"Freezer Dump" Crockpot Meal Kits

[MaryIsobel]

Quick back story - a good friend of mine from my working days is suffering from some major health issues, one of which is excruciating back pain which makes standing for more than 2 or 3 minutes impossible. She lives with her sister who also has health problems, along with dimentia. They live in an apartment with only an apartment size fridge freezer. 

I have never been a fan of the crockpot but before she got sick, she used hers quite a bit. In looking for ideas, I came across "freezer dump" crockpot meals. Lovely name eh? Anyway, the idea is that you put a bunch of raw ingredients in freezer bags and freeze them. Thaw a bag overnight in the fridge and "dump" it in a crockpot in the morning. Seems doable for her. I shopped for whatever I needed yesterday, and this morning I started at about 10:00 and before noon, had 7 meals ready for the freezer. I just have to cook some rice (to which I will add frozen chopped broccoli) to freeze along with the chicken teryaki. I'll keep one bag of the stuffed pepper soup to try myself. Stapled to the soup bag is rice to add near the end of cooking and I kept the tortellini separate from the sauce so that it can be added after a couple of hours. I've made a document with instructions for each meal.

Edited Thursday at 11:27 PM by Smithy
Adjusted title for clarity (log)

[ElsieD]

What a wonderful idea.  Kudos to you!

[YvetteMT]

Very kind of you!

[MaryIsobel]

13 minutes ago, YvetteMT said:

Very kind of you!

It's my pleasure. She is the strongest woman I have ever met. Life seems determined to knock her down, but she goes throughit all with a smile and a positive attitude.

[Maison Rustique]

I love that!! As someone who has a very limited budget and health issues, I would love to get something like that. Instead of something that I need to find stuff to go with and cook from scratch.

 

[TdeV]

@MaryIsobel, these meals look brilliant! And I would love a friend like you. 🥰

 

Could you post a bit more description about this cooking method or a couple of links you've discovered? I think this could be an interesting avenue for some regular dinners.

 

 

 

Edited 23 hours ago by TdeV
Clarity (log)

[Shelby]

What a thoughtful and kind thing to do!

[Shel_B]

Great idea!  Great friend!  Thanks so much for posting. 👍👍

[MaryIsobel]

14 hours ago, TdeV said:

@MaryIsobel, these meals look brilliant! And I would love a friend like you. 🥰

 

Could you post a bit more description about this cooking method or a couple of links you've discovered? I think this could be an interesting avenue for some regular dinners.

 

 

 

I first came across the idea on a Youtube video - I tend to watch youtube cooking videos in the wee hours when I can't sleep. There are lots of ideas out there, but once I got the jist of it, any crockpot recipe that starts with fresh ingredients can be adapted to this method. I avoided the ones with cream o something although for those who like that kind of thing, there are tons. My friend is waiting for a kidney transplant so I tried to keep sodium to a minimum. An example: https://www.ourthriftyideas.com/2016/05/freezer-prepped-crockpot-dump-meals.html

ETA: I shoudn't have said "any" recipe" as I skipped over anthing with raw potatoes or anything else that doesn't freeze well.

Edited 9 hours ago by MaryIsobel (log)

[MaryIsobel]

8 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

I love that!! As someone who has a very limited budget and health issues, I would love to get something like that. Instead of something that I need to find stuff to go with and cook from scratch.

 

Well, when people ask you "what can I do?" direct them to this page. My friend's situation is exactly yours - health issues and limited buget