Slow Cooker Spinach and Sausage Soup

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This freezer to crock pot soup is nice and hearty, making it perfect for cold days. I also like that it is easy to adapt this spinach and sausage soup according to your preferences.

Spinach and Sausage Soup Recipe:

1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I prefer the spicy variety*)
24 oz. jar pasta sauce
19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz. chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth

1 cup small pasta shells

Brown the ground sausage in a skillet. *If you can handle spicier food, I strongly suggest you use the spicy Italian sausage as it is so much tastier in this recipe.

Once the sausage has cooled, add it to a large resealable freezer bag. Pour in the pasta sauce, the drained white kidney beans, chopped spinach, chopped carrots, diced onion, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Remove excess air and seal.

Put the raw pasta in a medium resealable bag. Staple the bags together and freeze.

On cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Separate the bags and add the large bag to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Add the pasta in the last 20 minutes.

You can change up this recipe by using different types of jarred pasta sauce and determining which is your favourite flavour combination. I prefer to use fresh spinach but you can try it with either and see what your preference is.

Looking for other freezer to crock pot meals? My slow cooker freezer meal plans include printable grocery lists and labels.

Crock Pot Tortellini Soup

Beef Dump Recipes

Filed Under: Cooking in the Chaos, Freezer Meals

Sloppy Joes Freezer Meal Recipe

By Sharla Kostelyk 12 Comments

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.)

There is something very cozy about Sloppy Joes, especially when served in the winter. It’s a meal that brings me back to my childhood and I assume will someday be one that brings my kids back to theirs! This sloppy joes freezer meal recipe has that classic taste.

There’s no reason that Sloppy Joes can’t be enjoyed by people who eat gluten free if served on gluten free buns. Of course, if you are not on a gluten free diet, you can make this the same way and use your favourite buns.

You can double, triple or quadruple this recipe and separate into freezer bags to have this recipe on hand for busy days.

Sloppy Joes Freezer Meal Recipe:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped finely
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/2 cup chili sauce
14 oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
2 tsp. lemon juice

*If you are making this sloppy joes recipe gluten free, be sure to use a gluten free Worcestershire sauce.

Brown ground beef. Mix ground beef and all other ingredients in a bowl and put into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal. Lay flat and freeze.

On cooking day, thaw the bag and cook in a crock pot for 2-3 hours on low or cook on the stovetop until heated through. Serve on regular or gluten free buns, sliced in half. Our family’s preference for gluten free buns is Udi’s whole grain gluten free hamburger buns. They are a great size and consistency for Sloppy Joes.

Other Easy Family Recipes:

This recipe is included in our Kid Friendly Freezer Meal Menu Plan. The other recipes are also kid-pleasers and the plan includes printable shopping lists, prep lists and printable labels making it easy to fill your freezer with meals your family will actually eat.

Filed Under: Cooking in the Chaos, Freezer Meals, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Freezer Meals

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Pizza Casserole

By Sharla Kostelyk 6 Comments

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.)

It’s always hard to get an appetizing picture of a crock pot supper and this was no exception but this casserole is really a kid pleaser! I often make a gluten free version of it, so will be including that in my instructions below. This is another freezer meal to crock pot so it saves time all around.

This is one of the regular meals in my freezer meal rotation. When I make it, I make two or four of these recipes at a time. The recipe below is for one meal, but if you want to make several to freeze, then multiply the ingredients accordingly.

2 cups of cubed ham
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
10 oz. can chopped mushrooms
28 oz. tomato sauce
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 cups small pasta

To make this into a freezer meal, mix all the ingredients except for the pasta in a large resealable freezer bag. Put 2 cups of pasta in a medium sized resealable freezer bag. Seal both and staple them together. Lay flat in the the freezer.

On the day you want to serve it, thaw, put the ingredients from the large bag into the crock pot and cook for 4 hours on low. Cook the pasta on the stovetop and stir into the casserole just before serving.

To make this gluten free…

To make this gluten free, ensure that you use gluten free ham. Much of the ham sold in stores contains fillers that include gluten so read the labels. Use gluten free pasta. This recipe is very adaptable for those on gluten free diets and we enjoy it just as much with the gluten free pasta.

Other Kid Friendly Recipes…

Filed Under: Cooking in the Chaos, Freezer Meals, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Freezer Meals

Crock Pot Tortellini Soup

By Sharla Kostelyk 3 Comments

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.)

This tortellini soup recipe is so easy. It cooks in the crock pot. This soup can even be made ahead as a freezer meal. It is hearty enough for a complete dinner. You can customize and change up this recipe by adding different vegetable combinations. Start by using vegetables that you know your family likes and then change it up once they are in love with this soup!

This hearty crock pot tortellini soup can also be made ahead as a freezer meal.

Tortellini Soup Recipe:

Throw into a large crock pot:

1 chopped onion
1 900 mL tetrapak of chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 700 mL jar pasta sauce
3 cloves of minced garlic
3 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 cups water
3 cups frozen mixed veggies (I use an Italian blend that has carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, romano beans, lima beans, and red pepper, but any combination of mixed vegetables is fine)

Stir and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

15 minutes before you are set to serve supper, add:

4-5 cups of fresh cheese tortellini

Simmer for 15 minutes and serve. This recipe feeds our entire family of 9 people and there’s usually enough for a leftover lunch for a few of us as well.

If you want, you can add some extra red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese on each bowl when serving. I like things spicy, so I add a lot of red pepper flakes.

tortellini-soup-square If making the tortellini soup as a freezer meal, put all the ingredients except the tortellini in a large resealable bag, remove the excess air and freeze it flat. If you want to, you can add the tortellini into another resealable bag and staple the bags together so that everything you need is in one place. On the day of cooking, thaw and pour the ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours and stir 4-5 cups of tortellini into the crock pot 15 minutes before serving.

tortellini-soup This tortellini soup is one of the recipes included in my Slow Cooker Freezer Meal Plans which have printable shopping lists, prep list, recipes, and printable labels. You will love having the guesswork taken out of dinner!