for all you IGers out there {follow me! lifeasyouliveit} that saw me post this picture last week and asked for details :
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and for the rest of you who are wondering what the heck that is and why the others care, here’s the lowdown.
if you’ve read my blog long enough, you might have gotten the impression that i am not a scheduler or a planner or a thinker-a-header. annnnd, you’d be right. that being said, i’ve got a lot on my plate during this season of my life. i’ve taken on a few extra things that have my plate filled to the top {promise i’ll fill you in soon. once i’m confident in it…}. so when we got back from our montana summer, i arrived with a plan. i was going to make all those crock pot meals that everyone keeps pinning on pinterest and then never doing anything with {or was that just me?} and…
wait, what?!…actually make them?
*dun, dun, dun*
okay, okay, i’m making this way longer than it needs to be, so i’ll cut to the chase. i wish i could tell you i did ALL the work and handpicked all my favorite recipes and painstakingly made a detailed grocery list, but that would be a big, fat, hairy LIE. instead i went to my pinterest board, found this pin and wa-la! there were 20 recipes and a grocery list all waiting for me to work up my ambition, print them out, get my lazy butt to the grocery store and hammer out 40 crock pot meals.
so…that’s what i did.
the secrets out.
here’s the logistics. the facts and any random tips i can offer you. **disclaimer : i am not a cook, nor have i ever claimed to be. use my tips at your own discretion**
- total time : 7 hours. 2 hours to grocery shop, 5 hours to put everything together. i left the kitchen once to go to the bathroom. i had intermittent helpers throughout which slowed the process down a bit.
- i hadn’t tried any of the recipes before hand, and i didn’t change the recipes at all {that part was hard. for some reason, i have a really hard time following a recipe. i always want to change things up, as if i know what i’m doing, ha! i’ve ruined more recipes that way…} i’ve cooked a few already and so far they’ve all been pretty tasty.
- i think the original post says this, but write the recipe names on the bags before you fill them.
- i did the meat first. {and i know i said i didn’t change the recipes THIS time, but NEXT time for the chicken recipes, i’m going to do all chicken breasts because dang! the thighs took me forever to work with. plus, it grosses me out. faster + less grossness = win}
- add any liquids to the bags dead last. i learned that the hard way {que the spilling of beef broth all over the counter because the bag wouldn’t stand up and i couldn’t seal it because i had more to add to the bag. #notsmart learn from me people.}
- freeze them flat. i learned this the hard way too. i stood them up so i could see the labels and then they sunk down between the grates and froze around them. now they are nearly impossible to remove from the freezer. yay, me.
- you will not feel accomplished until a day or two goes by because once you’re done? you. will. be. exhausted. {that’s not negative, just honest}
that’s pretty much it. the original post is mucho more helpful.
oh! and i did trade out one of the taco recipes for a family favorite : javanese. the recipe is below if you’re interested. we ALL love it. and you know as well as i do that with kids, that’s rare!
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{pin it for easy access later!}
if you decide to do it in the crockpot, just combo all the ingredients except the cornstarch and toppings. add the cornstarch 20 minutes before you eat, so it has time to thicken! and garnish when you’re ready to eat! so. good. promise.
happy cooking!
