Home Cooked Meals for Busy Hockey Moms

Over the past few years, I’ve really struggled with providing home cooked meals for my two growing hockey players. As a full-time working mom who has a second full-time job as a hockey mom, there is never enough time. The first two years my children were in hockey, we ate take-out far too often (although they weren’t complaining about their abundance of McDonalds’ Happy Meal toys). My two boys would sometimes have practices on the same night, and by the time we got home there was not enough time to plan, cook and eat before bed.

So I got smart.

(Actually, I had another hockey mom suggest this brilliant idea and I just ran with it).

About three times a year, I do my Stock the Freezer with Slow Cooker Meals event. It takes a bit of preparation, but it has really made my evening meals so much easier. I will prep roughly 25 meals that just need to be pulled from the freezer and placed into the Slow Cooker. That way, when I leave for work in the morning, I know that if the family does not arrive home till 7:00 pm that night, at least we will have a home-cooked meal waiting for us.

I’ve been asked so many times to share these recipes, so I thought this would be the perfect place to do so. Keep in mind I have not created any of these. I fully admit that I have no creativity in the kitchen. I’ve found some on websites and some were shared from the recipe books of my friends. Either way I love them. So here they are!

Before you start, you’ll need some large Ziploc Freezer bags and a permanent marker (i.e. sharpie). On each bag, you need to (1) write the name of the recipe, (2) the slow cooker setting (3) time required to cook (4) the date you made it and (5) what to serve it with. Some of the recipes require multiple bags so I also usually write a number system (for example, bag 1 of 3) on the bags.

Enjoy! And please share your own Slow Cooker recipes in the comments! I would love to expand my list!

Slap Shot Sweet Potato and Quinoa Turkey

1 Freezer bag

Ingredients: Ground turkey (fry in pan till slightly browned) 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 cups of chicken broth 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 can baked beans (sweet) 1 cup of quinoa 1 large sweet potato (peeled and chopped small) 2 teaspoon of chilli powder 1 teaspoon of cumin ½ teaspoon of paprika ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 5-6 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and/or chopped avocado.

 

Play Off Pork Tenderloin

2 freezer bag (one for each roast)

Ingredients: 2 (2lb) pork loin roasts 2 (1 oz) envelopes of dry onion soup mix 2 cups of chicken broth ½ cup of red wine or red wine vinegar 1 cup of chopped onion 6 cloves of garlic, minced 3 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions: Place a pork roast in each bag Combine all other ingredients in a bowl then pour evenly into the two bags. When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents of one of the bags (or two for a larger meal) into slow cooker and cook 4-5 hours on low Optional: Add carrots and potatoes to the slow cooker and cook with pork

 

Penalty Box Broccoli Chicken Alfredo

1 freezer bag

Ingredients: 1 ½ pounds of chicken breast (cut into smaller chunks/strips) 1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli florets 2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce 1 large green pepper (chopped) 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms (drained)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 4-6 hours. Serve with cooked fettuccine noodles and green salad

 

Winning Goal Western Beef Casserole

1 Freezer bag

Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs lean ground beef, browned 1 (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 (10.75 oz) can corn, drained 1 (10.75 oz) can tomato soup 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 1 small yellow onion (chopped) ¼ tsp of chilli powder ¼ cup milk or water

Directions: Combine all ingredients in large freezer bag Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 4 hours. Or High for 1-2 hours

 

Hockey Mom Hawaiian Chicken

1 freezer bag

Ingredients: 3-4 chicken breasts (cut into small chunks) ½ cup of white sugar ½ cup of vinegar 3 garlic cloves (minced) 2 Tbsp soy sauce ½ cup of canned pineapple juice

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours. Serve with Rice

 

Tripping Turkey Black Bean Chilli

1 freezer bag

Ingredients: ground turkey, (fry in pan till slightly browned) 2 cans of black beans 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped Can of tomato sauce Small can of diced tomatoes 1 2/3 cups of frozen corn 2 large cloves of garlic, minced 1 tbsp of paprika ½ tsp of chilli powder 2 tsp of ground cumin 1 ½ tsp ground oregano

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese

 

Teamwork Tortellini with Cheese and Ground Beef

2 freezer bags needed

Ingredients: Lean ground beef, browned 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 can of crush tomatoes 1 small can of diced tomatoes ½ tsp of oregano ½ tsp of basil ½ tsp of pepper 1 package of frozen tortellini 1 cup of mozzarella cheese shredded ½ cup of cheddar cheese shredded

Directions: Combine all ingredients (except cheese and tortellini) in freezer bag #1 (1 of 3) Place both cheeses in freezer bag #2 (2 of 3) Leave tortellini in package and label as 3 of 3 Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents of bag #1 into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 hours. Add package of tortellini and top with cheese. Leave in slow cooker for another 30 mins. Serve with broccoli

 

Icing the Puck Italian Chicken

1 freezer bag

Ingredients: 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed 1 can of diced tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic, minced ¼ cup of honey 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil 1 tsp of oregano ½ tsp of parsley ¼ tsp of black pepper ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag. Place chicken on the top Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours. Serve with rice

 

Coach’s Corner Chicken Philly Cheesesteak

2 freezer bags

Ingredients: 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in strips 1 cup of chicken broth 3 bell peppers cut in strips ½ tsp of black pepper 1 clove of garlic, minced 6 slices of provolone cheese

Directions: Combine all ingredients (except cheese) in freezer bag #1 (1 of 2) Place cheese in freezer bag #2 (2 of 2) Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents of bag #1 into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 hours. Serve on buns with cheese.

 

Centerman’s Chicken Curry

1 Freezer bag

Ingredients: 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in cubes 1 can of tomato paste 1 can of coconut milk 2 cups of frozen peas 2 garlic cloves, minced 3 Tbsp of honey 2 tsp of curry powder 1 tsp of crushed red pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag. Place chicken on the top Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours. Serve with white rice

 

Crossbar Chicken Chili

1 freezer bag

Ingredients: 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 small can of diced tomatoes 1 2/3 cups of frozen corn 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 Tbsp of paprika 1 tsp of chilli powder 2 tsp of ground cumin 1 ½ tsp of oregano 1 ½ tsp of red pepper flakes

Directions: Combine all ingredients in freezer bag. Add bean, tomatoes, corn first, then seasons and then chicken last so it’s at the top of the bag. Freeze for up to three months When ready to eat, thaw overnight Empty contents into slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours. Serve with tortilla chips