Crockpot Dump Freezer Meals

With less than 4 weeks until baby arrives, I decided that this would be a good weekend to stock up the chest freezer with some pre-made meals.  I specifically make crockpot dump recipes - all of the ingredients for a meal in one bag ready to be dumped in the crock pot and left to cook for the day.  

I frequently make freezer meals and, in my opinion, it is significantly easier to go a lot of meals at once.   Here is the process I go through when I know I'll be meal-prepping.

1.  Gather all of the recipes I plan to make and decide how much I'm making (I usually pick a large variety of recipes and make 2 of each for some variety).

2.  Make a grocery shopping list and look at the weekly ads to decide where to shop.

3.  Take out one gallon freezer zip-loc bag per meal and label them.  My labels include the name of the recipe, the date I made it, and any necessary thawing, cooking, and serving directions.

4.  Clean and cut all fruit and vegetables and add them to the appropriate bags.  

5.  Add any liquids and seasonings to the bags.

6.  Add the meat last (that way when you dump it into the crockpot the meat will be on the bottom, closest to the heat source).  

7.  Remove all air from the bag and lay flat in the freezer until solid.  

Here are the recipes that I made this time.

• Chicken Philly Cheesesteak
• Chicken Tacos
• Cheesy Tortellini with Ground Beef
• Simple Sloppy Joes
• Beef Shepherd's Pie
• Hawaiian Chicken 
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Sweet BBQ Chicken
• Creamy Chicken Italian-O 
• Italian Sausage Peppers & Onions
• Chicken Fajitas
• French Dip Sandwiches
• Hearty Beef Stew (I use chuck steak instead of stew beef, I think it's less stringy)

I will also be making about 3 batches of these Freezer Burritos, which are one of my hubby's faves!

And finally, I'll make about 4 pounds worth of meatballs, which I cook ahead and freeze.  It's easy to pull out just enough for one meal.  And if you like subs, you can freeze rolls and some cheese ahead of time (we buy a 5 pound bag of cheese from Sam's club and portion and freeze it - it's much cheaper this way).