Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freezer Meals. Show all posts

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Crock Pot Cheesy Potato Soup



Cheesy Potato Soup is a regular menu item in our family. It is Little Gal's absolute favorite dish that I make, and everyone else enjoys it too, so when I want something crowd-pleasing and simple to make for dinner, I make this.

It is also very easy to turn it into a *dairy-free dish.  When I make it dairy-free, I usually leave a bowl of grated cheese on the side for those who wish to have a little.

This makes quite a bit for our family of four, so I often throw the leftovers in the freezer for a freezer meal for another night.  This soup freezes really well and maintains its consistency once it has been reheated.  I love a two for one!

I hope you enjoy!


Crock Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients:

8 Medium-large potatoes, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
5-6 Cups water
3 TBS flour
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups shredded cheese (we use a monterrey and cheddar blend)


1.  In a crockpot (mine is a 6 Qt), combine the potatoes, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and water.  Place the lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 4-6, depending on how much time you have.

2.  Forty-five minutes before serving, pour the milk into a bowl.  Slowly whisk the flour into the milk until smooth.  If it's not smooth here, you'll have unsightly chunks in your soup, so don't skimp on the whisking here!

3.  Pour the milk mixture into the crock, then add in the cheese.  Stir to combine, then replace the lid.  Let the soup continue to cook about 45 minutes, until cheese is melted.

4.  Serve hot with bread, crackers or salad.

*If you wish to make this dairy-free, replace the evaporated milk with a dairy-free milk, omit the cheese, and use a vegan Worcestershire sauce.  If you don't have a vegan sauce, you can try using soy sauce, steak sauce, or making your own.  You can also leave it out, it just makes it extra yummy!



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Free Printable Freezer Inventory Chart

Ever since I started cooking ahead and keeping sides and meals in my freezer, I've kept a freezer inventory chart.  However, this was just a sheet of notebook paper, hastily ripped out of a binder and quickly scribbled on.  

In each row, I'd write down the item I had made and then make a tally for each serving that I threw into the freezer.  Yikes!  It got ugly towards the end when all of the tally lines were cross-marked and smooshed onto the line again and again, with the tallies getting closer and closer to the titles of the dishes as I added more and more tally marks.  You see, I was avoiding "making" another inventory chart out of notebook paper.




So I created a pretty Freezer Inventory Chart.  Something that would actually look nice as it adorned my refrigerator or the inside of my cupboard door.  It is going to be very nice to have it on a nicer, more organized paper!

I wanted you to be able to try it out as well, so I made it a complimentary printable...I think!  The more I work with this blog and experiment with and try new things, I realize how little I know about the behind-the-scenes working of websites.  Who knew just how difficult it would be to create a printable document!?!

If you wouldn't mind, if you try printing the Inventory Chart, please let me know how it goes in the comments.  I'm learning, and I'm having fun learning, but in the end, I want this to be a frustration-free place for you, the readers. 

How do you keep track of your freezer meals?  Any favorite recipes?