Welcome back to Freezer To Crockpot Cooking – Mexican Week!
You had a few days to get all the ingredients for these Mexican recipes togetherand now it is time to prep your ingredients for those delicious Mexican inspired chicken dishes!
Super simple prep for these dinners:
- Dice one onion
- Finely chop cilantro so that you have 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro.
- Cook 2-3 large chicken breasts however you prefer, bake, boil, poach or pan fry. Shred chicken, combine in a small bowl with 1 can of enchilada sauce, evenly distribute among 6 tortillas, fold in ends, and roll up.
- As I mentioned when I gave you the shopping list, if you wish to cut down on the sodium in these meals (or like me, just prefer the taste), rinse and drain your canned vegetables and beans
Next Step – Get the Instructions on the Bags
The next step is to write your cooking directions on each of your freezer bags before filling, grab a sharpie and you will need 4 1-Gallon freezer bags. We will label the bags with cooking directions prior to filing to make it easier. Write the following directions on each bag
Chicken Fajita Soup
- Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray
- Pour contents of bag into crockpot
- Cook on low 4-6 hours
- Shred chicken with a fork before serving
Creamy Salsa Chicken
- Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray
- Pour contents of bag into crockpot
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours
- Shred chicken
- Allow to cook an additional hour
Chicken Enchiladas
- Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray
- Place enchiladas in bottom of crockpot
- Cook on low for 5-7 hours
Lime Tex-Mex Chicken
- Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray
- Pour contents of bag into crockpot
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours
- Shred with forks
Finally we are going to bag our yummy freezer meals – here are the lists of what to put in each bag:
Chicken Fajita Soup
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can corn
- 1 packet of taco seasoning
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
Creamy Salsa Chicken
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 1 jar of salsa
- 1 package of cream cheese
- 1 can of corn
- 1 can of black beans
Chicken Enchiladas
- 6 filled tortilla shells wrapped
- 1 can of enchilada sauce
Lime Tex-Mex Chicken
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. paprika
- 2 Tbsp. Cilantro
- 1 cup chicken broth
And that’s it! You now have 4 homemade and healthy healthy meals, ready to go in your crockpot on those busy days!
Need more slow cooker recipes that are great for freezer cooking? See all of the other weeks in this series:
Porsche
I'm a little confused. What do I put in the chicken enchiladas? It says filled tortilla shells, but what do I fill them with? Thanks, these recipes look good and fast! My two favorite words when it comes to dinner!
Mindi Cherry
Hey!
If you scroll up, the "prep work" tells you how to fill them 😉
Cook 2-3 large chicken breasts however you prefer, bake, boil, poach or pan fry. Shred chicken, combine in a small bowl with 1 can of enchilada sauce, evenly distribute among 6 tortillas, fold in ends, and roll up.
Jen
Where does the diced onion go? I made everything and that was still sitting in a pile. M
Treva Miller
I was wondering, are we to cook the chicken before freezing? Or are we adding the chicken raw in the bag with all the rest of the ingredients? Thank you!
Mindi Cherry
chicken is one of the only meats that cooks just fine in the crock pot from frozen....so go ahead and throw the chicken in the bag raw!
Christa
Hi there. Like the recipes, but I am finding I have to search all over for the information needed. It would be helpful if each individual recipe listed the ingredients and steps. Thanks.
Stacy
I bought the ingredients for chicken, beef and Mexican weeks today. I just finished writing the instructions on my bags. My question is... I understand that if I want to lower the sodium content I should drain and rinse the canned beans/corn. But if I am not worried about sodium, do I stil need to drain the cans if the liquid? If I do drain and rinse, do I need to add water back? If so, how much?
Thank you! I'm excited!!
Mindi Cherry
Oh - no go ahead and drain and rinse the beans and corn. I can't think of a time that I ever used canned beans without draining and rinsing them!
As for the amount of liquid - you will be fine. Cooking in the crockpot naturally locks in the moisture and even kinda "creates" some. If you are worried, just check on it after a few hours (but you should be ok)
Stacy
Thank you for answering so quick! I got home from the store at 7pm and by 10:30 pm, I had 12 bags labeled w/directions and 3 meals in the freezer!
Mindi Cherry
LOVE IT! That is now many meals that you don't have to worry about prepping!