It's So Easy

As promised, I tried another chicken recipe from the slow-cooker freezer meal experiment:  Chicken Teriyaki.  Maybe there was a bit too much pineapple, maybe there could be more chicken, and maybe some red bell pepper would be a nice addition, but overall, I was pleased with this meal.  My sister doesn't like what she calls "sweet meat," and I was concerned that this might be a bit sweet.  While it did have a sweet hint to it, it was not at all too sweet.  And all the kids ate the chicken meat without complaints, and my husband did not complain about having it for two nights last week.  Like with most of these slow-cooker freezer recipes thus far, this one yielded us two dinners and two lunches.

Teriyaki Chicken

 16 oz. carrots

red onions in chunks

2 lg cans chunk pineapple, undrained

4 garlic cloves

4 chicken breasts

1 cup teriyaki sauce

Divide among 2 freezer bags.

Freeze.  Defrost 24 hours prior to cooking.

Add 1/4 cup sauce (extra) to pot when cook.

Low 6-7 hours.

Again, it was so convenient to just throw this in the crock-pot and have dinner ready; convenience is especially important to me at this time of year when the papers start rolling in from my students, Trey has more "challenging" assignments to complete, and illness continues to strike our household (I think a Lysol or Clorox bomb is called for!).  If your life is anywhere as hectic as mine and you haven't tried this crock-pot freezer meal method yet, I highly recommend doing so!

Even if you don't try this method, one of my cousins reminded me of another great crock-pot meal that is so tasty that it's almost hard to believe it's so simple! 

Salsa Chicken

16 oz. bag frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained

4 chicken breasts

1 24 oz. jar salsa

1 envelope taco seasoning

Layer corn, beans, & chicken in crock pot.

Sprinkle with seasoning, and top with salsa.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4 hours.

Shred chicken and return to pot.

Serve on chips, in tacos, as burritos, as quesadilla filling, or chilled on a salad with desired toppings, like cheese and sour cream.

I usually freeze half of this after it's made because it makes so much!  I could also see this being used as a crock-pot freezer meal; I don't see why it couldn't be made and frozen raw and then defrosted and cooked.  I might try doing that the next time I make a fresh batch of freezer crock-pot meals.

I've had quite a bit of chicken here lately, so I'm going to shake things up a bit and try the Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers next!