...all my freezer meals ready to go! With a new baby, it is so nice on those days when I am feeling worn out to be able to pull a nice, healthy meal from the freezer to easily defrost for my family.
When I was pregnant with my second, I knew I wanted to do some freezer meals before my baby came. But the last thing an eight month pregnant woman wants to do is spend hours in the kitchen prepping extra meals. At least that's how I felt! I remember feeling discouraged about how I would muster up enough energy to make all those extra meals , when suddenly it came to me. I did not have to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. I could just take what I was already fixing my family for dinner and make double and then freeze the extra. It takes no extra effort or energy to fix a double dinner, just more food. I'm sure I wasn't the first to come up with this idea, but at the time I thought I was a genius. :) I have done this for my last three babies. About a month before they are born I start making double dinners and stocking up my freezer.
What's great about this idea though, is it's not only good for when there is a newborn in the house. It is good for any crazy, busy time. I frequently make double dinners so that I always have one or two freezer meals on hand, ready to use for any chaotic day that it is just too hard to get dinner prepped.
Here are some of the kinds of dinners I have done:
Sauces and Soups
These are super easy for me to freeze, because the recipes I have always make much more than my family eats. Examples include: taco soup, tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, and a cheese sauce I use for potato bar or fancy nachos.
Make sure any of the soups you choose to freeze don't contain noodles. For me, noodles in soups come out mushy when I try to freeze them.
"Fillers"
What I mean by 'fillers' is recipes I have to combine with something else after defrosting. They require a little more prep, but still make dinner quick and easy. Examples include: burritos (make the filling, defrost and stick in the tortillas and bake), beef stroganoff (I have to cook noodles to serve it on), and sloppy joes (these are pretty easy, just defrost and throw the filling on some buns).
Pancakes or Waffles
This was a new idea this time for me! My kids love breakfast for dinner, so one night I made a huge batch of pumpkin pancake batter. My awesome husband stood at the griddle and cooked up all that extra batter after dinner, and I froze the pancakes to use later. They froze great and tasted great, so I think I will be doing this one again for a freezer meal.
And as for containers to freeze your meals in...I go to the dollar store and can find almost any size or variety of plastic container, or you can easily find Ziploc containers like these ones at your grocery store.
That is quick rundown of how I do freezer meals! Any favorite freezer meal recipes you like to use?
2 comments:
Great ideas, Melissa! I also did this before my last couple babies were born, and it was a lifesaver. I need to get into the habit of doing it again for crazy soccer nights! A few things I do: when I cook chicken breasts for a recipe calling for pre-cooked chicken, I often cook a whole package (around 9 breasts) and then freeze 2-3 each in seperate baggies. Then the next couple times I am making quesadillas, chicken alfredo, or chicken soup I just have to defrost them. My fave cooking method is baking on a greased cookie sheet with s & p at 425 for 20-25 minutes. I also often make a large pork roast in the crock-pot for a Sunday dinner (either cafe rio style or hawaiian kalua pig style), and then freeze the leftovers for a weeknight dinner- mix in bbq sauce, throw on buns, and you have pulled pork sandwiches!
I have been in a group that cooked extra for each other and shared with each other. It was tricky to organize and frustrating if someone didn't pull through and you had one less dish than you planned on for the month. I feel like I keep having this "ah-ha" moment with just making extra to freeze for later. Thanks for bringing it back for another round in my family. :)
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