Tex-Mex Chicken with Beans

I can pretty much always count on Martha Stewart for recipes. I made a few changes and turned the original recipe into a slow cooker freezer meal. Also, I added extra seasoning, my favorite all purpose seasoning: Joe's Stuff. Use whatever seasoning you would for chicken or for a Tex-Mex dish. Taco seasoning would actually be really good here. In fact, I'm going to add some when I cook up the other bag. I have noticed that some of the slow cooker freezer meals can be a bit bland for our taste, so I've started adding in more seasoning.

Ingredients

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
4 tablespoons mild enchilada sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons Joe's Stuff or your favorite seasoning - taco seasoning would be great!
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving

Directions

1. Write on 2 gallon sized freezer bags: †ex-Mex Chicken with Beans, the date, and the following instructions:   Cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.) Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream.  
2. Chop onion, cilantro and bell peppers - divide between bags
3. Season chicken with salt, pepper and your choice of seasoning - divide between bags
4.  Stir together beans, salsa, chilies, flour and 1 cup water - divide between bags
5. Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer

Chilaquiles

Anytime I'm at El Tequila in Tulsa and the lunch menu is available, I order chilaquiles. So when I stumbled upon this recipe while perusing through Cooking Light's list of their top slow cooker meals, I was excited and knew I had to make it into a freezer slow cooker meal. I adjusted the recipe by using chicken thighs, I used enchilada sauce instead of chipotles in adobo and I used shredded taco cheese instead of queso fresco. It's your dinner, so feel free to do what you want.

I am happy to report that the recipe turned out great. Our son even ate two helpings of it! This recipe makes 8 servings total, 4 servings per bag.

Ingredients

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 1/2 cups chopped red onion

1 1/4 cups chopped red bell pepper

1 1/4 cups chopped green bell pepper

3/4 cup fat-free,lower-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon ground cumin

4 tablespoons mild enchilada sauce

6 garlic clove, chopped or minced

2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained

tortilla chips, for serving

shredded taco or cheddar cheese, for serving
sour cream, for serving

 Directions

1. Write on 2 gallon sized freezer bags: Chilaquiles, the date, and the following instructions: Cook on low for 4 - 5 hours or until chicken is done. Then remove and shred the chicken, return to slow cooker. To serve: ladle over tortilla chips, top with cheese and sour cream.
2. Chop onion, garlic, cilantro and bell peppers - divide between the two bags
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper or whatever you like - divide between the two bags
4. Open cans of broth, tomatoes and green chilies - divide between the two bags
5. Divide the cumin between the two bags
6. Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in the freezer.

Angel Chicken

I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest. It was posted on the blog, Cleverly Inspired. I have simply rewritten the recipe for slow cooker freezer meals. This one requires that you make the sauce first, then freeze it, but it's worth it - it's delicious!

Makes 2 gallon-sized freezer bags. It's enough to feed two adults and a toddler. I've also made it with 3 chicken breasts per bag and there was still plenty of sauce. Just crank your slow cooker to high for a bit to make sure the chicken gets cooked thoroughly.

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1 8-oz. pkg. fresh button mushrooms, quartered

1 6-oz. pkg. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced

1/4 cup butter

1 0.7-oz. pkg. Italian dry salad dressing mix

1 10-3/4-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion

Serve over: angel hair pasta

Directions
1) Write on 2 gallon freezer bags: Angel Chicken, the date, and the following instructions: Cook on low for 5 hours or until the chicken is cooked. Serve over angel hair pasta.
2) Melt butter in saucepan, add Italian dressing mix.
3) Stir in soup, wine and cream cheese until it combines and melts, set aside to cool.
4) Clean and cut the mushrooms.
5) Put 2 chicken breasts in each bag. (I season the chicken at this point)
6) Divide sauce and mushrooms between the two bags.
7) Press the air out of the bag and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer.

Cajun Chicken with Sausage

This is our ultimate favorite slow cooker freezer meal. I asked Mark to choose what he wanted for dinner tonight and I was not one bit surprised that he picked this one. I first made it for Fat Tuesday last year. I wanted to do something fun to celebrate, so I found a Cajun recipe and I brought home a mini king cake from Merritt's. I want to thank Google and McCormick for helping me with this recipe. This makes two meals by splitting the recipe in half between 2 gallon-sized freezer bags.

Cajun Chicken with Sausage fresh out of the freezer

Ingredients

1tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I use a little less because I'm a wimp)
1 package (14oz) turkey Kielbasa sausage, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup sliced celery
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
4 bay leaves
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
2 cups instant white rice

Directions

1) Write on 2 gallon freezer bags: Cajun Chicken with Sausage, the date, and the following instructions: Cook8 hours on low or 4 hours on high until chicken and vegetables are cooked. Remove chicken to a cutting board, dice it into bite-sized pieces, then return it to the slow cooker.  Add 1 cup instant rice to slow cooker, stir and cook on high for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.
2) Chop onions, bell peppers, and celery - divide between the two bags.
3) Cut the kielbasa on a diagonal - divide between the two bags. 
4) Open the can of tomatoes, and measure out chicken broth - divide between the two bags.
5) Divide the seasonings (paprika, thyme, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper) between the two bags.
6) Put 3 chicken thighs in each bag
7) Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer.