9 Super Easy Freezer Meals

     My neighbor approached me last week with the awesome idea of putting together some freezer meals.. I was stoked so I accepted. We sat down, traded a few recipes and came up with a shopping list and a plan. Well, when you have kids, life happens...her lil' guy got the pukies, then she did. So needless to say, we couldnt do them together. Although, I did manage to put them together by myself.
     I was kind of a "virgin" at freezer meals. I have never done mass food preparation before, but this was so easy! I only dirtied a handful of dirty dishes, most of which hardly counted as dishes (measuring spoons, mixing spoon, bowl, cutting board and knife). You mix everything in the bag (except for one recipe), seal it up, and thats it!
     I did all my grocery shopping last week, and brought home EVERYTHING for the recipes, plus re-stocked my pantry cause it was looking pretty pathetic, and purchased things for lunches, snacks and breakfast (expected to last roughly two weeks). I spent about $280 on all of that. Which I have to say is much better than I have done in the past. $280 every two weeks for a family of 6 is pretty darn good.
     Menu planning makes such a huge difference in how much money you spend on your groceries. I have learned though lots of trial and error (mostly error), and have come to the realization that regardless of the amount of work that goes into planning a menu, sticking to it, and shopping, it worth it because of the amount of money that you will save by doing it. Flying by the seat of your pants is costly....
     Wow, did I get off topic or what? Here I am rambling about all this (still important info) and you guys want the recipes for these meals. Now, there will be a link for the site on which I got these off of, but keep in mind I didnt make all those, I picked 6 from that list, and added 3 more from my neighbors list. I will tell you below specifically which ones I made, then give you the recipes for the other 3.Well here ya go!

Slow Cooker BBQ Cranberry Chicken
Slow Cooker Beef and Mushrooms  ( I did not use mushrooms cause I am the only one who likes them. Also I used beef broth cause the kids drank all the apple juice before I could make these. I added a little extra liquid than it called for because I did not use the canned mushrooms)

Slow Cooker Pineapple Glazed Ham
Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
Slow Cooker Sweet Teriyaki Chicken
Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes
Now here are the 3 recipes I got from my neighbor:

Terriyaki Pork Chops
4 pork chops (We like bone-in)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cloves of minced garlic, I used my garlic press
2 T brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
1/3 C chicken broth
Add all ingredients to a 1 gallon sized zipper bag. Seal and freeze. Defrost in fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Add contents in bag to crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours.

Orange Chicken
3-4 chicken breast
1/2 T salt
6oz frozen orange juice, thawed
3 T brown sugar
1 T balsamic vinegar
3 T ketchup
Add all ingredients to a 1 gallon sized zipper bag. Seal and freeze. Defrost in fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Add contents in bag to crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Garlic Honey Chicken
3-4 chicken breast
3 cloves of minced garlic, I used my garlic press
1/3 C soy sauce
2/3 C ketchup
1/4 C honey
Add all ingredients to a 1 gallon sized zipper bag. Seal and freeze. Defrost in fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Add contents in bag to crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.

There you have it! I hope that you enjoy making these, cause I know I did! I felt very accomplished after I was done, and was looking at my stack of completed meals on my counter. It felt good.

Quick and Easy Gyros

So, if you hear the phrase "Quick and Easy Gyros" you are probably thinking I'm crazy, cause authentic Gyros are neither quick or easy.  Well, I'm not crazy, I just cheated a little bit.  I do not own a vertical spit, and leg of lamb is not my usual meat I pick up from the grocery store. (I'm sure you can relate!)

I can assure you that this recipe is just as delicious as the real thing, but sooo much simpler!

Here is what you will need:

Serves two

For the Gyro filling:

1/2 TBSP olive oil

4 oz high quality deli sliced roast beef (I used  3/4 lb, cause I wanted extra for later) 

3 drops Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes lemon pepper (I used 1/2 TSP)

1 dash paprika (again, I used 1/2 TSP)

1 TSP garlic powder

3 dashes black pepper (for mine, 1/2 TSP was good)

For the Tzatziki sauce:

1 whole cucumber, divided

8oz plain Greek yogurt (I like Greek Gods)

1/2 medium sized red onion, divided

1 TSP white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar cause I was all out of white, it was just as good)

1/TSP fresh dill

1/2 TSP salt

For assembly:

2 slices of any flat bread of your choice, ( you can always use you own pitas, made with my recipe listed below this one)

1 whole medium tomato, sliced, or chopped whichever you prefer

Feta cheese crumbles

Black or kalamta olives, sliced

Lettuce or baby spinach

Preparation:

For the filling:

Slice your roast beef into 1" strips, then cut down middle, cutting them in half length ways. (This probably looks like a lot of meat, but it isn't really that much after you cook it, and its so good you are gonna wanna pile it on!)

  Add your beef to a heated skillet over medium high heat with olive oil, worcestershire sauce and your seasonings.  Stir, then reduce heat to low and cook while you are preparing you Tzatziki sauce.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
Finley dice half your cucumber and red onion.  Add your iced cucumber and 1/4 of your red to a bowl.  Add the vinegar, dill, salt, and a dash of garlic powder.  Stir to combine.

Once you are done with your sauce, remove your beef from heat.  It should be browned and caramel-y looking, but not crispy. 

Now, heat your flat bread either in the microwave for about 20sec, or in the oven.  Next, just assemble your Gyros. I did meat, Tzatziki sauce, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and cheese.  I forgot the about the olives until after I had already devoured mine.  If you don't like feta, you could always use goat cheese too.  Its not salty, but still creamy and delicious.  I put lettuce on mine, but you could do spinach too.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com