"Dump" Freezer Meals Round 2: Pork Chops

Pork Chops go on "Manager Special" or discount prices ALL the time, so that is when I stock up on my pork chops, throw them in the freezer and cook a later date. It's so handy, and plus it makes our teacher salary stretch a little farther when it comes to buying meat.

I would love to add more pork recipes to do with a roast, but that is not something we have on hand very often. But when we do, you can bet Cafe Rio Burrito's are on the menu! :)

All the recipes call for 4-6 pork chops, however my husband and I are the only ones who will eat pork at our house (we have yet to convince the 3 year old it's just like Ham, which she loves!) So I only added 2 to each baggie.

Sage Pork Chops: (This is the ONLY one we have not tried, so I don't tell you how good it is, but I don' think you can go too wrong with such a simple recipe!)

2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 c. water
2 beef bullion cubes
Pork Chops

Throw all ingredients into a gallon sized zip lock bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours (pork cooks fast, and dries out easily, so I'd check it at about 5 hours). Serve with carrots and potatoes.

Cranberry Pork Chops:

1/2 can of cranberry sauce
1 c. apple sauce
1/4 c. white onion
2-4 pork chops.

Throw all ingredients into a gallon sized zip lock bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours (pork cooks fast, and dries out easily, so I'd check it at about 5 hours). Serve with mashed potatoes.

Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops: I really liked this one. It was a "step up" for our normal Sunday Dinner.

1 C. apple sauce
3 Tbsp Cinnamon
4 Pork Chops

Throw all ingredients into a gallon sized zip lock bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours (pork cooks fast, and dries out easily, so I'd check it at about 5 hours). We had mashed potatoes and broccoli with it.

Teriyaki Pork Chops: 

2-4 pork chops
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/3 c. Chicken Broth
2 tsp Garlic
1/4 c. Soy Sauce

Throw all ingredients into a gallon sized zip lock bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours (pork cooks fast, and dries out easily, so I'd check it at about 5 hours). Serve with Rice and Veggies!

Hawaiian Pork Chops/Chicken: This is my favorite one! 

2-4 pork chops/chicken breasts
1 can pineapple tidbits
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Throw all ingredients into a gallon sized zip lock bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with Rice and Veggies!

"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.