I absolutely love meatballs and so do the kids! Especially the pre-cooked frozen ones as they easily turn into a delicous crockpot meal! They’re perfect on freezer prep day too as there is no cooking involved with assembling a crockpot kit.
The crockpot makes weeknight dinners so much more manageable when we’re so busy with kid activities every night. By preparing freezer crockpot kits I can race in the door at 4:00, pour the kit in the crockpot and head out the door to activities. To help me out during the crazy hour, I pre-stage the crockpot and dishes the night before. My kitchen counter has the crockpot, bowls, pot for boiling the pasta, strainer, pasta and serving spoons all laid out. So when I get home it’s ready to rock and roll.
This 10 minutes of prep the night before is such a sanity saver! So much so that I wrote a separate blog post about it – Rinse and Repeat!
We’re usually home around 6:00 and dinner will be on the table at 6:30. I know dinner will be ready when we get home so we won’t to stop for fast food!
I love this meal as it’s such a money saver! I usually have butter, worcestershire sauce, all spice and sour cream in the house. So that means is that all I have to buy for this meal is a 48oz family size bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs (cost for the meal is $3.27 for 1/2 bag – $6.54 for entire bag); 3 cans gravy ($2.58 – $.86 each); 1 onion (.$78); egg noodles ($1.12) and sliced mushrooms ($1.48). I can make this entire meal for $9.23 and have enough for leftovers!
So what do I do with that other 1/2 bag of frozen, pre-cooked meatballs? I either prep two Swedish Meatball kits (as pictured above) or I make another different crockpot kit – Spaghetti and Meatballs! I simply put the remaining meatballs and two jars of marinara sauce in a labeled ziplock bag and we’ll have spaghetti and meatballs on another night. I can make that second meal for of spaghetti and meatballs $8.66! Or a second Swedish Meatball recipe for $9.23.
If you’re looking for a warm, hearty budget meal to serve, these Swedish Meatballs are a must! The recipe follows for both a make today version and a freezer prep crockpot kit.
INGREDIENTS:
3 10.5 oz cans of brown gravy
1 pound sliced mushrooms or two small cans of sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, cut in chunks
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of all spice
1/2 bag of family size frozen meatballs (about 24 oz)
1 cup of sour cream (about 8 oz.)
12 ounces of medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
MAKE TODAY INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Slice the mushrooms and onions.
2. Pour the gravy and Worcestershire sauce into the crockpot. Add the butter, and stir in the mushrooms, onions, all spice. Put the meatballs in the crockpot and give it one more stir to coat them.
3. Cover and cook on high for 2.5 – 3 hours or low for 4 to 6 hours.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, remove about 1/2 a cup of the gravy from the crockpot and whisk in with the sour cream. After it’s combined, return it to the crockpot and give one more stir.
5. Meanwhile, boil the egg noodles per package instructions and drain.
6. That’s it! So easy! You’re now ready to serve up a delicious dinner!
FREEZER PREP INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Label a gallon size ziplock bag “Swedish meatballs. Crockpot 2.5-3 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low. About 30 minutes before serving, remove 1/2 cup of gravy and stir in 1 cup of sour cream. Add mixture back into crockpot. Serve with egg noodles.” My bags typically look something like this:
2. Chop and dice the mushrooms and onion. Today I used canned mushrooms because it’s all I had on hand. I wasn’t planning on assembling a crockpot kit, but the kids were quiet and I had 15 minutes to spare. So now I’m two meals ahead!
3. Combine all of the ingredients into the ziplock bag and lay it flat to freeze.
Stacking up pre-assembled crockpot kits actually takes up way less freezer space than the plain ingredients as purchased and packaged directly from the store. Plus, everything is assembled and ready to go. I usually lay them flat to freeze and then once they are frozen solid, I stand them up in my freezer drawer.
4. The night before you plan to serve it, pull the bag out of the freezer to thaw overnight in the fridge. I always put the ziplock bag in a big bowl or on a plate to thaw – just in case it leaks. The next afternoon, pour the ziplock into the crockpot and let it work it’s magic!
5. Shortly before it’s time to serve, scoop out some gravy, about 1/2 a cup (doesn’t have to be exact) from the crockpot and whisk in the 1 cup of sour cream. Return to the crockpot and stir. Boil the egg noodles per the package instructions and drain.
6. Serve up a delicious dinner.
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