Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I know, I know. It is no longer "pumpkin season," meaning this month does not end in "-ber." However, it still feels like a "burrr" month, (have I mentioned how much I love puns yet?), and tasty, warm and easy breakfasts are still required.

Enter Pumpkin Oatmeal.

As you can tell from my lovely decor, we first made this for November's freezer cooking club. Doesn't it look cozy?! We made it again for February's freezer cooking club to use up some inventory, and my family still loved it. As in, my two littlest guys ate half the pot.

Really, just put this hot mess in the crock pot over night, (about 7 hours) and you wake up to chewy, pumpkin-y goodness. Be SURE to spray your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray to avoid a painful clean-up experience. And really, finding steel cut oats is a must because your typical rolled oats won't stand up to the long cook time.

When we prepare our freezer meals, we throw all of the ingredients for the oatmeal in a ziplock bag and freeze them. I've never frozen this oatmeal though because I've been too excited to make it, and my family was too excited to eat it.

The oatmeal does turn out very thick, so if you like a thinner meal, douse your bowl with a hefty amount of milk.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

adapted from Overnight Crockpot Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups almond milk  (we've also used just 1% milk)
2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus more for sprinkling, if you want...)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs butter, melted

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl or bag.
2. Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and pour oatmeal mixture into crockpot.
3. Cook on LOW for 7 hours.
4. Serve with milk. Optional toppings: almonds, cranberries, walnuts, or even whipped cream!

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chile Verde

Here at The Freezer Cooking Club, we love taking weeknight meals from "OK" to "OLE!" We always have at least one variation of Mexican food because it is cheap, easy, and most importantly, our families eat it.

We found this recipe on The Gracious Pantry and we actually really liked it. For our Freezer Cooking Night, we just threw all the ingredients into a ziplock, so prepping was a snap! I just plopped the whole frozen mess right into the crockpot on low and let it simmer all day. It was glorious. No defrosting required.

Because we only used one chicken breast per family I served the Pineapple Chicken Verde over some protein-packed quinoa and baby spinach. Of course all that healthfulness was helped along with generous amounts of sour cream and cheddar cheese. I was really surprised at how far the meal stretched. I was eating chile verde burritos for lunch for days. Putting the tastiness in toasted tortilla added such a delightful crunch to a fairly sweet and mellow meal.

(As you can see, I managed to capture this bad boy before I devoured it. I liked to cut a bite of burrito and pair it with a bite of fresh baby spinach as an easy way to get in a serving of veggies.)

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chile Verda

adapted from http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-slow-cooker-pineapple-chicken-verde/

Ingredients:

• 2 raw chicken breasts (about 7 ounces each)
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, no sugar added, packed in pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup clean chili verde sauce (I got mine at Trader Joe’s)

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker.
2. Pour 1/2 cup crushed pineapple over each chicken breast.
3. Pour 1/4 cup chili verde sauce over each chicken breast.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the chicken easily falls apart when poked at with a fork.

Freezer Directions:
Just pour all the ingredients in a ziplock bag and freeze. Defrost or place in crockpot frozen. Cook as directed above.

January Meal Plan and Shopping List

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get back to cooking! I was at the store today and made an comment to the cashier that I was cooking meals for approximately 400 people next week.  We did the math…turns out I was right on…and that doesn’t include leftovers! 14 meals for 4 people X 7 families=392.  So it’s a big month.

This month’s theme is HEALTHY.  Not a bad way to start the year, right?

MEALS:

Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Smoothies

Stuffed Peppers

 Fajitas

Mexican Rice

Turkey Chili

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Lasagna Rolls

Baked Chicken

Chicken Noodle Soup

Sausage Soufflé

Quinoa Chili

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Turkey Burgers

Garden Lasagna

 

SHOPPING LIST:

Scallions: 7

Ground Turkey: 21 lbs

Onions: 12 (we have a bunch in the inventory)

Red Peppers: 54, I know! That’s a ton!!!

Celery: 2 bunches

Carrots: 5 lbs

Worcestershire sauce

Pesto: 8 cups

Spinach: 2 Costco bags

Ricotta: 35 cups

Eggs: 74

Butter: 4 sticks

Milk: 32 cups (2 gallons)

Mushrooms: 5 lbs (I bought canned during a case lot sale!)

Lasagna noodles: 7 boxes

Mozzarella: 40 cups

Basil: 1 bunch, fresh

Cream of Chicken: 6 cans

Corn: 1 Costco bag

Egg noodles: 12 cups

Chicken: 72 breasts (I have a raincheck to Dans for $1.59/lb!!!

Bread: 2 loaves, thick sliced

Cheddar Blend Cheese: 10 cups

Diced tomatoes: 15 cans---case lot sale!!!

Tomato Pase: 4 cups

Lemon Juice: 1 1/2 cups

Rice: 22 cups

Olive oil

Parsely: 3 cups

Oregano

Tortillas: 3 bags

Cumin

Dark pitted Cherries: 56 oz

Tomato Sauce: 18 cups

Almonds

Teriyaki sauce

Smoothie ingredients: Frozen Strawberries (14 cups), bananas (10), Greek yogurt (4 cups), Mango-Passion fruit juice concentrate, Peaches (4 cups), Orange Sherbet (1 container), Pineapple (1 bag), Pineapple juice

Diced Green Chilies: 56 oz

Green Peppers: 12

Cannelli Beans: 14

Bread Crumbs: 5 cups

Marinara Sauce: 13

Bone-in Chicken: 28 breasts

Seasoning Salt

Parmesan: 4 cups

Quinoa: 14 cups cooked

Kidney Beans: 7

Black Beans: 14

Cilantro

Lime Juice

I’ve bought all the beans, some noodles, and the cans of tomato products, and we’re only down $115, which is only $16/each.  So far so good. Can’t wait until next week!