Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

From New Leaf Wellness' Crockpot Freezer Meals

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp EVOO

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Sesame seeds, optional (not needed until serving)

Add all ingredients to a freezer bag. Remove as much air from the bag as possible and freeze. The night before cooking, move the bag from the freezer to the fridge to allow to thaw. The next morning, pour contents of the freezer bag into your crockpot, turn on low and forget about it for about 6 hours. Top with sesame seeds before serving.

I have never actually used this as a freezer meal but it is a favorite as an easy delicious crockpot meal. Serve with brown rice and stir fry veggies. I'll be freezing a batch or two for baby #3 arrival soon! 

Skillet Apple Pork Chops

From Cooking Light, September 2016 issue

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil, divided
4 (6 oz.) bone-in pork chops
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. fresh sage (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary (or about 1/4-1/2 tsp. dried)
2 medium apples, sliced thinly
1 small red onion, vertically sliced

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp. oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork evenly with 3/8 tsp salt & 3/8 tsp pepper. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until pork is done. Remove from pan.
2. Combine stock and mustard, stirring with a whisk. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to pan; swirl. Add remaining salt & pepper plus the other spices and the apples and onion to the pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

You guys, this took under 30 minutes from start to finish and was so, so good. My whole house smelled amazing after and I kept saying how good it was. This is such a comforting and easy fall meal. I doubled the apples the next time and it was a better ratio of apples to pork :)

Crockpot Sweet Pork Loin w/ veggies

1.25 lb. pork loin
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. EVOO
Salt & pepper to taste

Carrots & potatoes

Combine garlic, brown sugar, oil and salt & pepper and rub all over pork loin. Place meat in the bottom of your crockpot and add veggies to cover (I used whatever I had left of carrots and probably 12 baby creamer potatoes). Add about 1/2 cup of water and turn your crockpot on low. Cook for 6 hours or until you're ready to enjoy a delicious fall feast!

Pork Loin with Seasoned Rub

Adapted from Ellie Krieger at The Food Network

1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1.25 lb. pork loin
1 minced garlic clove
1 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.

Combine all the dry spices + salt & pepper & rub your tenderloin with them. Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet and add the minced garlic clove, saute for about a minute and then brown your pork loin in the oil.

Transfer to a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145F. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Pioneer Woman's Pot Pie

From The Pioneer Woman

4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
3 cups shredded cooked chicken (or turkey)
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (plus more if needed)
Splash of white wine (optional)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh thyme to taste
1/4 cup half-and-half Or cream
1 whole unbaked pie crust
1 whole egg
2 Tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir them around until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the chicken or turkey and then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir it until it’s all combined with the turkey and vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth (and wine if using) and stir it around and let it cook and thicken.

Once it starts to thicken add the turmeric, salt, pepper, and thyme.

Add the half-and-half or cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth. Turn off the heat.

Pour the filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface and lay it over the top of the dish. Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside of the pan. Use a knife to cut little vents here and there in the surface of the dough.

Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (You will have some egg wash left over.)

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. To prevent the crust from getting too brown, you might want to cover it lightly with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking time.

Serve up servings by the (big ol’) spoonful!

Seriously so good!!! This will be a new go-to for us. Easy, good, comforting, filling. You can also add whatever other veggies, including frozen. I have frozen peas to add in next time. I used Indiana Traminette in this and it was perfect. I didn't let my sauce thicken enough before baking the first time, so I made a batch of homemade biscuits to sop up the sauce. I also am going to try freezing this recipe in the future (just freeze after you make the chicken/veggie/sauce mixture and then when you're ready to bake it, defrost it overnight and add the crust).

Paula Deen's Goulash

Found this on Pinterest and loved it!

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked)

In large pot, cook ground beef over medium heat until browned, drain grease. Add onion and garlic, saute until transparent. Add 3 cups of water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, all seasonings, soy sauce and bay leaves. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add macaroni and allow to simmer an additional 20 minutes or until tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Healthy Slow Cooker Jambalya

(from SparkRecipes)

1 pkg Turkey Smoked Sausage, browned
1 Cooked chicken breast, chopped
1.5 C onion, chopped
1 C Green pepper, chopped
1 C Red pepper, chopped
1.5 C Celery, chopped
2 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Dried Thyme
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Put all in a slow cooker on high for 2-3 hours or low 3-4 hours. Serve over brown rice.

Makes 4, 1 1/2 cup servings.
This was super good, but a little time consumming with chopping everything. I can't follow a recipe for the life of me so I used an orange pepper instead of green, put more garlic in it, and cooked it in a electric skillet. I had to add about 1 cup of water to it, but besides that it was super easy. If I do it in a crock pot I would add liquid there to because I was everything to soak up the flavors. I served over white rice (because it's all I had). I hope you enjoy it. It makes about 3 servings for us.
I think next time I will use kielbasa instead!

The best part is it only has 232 calories in the jambalya, but that's not including the rice.

Crockpot Chicken Alfredo

1 can cream-of-anything soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
frozen chicken pieces
packet of Italian salad dressing mix
2 cloves minced garlic
block of cream cheese (to add later)

Put everything except for the cream cheese into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and begins to shred. Shred the chicken with two large forks, and mix in the block of cream cheese. Switch the crock to high and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is fully melted. Serve over pasta.

So easy & so, so good!

Pizza Biscuit Bake

Source: Bisquick Magazine

3 1/3 Cups Original Bisquick Mix
1 Cup Milk
2 cans (8 0z) pizza sauce
1 package (8 oz) sliced Pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and milk until soft dough forms. Drop half of dough by spoonfuls evenly over bottom of baking dish (Dough will not completely cover bottom of dish).
2. Drizzle 1 can pizza sauce over dough. Scatter half of the pepperoni over sauce. Top with 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining dough, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with Salad and breadsticks! EaSy and YuMM-o! ;)