Slow-cooker meals

Simple Slow Cooker Applesauce

~ SL ~ 1 Comment

It’s always nice to know people who have apple trees in their yards who are willing to share! My grandma and my friend give me apples every summer so I make applesauce to use in my baking year-round.

This recipe is so easy to make because you don’t have to peel the apples. Simply cut around the core, fill your slow cooker, add a bit of water, and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours. Puree the sauce once the apples have softened. The peels give it a peachy-pink color and the applesauce doesn’t have any added sugar. You can of course add sugar and cinnamon to taste if you plan on eating the applesauce as-is.

How to store your applesauce

I like to freeze it in 1-cup portions in small freezer bags. One batch of applesauce will yield about 9-10 cups of applesauce, depending on the size of your apples. Let the sauce cool completely before portioning it into freezer bags. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet before freezing to save space. I like to portion in one cup portions because I mostly use this apple sauce in these Healthy Banana Muffins with Applesauce, or these Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins.

If you have some time on your hands, you can also can it to make it shelf-stable. The National Centre for Home Food Preservation is a great resource for safe canning practices. Follow the instructions for canning applesauce here.

How to use your applesauce

As I mentioned, I like to use mine mostly in baking. There are a few of my go-to muffin recipes on my Tried & True Pinterest Board. You can modify most muffin or cake recipes to use applesauce as a substitute for butter or margarine. For one cup of butter, use 3/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup canola oil. Using applesauce makes cakes moist and more cost-effective, as the price of butter is rising by the day. You could also use it as a topping for oatmeal or as a substitution for an egg in your favorite muffin or cake. If using as an egg substitute, use 1/4 cup applesauce for one egg.

Preventing food waste

Even if you don’t get a load of apples from a tree, you can set aside bruised apples from the store and freeze them until you’re ready to make a full batch. Again, slice around the core and place in a freezer bag. Keep adding to the bag until you have enough to make a batch of sauce. For more tips on preventing food waste for a variety of ingredients, see page 64 of your Ultimate Guide.

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Simple Slow Cooker Applesauce

This three-step recipe is easy to execute and virtually hands-free.

Course Breakfast
Keyword apples, applesauce
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Servings 9 cups

Ingredients

  • Apples
  • 1/2 cup Water optional

Instructions

  1. Cut around the core of the apples and fill your slow cooker.

  2. Add 1/2 cup water to large slow cookers, and 1/4 cup to smaller slow cookers.

  3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until apples break apart when you stir them.

  4. Puree the sauce with an immersion blender.

  5. Cool completely before portioning and freezing in bags.

Recipe Notes

Adding water creates steam and helps speed up the process but is not necessary. 

If you are canning the sauce, fill hot, sterilized jars with hot applesauce and follow the guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation for safe canning practices. 

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

~ SL ~ 1 Comment

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup is one of our favorites to freeze and take for school lunches. We like to add chicken to it, but you could definitely make a vegetarian version as well by omitting the chicken.

Getting started

There are a few meal prep strategies that you could do before you make this soup, that will help you stock your freezer for other meals as well. I like to use Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth in this recipe. It’s almost free to make and one batch will give you enough broth to make this tortilla soup, plus an extra three cups to use in another recipe.

Jump to Recipe

You can also get ahead by making a batch of shredded chicken. You will only need about two breasts for this soup, but if you cook and shred 8 chicken breasts, you will be able to freeze 6 more for future meals.

Time-saving tips

You can save time by preparing this recipe in a number of ways:

Prepare the tortilla soup the night before you need it

Assembling the soup in the crock pot, the night before you need it will allow you to simply turn on the slow cooker in the morning and let it cook all day while you’re at work.

If you don’t have the fridge space to store your crock pot over night, consider opening your cans, rinsing beans, chopping onions and garlic and measuring spices as you pre-prep, so you can just add them to the slow cooker in the morning.

Freeze extra portions of tortilla soup for lunches

This soup is a quick weeknight meal, but is also amazing as a hot lunch. You will get 8 2-cup portions from this recipe so it’s a great one to freeze for later.

Toppings and variations

As I mentioned previously, you could definitely make a vegetarian version by omitting the chicken and chicken bouillon concentrate. Adding toppings isn’t necessary but is a nice touch. Some toppings you could add are:

  • Diced avocado
  • Fresh cilantro
  • A squeeze of lime
  • Shredded cheese
  • Tortilla strips or chips
Print

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword make-ahead meals, slow cooker, slow-cooker meals, tortilla soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts Substitute with 2 cups cooked shredded chicken or omit for vegetarian
  • 1 can corn
  • 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. coriander
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 6 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth add 2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon concentrate if using vegetable broth, or omit for a vegetarian version.

Toppings

  • lime
  • avocado
  • shredded cheese
  • fresh cilantro
  • tortilla strips or chips

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker except toppings.

  2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

  3. If using whole chicken breasts, remove the chicken and shred it when cooked, then add it back to the soup.

Back-to School Meal Prep: Shredded Chicken

~ SL ~ 5 Comments

This post was written in a paid partnership with Manitoba Chicken Producers. As always, all opinions are my own and I only promote products and services that I use and love.

Back-to-School may look a little different this year, but what won’t change is the fact that we still need to eat dinner every night.

Prepping shredded chicken in a large batch and freezing it unseasoned is a quick and easy supper solution that can be transformed into a variety of meals.

Having some quick options for lunches and dinner can make the transition from summer vacation to back-to-school a little easier.

How to prepare shredded chicken

Fill your slow cooker with chicken thighs or breasts and let it cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. When the chicken shreds easily with a fork, it’s ready. If you’re using boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, add a small amount (1 cup or so) of vegetable or chicken broth to the crock pot for moist, tender chicken.

Food Safety Tip: Before you start shredding, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Cooked chicken pieces should be cooked to a reading of 165 degrees Farenheight.

You can even shred large quantities of boneless, skinless chicken in your stand-mixer with the paddle attachment if you’re pressed for time.

Bone-in or boneless?

Preferred cuts of chicken for this method are boneless, skinless breasts or thighs because they shred easily, whereas bone-in varieties require a little more effort when shredding. The advantage to using bone-in varieties is that you can save the bones to make soup stock. Simply add them to the ingredients of this Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth and you’ll have 9 cups of chicken broth ready to use in soups and other recipes.

How to portion and freeze it

I like to either portion by cup or by piece, for example 2 cups or 2 breasts. Freezing in smaller portions allows you to take out as many bags as you need for a recipe, rather than freezing the whole batch in one bag and having too much.

It’s important to label your bags with the amount, cut and date.

Food Safety Tip: Store cooked chicken in the fridge for 3-4 days or 2-3 months in the freezer. Head to manitobachicken.ca for other helpful storage tips.

Why cook it unseasoned?

Cooking the chicken unseasoned, allows you to use it in a variety of recipes, depending on the other ingredients you have on hand and your mood. You could substitute the grilled chicken in this Asian Grilled Chicken Salad – Three Ways with shredded chicken for lunch or dinner.

How to use the shredded chicken

Here are some delicious recipes from manitobachicken.ca that call for shredded chicken.

https://manitobachicken.ca/recipe/grilled-chicken-lime-cheese-quesadillas/
The Grilled Chicken Lime & Cheese Quesadillas are a quick weeknight meal with tons of flavor.
https://manitobachicken.ca/recipe/char-sui-pulled-chicken/
For the Char Sui Pulled Chicken, simply add the sauce ingredients to the shredded chicken and heat through. This would also work well as a lunch option the following day.
https://manitobachicken.ca/recipe/tropical-chicken-taquitos/
The Tropical Chicken Taquitos are a great addition to a supper snack board.

Take your meal prep one step further

If you have extra time to dedicate to your meal prep, prepare these recipes ahead of time. Then, freeze them so that you can simply heat and serve.

Food Safety Tip: Do not re-freeze cooked chicken that has already defrosted.

Freeze the quesadillas between two sheet pans to prevent the tortillas from curling. Store them in a freezer bag or large container.

For the taquitos, you can freeze them on a sheet pan first, then store them in a freezer bag or container.

For the Char Siu, combine the chicken with the sauce and store in a freezer bag. Reheat on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.

Don’t forget to write the date and the name of the recipe on the bag!

A few more ideas

A few more simple ideas that use shredded chicken are:

  • On a pizza (try BBQ sauce, chicken, red peppers, mushrooms and cheddar cheese)
  • In a quesedilla (try pesto, chicken, sundried tomatoes & mozzarella)
  • In a sandwich (try adding 1/2 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix to 4 cups shredded chicken, 1/2 cup buffalo sauce and 2 Tbsp. butter. Heat through and serve over toasted buns.)

How will you use your shredded chicken? Tag us on Instagram and show us your creations @toobusylivin204 @mbchicken