1 hour, 10 meals: Freeze-ahead recipes for the slow cooker your family will devour

It’s a common reality for many of us that we only have one day per week to run all of our errands, catch up on chores and get all of our cooking done for the week ahead. This gives us six days of leftovers for our weekly dinners; which, while not too bad of a resort, still leave us craving newly cooked melt-in-the-mouth meals.

Now is the chance to maximize your day of cooking and use your time more wisely than ever before. Use these 10 fantastic slow cooker freezer meals to get two weeks of meals prepared in only one go! You won’t look back.

To Freeze:
2 lbs pork ribs
1 small yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 cups BBQ sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

You Will Also Need:
1 cup BBQ sauce, for serving

Rub your ribs with salt and pepper and place in a large freezer bag with all other ingredients. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in a fridge overnight. Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with extra BBQ sauce for dipping.

2. BEEF AND BROCCOLI

To Freeze:
1 lb flank steak, cut into strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches of broccoli, tops cut off and reserved
1 cup chicken broth
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp sesame seeds
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar

You Will Also Need:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoon cold water

Add all ingredients to a freezer bag and mix well. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: that in the fridge overnight. Add all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours.

To Freeze:
1 lb ground beef, browned on the stove
1 large white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
28oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 tbsp chili seasoning
½ tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Brown the minced beef on the stove and set aside to cool. Once cooled, place all ingredients in a freezer bag and mix well. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in the fridge overnight. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with rice.

To Freeze:
4 medium potatoes, diced
2 cups frozen corn
¼ cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

You Will Also Need:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream

Place ingredients into a freezer bag and coat well with flour. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in the fridge overnight. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in butter and cream before serving.

To Freeze:
2 lb Pork Loin
¼ cup Soy Sauce
½ cup Honey
4 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 dried red chilli, chopped
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tsp sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in a bag and mix well. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in the fridge overnight. Add all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hours.

To Freeze:
1 lb ground beef, browned on the stove
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
10 lasagna sheets, broken into pieces
28 oz can diced tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
28oz jar tomato sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or parsley, thyme oregano and basil)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Brown the minced beef on the stove and set aside to cool. Once cooled, place all of the ingredients into a freezer bag and shake well. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in the fridge overnight. Place everything into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

To Freeze:
2 lb beef chuck shoulder
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 carrots, chopped
½ cup frozen peas
1 potato, chopped (roughly the same size as the chopped carrots)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of thyme, oregano, parsley and basil)

Add all ingredients to a bag and mix well. Freeze overnight.

To Cook: that in the fridge overnight. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

To Freeze:
4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 yellow bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
2 small yellow onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tbsp taco seasoning
2 teaspoons lime juice

Add all ingredients to a bag and freeze overnight.

To Cook: thaw in the fridge overnight, cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with tortillas or rice.

To Freeze:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of coconut milk
1 cup of chicken stock
1 bunch scallions, chopped
4 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

You Will Also Need:
8 tbsp of butter

Place all ingredients into freezer bags and freeze overnight.

To cook: that in the fridge overnight. Add the butter to the bottom of the slow cooker and all ingredients on top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with rice.

To Freeze:
2 pounds of ‘round beef’ (beef from the rear leg of the cow), slice into ½ inch strips
1/3 cup flour
2 small yellow onions chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
28oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp beef bouillon
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp of BBQ sauce
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp pepper

Place steak in a bag with the flour, salt, pepper and shake well until coated. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. Freeze overnight.

To cook: thaw in the fridge overnight, cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with potatoes.