Crockpot Beef Stew by Beth

Ingredients:
2 lbs. cubed beef stew meat
1 c. chopped onion
1 T. minced garlic
2 pkgs. beef gravy mix
2 c. water
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 c. baby carrots
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 c. frozen peas, thawed
Assembly:
Brown meat in small amount of oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once slightly cooled, transfer to gallon freezer bag.  To the bag, add garlic, onion, and carrots.  Whisk together gravy powder, water, and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour into bag and seal.  Freeze.
Serving Day:
Thaw freezer bag in the fridge.  Dump into crockpot and add potatoes.  Cook on high 4 1/2 hours or on low for 9 hours.  Add peas during the last 10 min. 

Chicken Noodle Stew

This recipe was adapted from Taste of Home-Busy Family Favorites - Turkey Noodle Stew - Traci Maloney of Toms River, NJ
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken cut into 1/4" slices (I used frozen diced chicken precooked)
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can (14 1/2oz.) chicken broth
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
3 cups uncooked extra-wide egg noodles
1 cup water-ADD ON COOKING DAY


Assembly:
In a gallon size bag, add chicken, onion, broth, soup vegetables and seasoning and seal shut.  In a quart size bag fill with noodles and seal shut. Put both bags into another gallon bag for storing together and freeze.


Serving Day:


Thaw completely.  Pour mixture and 1 cup of water into a large skillet; bring to a boil. Stir in noodles.  Reduce the heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the noodles and vegetables are tender.
Yield:  6 servings

Hearty Hamburger Stew by Mel

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 1/4 c. chopped onions

2 c. carrots, sliced (uncooked)

1 c. chopped green pepper

3 stalks celery, diced

1 can green beans with juice

1 can corn with juice

1 c. sliced mushrooms (canned is fine)

1 46oz. can tomato juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. celery seed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown ground beef and drain. Mix beef and remaining ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve or cool and freeze.

Freezer instructions:

Thaw and reheat.

Family Friendly Fast Stew by Andrea

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can whole corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can beans, drained
1/2 c. ketchup


Assembly: Brown and drain ground beef. Add in rest of ingredients. To eat on assembly day, cook in crock pot or heat through on the stove. To freeze: combine all ingredients in gallon freezer bag and freeze.

To cook from frozen: Defrost and heat either in crock pot or in a pan on the stove.

Notes: This recipe was given to me for its flexibility and versatility. It can be adapted to suit your family preferences. You can use any flavor of tomatoes, even crushed. You may use 2 cans of creamed corn instead of the whole can, and you may use any kind of beans. It is also fine to leave it in the crock pot all day or heat it through quickly on the stove.

Spicy Sausage and Pepper Stew by Missy

from Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 9 servings, 1 cup stew and 5 crackers each

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) reduced fat hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I found it much easier to open the sausage up and brown is like hamburger.)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 can (14 oz.) reduced sodium beef broth
2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15-1/2 oz. each) kidney beans, drained, rinsed

Assembly:
COOK sausage, pepper and celery in large saucepan on medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently; drain.
ADD flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes with their liquid and beans.

Freezing Instructions:
I made this meal as directed and froze it in 1 gallon sized Ziploc Freezer bags...doesn't get much easier than that!! If you're preparing this meal in large #'s that you will divide, I recommend cooking your meat, pepper, celery, flour mixture (for all your meals) and measuring it out in 2 1/2 cup servings per freezer bag, then dumping your canned ingredients into each bag separately. I find that much easier than making the meal separately over and over again.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crackers.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Substitute
Prepare as directed, using your favorite variety of canned beans.
Serve with crackers or bread.
Cooking Know-How
The secret to a quick-cooking stew is having all your ingredients cut small enough to cook quickly. If you have trouble cutting the sausage into 1/2-inch slices, just remove it from the casing and break it up as you brown it. Be sure to drain the excess fat after browning.