Barbecue Spareribs - Crockpot

This is another recipe that I do in bulk (3 or 4x) and freeze. It's from the book Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer (LOVE this book)



5 lbs beef or pork spare ribs
1.5 cups ketchup
1.5 cups water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup pineapple

Brown the spareribs in a skillet. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Place ribs in a freezer bag and after sauce has cooled, pour over ribs in bag. Freeze.

When you want to cook them for that day, you can either dump the whole bag (thawed first) in your slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours, or you can bake it in the oven in a large dish, covered, at 350 degrees for 1.5-2 hours.



These ribs are delicious. I've never been a rib person, but these are pretty darn good! We serve them with rice, or with potatoes, and veggies. Toddler approves them as well!

I generally buy ribs when I see them on a really good sale or marked down, and whip these up for the freezer, since it's quick, easy and with stuff I have on hand most of the time. I am LOVING freezer cooking, so you'll probably be seeing a lot more of it on here. Tonnes of new freezer recipes I've found on Pinterest as well!


I think we're finally starting to settle into our "new" normal since baby's arrival, and I think I could maintain a meal plan again, so I plan to do one up for the month of October, and hopefully get back into blogging.

Corn Chowder

Here is another recipe from Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. I love these books. Nothing has disappointed in these books yet.




Hearty Corn Chowder

1/4 cup butter, melted
6 Tbsp onions, chopped
3/4 cup celery, diced
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups frozen kernel corn
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp flour
1 quart half and half

Saute the onions and celery in butter until tender. Add water, potatoes, corn, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover and simer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. IN small bowl, whisk flour into 2 cup of half and half. Stir into soup, then add the remaining half and half. Heat until desired thickness, stirring frequently.

You can freeze this is freezer bags, for future, or enjoy now! Top with grated cheddar cheese and bacon bits.



I think we all really enjoyed this soup, perfect for a cool day, topped with cheese, and green onion (we didn't have bacon in the house, rarely do, in fact). But this was delicious, but I think I'd make a couple substitutions next time.... maybe only use 1/2 quart of half and half, and use skim milk for the remainder to cut the fat. Also might add some carrots to it. I love carrots in soup. :)

Cranberry Chicken

Last month I prepped a lot of recipes for the freezer, since baby was on her way. I knew I wouldn't be able to cook as much this month.

This one came from the book Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer. So far the recipes we've tried from this book have been awesome! You can make a single serving of the recipe, multiply it for 3 meals, 6 meals or 9 meals.



Cranberry Chicken

8 oz Catalina dressing
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 can of cranberry sauce
4 boned chicken breasts (I used boneless, skinless)

Mix together everything, except the chicken.... pour in freezer bags, and then add uncooked chicken breasts to the bags. Lay the bags in a flat container once you have them sealed (removing what air you can). This makes them take up less room in the freezer.

When you go to make them, thaw completely. Place chicken with cranberry sauce in greased baking dish, and bake uncovered for 1-1.5 hours on 350F.


My husband was very skeptical of Cranberry Chicken... but we both loved it. It's delicious, and quick with little effort. Would be delicious with stuffing, but it's not overwhelmingly cranberry either. It's just a delicious sauce on a yummy moist chicken breast. Definitely a winner, and will be doing these for the freezer in the future (although I still have another 2 meals of it in there now).