Generally speaking,slow-cooker mealsare pretty easy to makeset it and forget it, as the saying goes.
That’s fine on your day off when you have time to spare, (hello,hygge!
), but not so great when you’re rushing around in the morning.
Getty Images; Graphics by Jordana Roat
Luckily for you, I have a little meal-prep secret that has completely revolutionized my slow-cooking game.
Suddenly dinner any day of the week is a total cinch.
One other bonus: Because the ingredients are all frozen, they take longer to cook.
Here you’ll find 11slow-cooker dinnersthat easily lend themselves to this prep-and-freeze ahead-of-time method.
Add them to your meal-prep plan ASAP.
Then, pour that into a bag with chicken thighs, potatoes, and carrots.
Freeze it, then cook it for eight to nine hours on low.
Add green beans in the last 30 minutes of cooking so that they maintain their crunch.
When the time comes to cook, dump the contents of your bag in your slow-cooker.
Open up a can of tomatoes and add those as well.
Add vegetable broth directly to the Crock-Pot when you start cooking.
Sausage Kale SoupfromEating Bird Food
Start by cooking sausage in a pan until it’s browned.
Then, let chopped onions, garlic, celery, and carrots saute in the reserved fat.
Add all of those ingredients (plus herbs and spices) to your freezer-pack and save for later.
When you start cooking, top everything off with chicken stock.
Chicken Quinoa Enchilada SoupfromFit Foodie Finds
This one is super simple.
Corn ChowderfromFoodie Crush
First, chop and cook your bacon until crispy.
Reserve broth and almond milk to be added later.
Saute bacon, then veggies, in the same skillet.
Remove and add them to the bag as well.
Pour wine and broth into skillet to deglaze (confirm to scrape up the brown bits!).
Sprinkle on a bit of cilantro when it’s finished cooking and dig in.
From there, everything can be frozen and then cooked whenever you desire.
