Crock Pot Freezer Meals - Part 1

As I mentioned in last week's Trial Tuesday post, we've gotten back into crock pot cooking now that the weather has cooled down. So as I officially enter my late twenties today, let me share with you my love of crock pot cooking.

A lot of people shy away from crock pot cooking during the week because there is usually a lot of prep involved. If you're not a morning person it's hard to handle a full dinner prep, eat breakfast, and get dressed and be on time for work. 

Prepping for an hour or two over the weekend and freezing those meals makes crock potting a breeze! 

I usually start by picking 5 or 6 recipes and gathering all of the ingredients. 

Then I cut and prep all of my meat, then veggies, then sauces. 

I label everything and freeze it.

It takes about 2 hours to make 6 of these by myself but then it takes just 5 minutes to make dinner during the week! Worth it!

Here are some tried and true crock pot recipes we've discovered over the years. All frozen and cooked to perfection. Of course there are a bevy of recipes out there and we're trying new ones all the time, so expect a part 2, 3, etc. of this post. What freezer meals work for you?

Chicken & Rice

2 Cups Wheat Minute Rice
1 Can Reduced Fat Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
1 Can Water
1 Packet of Dry Onion Soup Mix
4 Chicken Breasts - Cut up into strips or chunks

I usually start by cutting up my chicken and placing it in a freezer Ziploc bag, then I add the rest of my ingredients, mix it up and freeze it! Thaw it in the freezer overnight and cook in the crock pot on low for 8 hours. Be sure to label your Ziploc with the name of the recipe and how long to cook it.

Creamy Chicken and Chives - Betty Crocker
1 Can Reduced Fat Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 8 oz container of Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup White Wine
1/4 Cup Butter
1 Packet Italian Dressing Mix
4 Chicken Breasts - Cut up in strips or chunks
1 box Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta

Again, I start by cutting up my Chicken and placing it in a freezer Ziploc bag, then I add the rest of my ingredients. With this recipe, you'll need to melt the butter in a sauce pan and combine your cream cheese, dressing mix, cream of chicken soup and white wine - stirring until well combined. When the mixture has cooled, pour it into your freezer bag with your chicken and freeze. Defrost in the fridge overnight and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over pasta.

Chicken Curry

4 Chicken Breasts - Cut up in strips or chunks
2 Bottles of Trader Joe's Yellow Curry
4-5 Red Potatoes sliced or cut into chunks

This one is easy - Cut up your chicken and potatoes, toss them in a Ziploc freezer bag and pour in your ready made sauce. Freeze. When ready to cook, defrost in fridge overnight and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with Trader Joe's Microwave Jasmine Rice.

The Most Amazing Pork Chops Ever - Crockin' Girls

You must make this one...they truly are AMAZING Pork Chops. I added potatoes to the mix this time - I'll let you know how that turns out. The gravy is so, so good! I imagine they would be incredible with mashed potatoes.

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken - Saving You Dinero 

This one is also quite delicious and so easy to put together! Try it!


Most people recommend freezing your bags flat for more freezer room but I like to freeze mine upright so it kind of takes the shape of my crock pot. I find it doesn't defrost that much overnight and its hard to make it fit in the crock pot if it's frozen flat. Just a thought.

Happy Crock Potting! I'll be back with more recipes soon!

Trial Tuesdays

So can you hard-boil eggs in the oven?

While perusing Pinterest one day, I repinned a pin on hard boiling eggs in the oven. I was shocked you could do such a thing and wanted to learn more. I am the worst offender when it comes to boiling eggs and forgetting all about them until the yolks are green and way over cooked - this could be my answer. 

This weekend I bought a dozen eggs forgetting we already had a dozen in the fridge, so Chris suggested we hard boil them for snacks and salads. I cautiously decided to give the oven method a try. To do this, I simply placed all my eggs in their individual muffin "compartments" (to prevent rolling), preheated my oven to 325 and baked them for 28 minutes. 

Following the directions from the pin, I let them sit in the pan to cool for 5 minutes and then transferred them to a water and ice bath to cool completely. I timidly peeled a shell off of one and cut the egg open. Cooked to perfection! The egg white seemed to be less rubbery too. Very tasty! 

The egg shells don't show any signs of cooking in the oven but the whites may have a few scorch looking marks on them - they still taste great. Give it try - this one works!

Fall Decor

Fall came one day early here in Texas with crisp air and a gorgeous blue sky this Saturday. This change in the weather prompted me to finally do a little decorating. 

**It should be noted that I am very much a minimalist when it comes to decorating for seasons/holidays (other than Christmas). I like my decor to be appropriate for all seasons, it's too much work to be changing decor all the time.

I busted out my Blueberry Pumpkin Patch BBW candle...

Oh. my. goodness. It smells heavenly and definitely got me in the spirit! Go buy one - you won't regret it!

I bought mini pumpkins while at the grocery store - couldn't resist. This year I filled my vases on the mantle with them. Just a nice subtle fall touch!

I also stopped by Hobby Lobby and picked up the supplies to make a fall wreath. It cost me under $20 and took about 30 minutes to make. This is the first wreath I've ever made for us and I love it!

I painted the "P" with chalkboard paint but I have no idea where to find chalk these days! Someday I'll be able to write on it...

Yay, Fall Decor! Here's hoping this gorgeous weather sticks around for a while. I might even plant some Mums if it does!

Friday Favs

Wow, this week just flew by!! I don't have much to report for my Friday Favs this week but I hope you enjoy anyway! I'll be back next week with some crock pot recipes and a few house projects to share. TGIF!

1. PSL

Yes - I am a big fan of pumpkin spice lattes and thanks to a wonderful coworker of mine, I had the first of the season this week! Fall is just around the corner!

2. College Week

Just a quick update...I did win the door decorating contest! Victory is mine!

3. Sperrys

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Get. on. my. feet!! I need these Sperrys bad. Good thing my birthday is coming up!

4. Snack Mix

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We don't have any kids yet but this is the perfect 'me' snack! I found this on The Good Life blog and was craving it all weekend so I had to whip up a batch for the week. I added sunflower seeds, omitted pretzels, and subbed in dark chocolate chips for "health". Yuuuum!!!

5. Fall TV is back!

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What's not to love about fall?! Weather, holidays, football and all your favorite tv shows! New Girl came back this Tuesday and reminded me how much I have missed my fall comedies!

Linking up with a few of my favs!

Happy Friday!

Trial Tuesdays - Crock Pot Liners

Today's post is short and sweet. About two years ago, I got really into crock pot cooking, shortly after we received an awesome crock pot as a wedding gift. The one thing I despised about crock pot cooking though was that it was supposed to be easy and what wasn't easy about it was cleaning the crock pot afterwards.

While cruising Pinterest one day, I found a blog that raved about these great little things called slow cooker liners. They're plastic liners for the crock pot that you can cook your meal in and when you're finished you just take the liner out, throw it away, and your crock pot is clean. I'll admit I was skeptical - "how does the plastic not melt?", but gave it a try anyway and I'll never crock pot without them again. 

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Will some study come out about the plastic killing you? Probably, but I don't really care...they're amazing.

You can find a great coupon by click here. Try them - you will not regret it.

**I have not received free product or compensation for promoting Reynolds Crock Pot Liners. I just love the product and the time they save me. :)**

Happy Monday

I've been so busy lesson planning, cheering on my Sooners and my Fantasy Football team, and doing chores around the house that I haven't had time to prepare a week of great posts. Just so I don't leave you with nothing to read on a Monday, here are a few things that are making me happy right this second, along with a few things to look forward to in future posts this week.

I'm kind of proud of my college week door and more proud that I got it put up before the kick-off today. I need to add some stuff to the bottom but I think it's a winner!

I saw this on a friend's Facebook this weekend...it pretty much sums up me and Chris' vacationing habits.

Bath and Body Works had their 3-wick candles on sale for $8 this Saturday. I bought the best smelling pumpkin candles ever and my favorite, Lemon Mint Leaf. I'm kind of obsessed with their candles.

Source: Unkown

I love this quote and it really is quite true. 

I spent about an hour yesterday preparing meals for the week! I'm a huge fan of crock pot cooking, but we put it on hold over summer because it is just too hot in Texas to smell food cooking all day. Now that Fall is on it's way, we can bring out our favorite Crock Pot Freezer Meals again! There is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing you don't have to worry about dinner when you get home. I'll be sharing a few of my very favorite recipes with you soon!

Have a great Monday!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!!

1. Payday

Source: Unkown

Not only is it Friday but it's also payday!! This is a special day for me since it's my first official paycheck as a teacher. It's been a month of long hours and a ton of work and while the joy of helping my kids learn is the reason I really do this...actually seeing a paycheck is an excellent bonus! I think I'll go shopping this weekend. :)

2. Mobi

This little tool has revolutionized my classroom - it links to my computer and allows me to write on any powerpoint or document I have up. I can stand right in the middle of my students as we can work a problem set together, instead of running back and forth to the document camera or sitting at my desk. I've been using this for a day and I've already noticed we get through a lot more material, I can check for understanding more easily and I can always stand close to my kiddos that require more attention. Love!

3. Anchor

I bought this little anchor bangle for a few dollars off of jane.com a few weeks ago. The message behind it really inspired me - it's a reminder to "be strong, you can get through this." We always have an anchor even in the rough seas of life. It's a nice reminder when my seas are rough and it looks awesome in the rose gold, stacked with my other bracelets.

4. Chris

I arrived home after Meet the Teacher night (which went really well!) to a pan full of extra chocolate chip brownies. My husband has never baked brownies in his life and he made the effort to make me a special treat after a long day. Apparently it came down to brownies or flowers...he chose brownies (he knows me so well). I am one lucky gal.

5. Mister Rogers

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I recently discovered short music videos serve an amazing purpose in my classroom. The kids need a brain break and they love having a treat to look forward to if they focus and work hard during class. Some of my most favorite clips are the PBS remixes with Mister Rogers. They never cease to inspire me - what an amazing man he was. 

Here's to a lucky Friday the 13th and a weekend that feels extra long and restful.

Check out some of my favorite blogs and their Friday Favs!

Trial Tuesdays - Fruit Water

I've been seeing a lot of pins for flavoring water with fruit and veggies lately. I've pinned quite a few but never tried any of them, so when we hosted our most recent OU watch party last weekend I decided to make a batch in my fancy drink dispenser.

To make this batch of fruit water, I used an entire container of very ripe strawberries (on sale for $.99), 3 medium sized lemons, and a few sprigs of mint.

First, I washed the strawberries, lemons, and mint thoroughly. Then, I sliced the lemons and strawberries and place everything in the bottom of a drink dispenser. Finally, I added water and ice and stirred it up. It wasn't extremely flavorful at first but the longer it sat the more the fruit diffused into the water and the better it tasted. I also found that when you get low, you can add more water to the fruit mixture and it still tastes delicious. Next time I would add a few more strawberries and more mint, but overall I was very pleased! Plus it looks pretty.

The flavor possibilities are endless. I'm thinking melon water could be delicious. Maybe apples? Raspberries? Oh and another bonus? It's healthy! Try it!

Hallway Love

I can't really claim this idea but I'm married to the handsome guy that came up with it and I helped spray paint, so I feel like I contributed. 

We have one small hallway in our house, it leads from the kitchen to the half bath, laundry room and formal dining room. It gets quite a bit of use and is seen by all of our guests, but never gets any love (art, decor, etc). So Chris had the idea to extend the chair rail he was hanging in the formal dining room to the hallway. What a difference it makes! 

If you have a miter saw or miter box, it's quite easy to do. Chris carefully measured everything out, made 45 degree angle cuts to the chair rail. We saved time by spray painting the chair rail after it was cut and before he hung it. (It's much easier to spray paint chair rail before it's attached to the wall than paint it after it's attached to the wall.) He then used a little construction glue, a level, and a nail gun to hang it. After hanging it, he calked the gaps with some paintable calk and touched up with our hallway paint color, Edgecomb Gray (see our paint colors here). It looks AMAZING and took just a couple hours!

I can't wait to share our formal dining room update too - coming soon!

Friday Favorites

1. New Towels

Long overdue. We have not purchased new towels since our wedding 2.5 years ago and we only have 4. I saved up my Kohl's cash and coupons and finally bought some fancy Vera Wang towels last weekend. They're so nice - I'm going back to buy more this weekend!

2. Doctor Who Lanyard

Love.

3. Back to the Gym

I finally made an effort to leave work on time and go work out. It feels good to be back and it's great for my mental & physical health!

4. Gary England

He was on the Colbert Report last night and it was amazing! I love his passion for weather and I never tire of hearing him talk directly to kids about taking tornado safety precautions when they're home alone. I was once one of those kids and it was always comforting to hear his calm voice explaining the situation. 

5. The Skimm

I read about the Skimm on A. Liz Adventures' Friday Favs and immediately signed up. I normally shy away from news because, frankly, its boring and depressing. The Skimm delivers the top news stories of the day to your inbox each morning and it reads like a chat with a friend. Those "boring" news topics are now easy to read and interesting! Check it out - you won't regret it!

Linking up with some favs!

Happy Friday!!

Good Reads

Looking for a good book suggestion? Here are a few of my recent reads, good, bad, and decent...

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I checked this one out from our public library through the Overdrive app as an audio book. It was the perfect book to listen to while getting ready for work in the morning. Not one I would read again but it's intriguing and a fairly light read. I recommend it!

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Amazing, dystopian YA. Read it now!

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I read it for a book club and it was terrible. I had to find out what happened but I so did not enjoy reading it! I have no idea how it made it to the top of the best sellers list. Sharp Objects was the same, maybe worse. You've been warned.

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This was such a cute, feel-good book! I would probably read it again. Anything by Sophie Kinsella is worth a read if you're looking for something light and fun.

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This one is a non-fiction book that was suggested to me by my in-laws. It's quite an empowering read if you're an introvert - I learned so much about myself and others. Definitely worth the read no matter who you are.

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Quick, funny read! She had me laughing out loud at times and who couldn't use a good laugh? I highly recommend this one and even more highly recommend Bossypants by Tina Fey.

Currently reading:

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I haven't been able to read more than a few pages of these two so far but they come highly recommended. Comment below with your good book suggestions! I'm always looking for a great book to read.

Happy Thursday - See you tomorrow for FRIDAY Favs!