Freezer Meals

[bubbles]

I'm imagining myself in survival mode after DD2 arrives, so I'm trying to plan ahead a bit to make life easier. I'm thinking I should make some freezer meals for the first week or two after delivery.

Anyone else doing this or have done this? What are your go to meals? Bonus points if it's toddler approved.

ETA: I'm open to any easy meal prep ideas not just freezer meals.

[laurensc927]

So far on my list is meatballs, taco meat, marinated chicken, muffins and zucchini bread (either in muffin form or sliced before freezing)

[quinn]

I will be following. I need kid approved ideas for H to heat up the 1st couple of weeks.

[cnf]

I did not do this last time and survived, but also didn't have a toddler to feed. I honestly won't freeze anything ahead of time. My IP is easy and fast enough. And I know my mother will bring me food whether I want it or not. And make and bring me anything I ask for. Perks of living across the street.

[librarylady]

I have a Pinterest board of freezer meals and my mom made me four of them. An eggplant dish, enchilada quinoa bake, split pea soup, and I can't remember the fourth. I am hoping to make a few more myself in October. We will see if that happens. I also made my husband these meal cards where I wrote a meal and all the ingredients he needs for it. Really simple meals. I didn't need to write out how to make any of them because they are simple and we share the cooking pretty equally in our house, but I have always done meal planning and grocery shopping so I thought I would do this ahead of time so he can easily know what to make for dinners and what he needs to buy at the store for them.

[quinn]

Sept 25, 2017 18:01:59 GMT -6 librarylady said:

I have a Pinterest board of freezer meals and my mom made me four of them. An eggplant dish, enchilada quinoa bake, split pea soup, and I can't remember the fourth. I am hoping to make a few more myself in October. We will see if that happens. I also made my husband these meal cards where I wrote a meal and all the ingredients he needs for it. Really simple meals. I didn't need to write out how to make any of them because they are simple and we share the cooking pretty equally in our house, but I have always done meal planning and grocery shopping so I thought I would do this ahead of time so he can easily know what to make for dinners and what he needs to buy at the store for them.

mh does not cook, like at all. I'd be scared to let him use the toaster lol so I need to find ideas that are super easy for him to follow.
Last time I didn't do freezer meals and the kids and I ate pizza and pb and jelly sandwiches. The older boys can handle themselves but the toddler cant and I'd like to have some real food 😂

cnf maybe send your mom over here too k?

[cnf]

I do have this link bookmarked and have made a few of these so far. Every one is easy and fast and freezable.

www.thecreativebite.com/10-healthy-chicken-recipes-in-a-pressure-cooker-or-crock-pot/

[cnf]

Sept 25, 2017 18:09:29 GMT -6 quinn said:

Sept 25, 2017 18:01:59 GMT -6 librarylady said:

I have a Pinterest board of freezer meals and my mom made me four of them. An eggplant dish, enchilada quinoa bake, split pea soup, and I can't remember the fourth. I am hoping to make a few more myself in October. We will see if that happens. I also made my husband these meal cards where I wrote a meal and all the ingredients he needs for it. Really simple meals. I didn't need to write out how to make any of them because they are simple and we share the cooking pretty equally in our house, but I have always done meal planning and grocery shopping so I thought I would do this ahead of time so he can easily know what to make for dinners and what he needs to buy at the store for them.

mh does not cook, like at all. I'd be scared to let him use the toaster lol so I need to find ideas that are super easy for him to follow.
Last time I didn't do freezer meals and the kids and I ate pizza and pb and jelly sandwiches. The older boys can handle themselves but the toddler cant and I'd like to have some real food 😂

cnf maybe send your mom over here too k?

You're not that far. C'mon on over!

[grumpycat]

DH is the cook in our family but we've made/frozen successfully:

Shepherd's pie
Chili
Baked ziti
Mac n cheese
Soups

[bethers]

DH doesn't do "leftovers", which I think includes freezer meals. But, some of the simple recipes I like include a salsa chicken and chicken taco soup. Another favorite is Mongolian beef in the crockpot (this may be my favorite crockpot meal). Also, I make breakfast burritos and quesadillas for quick and easy meals.

allrecipes.com/recipe/16700/salsa-chicken/

allrecipes.com/recipe/16678/slow-cooker-taco-soup/

therecipecritic.com/2015/08/slow-cooker-mongolian-beef/[

[pootsen]

I've been sifting through this website: newleafwellness.biz/

She has e-books for sale but also posts many of the recipes for free. They look fairly easy to put together and are mostly healthy too. I haven't tried any though, so I can't say for sure if they taste good.

I made a batch of blueberry protein pancakes and breakfast burritos for the freezer over the weekend. I'll probably make more of those + freezable breakfast sandwiches for when the baby comes.

Otherwise I plan on stocking up on some of the refrigerated soups from Costco for quick yummy meals closer to November. I love soup but hate making it from scratch. After the baby comes we'll splurge on pre-cut fruit and bagged salad- expensive but worth it to eat somewhat healthy in the first few crazy weeks. I'll also make oatmeal choc chip lactation cookies for the freezer closer to my due date. This is my favorite recipe - www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies-by-noel-trujillo-192346?photo=372985

[laurensc927]

Sept 25, 2017 18:09:29 GMT -6 quinn said:

Sept 25, 2017 18:01:59 GMT -6 librarylady said:

I have a Pinterest board of freezer meals and my mom made me four of them. An eggplant dish, enchilada quinoa bake, split pea soup, and I can't remember the fourth. I am hoping to make a few more myself in October. We will see if that happens. I also made my husband these meal cards where I wrote a meal and all the ingredients he needs for it. Really simple meals. I didn't need to write out how to make any of them because they are simple and we share the cooking pretty equally in our house, but I have always done meal planning and grocery shopping so I thought I would do this ahead of time so he can easily know what to make for dinners and what he needs to buy at the store for them.

mh does not cook, like at all. I'd be scared to let him use the toaster lol so I need to find ideas that are super easy for him to follow.
Last time I didn't do freezer meals and the kids and I ate pizza and pb and jelly sandwiches. The older boys can handle themselves but the toddler cant and I'd like to have some real food 😂

cnf maybe send your mom over here too k?

MH is the same cant cook at all. My mil will cook but one can only eat so much pasta before ending up in a carb coma lol. I'm hoping to be able to request food from my mom like cnf

[clucky]

The only things we really end up freezing are shredded chicken and chili.
When I make meatloaf, I will make 3 extras at the same time and throw the extras into the freezer. We buy part of a cow every year, but if we don't have ground beef, we can buy it 3lbs at a time cheaper from our local butcher shop.
I will also tend to buy lots of peppers and onions and cut them all up and portion them.
I will also buy 6-8 lbs of chicken when on sale and cut it up then freeze it. If that doesn't happen, it seems to stay in the freezer too long.
So fajitas get prepped a lot.

[snuff9861]

Sept 25, 2017 19:25:12 GMT -6 pootsen said:

I've been sifting through this website: newleafwellness.biz/

She has e-books for sale but also posts many of the recipes for free. They look fairly easy to put together and are mostly healthy too. I haven't tried any though, so I can't say for sure if they taste good.

I made a batch of blueberry protein pancakes and breakfast burritos for the freezer over the weekend. I'll probably make more of those + freezable breakfast sandwiches for when the baby comes.

Otherwise I plan on stocking up on some of the refrigerated soups from Costco for quick yummy meals closer to November. I love soup but hate making it from scratch. After the baby comes we'll splurge on pre-cut fruit and bagged salad- expensive but worth it to eat somewhat healthy in the first few crazy weeks. I'll also make oatmeal choc chip lactation cookies for the freezer closer to my due date. This is my favorite recipe - www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies-by-noel-trujillo-192346?photo=372985

I made the majority of her pre baby meals last time. Some were just ok but the majority were good. Her no bake lasagna was my go to. I'll make some more them this time towards the end of October.

[AnnPerkins]

My freezer isn't big enough to fit a decent amount of meals. My family *cough*DH*cough* is also weirdly picky about premade meals, so we'll probably just shoot for keeping things simple or having other people cook while they visit.

[peggels24]

I am hoping to have the following frozen by the time baby comes (some of the italian dishes, my nephew will make for me after the baby comes if we don't find time before hand):

chicken parm
pork parm
baked ziti
meatloaf
chicken soup
another soup - maybe a veggie
chicken chili
beef chili

breakfast burritos
pancakes

My toddler only eats a handful of things anyway (meatloaf being one of them) so I'll probably wind up making a big thing of pasta and meatballs each week for her.

[roloma]

I am so incredibly lazy so I will not make or freeze anything. My mom will make us a giant pot of vegetable beef stew when baby is born and then we will figure it out. My H will be on leave the entire time I am I (eyeroll, kind of) so he can help out or distract the toddler while I cook. I think we only had like 3 crockpot freezer meals last time and somehow we all stayed alive.

[clucky]

I can't believe I forgot the one thing I try and keep in the freezer ready to go! Cookies! I make different combos using this same base, then I use a small scoop to portion, freeze, and then store. From frozen there is no need to add time to the cook time, just watch for the bottom to start to become golden.

kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html?m=1

[blabbermouth]

I will probably make a few freezer meals for the crockpot. Anything that takes a lot of veggie chopping time, I always find that to be the most time consuming. So far I think: Filipino beef stew, beef and barley soup (add barley in later), and a couple from that link pootsen posted. I'm glad you've tried a bunch of them snuff9861, let me know if you remember any other stand outs! I don't really like frozen lasagnas etc because they always take wayyyy longer than expected in the oven, so I thought crock pot ones I can start anytime and they can cook for hours and be fine.

Also maybe some muffins/granola bar type of thing, but I could also just easily buy those and not make them myself But I think I will try the lactation cookies, so thanks for a good recommendation pootsen!

[snuff9861]

blabbermouth,

the pot pies were ah-mazing!
The meatball minestrone soup was not too bad!
Shredded BBQ chicken can be used for so many meals
here's the blog entry for the pre-baby meals
newleafwellness.biz/2016/01/31/40-pre-baby-freezer-meals/


for lactation treats, I made a ton of these recipes
www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/23-lactation-recipes-that-will-boost-your-production-and-tas?utm_term=.ipXmoJPmJe#.ofnAz3eA3a


here's another blog I have pinned for freezer meals. I haven't made many of them, but the couple I have made have been delicious
thrivinghomeblog.com/healthy-recipes-index/healthy-freezer-meals-recipes/

[bubbles]

Great suggestions ladies! The only things I had planned so far was breakfast burritos, meatloaf and cooking hamburger to freeze.

Another thing we like to have on hand is a Costco rotisserie chicken. I like to add it to salads and pitas. And use them for chicken noodle soup, quesadillas, etc.

[cdnfarmgirl]

I've always said I wanted to make freezer meals but never do.
My mom and MIL will bring some over. My church sets up a meal train where someone will deliver you a hot meal everyday at the time you want for 14-16 days after birth of new baby. So that is always amazing.
Other than that, I'll see. I also don't really have a big deep freeze, just an apartment size one, so I don't really have the space anyways.

[thatgolfb]

I did this with DD but haven't planned anything yet this time. I need to! I plan to start making double batches of some things, especially things like lasagna. Also I need to figure out some IP freezer recipes.

[thatgolfb]

Sept 25, 2017 19:18:27 GMT -6 grumpycat said:

DH is the cook in our family but we've made/frozen successfully:

Shepherd's pie
Chili
Baked ziti
Mac n cheese
Soups

Ooh adding shepards pie and baked ziti to my list. Spaghetti is also super easy in the instant pot.

[bubbles]

Sept 26, 2017 21:36:05 GMT -6 thatgolfb said:

I did this with DD but haven't planned anything yet this time. I need to! I plan to start making double batches of some things, especially things like lasagna. Also I need to figure out some IP freezer recipes.

I think I need an IP! They sound magical.

[cnf]

Sept 26, 2017 21:55:02 GMT -6 bubbles said:

Sept 26, 2017 21:36:05 GMT -6 thatgolfb said:

I did this with DD but haven't planned anything yet this time. I need to! I plan to start making double batches of some things, especially things like lasagna. Also I need to figure out some IP freezer recipes.

I think I need an IP! They sound magical.

They are!

[roloma]

Sept 26, 2017 21:55:02 GMT -6 bubbles said:

Sept 26, 2017 21:36:05 GMT -6 thatgolfb said:

I did this with DD but haven't planned anything yet this time. I need to! I plan to start making double batches of some things, especially things like lasagna. Also I need to figure out some IP freezer recipes.

I think I need an IP! They sound magical.

I really enjoy my IP.  Don't be quite so fooled though when you see things that say "chicken in 20 minutes!" or whatever.  You have to add about 15-20 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.  The best part is that they are one pot meals and clean up is so easy.  Plus it is set it and forget it like a crockpot but much quicker.  I use mine probably at least 2-3 a week.

[bazi]

My parents will be down for awhile, so I will let them stock the freezer. H does most of the cooking these days, and DD is super picky so we don't usually eat dinner with her. Also, the first few weeks post partum I am eating ALL.THE.CARBS.

F*ck you, gestational diabetes!

[cnf]

Sept 27, 2017 10:45:59 GMT -6 bazi said:

My parents will be down for awhile, so I will let them stock the freezer. H does most of the cooking these days, and DD is super picky so we don't usually eat dinner with her. Also, the first few weeks post partum I am eating ALL.THE.CARBS.

F*ck you, gestational diabetes!

Someone should have gotten you one of those olive garden pasta passes!

[laurensc927]

Freezer cooking has begun: 1 loaf of banana bread, 6 loaves of zucchini bread, 1 batch of soup, and 40 cereal bars.

Next weekend is all about meat (meatballs, meatloaf, stuffed pepper soup).