Sharla

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Freezer Meal Side Dish

Side dishes are often overlooked when it comes to freezer cooking. But having them in the freezer as well will make dinner even easier. These honey maple glazed carrots can be made ahead and frozen. Doing the work ahead of time, especially if you make several bags of these at one time, makes suppertime so much easier. They make a perfect side dish to go along with most mains. This also makes an excellent side dish for holiday meals.

Having this side made ahead makes Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner that much easier.

Carrots are a vegetable that most kids will eat, especially when sweetened with both honey and maple. Trust me, these are not a hard sell!

Since the carrots are frozen before they are cooked, they don’t take on that mushy texture that some frozen vegetables can. Mushy is not something I strive for in any of my cooking!

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe:

3 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. honey, melted
2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch pepper

To note: 3 1/2 cups of carrots will be approximately 5 carrots, depending of course on their size.

Peel and slice the carrots.
In a medium sized bowl, toss the carrots with the olive oil, maple syrup, melted honey, and all the seasonings. Make sure the carrots are well covered. Alternately, you can put the carrots in the bag and mix everything in there by giving it a squish.
Place it all in a medium resealable freezer bag. Take out the excess air and seal before freezing.

On the day of cooking:

Take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.
Dump the contents of the bag onto the greased sheet.
Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes, stir. Return to the oven for another 12-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carrots are done when they are tender and some of the edges are browning.
Scoop the carrots into a serving bowl. Serve while still warm.

Ideas for main courses to serve with the honey maple glazed carrots:

pictured below with Honey Sesame Chicken, rice, and salad

Other make ahead side dishes that may interest you:

Make Ahead Rice Pilaf

Freezer Garlic Bread

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups carrots peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. honey melted
2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch pepper

Instructions

Peel and slice the carrots.
In a medium sized bowl, toss the carrots with the olive oil, maple syrup, melted honey, and all the seasonings. Make sure the carrots are well covered. Alternately, you can put the carrots in the bag and mix everything in there by giving it a squish.
Place it all in a medium resealable freezer bag. Take out the excess air and seal before freezing.

On the day of cooking:

Take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.
Dump the contents of the bag onto the greased sheet.
Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes, stir. Return to the oven for another 12-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carrots are done when they are tender and some of the edges are browning.
Scoop the carrots into a serving bowl. Serve while still warm.

Recipe Notes

3 1/2 cups of carrots will be approximately 5 carrots, depending of course on their size.

Instant Pot Bone Broth That’s Keto Friendly

By Sharla

My husband recently went on a keto diet. One of the recommendations from others already doing keto was to make bone broth ahead to always have on hand. This Instant Pot bone broth is keto friendly. It can be frozen to use anytime. Make this broth in the Instant Pot to always have something healthy available to eat. It will help you stave off unhealthy cravings.

What is bone broth made of?

Bone broth is basically stock. Bone broth is made from animal bones and connective tissue. The key to bone broth is the collagen from the joints and bones. This usually requires long periods of cooking to break things down. Using the Instant Pot enables you to get the same results much faster.

Bone broth is also made with liquid, herbs and spices, and vegetables in addition to the bones.

Where do you get the bones for bone broth?

For chicken bones, buy whole chickens or bone-in chicken parts. Save all the bones for making broth.

For beef and pork, save the bones from roasts or ribs.

Your local butcher is the place to go. You can purchase many types of bones from them, but you’ll have to ask as they are not usually labelled and set out in the storefront area.

Visiting local farmers is another good options for securing quality bones to use.

Grass fed and organic bones create the most nutrient rich broths. This is something to keep in mind when choosing which bones to use.

The health benefits of bone broth:

Bone broth is a good source of vitamins and minerals. This can help strengthen teeth and bones, boost immunity, and fighting inflammation.

It improves hydration due to its water content and electrolytes. It can also cut down on calorie consumption (when used in conjunction with will power of course!) because it is a low calorie snack or meal.

The gelatin contained in bone broth is also beneficial with such things as strengthening nails, improving sleep, and some reports claim that it reduces joint pain.

Instant Pot Bone Broth Recipe:

6 or more chicken bones
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 onions, quartered*
salt and pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves
8 cups water

*Since you will be running the broth through a strainer later, there is no need to peel the onions.

Directions:

Chop up the carrot, celery, and onions and place them in the Instant Pot.
If desired, you can sauté the veggies for a few minutes with a bit of oil using the Sauté setting on your Instant Pot. This will result in a more flavourful broth, but it will be darker in colour.
If you want your broth to be seasoned, apply the seasoning first to the chicken bones.
Add the bones and bay leaves to your Instant Pot and then fill about 3/4 of the way full with water.
Secure the lid.
Select the Soup/Stew setting and increase the time to 45 minutes.
Do a natural release.
Carefully pour the broth through a strainer to remove the vegetables and bones. Any remaining meat can be removed from the bones and can then be used in soup. The veggies will be perfectly cooked and can also be used in soup or a stew or as a side dish.

This will make about 8 cups of broth. This Instant Pot bone broth is keto friendly. It is also gluten free and dairy free.

The best way to freeze bone broth:

One of the most common questions on this topic is how to store bone broth. Given the name of this site and the fact that I’ve been doing make ahead freezer cooking for almost two decades now, I’m partial to the freezer method of storage. It is safe and convenient. It also enables you to make large quantities at one time, but then only take out what you need a bit at a time.

To freeze bone broth, you can section it out into resealable freezer bags once it’s cool, remove the excess air, and freeze. In my opinion however, this is not the most efficient way. If you store all of the bone broth in one bag, you’ll have to use it all at once. It’s been my experience that this leads to waste as not all of it can be used.

The best way to freeze bone broth is to pour the broth into ice cube or silicone trays. Place the trays flat in the freezer. Once fully frozen, transfer the cubes into large resealable bags. Take out the air and seal before placing the bag into the freezer again.

The reason this is the most effective method is that it allows you to take out a cube or two at a time and only use what you need.

Making the keto bone broth in individual portions means that you can take out enough for a snack or an entire meal.

If you’re on a keto diet, having things ready-made that you can pull out when you’re hungry or when a craving hits allows you to resist the temptation to grab for sweets.

Silicone Tray for Freezing Broth Instant Pot Ziploc Freezer Bags Gallon

How to make bone broth keto:

Bones are good for keto and the broth creates a good source of protein. Celery is an above ground vegetable so it is keto approved. Carrots and onions grow below ground and have more carbs. If you make the Instant Pot bone broth above, it’s still keto friendly even with the carrot and onions as long as you strain out the actual vegetables. If you are extremely strict with your keto diet, you can also choose to make this without the below ground vegetables.

Either way, the finished bone broth has very few carbs and is low in calories, making it perfect for keto.

You may also be interested in these articles:

The Easy Guide to Instant Pot Freezer Meals Make Ahead Keto Meals

Instant Pot Bone Broth Recipe

Servings: 8 cups

Ingredients

6 or more chicken bones
1 carrot coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
2 onions quartered
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
8 cups water

Instructions

Chop up the carrot, celery, and onions and place them in the Instant Pot.
If desired, you can sauté the veggies for a few minutes with a bit of oil using the Sauté setting on your Instant Pot. This will result in a more flavourful broth, but it will be darker in colour.
If you want your broth to be seasoned, apply the seasoning first to the chicken bones.
Add the bones and bay leaves to your Instant Pot and then fill about 3/4 of the way full with water.
Secure the lid.
Select the Soup/Stew setting and increase the time to 45 minutes.
Do a natural release.
Carefully pour the broth through a strainer to remove the vegetables and bones.

Recipe Notes

Any remaining meat can be removed from the bones and can then be used in soup. The veggies will be perfectly cooked and can also be used in soup or a stew or as a side dish.

This will make about 8 cups of broth.

This Instant Pot bone broth is keto friendly. It is also gluten free and dairy free.

Make Ahead Keto Meals to Get You Started

By Sharla

My husband announced recently that he was going Keto. I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled. It’s hard enough to cook for a large family, considering the allergies and preferences without throwing a new diet into the mix! But I knew that if I could find some good make ahead keto meals, it would be doable. Almost all of our dinners are freezer meals. This enables me to make them ahead of time and have them ready to go. It cuts back on time and saves us a lot of money. Most of all, it saves me sanity because I never have to think, “what’s for supper?”!

I knew that some of our staple freezer meals were already keto friendly, but I set about to find others I could use.

My husband has been doing a lot of reading about keto. One of the things that keeps coming up is that food prep is the key to success. I want him to be able to succeed with this, so I am on board with helping. We’ve had several friends have tremendous health results by going keto.

I know how busy our lives are, so I realize that being prepared is the only way we are going to be able to make this work.

As I’m preparing another freezer meal assembly day, I’m putting together a list of make-ahead meals that are keto or can be easily adapted to be keto with just a small substitution or two.

This list came about as a way for me to be able to support my husband with this lifestyle change and I hope that in sharing it with you, it can make things easier for you to get organized as well.

What is keto?

Keto is a high fat and very low carb way of eating. The keto diet aims to put your body into a metabolic state of ketosis. Bodies usually burn carbohydrates as their fuel. It is when you restrict the amount of carbs that you consume that your body can begin to break down stored fat. This creates molecules called ketones for the body to use as fuel.

While many choose a keto diet for weight loss reasons, others choose it for health reasons, particularly reducing blood sugar and insulin levels.

Make Ahead Keto Meals:

Instant Pot Pork or Chicken Shawarma

Lemon Mustard Chicken Dump Recipe

Easy Asian Meatballs

Garlic Butter Shrimp

Beef Dip – Skip the bun and use lettuce or cabbage leaves instead.

Lemon Pesto Chicken with Cheese

Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos – Use these keto taco shells or make it into taco salad.

Slow Cooker Ragu

Tequila Lime Shrimp

Italian Wedding Soup – Make without the pasta.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies

Beef Fajitas – When serving this, use low carb tortillas or cabbage leaves for wrapping.

Stuffed Pepper Soup – Make this without the rice for it to be keto friendly.

Droolworthy Shredded BBQ Chicken with Garlic Mayo – If you want to serve this on buns, there is a recipe for keto buns on Gnom-Gnom.

Cabbage Roll Casserole – Replace the rice with cauliflower rice.

Easy Chicken Marsala – Make as directed, but without the flour.

Chili Glazed Chicken – You’ll need to replace the honey for low carb sweetener like monk fruit or erythritol.

Cauliflower Rice

Make ahead bone broth:

One of the tips that many on a keto diet suggest is to have bone broth on hand. It’s nutritious and good to have when the temptations for sweets hit.

This Instant Pot bone broth recipe is a great way to get you started. It’s easy and faster to make in the Instant Pot than on the stovetop. Once you make your bone broth, allow it to cool. Pour it into ice cube trays or a silicone tray and place in the freezer. Once the broth is frozen, pop the cubes out of the tray. Place them into a large resealable freezer bag and seal.

Place the bag back in the freezer. You will now have individual portions of bone broth that can be taken out whenever needed. Using this method, you can pull out enough for a small snack or for an entire meal.

Other ideas for prepping ahead for keto:

If you have favourite keto meals and aren’t sure what can be made ahead and frozen, you can read about what freezes well, what doesn’t and how to adapt your existing recipes. This will allow you to freeze your own best recipes and have them ready to go. This Broccoli Cauliflower Salad isn’t a freezer meal, but it can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s great for lunches or to have as a side dish.

Brown ground beef or turkey and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. Fill medium sized resealable freezer bags. Remove the excess air. Freeze. This will allow you to pull out the bags when needed.

Make stir fry bags and freeze them. These are so quick and easy to cook up.

Bake keto muffins and freeze them for handy snacks.

Make Ahead Keto Breakfasts:

Smoothie bags in the freezer make for an easy on-the-go breakfast or snack. Be sure to include keto approved ingredients such as berries and spinach.

Make keto pancakes ahead and freeze them. I find that freezing them flat on a cookie sheet first before placing them in resealable freezer bags makes them easier to separate later.

Grain free sausage and cheese biscuits can be frozen and then warmed up in a toaster oven.

Freezable stuffed breakfast biscuits

Low carb breakfast balls can be made ahead and frozen.

Whip up a frittata and freeze (before cooking). Then, simply thaw and bake in a casserole dish or bake individual portions using a muffin tin.

These meal prep sheet pan eggs can’t be made and frozen, but they can be kept in the fridge for up to a week, allowing you to have breakfast ready each morning.

What are keto friendly foods?

meat
seafood
eggs
cheese
butter
heavy cream
seeds
nuts
low carb vegetables in moderation (a general rule of thumb is that vegetables grown above ground are low carb and vegetables grown below ground are higher in carbs and therefore, not keto friendly)
avocados
small amounts of berries

Please note that this is a very simplified version of the keto diet. You can find a more comprehensive list of what to eat on a ketogenic diet here.

Rustic Beef Stew Recipe for the Slow Cooker

By Sharla

This rustic beef stew recipe is simple and hearty. Having it made ahead in the freezer and ready to go in the crock pot is the way to go! Once this homemade beef stew has spent the day in the crock pot, it is fall-apart-tender.

This all-in-one meal takes the guesswork out of everything. It is easy, easy to put together and there’s no way to mess this recipe up. That is very good news for beginner cooks or those who haven’t had the best of luck in the kitchen. With beef stew, you can do so many variations and put your own spin on it, but sometimes, it’s nice to go back to a simple classic beef stew recipe like this. This is just good old-fashioned comfort food.

Rustic Beef Stew Recipe:

2 lb. beef stew meat
3 carrots, peeled and cut in bite sized pieces
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

For the day of cooking:

4 potatoes, cubed* (peeled or not peeled, depending on your preference)

Assembly instructions:

Dump all the ingredients (except the potatoes) into a large resealable freezer bag.
Remove the excess air.
Seal and freeze.

Slow Cooker Cooking instructions:

Take the bag of stew out of the freezer to thaw.
Place the bag contents into the slow cooker along with the cubed potatoes.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Serve immediately with bread or buns.

A note about the potatoes: *I find that the consistency of potatoes changes when they are frozen, so I prefer to add them on the day of cooking. For best results, I suggest you do the same.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and also suitable for a Paleo diet.

Find other freezer to crockpot recipes along with shopping lists, prep lists, and printable labels in our Slow Cooker Freezer Meal Plans.

Check out some of our other hearty make ahead recipes for the slow cooker:

Beefy Rice Slow Cooker Casserole Chicken Cacciatore Beef Curry Freezer Meal

Rustic Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. beef stew meat
3 carrots peeled and cut in bite sized pieces
2 stalks of celery diced
1 onion diced
4 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

For the day of cooking:

4 potatoes cubed (peeled or not peeled, depending on your preference)

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Dump all the ingredients (except the potatoes) into a large resealable freezer bag.
Remove the excess air.
Seal and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Take the bag of stew out of the freezer to thaw.
Place the bag contents into the slow cooker along with the cubed potatoes.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Recipe Notes

Serve immediately with bread or buns.

Make Ahead Rice Pilaf Recipe

By Sharla

This make ahead rice pilaf recipe is nice to have on hand. It makes the perfect side dish for a chicken or pork recipe since it comprises both the rice and vegetables. My family really enjoys my chicken freezer meals, but when I make them, I’m often scrambling to try to come up with a side dish. You see, one of the few drawbacks about making freezer meals is that I don’t grocery shop very often (which is also a huge perk!). Not grocery shopping often means that I don’t always have the right food on hand to whip up a side.

Having rice pilaf already made and in the freezer solves that problem! I just pull one out when I take out my main freezer meal that day and supper is taken care of. This goes well with a variety of dishes.

Its flavours are quite mild, so it’s also a very kid-friendly dish. And it is gluten free.

What is rice pilaf?

Rice pilaf is usually served as a side dish. It originated in Asia, but is now common in many world cuisines.

The main difference between rice and rice pilaf is that rice is cooked in water whereas rice pilaf is traditionally cooked in a broth. Rice pilaf often has other seasonings or additions such as vegetables in it. You can also add nuts, fruits, grains, meats, or seafood.

Make ahead rice pilaf recipe:

2 cups long grain white rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. green onions, chopped
1 tsp. dill
pinch of seasoning salt

For the day of cooking:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

*Note: you may need to adjust the amount of chicken broth depending on the instructions on the rice.

Assembly instructions:

Cook rice according to the package directions, substituting chicken broth for the water called for.
Chop the green onions, carrots, and celery.
Cool the rice before placing it into a large resealable bag.
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Squish it around to combine.
Remove air from the bag and seal before placing it in the freezer.

Cooking instructions:

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Heat the oil in a skillet on the stovetop on medium-high heat.
Add the contents of the bag.
Stir the rice pilaf and continue to heat until the carrots have begun to soften.

What to serve alongside rice pilaf:

This side dish goes well with any main meat dish. Here are some of our freezer meal mains that would go perfectly with this:

Apple Maple Chicken

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Apple Pork Chops

Lemon Mustard Chicken

Check out some of our other freezer side dishes:

Freezer Garlic Bread

Butternut Squash Side Dish

Make ahead rice pilaf recipe

Ingredients

2 cups long grain white rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
1 carrot finely diced
1 celery stalk finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. green onions chopped
1 tsp. dill
pinch of seasoning salt

For the day of cooking:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Cook rice according to the package directions, substituting chicken broth for the water called for.
Chop the green onions, carrots, and celery.
Cool the rice before placing it into a large resealable bag.
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Squish it around to combine.
Remove air from the bag and seal before placing it in the freezer.

Cooking instructions:

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Heat the oil in a skillet on the stovetop on medium-high heat.
Add the contents of the bag.
Stir the rice pilaf and continue to heat until the carrots have begun to soften.

Recipe Notes

You may need to adjust the amount of chicken broth depending on the instructions on the rice you use.