Showing posts with label Easy Meals.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easy Meals.. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

20 Fall Slow Cooker/Freezer Meals

Life has been busy and different over here at the Ladybug House! 

Between juggling the demands of a new baby and navigating the change from full-time at home to full-time school for Lady and Bug, while still trying to keep the house running and managing several businesses, I need to get organized and plan meals. 

Here is my fall list of slow cooker freezer meals to make life a little easier!
















 Easy Rootbeer Pulled Pork








Enjoy the beautiful fall colours! It's nice to be back sharing my kitchen with you!

~Adel~

Sunday, 7 September 2014

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

Daddy Ladybug loves all things convenience. He especially loves the food of his childhood, so today I decided to try my hand at Pizza Pockets.


Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

2 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cups Regular or Butter Flavoured Shortening
1/2 cup Cold Water (more or less as needed)
1 cup Pizza Sauce, divided in 2 (make your own!)
1/2 cup Pizza Pepperoni, chopped in small chunks
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 egg, beaten

Make pastry crust by mixing flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening until it is the consistency of oatmeal and slowly add cold water 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing with hands, until the dough sticks together but not sticky. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness and cut 5" circles. Should make about 12 circles.

In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup of pizza sauce to bowl, saving remaining sauce for dipping. Mix in pepperoni, mozzarella, parmesan and seasoning.

Spoon 1 Tbsp of filling into the middle of each circle, fold in half and crimp edges together with a fork, fingers, or a pastry pocket maker, ensuring edges are well sealed. (note: It's easy to want to overfill, but I've learned that adding more than a Tbsp of filling makes it run out or be difficult to seal well

Place filled pockets on a greased baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes at 375F until tops start to become golden.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup of pizza sauce and serve on the side as a dip.

A great homemade lunch option, or make a double or triple batch and freeze partially cooked (about 15 minutes) and cook in the microwave to heat up for a quick snack. Great for kids, hungry teens, and Daddy Ladybug's post-hockey starvation!

~Adel~



Monday, 26 May 2014

Freezer Meals: Big Cook Summer 2014


This summer I'm going to try not to use my stove or oven to make dinner. Lets see if that works, I'm planning to just use my slow cooker and grill, so I guess that means I need to do another big cook.

Today Lady & Bug were spending the day with Nana & Papa Ladybug, so I had some time to get a Big Cook done. A little leisurely grocery shop with a coffee and then it was getting down to work!

I seem to be going with themes lately, and this Big Cook is all about food from hot countries just in time for the hot weather of summer. As many of you know, Daddy Ladybug and I love to travel and my favourite part of travel is the food (of course!). I try all the local specialties I can find (except the bugs - that's Daddy Ladybug's thing) and I'll try to take a cooking class if it's available. One of my favourite activities is to go to the local market and check out what kind of food they sell - looks so different from our supermarkets! Once I'm home I try to recreate the dishes - sometimes successfully, and sometimes I have to go hunt down a neighbour to find out what's really in those dishes! 

At home I check out the local market too. On my shopping trip this morning I discovered another great way to make Big Cooks easier, a jar of peeled garlic! Perfect for this big cook day - I almost used the whole jar.

Mmmm....Garlic!


I started with my beef dishes: Simba Stew (Inspired by South/East Africa), Salsa Verde Beef (Inspired by Mexico), Vietnamese Beef (recipe from a Cooking School in Hoi An), and Grilled Pineapple Ginger Beef (Inspired by China). 


Then it was onto the chicken dishes: Chicken Shawarma (Inspired by a delicious sandwich I had in Cairo), Thai Red Curry (recipe from cooking school in Bangkok), Greek Chicken (Inspired by Greece), Lime Chicken (Inspired by Costa Rica) and Butter Chicken (Inspired by India). 



Meals made in this Big Cook:

I tripled each of the recipes so if you're counting that's 9 different recipes and 27 meals in about 3 hours. So satisfying! The freezer is full and I have about 2 months of summer oven/stove free meals ready to go. 

Bring on the heat!

~Adel~

If you're looking for more freezer meal ideas, try my Freezer Meals page for Big Cooks and freezer friendly meal ideas.

You might also like: 





Saturday, 24 May 2014

Simba Stew


I'm always looking for new flavours and travel has been a great way to discover new spice combinations. 

New isn't always easy when you've got kids, but I can usually get my kids to eat something new or different if I call it something cool, even if it's not the prettiest looking meal.

Simba would probably love this African inspired dish!


Simba Stew

2 lbs Steak, cut in thin strips
5 cloves, Garlic, minced
1 Onion, sliced thin
4 Potatoes, cubed (optional)*
3 Carrots, 1 inch chunks (optional)*
1 & 1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
796 ml can Diced Tomatoes (28 oz)
2 Tbsp Greek Yogurt

*I usually make this dish with just the shredded or cubed meat on rice with chapati, but if you add the potatoes & carrots, it becomes a stew, good both ways.

Slow Cooker Instructions: Combine all ingredients except greek yogurt in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Stir in greek yogurt before serving. 
Serve with rice or your favourite flatbread. 

Freezer instructions: Combine meat, garlic, onion, spices and tomatoes in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, place in the fridge 24 hours before cooking to defrost. Add contents of bag to slow cooker and follow cooking instructions above.

Another great summer slow cooker option.

~Adel~

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry

Cooking school in Thailand is one of my favourite travel experiences and this is a variation of one of the meals we learned - of course adapted for the slow cooker and an attempt to add measurements (my hastily jotted down notes are just a list of ingredients). I've also replaced peppers with carrots and potatoes because that's the way my favourite Thai place makes it!


Thai Red Curry

2 Chicken Breasts, cut in thin strips
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste*
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce*
1/4 cup Lime Juice
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional) *
1 Onion, sliced thin
2 Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
3 Carrots, peeled & sliced
10 Mushrooms, quartered
1 can Bamboo Shoots (optional)
Thai Red Chilies (optional for heat)*

1 can Coconut Milk

Cooked Rice
Lime
Basil

Combine chicken, curry paste, broth, fish sauce, lime juice, lime leaves, onion, potato, carrots, mushroom, and bamboo shoots in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2. Add coconut milk, replace the lid, and cook for another 1/2 hour. Stir well before serving. Serve with rice, and add lime and basil to taste.

Freezing Instructions: Combine chicken, red curry, broth, fish sauce, lime juice, lime leaves and onion in a freezer bag and freeze. To use, defrost for 24 hours in a fridge and empty contents of the bag into a slow cooker. Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots and follow cooking & serving instructions above.

A little taste of Thailand from the slow cooker.

~Adel~

* May be hard to find in your local grocery store, but usually found in the Asian foods isle with Thai or Vietnamese ingredients. If you can't find them, try an Asian Grocer. Kaffir lime leaves are difficult to find here, I can usually only find them at an Asian grocery store and they only have them frozen (so check the freezers).




Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Easy Grilled Flour Tortillas

When it's hot outside the last thing you want to do is stand over a hot stove or oven!

I've started making much of my summer flatbread on the grill instead of in the oven or on the stove. It gives it a nice grilled flavour and I can enjoy my backyard  for a few seconds while I wait to flip them!

Of course you can still use this recipe and cook them on a pan on the stove if you want.


Easy Grilled Flour Tortillas
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup Oil (I use Olive)

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add water and oil and mix until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and knead about 10 times until dough is soft, add a little more flour or water if needed. I use my mixer to make this process even faster.

Let dough rest for 5-10 minutes and divide into 16 equal portions. Roll each ball out into about 7" circle and place on medium grill for 1 minute per side. Brush with oil before grilling if desired.

Stop buying tortillas & make your own, it only takes a few minutes and tastes way better! Beat the heat and make Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos or Salsa Chicken Tacos for a delicious meal without heating up your kitchen!

Now I'm ready for Taco Tuesday!

~Adel~






Thursday, 1 May 2014

Pizza Subs

Daddy Ladybug has been working on perfecting one of his favourite lunches, so I thought I'd share it!


Pizza Subs

6 Submarine Buns
Sub Sauce (I use Maple Leaf Ezee Sub Sauce) or Zesty Italian Dressing
18 slices Pepperoni Sausage
18 slices Salami Sausage
18 slices Ham
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated
Italian Seasoning

Slice sub buns horizontally (leaving it hinged on one side) and open. Place open on a baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce on both halves and squeeze a bit of sub sauce or italian dressing on each side. Place 3 slices of each kind of meat on each sub. Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Bake in a 350F oven for 10 minutes or until cheese gets bubbly and starts to brown. Fold closed, slice in half, and serve. 

Delicious hot or cold. I wrap any leftovers individually in the fridge and save for snacks or lunches. Can also be done on the grill if you don't want to use the oven. Add other toppings (mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, pineapple) if desired - my family likes them plain!

~Adel~

Thursday, 17 April 2014

Ladybug Soup




Ladybug Soup

1 Tbsp Olive Oil 
2 strips Bacon, finely chopped 
1 Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Carrots, diced 
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 Zucchini, chopped 
1 large Yam, diced
1 large Sweet Potato, diced 
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil
1 can Diced Tomatoes 
1 can Chick Peas (garbanzo), drained and rinsed 
4 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
2 cups Fresh Spinach (whole)
½ cup Pasta (any kind)
1/8 teaspoon salt 
1/4 tsp pepper 

In a stock pot, heat oil and cook bacon until crispy. Add Onion and cook until browned, Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds then add carrots, celery, zucchini, yam, oregano & basil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, chick peas and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach, pasta, salt & pepper. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes until pasta is cooked. Serve with fresh basil, sour cream or green onions as desired.  

Best fresh off the stove, but will freeze nicely and reheat in a slow cooker! 

Great hearty soup for a cool rainy day.

~Adel~

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

I've had this recipe for years and it's still one of our favourites! Perfect for that night you can't figure out what to make and only have a few minutes to feed the hungry hoards. Great alternative to spaghetti & meatballs.


Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

1 Recipe Herbed Meatballs or 40 pre-made frozen swedish meatballs
3 Tbsp Flour 
2 cups broth (chicken or beef depending on what kind of meatballs you have)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (Click to make your own)
1 Tbsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 cup Sour Cream*

Place meatballs in the bottom of a slow cooker. 

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except for sour cream) and whisk until smooth. Pour over meatballs. Cook on low for 5 hours. Add sour cream and stir before serving.

Delicious easy swedish meatballs. Great freezer meal.

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.



~Adel~

Friday, 11 April 2014

Bacon Maple Dijon Chicken


Bacon Maple Dijon Chicken

8 -10 Chicken pieces
2 Bacon Strips, sliced 
1/4 cup Real Maple Syrup (or maple flavoured pancake syrup if you don't have the real stuff).
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dijon Mustard (it doesn't matter which kind or how hot)
1/4 cup Grainy Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Onion, sliced thinly
2 Clove Garlic, minced

Add chicken to slow cooker & sprinkle with bacon. Combine all remaining ingredients & mix well. Pour sauce over chicken and cook for 6 hours on low.

So easy and so delicious.

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.

~Adel~


Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Herbed Meatballs

I've tried many meatball recipes and I keep coming back to this one, it's great with ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey (or a combination of any of them). A basic staple of almost all my Big Cook days. I always have a bag on hand for days when I forget to plan my meal or don't have a lot of time to cook. Add any kind of sauce and it's an easy meal that makes everyone in my house happy.

This recipe makes about 40 meatballs. I usually make 4x this recipe for my big cook days. I recently discovered a much easier way to make uniform meatballs...here's my process (just clean the counters REALLY well before and after.







Herbed Meatballs 

1 lbs Ground Meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb or any combination)
1/2 cup Oatmeal
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Onion Soup Mix
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp each Salt & Pepper

Combine ground meat, oatmeal, onion, egg, soy sauce and seasonings and mix well. Make into balls about the size of a quarter.

Fry or bake until centers are no longer pink.

Just add sauce to complete your meal - some great options:
Spicy Apricot Meatballs or Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

Freezer Instructions: Partially cook meatballs by frying until all sides are brown or baking in the oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Freeze on baking sheet, then transfer to a plastic bag or container for easy use later.

~Adel~


Sunday, 6 April 2014

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

We had a quick lunch at the mall the other day and I had some honey garlic chicken at the Chinese place. It was so tasty, I thought how can I make that a meal at home? Unfortunately, that means taking out the deep fried batter part, but a sticky honey and garlic sauce that's home-made is just as great!


Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

8-10 Chicken Thighs
1 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Honey
8 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 cup Water

Place chicken in the bottom of a crock pot. For a crispy skin, turn the chicken thighs skin-side down in a hot skillet until browned. Combine ketchup, soy sauce, honey and garlic in a bowl and pour over chicken.
Cook in a slow cooker for 6 hours on low. 

About 1/2 hour before serving, skim the oil off the top (from the ketchup and the chicken). Combine cornstarch and water and mix well into sauce. Replace lid and let cook for 1/2 hour. Sauce will get a bit thicker as it cools, so let it sit without heat for 5-10 minutes and stir well before serving.

These were really yummy and the kids devoured it.

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.

~Adel~

Saturday, 5 April 2014

Creamy Swiss Chicken

It's nice to have an easy meal that tastes great. Here's one of my family favorites that is so comforting and tasty with the cheesy creamy sauce, perfect moist chicken, and crunchy bits on the top. 


Creamy Swiss Chicken

6 Chicken Breasts
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (click for the home-made version)
1/2 cup White Wine
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium Onion, diced
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
3 cups grated Swiss Cheese
1 package Chicken Stuffing Mix
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, melted

Cut chicken breasts into 2 pieces or about 3 oz size. Place chicken in a single layer at the bottom of an oven-safe dish.
Combine mushroom soup, wine, garlic powder, onion, and Italian seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Pour over chicken. Top with cheese.
Combine stuffing mix and butter. Sprinkle over cheese.
Bake, covered, in a 350 F oven for 35-45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 5-10 minutes longer until top is brown and crusty.

Yummy comfort food!


This recipe freezes well and is great for a Big Cook.

For more Big Cook or freezer friendly meal ideas check out my Freezer Meals page.

~Adel~






Friday, 4 April 2014

Slow Cooker Amtat Mongolian Beef



Slow Cooker Amtat Mongolian Beef

2 lbs Stew Meat
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 medium Onion, sliced thinly
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh Ginger, grated
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Brown Sugar

Place stew meat in slow cooker. In a bowl, combine oil, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin, water and brown sugar together and pour over meat. Cook on low for 6 hours. 

Tender, delicious beef in a sweet & tasty sauce. 

Amtat is Mongolian for tasty and this meal is a family favorite, I've had to made my original recipe bigger to feed the obsession. This easy slow cooker freezer meal is sure to please!

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.

~Adel~



Thursday, 3 April 2014

Freezer Meals: Big Cook Spring 2014 (Pantry Edition)


Spring is here, the trees are starting to bloom - it's my favorite time of year! 

Unfortunately the freezer is empty again and money is tight this month, so I wasn't able to make some of my usual freezer meals for my big cook - instead, I decided to do a Big Cook Day from the things I had in my pantry. 


Thanks to my bursting pantry and the freezer full of grass fed beef we bought in the fall, the only thing I still had to buy for this Big Cook Day was chicken (great sales on chicken breasts & thighs at my local store and it was 10% off on Tuesday!!!) and I couldn't resist a couple bags of shredded Swiss cheese from the 50% off bin to make one of my fav's. I only had my usual grocery budget to make this happen so we won't be buying much else this week...some milk & eggs and veggies from the market to round out our meals - but I'm gonna be so thankful for all this work when I don't have to do anything to prepare meals for the next few months. 

Pantry Big Cooks area great way to use up some of the stash that seems to accumulate in the pantry and freezer!


Once again, I wasn't free to just cook to my heart's content, so I had to split up the day into two parts; chicken in the morning and beef in the afternoon/evening. After dropping the kids off at Preschool, I had to do a quick shop to pick up chicken because it was 10% off Tuesday and I can't resist that wonderful savings on chicken that was already almost 1/2 price!

Before starting I got prepared. If you haven't read it yet, check out my post on Preparing for a Big Cook Day


I started with a huge batch of a staple that I would need in several recipes, Home Made Cream of Mushroom Soup (Condensed) (x3), so I could make some classic pantry meals without the canned mushroom soup - 2 recipes for the meals I was making and one for the freezer.


Once that was done, it was on to Creamy Swiss Chicken (x2).

Then on to the easy dump & pour recipes (so easy, I could do this all day!):

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken (x3), Greek Chicken (x3), Bacon Maple Dijon Chicken (x2), and Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken (x3).



A little break to go pick up the kids from Preschool and it was on to lunch. Ladybug Soup (x2) was on the menu and I made a double batch with one for the freezer.


Ms. Ladybug was with us for the afternoon & early evening, so I was a little busy and distracted, but still managed to quickly whip up a family favorite, Slow Cooker Amtat Mongolian Beef (x4), for dinner (with 3 extras for the freezer) and Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (x3) while it was cooking.


After Ms. Ladybug went home and Uncle Ladybug & the kids were in bed, I managed to make Herbed Meatballs. Half for Spicy Apricot Meatballs (x2), saving the other half for Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs (x2).

Meals from this Big Cook Day:
* Recipes will be coming in the next few weeks as I get time to post them.

Yup, that's 12 different meals - 29 meals in total. Whew, busy day, an empty pantry, and a very full freezer!

Yay for a pantry big cook day.

For more Freezer Friendly ideas for your Big Cook Day, check out my Freezer Meals page.

~Adel~