With the warm days of summer approaching, it is time to
consider some recipes that will make life easier.
These meals are quick, healthy and tasty.
During the summer months it is nice to have some meals
preplanned. By using a crockpot, these
meals can be cooking hassle free and do not create a lot of heat while
cooking. The three recipes featured are
designed to cook all day in the crockpot and be ready after a long day of work
or play. Each recipe will go along
nicely with fresh vegetables or a salad from the garden or farmers market.
These recipes can be modified for personal taste; relatively
healthy, especially paired up with a fruit or vegetable salad; and very cost
efficient if ingredients are bought in bulk for making multiples of the recipes.
BBQ Spareribs
1-2 lbs of country-style pork ribs 1 ½ cups organic ketchup
1 ½ Tablespoons Magic Pork seasoning ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ cup brown sugar ¼
c honey
½ cup white vinegar ¼
teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Mix all the ingredients except for the pork in a re-sealable
gallon freezer bag. Add in pork
ribs. Squeeze all air out of bag and
freeze. When ready to eat, removed the
bag from the freezer and thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Cook in a crockpot on HIGH for 3-4 hours or
LOW for 6-7 hours. This recipe would be
great served with coleslaw or a tossed green salad. Option: can use chicken or beef. Recipe (without meat) is a great BBQ recipe.
Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Beans
1 ½ pound chicken breast Juice
from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, diced 2 cups corn,
frozen or fresh
3 medium garlic clove, minced ½ med red onion,
chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
1 can black olives, diced (optional) ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
Place all ingredients into a re-sealable gallon freezer bag
and mix well. When ready to eat, removed
bag from freezer and thaw in the fridge for 24 hour. Cook in a crockpot on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW
for 7-8 hours. Serve with tortillas,
chips and toppings: sour cream, guacamole, salsa and cheese. This would be great service with Spanish rice
and tossed green salad with salsa ranch dressing.
Mongolian Beef
1 lb. stew meat 2
teaspoon coconut oil (can sub olive)
1 medium white onion, thickly sliced 1 bunch green onions, sliced
length wise
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (3 gloves) ½ cup Gluten free soy sauce or
amino acid
½ cup water ¼
cup packed brown sugar
¼ c honey 1/3
teaspoon fresh minced ginger
½ cup gluten free hoisin sauce ¼ teaspoon ground
pepper
Place all ingredients into a re-sealable gallon freezer bag
and mix well. When ready to eat, remove
bag from freezer and thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Cook in crockpot on HIGH for 4 hours or on
LOW for 6-7 hours. Serve with fresh
vegetables or steamed broccoli or asparagus and rice.
All three recipes are gluten free (as long as you choose
gluten free ingredients) and have reduced refined sugars. Those who wish a paleo version, substitute
real maple syrup or sucanat to retain a similar flavor for the brown
sugar. All honey could be used, but some
flavors may be missing.
Tips:
* Make sure to squeeze all the air out of the freezer bags
to avoid frost burn.
* Lie bags flat until solidly frozen, then they can be stack.
* Make multiples of the recipes and buy in bulk to make more
cost efficient. (most value pack
average 6-8 lbs of meat, so you can make three recipes from one package of
meat)
* Time saver is to cut and dice vegetables and create an
assembly line when preparing recipes.
* Place frozen bags on paper towels in the fridge to catch
any condensation or leaks.
* Try to use mostly organic ingredients, especially in the
condiments, this helps reduce the refined sugars, glutens and preservatives.
