I had seen this concept of "Freezer Crockpot" meals floating around Pinterest. A wonderful idea, really: dump a bunch of ingredients in some Ziploc bags, throw them in the freezer, dump contents into crockpot, and there's dinner! My first attempt did not go so smoothly, however. One morning before work I allotted all of 2 minutes to empty my freezer bag into the crockpot and push "on". As you can see, my frozen block of chipotle lime chicken was slightly larger than my crockpot. Major fail. I could not get the lid of my crockpot on for the life of me! I was trying to run warm water over it, I was hacking at it with a knife, I was in a panic trying to get my "super easy and fast" dinner under control. FINALLY I was able to smush on my lid enough to leave the house and get to work (late, mind you). Lesson learned: thaw your bag in the fridge overnight!! That unfortunate morning aside, this dinner was SO good! It's so nice having a couple of back-up dinners in the freezer. Have you tried any freezer crockpot meals? Now that I know the system, I'm ready to try some more!
Chipotle Lime Chicken
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch of celery, diced (I actually used about 2/3)
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro (I omitted this)
2 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained
toppings of choice
Combine all ingredients except black beans and divide evenly between two freezer bags. Freeze.
When ready to cook, place one bag in the fridge overnight to slightly thaw. Empty contents of bag into crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours. 30 minutes before serving, shred the chicken and add one can of drained black beans. Let simmer a little longer before serving. Serve with guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, and any other toppings of choice.
*Recipe makes two bags. Each bag serves 4-6*
source: recipe adapted from rhymes with smile
This looks yummy and makes me want spring to get here...anything with lime does that for me!
ReplyDeleteFunny that you'd post it today ... we had this for dinner last night! I used skinless chicken thighs, and removed the bones when I shredded the chicken. I still do have trouble though getting the frozen block into my crockpot too. Maybe we should petition ziploc to make bags specifically for this :) Oh, and thanks for the link to rhymes with smile!
ReplyDeletei love this idea of making a crockpot dinner easier - they seriously can be a bit much to put together. i also had a good laugh at poor you hacking away at this thing! it reminds me of those times i've saved stuff to do in the morning before work - it never works out the way i want it too! i feel your pain, lady.
ReplyDeleteGenus You could do A whole weeks worth on a Saturday afternoon!
ReplyDeleteGenus You could do A whole weeks worth on a Saturday afternoon!
ReplyDeleteI do it all the time. In fact, I just froze up 20 meals for my family so that I can concentrate on work and not have us being tempted to waste money ordering out.
ReplyDeletehttp://noelfigart.com/blog/2012/11/20/freezer-cooking-another-way/