"Dump" Freezer Meals- Round 1:Meatballs

Well, it's officially been WAY too long since I have done any blogging! This pregnancy has sure got the best of me for the past 8 months! Luckily for me, once I found out I had gestational diabetes, and was able to get things managed, it was like I was a whole new person again! So much so, that I made 36 freezer meals, in 3 days (with the help of an awesome friend). I would have done more, like breads and such to go with it, but my freezer was absolutely FULL!!

So I am going to share with you some of the meals I did on day 1: the quick and easiest ones! I literally sat down from grocery shopping, grabbed my ziplock bags, and all my "common" ingredients, and started dumping them in. It was so fast! I think I did about 17 "dump meals" in about 2 hours (with several interruptions from the 3 year old).

My BIGGEST tip: is go to the dollar store (one that has a freezer section) and buy the frozen pepper mix. It has green, red, and yellow peppers already diced, and onions. It was a HUGE time saver for me, and totally worth that dollar! I bought a big bag of meatballs at Sam's club to make all of these meals- it was the quickest way to get it done, and I am all about quick!

Italian Meatballs:

1 Medium Onion *I just used my pepper mix from Dollar Tree
2 Garlic Cloves    *used garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1 (28oz) Jar spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz) jar crushed tomatoes
1 (14.24 oz) tomato puree/paste
1 lb. meatballs
Pasta to be cooked fresh

Throw all ingredients EXCEPT pasta into a gallon zip lock bag, cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. Cook pasta, and serve. Parmesan cheese*optional

Meatballs with Peppers and Onions:

1 lb meatballs
1 lg green pepper (sliced)*or diced in a pre-made bag! Seriously they were awesome!
1 medium onion
2 c. diced tomatoes
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
Hot dog buns
cheese* optional

Throw all ingredients into a gallon zip lock bag, cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. Serve on toasted hot dog buns, top with cheese.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs: This one is my favorite!

1 lb meatballs
1 can pineapple tidbits
3 sweet peppers
1 onion *again I did the Dollar Tree pepper and onion mix for this
1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp Cornstarch *add day of cooking

Throw all ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch into a gallon zip lock bag, cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. Add Cornstarch 30 minutes -1 hour before serving. Serve with Rice and Broccoli.

Meatball Soup:

4 c Frozen Veggies (I did peas and carrots)
1 onion
24 oz jar spaghetti sauce
4 tsp beef bullion
1 lb meatballs
4 cups water*add day of cooking

 Throw all ingredients into a gallon zip lock bag, cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. Serve with sliced bread and butter (or rolls).

Salisbury Steak Meatballs: This was my other favorite one! They're all good, but this one hit the spot!

1 lb meatballs
1 onion thinly sliced
2 c, beef broth
1 tsp ketchup
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Cornstarch *add day of cooking
8 oz Al-dente Cooked Egg noodles

Throw all ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch and al-dente cooked egg noodles into a gallon zip lock bag, cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. Add Cornstarch 30 minutes -1 hour before serving. Add cooked noodles last 10 minutes, to warm up.