Menu Planning Central

Making Life Easier Since 2007!

  • Home
  • About
    • Lifetime Member Update
  • Menus
    • Current Family Favorites Recipes
    • Family Favorites – Free Week
    • Family Favorites Menu Plan
    • Healthy 30 Minute Meals – Free Week
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Login
    • Affiliates
  • Cart

Planning Your Slow Cooker Meals

Spread the love
         

Affiliate links are used in this post.

Planning your slow cooker meals

Do you know you’ll have a day this week when you’ll be running around all day? Do the kids have a full schedule of after-school activities that have you driving from one ball field to the next? That’s the perfect day to plan a slow cooker meal.

Pick a one pot dish like beef stew, chili or a chicken and rice casserole with broccoli and get it going in the morning. Just put the ingredients into your slow cooker, turn it on low and go about your busy day. When you get home, be ready to walk into a home that smells like home-cooked dinner. Grab some crackers, make some toast and dinner is ready to be served. It doesn’t get much easier than that and all it takes is a little bit of prep work in the mornings.

If your mornings are too crazy or you just can’t see yourself assembling a slow cooker meal at 7am (it really isn’t that bad), do it the night before. You can either toss everything into a large plastic storage bag, or mix it right in your slow cooker crock insert and store it in the fridge overnight. In the morning just put it in the slow cooker and turn it on.

Of course this type of meal prep takes a little bit of planning. Start by trying a variety of different slow cooker meals and find out what your family likes and doesn’t like. Pay particular attention to those recipes that don’t call for a lot of prep work before everything is ready to go into the slow cooker.

Once you have your list of meals, write out the recipes and keep them somewhere handy. When you know you need to plan one or two slow cooker meals for the week, go through that stack of recipes. Make sure you shop for everything you need well ahead of time. Don’t forget to check on seasonings, spices, and other shelf stable stuff that you don’t’ usually buy.

If you’re already planning your dinners and making out your shopping list based on what you’re planning to cook for the week, this will be an easy process. Just plan a slow cooker meal a few days per week. If you’re not meal planning yet, give it a try and at least plan these particular meals.

Prep what you can as soon as you get back from the store. For example, if you know you’ll make beef stew in the slow cooker tomorrow and it calls for browning the meat before you add it, go ahead and do that now. Then store the browned beef in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your stew in the morning. The same goes for chopping veggies. Believe me, you’ll be glad you did in the morning.

Ready to Ramp Up Your Skill Level?

If you’re looking to get the ultimate advance plan skills for using your slow cooker to make your busy days easier, you’ll want to check out the awesome freezer-to-slow-cooker plans at Freezeasy.  These meal plans combine the smartest and best methods of meal planning, batch cooking, and freezer meals into one!  AND, you can make a whole bunch of meals in just an hour!!!  Check out what they have right now:

Summer Freezer-to-Slow-Cooker Meal plans!

Slow cooking and planning slow cooker meals is all about making it easy for you to get delicious home cooked meals on the table even on the busiest of days. Give it a try.  I think you’ll find it a huge help not to have to worry about throwing something together when you finally walk in the door at 7pm. And no matter what you make, it will be healthier and better for your family than the fast food you usually pick up on crazy days like this.

 

 

Search this site…

Try Family Favorites Menu Plans for 7 Days - Free

Our Favorite Recipes

Slow Cooker Tropical Pork

Slow Cooker Tropical Spiced Pineapple Pork Roast

Spread the love
    5    

Spread the love    5    Tropical spiced pineapple pork butt made slow and easy in your slow cooker.  It’s a little sweet, a little savory, and a little spicy too.    We’ve taken fresh pineapple and spicy jalapeno and paired them with toasted sesame oil, creamy peanut butter, five-spice powder, and fresh cilantro for power-packed burst of flavor […]

3 Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

Spread the love
         

Spread the love          Need a last minute appetizer? This versatile recipe comes together in under 15 minutes, but looks and tastes like it took a lot longer. Ingredients: 1 bag mini sweet peppers in assorted colors
 6 oz. goat cheese 6 oz. ricotta cheese 3 T. fresh thyme leaves, stems removed
 4 strips thick-cut bacon, […]

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

Spread the love
    261    

Spread the love    261     If you want to come home to your house smelling heavenly, with enough food for dinner AND a freezer meal, you’ll love this!  With a little bit of prep time, which can even be done the night before, this is an easy recipe that can be used in a variety of ways. […]

DIY Halloween Cakes YOU Can Make!

Spread the love
    3    

Spread the love    3     Want to do something truly impressive for your Halloween party or to donate to a carnival Cake Walk this year? Make one of these impressive cakes and set the mood! Monster Cake:  Cute idea and not too difficult to do. Eyeball cake:  Creepy and fun!  Looks like a fairly easy one to […]

One Skillet Lemon Chicken Orzo

One-Skillet Lemon Chicken Orzo

Spread the love
    46    

Spread the love    46    This dish is perfect for those busy weeknights when you want something quick and satisfying that won’t dirty every dish in your kitchen.  This recipe pairs bone-in chicken thighs with lemony orzo for a hearty meal you can have on the table in just over half an hour.  If you enjoy this dish,  […]

Delicious Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

Instant Pot® Cherry BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Spread the love
    60    

Spread the love    60    These succulent cherry BBQ baby back ribs are fall off the bone tender thanks to the Instant Pot®!  These are sure to become a new family favorite that they will be asking for again and again.  This recipe is so easy and delicious, you will be happy to add it to your menu […]

Make Entertaining Easier with a Slow Cooker

Spread the love
    1    

Spread the love    1    Affiliate links are used in this post. Do you enjoy entertaining? Use your slow cooker to help make a night of hosting friends and family in your home a lot easier. In fact, if you own multiple slow cookers or various kinds of slow cookers, then you may even be able to prepare […]

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce

Kicked Up Cilantro-Lime Cream Sauce

Spread the love
    2    

Spread the love    2    This kicked up cilantro-lime cream sauce makes EVERYTHING taste great!  It gets a boost of flavor from our homemade fajita seasoning and is perfect on salmon, chicken, veggies or this amazing South of the Border Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe and cilantro-lime rice from our fantastic  Family Favorites Menu Plans. It boasts a wonderful […]

  • About
  • Contact
  • Member Login
  • Affiliates
  • Privacy & Disclosures
  • Terms

Copyright © 2025 · MenuPlanningCentral.com