Have you had a "Freezer Meal Swap Party"

babyhobs

Hello Ladies! I am hosting a freezer meal making party before baby boy arrives so hubs and I have some meals ready...anyone experienced with these who could lend some tips and/or dos and don'ts? TIA

btm013

Not having a party but my husband and I are doing a marathon cooking Day tomorrow. What dishes are you making? I'd love some suggestions!
We are making:
- Spinach lasagna
- chili
- manicotti
- enchiladas
- meatballs
- sweet and sour chicken
- several different casseroles
- stew
- stuffed peppers
- tortellini soup
- rice
- spaghetti

upandbelow

Those sound delicious! For things like stew and soup, my suggestion is get some of the freezer ziplock bags! You can fill them and freeze them lying down - huge space saver!

babyhobs

@upandbelow great tip on bags vs containers! @btm013 my hubs and I love stuffed peppers! Great idea! I was wanting to try crockpot BBQ ribs (on sale at a local store now) and I saw a recipe for a chicken mango cilantro rice thing that sounded delicious!

laurendutch

My neighborhood does it. I think they do groups of 8, so you make 8 of your item and get 8 new items. They also send in the recipes to hand out, so if you like a meal you can make it yourself.

babyhobs

@laurendutch I love the idea of including the recipe! I have read a few blogs about them but none have mentioned that!

mlindzz

I just made a few freezer meals in bags, and they were great for saving space but a few froze together. They weren't 'wet', although I did wipe them down with sanitizing wipes, so perhaps that did it.

Anyways, I think next time I'll stick paper towel or a cloth between the bags for a few hours before removing them.

Happy cooking!

mccall35

One of my good girlfriends threw me a little "sprinkle" (STM). Everyone that came brought a freezer meal instead of baby items. It was suuuuuuuper helpful and thoughtful. Some of te items I received were:
-marinated steaks
-marinated chicken breasts (homemade marinades like lemon dill, honey garlic and spicy thai)
-meat lasagna
-veggie lasagna
-homemade mac and cheese
-a Tortiere (meat pie)
-butter chicken and rice
- manicotti

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but maybe it will help with some swap items?

Good luck!

babyhobs

@mccall35 I am really loving the idea of marinated meats-that's totally something I can do on my own too! Love it! @MurLindzz that's a good point on bags sticking together! Thanks for the heads up

queequeg09256

I'm making some pumpkin muffins right now to freeze for post delivery. They are super tasty. I also plan to make breakfast sandwiches and get some crockpot meals together as well over the next week. The muffins should freeze well and will be good for an on the go snack when taking the lo on morning walks.

babyhobs

I have seen some recipes for breakfast burritos too! Definitely breakfast items are a must! I might try my hand at oatmeal muffins...plus, oatmeal is good for breast feeding right?

jfelicio

Already started making these. Due in a couple weeks. But our freezer meals consist of Portuguese food. Can't have enough bacalhau!

babyhobs

Oatmeal Muffins

In case anyone is curious, here is the link to those oatmeal muffins I mentioned earlier! I have made them before and was pretty pleased with the outcome! Plus, you can do so many different toppings it's great!

afwifey2014

We made some food this weekend. So far I have:

- Crockpot Chicken cacciatore  (Not your mother's slow cooker cookbook)

- Homemade Cherry Larabars

- 2 lasagnas

- breakfast burritos

- Chicken Tetrazini (Skinnytaste Blog)

catrina04

I do a ton of freezer meals and I'm also a Pampered Chef consultant so have had many freezer meal parties! I'm going to be making a couple different menus before the baby comes!

Westypet

What are you ladies doing to prevent freezer burn? Thanks! I need to get on this...

HoosOnFirst

Ugh this is one of the few remaining things I am behind on, partly because DH doesn't get it. He thinks we will just buy takeout every day with leftover potential.