This is a guest post from Steph of The Cheapskate Cook
In my neck of the woods, we’re deep into fall weather and loving it. The trees are decked out in their fiery best, sweaters and coats have a permanent place in the diaper bag, and I have to remind my toddler for the thousandth time that yes, he needs to put on socks before his sneakers. Sometimes we still end up at the store with a sock-less little boy, but at least he remembered his shoes.
My cooking reflects the season too. Soups replace salads, warm slices of homemade bread replace crackers, and pumpkin gets cooked into almost everything.
Recently, along with the rest of the blogging world, I dove into crock pot freezer cooking. I toss freezer-friendly, one pot meals into a freezer bag or tupperware, stash it for a few days, then pull it out and dump everything into the crock pot for a one-step, no-fuss dinner.
It’s simple, homemade, and this particular dish is absolutely seasonal.
Crock Pot Maple Chicken & Winter Veggies
Crock Pot Maple Chicken & Winter Veggies
Ingredients
- 1-3 cups carrots baby carrots or peeled and chopped carrots
- 1-3 pounds frozen chicken pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs, etc.
- 1 small acorn squash peeled, seeded, and chopped coarsely
- Generous drizzle of real maple syrup
- Squirt of soy sauce
- Pinch of hot pepper flakes
- Splash of water or chicken stock
- 3-6 cups cooked rice or other grain
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except rice in the slow cooker in the order listed. Allow to cook 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Make rice just before serving. Serve chicken and veggies over a bed of rice.
To make a freezer-to-slow-cooker meal:
- Place all ingredients except stock/water and rice in a gallon-size freezer bag or freezer-friendly tupperware. Store in the freezer. The evening before you wish to cook this, place it in a baking dish or large bowl in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. The next morning, empty the contents into the slow cooker and follow the rest of the directions above.
Nutrition
What meals help you celebrate the season?
When Steph and her husband got married, they lived in a renovated shed and had a grocery budget that matched. As a passionate whole-foodie, Steph was determined to continue eating healthy, minimally-processed foods on their shoestring budget. So The Cheapskate Cook was born.
Tiffany says
Maple and autumn = yummy! I found a similar recipe not too long ago, baked it up and my family loved it. This will be a winner too!
The Cheapskate Cook says
Thanks, Tiffany! I hope you like it!
ohiosarah says
This may seem like a dumb question but how does one peel, seed and coarsely chop an acorn squash. My last few times of cooking any type of squash left my husband, children and I a bit squeamish.
The Cheapskate Cook says
Oh good question! I've found the easiest way is to cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff surrounding the seeds. The next part I only do with acorn squash (other squash you can just peel with no fuss) because it's that weird riveted shape. I slice the squash into "crescent" shapes, using the indents on the squash as my "cut only along this line" guide. After that, it's easy to use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin. I finish chopping it coarsely by cutting each crescent into 3-4 pieces.
Sounds fussy, but it only took me about 5 minutes (if that) to go from a whole acorn squash to a neat pile of chopped pieces in the tupperware.