Wow, every time I think of how much longer we have to go I get really excited and really nervous at the same time!
So 2 weeks left: 2 weeks to prepare; 2 weeks to make sure I have everything, 2 weeks to install the car seat, 2 weeks to fix the cradle we were given; 2 weeks to get enough sleep! Oh my goodness 2 weeks is not long at all when you think about everything that has to happen before hand…
One thing I am trying to get a handle on is preparing some frozen meals for when the baby is here and I won’t have time to sort out dinner. So I got a few different recipes online but mostly from The Test Kitchen of Melissa Fallis:
All of them are slow-cooker recipes (because my amazing Mother-in-law has already made us some frozen meals for the oven). I have no clue yet how any of these taste but I am sure it will be lovely cause they all sound delicious. So these are the choices (each recipe makes 2 meals, which I split between 2 freezer bags): Mediterranean Pork Chops, Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Chicken, and Beef Stew.
Mediterranean Pork Chops:
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 cup of chicken stock
4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Sweet potato
2 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. Chicken seasoning
2 Tsp. Dried oregano
2 Tsp. Dried Basil
6-8 Pork chops
Split all ingredients between 2 freezer bags
Cook on low for 8 Hours
Teriyaki Chicken:
6 Carrots
1 Red onion
1 Can chopped pineapple
2 cloves Garlic
2 Potatoes
2-3 Chicken breasts (you can chop it up if you like but it will just fall apart in the slow-cooker)
1 Cup Teriyaki Sauce
Split all ingredients between 2 freezer bags
Cook on low for 8 Hours
BBQ Chicken:
2 Green capsicums
1 Red capsicum
1 Zucchini
2 Onions
4 Potatoes
4 Cloves garlic
2-3 Chicken breasts
400g Tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcester sauce
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Dried Mustard
¼ tsp. salt (per bag)
1 Tbsp BBQ sauce (per bag)
Split all ingredients between 2 freezer bags
Cook on low for 8 hours
Beef Stew:
1 Green capsicum
1 Chopped onion
2 Chopped carrots
2 Chopped garlic
2 Potatoes
1 Kg Beef (I bought the Beef chuck for slow cooking)
1 Can tomato paste
2 Tsp. paprika
¼ Tsp. Black pepper (per bag)
2 Cup Beef stock
Split ingredients between 2 freezer bags
Cook on low for 8 Hours
A few notes:
* Write on the bags before you fill them
*Press all the air out before you freeze them
*You don’t need to defrost them but if the ingredients are hard to get out of the bag just run it under some warm water for a bit to loosen it up.
* One of my bags had a hole in it so I would suggest pouring in any liquid over the sink and pouring in the sauces first means it won’t leak out when you are trying to squeeze the air out and seal them.
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Hi, Carlene. What a brilliant idea. Enjoy all the preparations before your little one arrives.
Are the cooking times based on food being from a frozen state? Love the recipe for the Mediterranean pork chops!
Hey Angalina, yes I just took them out in the morning and put them in the slow cooker straight from the freezer 🙂
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These look great! How did they turn out? Were they yummy?
They were great thanks Rebekah. Such a help with a new baby too, really happy we did this an will do it again for next bub 🙂
for your first recipe for mediterranean pork chops, it says to use chicken seasoning. What exactly is that and where can i get it? I have checked out walmart for “chicken seasoning” but no luck
Hi Heather, Sorry we are based down in Australia and I think maybe its an Australian thing. I’m not sure where you are based but you can replace it with 1tsp of any form of herb salt or a just 1tsp of salt instead. Good luck 🙂
I believe she is talking about poultry seasoning, it’s a mix of thyme, sage, rosemary etc
Stupid question — but how do you split up the ingredients between 2 freezer bags without messing up the measurements?
Hi Jennifer, Not a stupid question at all 🙂 While I was making the bags up I was packing them as I was going along. So for example if it says 2 cups of stock, I would pour 1 cup in each bag, then move onto the next ingredient and do the same. Hope that helps 🙂
Could you replace the chicken with pork chops in the chicken teriyaki?
I’ve never done it and have personally never heard of pork teriyaki. But I can’t see any reason not to give it a try 😉
Hi there, thx for these recipes! I am wondering how many people you think these meals serve. We are a family of 4, 3 adults 1 4 year old. Thx in advance!
Hey Tiff, they would probably feed 3 adults if you make something to go with it like rice or mash potato. It fed my husband and I for dinner and he took some to work the next day 😊
I’m wondering how the potatoes turn out after being frozen. I understood potatoes and sweet potatoes go mushy after being frozen. Did you find that to be a problem?
I must admit I often find that my potatoes turn a bit mushy in the slow cooker whether they are frozen or not so I didn’t notice any difference.