bouillon in place of the stock. We add all other ingredients including raw chicken to a gallon freezer bag. When we cook I like to defrost this fully. Add the ingredients along with 6 cups of water to a crockpot and cook on low all day long. This goes really well with cornbread and a salad. This will serve a bunch of people. It is pretty filling and so good. 

Low County Boil

First bag

• 3 lemons cut into 4 sections each 
• 1/2 cup old bay seasoning. 
• 6 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
• 1 onion sliced

Second bag

• 1.5 lbs baby red potatoes

Third bag

• 6 corn nibblers or 3 fresh corn cobs cut in half
• 1 smoked sausage cut into rings

last bag 

• 2 lbs shrimp
• 1 lb crab legs if desired and in the budget

1 cube of butter

Place all ingredients into a grocery bag to keep them together in the freezer. 

To cook. Bring 14 cups of water to a boil and add the first bag. Let this boil for a few minutes and add bag 2. Let this cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes start to soften. Add bag 3 and let this cook for 4 minutes. Add the final bag and cook for 2 minute. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and drain off the rest. Add the butter into the cooking liquid and pour over the cooked mixture that has been drained. Serve on a large platter and eat family style. We love to serve this with our cheddar biscuits. 

Tandoori style chicken  - https://pinchofyum.com/instant-pot-coconut-tandoori-chicken

Thanks Susan for sending us this one to try! 

This one is best served in naan bread , with Mediterranean roasted veggies, over rice or with some couscous. 

 

Stick around for our post Friday for the remaining recipes . 

Until next time, be blessed, 

Ali