Freezer Meals // Fabulessly Frugal

 

INGREDIENTS

  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup honey 111 grams
  • ½ cup ketchup 136 grams
  • 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 30 ml
  • 3 cloves garlic minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons)
  • 28 ounces 1 lb 12 oz frozen fully cooked meatballs
  • 2 Tablespoons of water for instant pot recipe

INSTRUCTIONS

SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic.
  • Place frozen meatballs in a 4-quart slow cooker and pour the sauce over them. Stir to coat. Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve as an appetizer, or over rice or noodles as a main dish.

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

  • Turn the instant pot on saute mode and combine brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, water, and garlic. Stir until somewhat thick and bubbly (it only takes a few minutes).
  • Turn off saute mode and add the frozen meatballs. Stir to combine the meatballs with the sauce.
  • Place the lid on the instant pot and set it to manual high pressure for 2 minutes.
  • Once the cooking is done, quick release the pressure, open the lid, stir a little more and enjoy over rice!

AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONS

  • Air Fry at 350˚ for 10 minutes, the last few minutes, pour glaze over the meatballs.

OVEN INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 375˚F/191˚C (or according to meatball package instructions).
  • Place frozen meatballs in a single layer in a 9x13 pan. Bake for 14-16 minutes (or according to package instructions).
  • Whisk together the brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat, until simmering and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour sauce over warm meatballs, stir to coat, and serve.
Sloppy Joe Mix

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup low sugar ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon green pepper diced fine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 6 hamburger buns

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
  • Brown 1 pound ground beef, drain the fat. Add the sauce to the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with toasted hamburger buns.

Preparing For the Freezer:

  • Store the sloppy joe filling in a gallon-size resealable freezer bag, or portion into smaller bags according to your needs. Label and date the bags, remove as much air as possible, and freeze flat. The buns may also be frozen.

Prepare after Freezing:

  • Remove from freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or place frozen sloppy joe mixture directly into pan. Heat gradually in a saucepan or skillet until warmed through and serve.

Honey Teriyaki Chicken

INGREDIENTS

  • 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
  • ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • optional garnish: chopped green onions, sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Slow Cooker:

  • Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, or use a slow cooker liner. Place the raw chicken breasts into the slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, onion, minced garlic, pepper, and ginger. Pour over the chicken.
  • Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Once chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and shred.
  • Whisk together the water and cornstarch. Slowly whisk it into the sauce and heat on high until the sauce begins to thicken, while continuing to stir or whisk. (You can thicken the sauce in a saucepan on the stove top at medium high heat, if that works better for you.)
  • Place the shredded chicken back into the pot with the sauce and stir to coat. Serve over rice and garnish, if desired.

Instant Pot:

  • Spray the inside of the Instant Pot inner pot with nonstick cooking spray. Place the raw chicken breasts into the pot.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, onion, crushed garlic, pepper, and ginger. Pour over the chicken.
  • Cook on high pressure for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Once chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and shred. (I usually do a quick pressure release, but natural release is ideal.)
  • Whisk together the water and cornstarch. Slowly whisk it into the sauce and use the Saute setting, continuing to whisk. Cook for a few minutes while the sauce begins to boil and thicken.
  • Turn off the pot. Place the shredded chicken back in with the sauce and stir to coat. Serve over rice and garnish, if desired.

RECIPE NOTES

Doubling the recipe works well too, although I find I need to increase the Instant Pot cooking time to 25-30 minutes total.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef (Freezer Meal)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ½ pounds flank steak sliced across grain into strips
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
  • ¾ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup shredded carrots
  • 3 medium green onions chopped (garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Coat flank steak pieces in cornstarch, by either tossing in a bowl or in a bag. If possible, let meat sit after coating in cornstarch for 10-30 minutes.
  • Heat large skillet to medium-high heat and brown the meat, if desired. Then add the meat to the slow cooker.
  • Mix together the sauce ingredients - ginger, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and carrots. Then pour sauce over meat in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours.
  • Serve over cooked rice or noodles and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Freezer Meal Instructions:

  • Coat flank steak pieces in cornstarch and place in a gallon freezer bag, remove excess air, and seal bag.
  • Mix sauce ingredients together and place in a quart bag. Keep the two bags together, label, and freeze.
  • To serve: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Brown meat in skillet, if desired. Then cook meat and sauce in slow cooker on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours.
Chicken Broccoi and Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS

  • 10 cups cooked rice white or brown
  • 4 cups cooked chicken chopped
  • 4 cups chopped broccoli lightly steamed (can use frozen or fresh)
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 2 cans cream of chicken soup
  • 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

To Freeze:

  • Divide into four resealable freezer bags and seal tightly. Freeze flat.

To Serve:

  • Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator.
  • Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8x8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9x13-inch pan).
  • Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.






Homemade Manwich Sloppy Joe Recipe

Homemade Manwich Sloppy Joe Recipe

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