One of the best ways to make cooking quick is to start with meat that’s already been cooked.  Pulling a bag of cooked and shredded chicken from the freezer makes it very easy to fix pot pie or soup or chicken tetrazzini.  Ground beef that’s cooked and ready in the freezer makes tacos or casseroles a super quick weeknight meal.

You can use your slow cooker to cook ground beef and a whole chicken to store in the freezer.  The variations of seasonings for both are nearly endless, so use your imagination.  Or keep it simple with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Either way, you will love having meat prepped and ready to go in your freezer.

When I make a whole chicken in the slow cooker, I buy the biggest chicken I can find.  I usually freeze the meat in 2-3 cup quantities.  Sometimes, we’ll have dinner with part of the meat and freeze the rest.

Whenever I cook ground beef, I rinse it in hot water after cooking to remove extra grease.  It helps to start with lean beef, but I still always rinse it.  I usually freeze ground beef in 2-3 cup quantities as well.

And, I almost forgot that you can also do Turkey Breast in the slow cooker.  It’s another great way to stock your freezer with cooked meat.

• For the instructions on cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker, click here.
• For the instructions on cooking ground beef in the slow cooker, click here.

All summer, we’ve been sharing slow cooker recipes to keep your kitchen cool.  This is day 70 in our 75 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes series.  Find the other posts by clicking here.