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Many of you had questions about how this method of cooking works exactly, so today I invited the author, Stephanie, to share all of the details with us so you can create your own "Freezer to Slow Cooker" recipes at home. Or better yet you could just pick up a copy of her book* if you'd rather someone else do all the work for you!
Guest post by Stephanie Brandt Cornais
Hiya! My name is Stephanie and I am the Founder of MamaAndBabyLove.com. I am dedicated to helping women heal, nourish and love themselves so they can nourish and love their families and live their best life.
I have been on a personal journey to learn how to be healthy and cook for over ten years now, and it's been a loooong and arduous process. I used to watch The Food Network and get inspired to get off the couch and try a recipe, but the end result was usually something my dog wouldn't even eat. Then about six years ago I bought a slow cooker and it changed. my. life.
Later when my daughter was born, time was of the essence so I therefore needed a really efficient way to make lots of slow cooker meals at one time. So I combined my old love of slow cooking and my new love of freezer cooking into something that was incredibly time saving, manageable and most importantly, healthy.
In about 2 hours or less, I chop all my meat and vegetables and put them in Ziploc freezer bags. Then I add my spice combinations and mix it up a bit. I get all the air out of the bag and lay it flat like a brick so that it doesn't take up a lot of space in my freezer. Then the morning I want a home cooked, healthy meal, I take a bag out of my freezer and dump it into my slow cooker, totally frozen. By dinner time I have a real, healthy and nourishing meal awaiting my family and me.
This way of cooking solved my problem of scrambling in the early evening to figure out what healthy, homemade meal I would serve my family. It frees up time so that I can enjoy my afternoons and evenings with my family. So instead of muttering to myself in the kitchen with resentment coming out of my ears, I am chilling with my family, most likely with a glass of red wine in hand and giving myself a little pat on the back - because the made from scratch meal I just put on the table took hardly any effort at all.
Here are some of my favorite slow cooker freezer recipes. You can find many more in my cookbook, From Your Freezer To Your Family.
Ginger Cranberry Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 2 pork roasts (left whole)
- 12-oz package cranberries (fresh, or 2 jars of whole cranberries (cans have BPA in them))
- 1 cup ginger (fresh, peeled and sliced or minced)
- 2 tablespoons rapadura sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca (or some other thickening agent like whole-wheat flour or arrowroot powder)
Instructions
- Label 2 one-gallon freezer bags.
- After chopping, evenly divide all ingredients into the two bags and lay flat in the freezer.
- Day of cooking: Pull one bag from the freezer and lay it on the counter for several minutes to slightly thaw. Peel away the bag, dump the contents into your slow cooker along with ½ cup of filtered water, and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until fully cooked.
Remember each slow cooker is different, so the first time you make a recipe, really watch it closely so you don’t over or under cook the dish. - Serve with broccoli sautéed in butter. I cook frozen broccoli this way - no need to thaw, just dump frozen broccoli into a hot pan with hot butter and it is delicious.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken
*Note this recipe makes two complete meals/bags
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potatoes (unpeeled and cut into ½" pieces)
- 2 cups green bell peppers (cut into strips or cubes)
- 1 cup red bell pepper (cut into strips or cubes)
- 2 cups zucchini (chopped into circles 1 thick)
- 2 cups onion (chopped into 1" pieces)
- 2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca (or some other thickening agent like whole-wheat flour or arrowroot powder)
- 2 pounds chicken thighs (or drumsticks, kept whole)
- 2 - 15-oz jars tomato sauce (plain (cans will work but may be lined with BPA))
- 4 tablespoons rapadura sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons ground mustard
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced (about 2 tablespoons))
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Label 2 one-gallon freezer bags.
- After chopping, divide everything into the two bags. Shake them up, seal, and lay flat in the freezer.
- Day of cooking: Pull one bag from the freezer and lay it on the counter for several minutes to slightly thaw. Peel away the bag, dump the contents into your slow cooker, and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low 6-8 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker.
- Serve with a salad and a grain like brown rice (if you eat grains).
Notes
Nutrition Facts
I hope you enjoyed learning about this cooking method. My cookbook further answers any questions you would need to know about how to get started and how the assembly process works. I also have a FAQ page and sometimes host a free Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes Webinar where you can learn all about my tried and true tips and secrets and have an opportunity to ask me your questions directly. I am also really good about answering all questions on the blog or the M+BL Facebook page, so if you ever need help, just shoot me a question and I am happy to answer!
Stephanie Brandt Cornais is the Founder and Creative Director of Mama and Baby Love, a real food, natural parenting and lifestyle blog. She is the author of From Your Freezer To Your Family, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes, The Mama and Baby Love Guide to a Conscious Childbearing Year and Grain-Free/Gluten-Free Baking-A Healthy Baking Cookbook for Mama's Who Don't Know How To Bake. You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.
Stephanie Brandt Cornais is the Founder and Creative Director of Mama and Baby Love, a real food, natural parenting and lifestyle blog. She is the author of From Your Freezer To Your Family, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes, The Mama and Baby Love Guide to a Conscious Childbearing Year and Grain-Free/Gluten-Free Baking-A Healthy Baking Cookbook for Mama's Who Don't Know How To Bake. You can also find her on *Stephanie's book is no longer for sale, but not to worry - this is another favorite e-book of ours featuring real food slow cooker recipes.
Kenedi - Real Food Whole Life says
I love freezer meals and life is always so much less stressful when I'm organized enough to do freezer meals and use my crock pot.
Renee says
This sounds amazing and I want to buy the cookbook....BUT, I have a question/concern. I have read that if you cook frozen meet in a slow cooker it will harvest bacteria. I LOVE my slow cooker and adore this idea, but my husband is really concerned that it will cause an issue with the meet being cooked so slowly from frozen--that the slow rise in temperature in the slow cooker would cause problems.
Have you ever heard this? Have you ever had an issue? Has this been tested?
Hoping I can prove the husband wrong and start saving time making recipes like this!
Stephanie says
The temperature of you slow cooker gets hot enough to kill any possible bacteria even on low setting.
Tyler says
I'm having trouble figuring out where to enter the discount code...any suggestions? When i go to her website and click on the link to buy it just goes to pay pal!
Melissa says
when you get to pay pal it will ask for your zip code and discount code
Heather says
Love my slow-cooker! I use it 3-4 x's a week. Thanks for the recipies.
Pam@behealthybehappywellness says
Can't wait to try these recipes! Thanks for sharing. One thing I do is make a batch of muffins once a week. We eat half and I freeze the other half. After a month of that I have a great selection of muffins that can be taken out a few at a time for snacks or easy breakfasts. I shared on my blog one of our new favorites today: http://behealthybehappywellness.com/2013/02/chocolate-banana-muffins-morning-goodness/
Lynnette says
Got it! Can't wait to read it!
Bailey says
I live love love all of this!! Thank you for sharing what you did and I look forward to getting your book!!!
Renae says
Bought it and set up a chopping date with my friend for next Monday - thanks for the referral!!
Erin S says
I was really hoping you would have some more slow cooker recipes. I am going to try that Ginger Cranberry Pork Roast soon (just printed it off). Would love to see some more of your recipes, hopefully soon.
Angie says
Love the concept! Works very much for my family as I am a working mother of 2 young children. Looking forward to reading the interview.
Samantha says
I'm cooking for multiple food allergies (dairy, soy, yeast, beef, and bananas). I know I can swap the beef in your recipes for another meat (ex. pork, chicken, or bison). Can you tell me if I will have to make many other modifications to your recipes, or will most be ready to go as they are? Thanks!
Stephanie says
There is almost no dairy, and the ones that do have dairy, its a part as the recipe as garnish (like sour cream). No soy, yeast or bananas and you could swap out the beef for another type of meat no problem.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Samantha. You will need to evaluate each recipe individually based on your own family's needs. Some of us with 100 Days also deal with some food allergy issues. Here are a couple posts where certain allergies/intolerance are addressed: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/28/food-allergies/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/31/food-allergies-dairy/. Good luck. ~Amy
Raine says
Thankyou for this, I dont have a slow cooker but I am guessing I could defrost the packs whilst Im at work and cook in my pressure cooker when i get home, the beauty of a pressure cooker is it only takes half an hour!
Amy says
Vegetarian - take out the meat and use only veggie broth.
Jill R says
Thanks for this. I am a working mom of two and can't even seem to get it all together. This should definitely help me. I love my crock pot but never have the time to get all of the ingredients ready in the morning. So thank you!
shannon says
I would have loved this if there had been some vegetarian recipes. 95% meat from what I can tell.
Mommyof1 says
Why not double (or triple) the veggies? Serve over brown rice.
heidi says
Agreed. Maybe add beans in some of the recipes instead of meat?
Jamie says
I was just wondering if I can purchase this cookbook to my Kindle?
Stephanie says
What kind of Kindle do you have? I have a Kindle Fire, and I'm able to load PDFs on there just fine.
All I had to do was plug in my Kindle to my computer using a USB cable, then drag and drop the PDF file into the "documents" folder on my Kindle.
For more information, I highly recommend checking out this support thread on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx1MXCNEGYLUY7E
Carina says
I bought this cookbook around Christmastime, and I have tried 6 or 7 meals from it. Personally, I have found that we LOVE it! I have three kids who are 5, 2 and 10 months. They have liked most of what I have made. (The baby likes everything!) My husband and I have liked everything too. The chicken curry is my husband's favorite. I think mine is the cilantro lime chicken. Now, we do make a few minor spice or flavor changes, but I expect that from any recipe I use. The base recipes are right on and then you can doctor them up to suit your family's tastes. It is SO nice to have a stack of healthy, whole food meals in the freezer. With three little ones, there are days I don't have the time to cook, and this is perfect for us. Also, my 2 year old has Celiac disease, and these recipes are grain-free. Hooray! Thank you for your cookbook. I recommend it all the time. :)
Stephanie says
So glad to hear that Carina! Thanks so much for chimming in!
Diana says
Any sensitive tummies in your house to testify for the safety of your method? My little one has a digestive condition so proper food sanitation is essential in our house. I myself get food hangovers from parties where the food is left out too long. I got spooked on my first trial of my slow cooker when I used frozen crushed tomatoes and three hours later there was no steam or bubbling, food temp was not even up to 140 yet! Have you tested your method to make sure food is out of the 40-140 danger zone in a short enough time?
Also, like Melissa, using my Cook's Illustrated best rated 6.5 qt Crock Pot and following FDA methods using fresh food and warm liquids every meal has burned. Any thoughts on that? Or would your packs work just as well in the pressure cooker where the process is much faster?
Stephanie says
My whole house is a house of sensitive tummies (got to love that digestion and bacteria is inheritied!) and we have never had a problem. In fact, my husband, who has the most sensitive tummy of all, loves all my recipes. If you are having a problem with burning, turn the heat down and lessen the cook time. And then use a temp gauge to make sure it got hot enough (and don't take the lid off a lot, a ton of heat escapes that way!).
Jacquie says
Sounds good except for adding the sugar. Why is sugar in everything?
Stephanie says
It's not white sugar and it's a really small amount compared to the size of the meal. Each meal is dinner and lots of leftovers, so one tablespoon is pretty small. It just helps with the flavor. In the case of the ginger-cranberry, it's to cut the tartness of the fresh cranberries.
Robin says
I can't get past the cloth toilet paper comment.Ewwwwww
Stephanie says
Lol. That's ok, I don't make everyone use cloth toilet paper if they want to read my blog. Or eat their placenta or breastfeed their three year old or any of the other more "extreme" things I do. There's a whole lot of "normal" and "pratical" tips on Mama and Baby Love too. :)
Kendra says
Uh...yeah...I just totally changed my mind now. Will not be buying.
Holly says
I tried to purchase the print version of your book using the "100DRF" discont code and the discount did not apply. Is the offer over?
Stephanie says
It is a time sensitive code, but it will be up for a little bit longer and should still work. Can you try again? It's working for everyone else.
Stephanie says
Oh, and the code is only for the E book.
AJ says
About how many recipes in the book are *not* beef or pork based? We eat chicken/poultry and fish only in our house. :) (and sometimes have successfully used ground turkey in place of ground beef)
Thanks!
Stephanie says
If you click on the link above it will take you to the main sales page and all the recipes are listed out for you to see.
Jennifer says
I am a meal planner, but have yet to try this method. These recipes sound delish and healthy. Next time I get groceries, I'm making a list and trying some of these. What a lifesaver for some of those crazy days. Thanks!
lisa says
I am gone from my home longer than 8 hours so i'm worried about trying to cook these during the week. Could I instead, place in fridge and thaw and then put them in the oven when I get home instead of using a slow cooker? I LOVE the idea of batch cooking like this and your combo grocery lists have been EXACTLY what i have been looking for. I suppose I could cook up stuff on the weekends and then serve up as leftovers - but I'd rather go straight from oven to plate..... what do you think?
Cathy says
Some slowcookers have timers. I go through lots of slow cookers (dogs and I'm just clutzy). They are not all equal. I currently have two. An old fashion one, turn on and leave and better add extra liquid and a brand new really well sealed with a timer. It'll switch to warm and keep things warm and moist. As single mom with busy kids I see no other way to have a real meal in the 30 mins at home between one activity and the next. Cathy
Jenna says
I'd be concerned about the food safety. Everything I've read about using a slow cooker says that you should not be frozen meat directly in the pot. It won't heat up quickly enough to stop bacteria from reproducing. I'd feel more comfortable thawing the meals in the fridge before cooking in the crockpot, Has anyone tiried this option?
Stephanie says
You can certainly do that if you want. The USDA official stance is to not put food in your slow cooker frozen, but I have been doing this for years and its very safe. As long as you start with a clean kitchen, use good food, and immediatly put your bags in the freezer and then immediatly put them the slow cooker day of cooking, you will be just fine.
Lisa says
I agree, I put frozen meats in all the time. Even whole frozen chickens! From the time I turn on my crock pot to the time I sit down to dinner on a weeknight is usually 10 1/2hrs. So if it takes 2 or 3 hours to thaw then Im still cooking it the recommended 6 to 8 hrs on top of that.
Audrey says
Cloth toilet paper?!?!?!? Cloth napkins, cool. Cloths in the kitchen instead of paper towels, fine. Cloth diapers, sure. But I have lived in Haiti and traveled in Central America, South America, Europe and the Middle East, and this is the first time I have EVER heard of cloth toilet paper.
Cassie says
Audrey~ it is becoming quite popular! So is cloth tampons, however I HATE laundry as it is so this is something I will never do. Works for some and not for others. :)
Stephanie says
Lol, seriously. Now that my daugther is potty trained and I am not washing cloth diapers anymore, I may get out of the habit till the next baby but we shall see. If you are already washing cloth diapers, its really no extra work at all.
Cassie says
I am so excited to find healthy slow cooker meals! I am not much of a cook and our new place has a teeny tiny kitchen. I used to use my crock pot all the time but that was with cream of something and ton of salt! can't wait to try this! As always a great guest post!
Catherine @ Happily Ever Crafter says
That first recipe sounds amazing! We're not fans of pork but I think it would taste delicious with chicken too! I'm always on the lookout for good freezer meals!
Stephanie says
totally!
Zoe says
The slow cooker I have is a metal pot that sits on top of the electric base. I bought this one because I sear my meats and sometimes sautée my veggies before slow cooking. Having the removeable metal pot allows me to place it on my gas burner, do my searing and/or sautéing, and then place the pot directly on the electric base for slow cooking. It saves me the use and washing of a frying or sautée pan. The only caveat I would mention is that the metal ones cook even slower than the ceramic ones so you need to adjust the temperature up a bit or cook it longer.
For Melissa, I always sear my meats on high heat on all sides to seal in the juices before putting it in the slow cooker and I make sure there is plenty of liquid and enough salt. I only cook "wet" meals in my cooker like stews, chilis and soups and sometimes pot roast.
Heather says
Is the discount code only good on eBooks? It's not working for me. :( Thank you for your help!
Stephanie says
Yes, only for the ebooks, sorry!
Ang says
Just wondering - but shouldn't you blanch the raw veggies before freezing them to preserve the enzymes? I always do this with my garden crops before I freeze anything.
Stephanie says
In my experiments, it didn't make a difference so why add the extra step!
kelly head says
I JUST found your site today and bought the ecookbook on a whim. I've recently returned to work and its what ive been searching for - simple, healthful meals. I read your intro and could cry with excitement that you are a REAL foodie! What a bonus!! I'm soooo super excited to try your recipes. What a tremendous blessing! Thanks for your efforts in coming up with all of this and sharing it! Many blessings to you!!!
Jessica says
When I was pregnant with my third, I came across her blog about freezer meals and thought...genius!!! I spent a good amount of time and money preparing 4 different freezer crock pot meals for my family. I was so excited to have these on hand for after the baby got here. I decided to test one ahead of time, just incase I wanted to make more! Man, was I extremely disappointed!! All the squash in the recipes turned to complete mush. One recipe called to leave the skin on sweet potatoes, they were gross. One recipe call for ingredients to make your own bbq sauce...it was not good either. Just a warning, before you spend your time and money. I hate wasting food, but after we tried these, we threw the second bag away.
Lisa says
I too have utilized my slow cooker in the past and have several tried and true family favorites that I occasionally make when I know there might be a crunch of cooking time. I was really excited to see the "Slow Cooker Freezer Meals" from Mama and Baby Love. I made approximately ten of the recipes in duplicate for both my family and my son and daughter-inlaw for their new family. Boy we were all disappointed. There was only one meal we liked. Most of the meals lacked flavor, and everything was uber mushy (no, I did not overcook).
Lisa C. says
Stephanie does mention in her book (I have bought it a couple of months ago) that the dinners do mostly come up mushy (how can it not) so be prepared for that. As a result, the dinners are baby/young toddler friendly since the food is kind of mush.
Stephanie says
Hey Jessica and Lisa,
You might want to come to my free slow cooker freezer recipe coaching class and run through with me what you did, there might be something I can help with. There is always a couple of people that say they don't like them, I guess I just have to accept I can't please everyone and that these meals are not for everyone, but I want to try! So if you want the coaching class sign up is here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9013384355679651328
amy says
Thank you for sharing these recipes, they all look delicious!!
Ivana says
Mary, if you have ground meat, you should cook it first, but most meat can either be seared or thrown in raw.
Mary says
I am a bad cook. Simple questions.,, Are all your meats RAW before you freeze them or do you pre-cook them? My one favorite turkey chili recipe requires cooked ground turkey before the slow cooker.
Thanks
Mary
Stephanie says
Reframe your thinking! You are not a bad cook, you are just learning to cook! I taught myself to cook and so can you. My cookbook will be a huge help, I promise.
And yes, you put everything in raw, then put straight in the freezer. Day of cooking you pull it straight from the freezer to your slow cooker.
Mary says
THANKS! You are right. I am a work in progress. Over winter break my kids and I were laughing because I cooked 5 dinners in a row that were great and eaten by all! If I can put in everything raw then I will give it I try! I will let you know how it turns out! I just love those days when it's 1:00 pm and I don't have to worry about dinner because IT IS ALREADY DONE! Thanks Stephanie!
Mary
Carrie says
I purchased this book a while ago and before my current round of grad classes started, I spent a weekend cooking/prepping. We are planning to have the cranberry pork roast in a couple of days--I can't wait to try it! I love that these meals are designed to go from freezer to crock pot, and not necessarily 'regular' meals that you can freeze or adapt for the slow cooker.
Akira says
I've never have a slow cooker, I don't know if the idea of leaving something "on" for so many hours stress me, plus the electricity!... but I've heard so many good things of this method that I'm tented to try it!... We are a family of 5, so this could come very handy :)
Katie says
I can't imagine the low wattage used would be any more than using your oven/stove...? You could probably google it, I am sure *someone* out there has done a comparison! I'm not a huge crock pot fan, I love the idea but I'm not into most of the meals made in them. But whenever I do use it, I am usually pretty happy that dinner time approached and I didn't have to do anything except get hungry ;) So I definitely think you should at least try i!
Stephanie says
It actually is the greener option! It uses far less electricity than your oven.
Amanda says
Do you wash and reuse your gallon bags? That would be a money saver and green. If you do, since they would be in and out of the freezer several times, how long do the bags last?
Stephanie says
I don't. I am SO green in other areas of my life, I even use cloth toilet paper! So I just live by the 80/20 rule and allow my self a little plastic to save time. :)
Melissa says
I have such trouble with both freezer meals and slow cooker meals. Nothing I make ever comes out right. I have made meals and frozen them and then heated them and they tasted horrible. With my slow cooker everything is dry and over cooked. I fail at this type of cooking. I feel like I am wasting food, time, and money. Any advice.
Lisa says
Melissa - What kind of slow cooker do you have and are you following the recipes exactly as stated?
Erin says
Are all slow cookers not created equal? What kind of slow cooker is the best?
Stephanie says
Def not. I have an all clad 6 quart slow cooker that I have had for years and I love it.
Melisa says
It's a crockpot, I am not sure all the details, it's in my kitchen and I am upstairs. I have made the refried beans twice exactly the way you wrote and Ithey were burnt and very dry.
I am going to take the we inane class on Sturday and hopefully I will learn how to cook with a crock pot. I really can cook just fail at crock pots and frozen meals.
Stephanie says
There can be a learning curve and getting to know your slow cooker. Slow cookers are like ovens, all a little different and you need to get know yours to learn its quirks. You might enjoy my free slow cooking freezer recipe coaching class and I can trouble shoot in more detail with you then. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9013384355679651328
Megan says
Hi, Melissa! The newer crockpots get to a higher temperature than the older ones. This could be causing your troubles. I would try cooking for a shorter period of time.
http://busycooks.about.com/od/crockpots/i/hottercrockpots.htm