Freezer Meals

lifesabeach85

November is just over three months away! Nobody has time to cook when they have a newborn and we all have to eat, so let’s stock those freezers! 

What are your favorite freezeable meals?

emjohn517

Im just going to copy and paste my response from the questions thread so I don’t have to type it all again lol. 


Freezer meals! Yes! Im actually planning to start mid to end of August and build my stash little by little. If I’m cooking something for dinner I’ll make a double batch and freeze half or make a couple a week until im stocked. Trying to spread out the work and grocery costs. Here is my list so far- 

breakfast egg muffins and oatmeal muffins to freeze and defrost a few at a time

soups and crock pot freezer gallon bags-
chicken hoagie mix
beef sandwich mix
cabbage soup
potatoe soup
broc cheddar soup 
chili
white chili 
lemon garlic chicken 
ranch pork chops
sweet and sour chic 
veg soup 
stir fry mix 
sausage and peppers 
pot roast 
fajita mix 
scalloped potatoes and ham 
beef stew 


dinners/aluminum pans-
spaghetti 
lasagna
alfredo
chic anc rice
pot pies
chic noodle casserole 
pesto pork 
shepherds pie
pizza casserole
tuscan pasta 
chic, broc, rice 
meatloaf 
enchiladas 


Hopefully all that fits in my freezers lol! But it’ll make cooking with 2 littles much easier. 

iheartbooks

I do occasional big batches of freezer meals even when not pregnant, so I’m definitely planning to make a batch before this baby. I’ve kept meals for up to three months in my regular freezer and they’ve always been completely fine. My favorite website is newleafwellness.biz - it’s a blogger who has compiled a bunch of freezer meals, mostly crockpot I think, with clear instructions and shopping lists. The best part is that’s unlike many crockpot meals, hers don’t require any pre-cooking of the meat so they truly are thaw and dump into your crockpot type meals. To save freezer space I often only prep and freeze the fresh ingredients like meat and veggies, and then add things like canned tomatoes or broth the morning of cooking. It’s easy enough to open a can and dump I figure, even with a newborn.

firsttimespartanmom

@iheartbooks I was just looking at the New Leaf Wellness site yesterday! Glad to hear you’ve made them and they’ve turned out. 

CopperBoom86

I swore I was going to make all kinds of freezer meals with baby #1, but she came early, so we ate lots of turkey sandwiches and we survived just fine. I'm not even making a plan this time lol.

Clobert

We really struggled to feed ourselves with the first and now we have a 3 year old to feed, so I’ll definately doing freezer meals this time around. My other idea is to make some grocery lists in my email drafts so I can send other people to the store or even online to get food for my dd when my brain is too foggy to write out a list.  A lot of people who might come to help can’t really cook.  
Vegan lactation breakfast muffins and cookies (lots of oats and other good ingredients) 
Vegan lasagna divided up into meal sizes. 
3 bean chili (maybe a not spicy version for toddler)
Pasta with lentil Bolognese
diy frozen pizzas? (Never done this before)
vegan paella
Chickpea cutlets
Stuffing and mushroom gravy(it’s the holidays!)
Pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie?

I might not be able to fit much more... another tip is to label well and even make a list if you want other people like partner or relative or friend to be able to help.  

Eveinshock

This is a good idea. I was basically an invalid after I had my first. But now I have to feed him too so I should probably think ahead. I have a hard time feeding him anyway.....
I did make some freeze and bake pot pies from buzzfeed tasty recipe the other day. Those were easy enough and delicious. And works well bc you can eat one that night and freeze the rest. I have made spinach lasagne, turkey meatballs, butternut squash soup, and freeze portions for the baby when I can't motivate myself to cook dinner after work.  I do have a pretty significant personal issue that I don't like to eat precooked frozen food! so I just feed the baby this stuff and eat like cereal myself.....

lifesabeach85

We lived on frozen meals for like 2 months after DD was born. I love to cook, but I didn't have it in me for a while so I was happy to have a stocked freezer.

- Lasagna

- Mexican Lasagna

- Chicken broccoli rice casserole

- Chili

- Jambalaya

- Shepherd's pie

- Meatloaf

- Chicken pot pie

- Chicken enchiladas
- Turkey Meatballs 
- Chicken Brunswick stew 

thats all all I can think of right now but I’m sure there are others...

kamahina9

@lifesabeach85 - thank you so much for starting this thread! Such a great idea!

I've never made freezer meals before and I am determined to have some prepped for when baby comes to make things easier on myself. I thank you Al for you excellent ideas and suggestions! It is so helpful for someone like me with absolutely no experience with freezer meals.

lurvleybunchococonuts

So... what ya'll are saying is that stockpiling the freezer with frozen pizza a few days before LO is born ISN'T the way to go about it? <--- joking.  Although I do love pizza.  Love all the meal ideas.  I'm not sure how much I'll prep because we don't have much for freezer space.  Thankfully both H & I share cooking duties so I *think* we'll be okay even if we don't prep much.

highsteaks

@lurvleybunchococonuts i love the idea of stockpiling frozen pizzas! 

i’d like to do a freezer stash, but i’m hung up on the procedure. a lot of recipes online do not specify some steps. what things are ok to go in the freezer raw/uncooked and what stuff has to be cooked before freezing? if i wanted to use my own recipes or recipes not specified for freezing: are there certain ingredients that will not freeze well?

i don’t even really remember what we did to get by last time. i know i ate alot of oatmeal packets. also, just a general fyi for life: many donuts freeze exceptionally well.

lachnessmomster

I really wish that I could stock up on some freezer meals. Had good intentions to do it the first time around, then didn't follow through. This time, the earliest date that we can arrive at our new base is November 10th. I'm due November 18th, so how all this moving/baby madness works out should be pretty interesting. Hopefully my family will drive the four hours from our hometown and feed us if we're able to get all moved before baby.

kamahina9

@highsteaks - very good to know about the donuts!! I will probably tell my sister that she needs to bring me some krispe kreme when she flies over to meet the baby we don't have one on island (it's only on Maui) so it's such a treat when she brings them. 

@lachnessmomster - that is a tight schedule. I hope your family comes through for you!!

highsteaks

@kamahina9 omg, now i NEED a krispy kreme donut. 

tessiesmom26

Re: Donuts

emjohn517

Omg the doughnuts! That’s so funny. Last time I visited my grandpa he had a freezer full of doughnuts, he says he dunks them in his coffee  I imagined they’d be hard and dry, but now maybe grandpa knows what’s up! Lol 

highsteaks

the donut talk finally got to me. this is the text i just sent dh, “if you have time, PLEASE pick up a dozen krispy kreme donuts after work. plain glazed is good with me. two dozen is also fine.” 

lachnessmomster

@highsteaks That is a 100% logical request, and he better come through with the two dozen!

iheartbooks

Those of you who are worried about the process/how to freeze etc seriously need to check out the new leaf wellness blog. Her recipes are almost all no pre-cook and she makes it so easy!!! Also, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stocking your freezer with premade frozen meals/frozen pizza. I think it’s just so helpful to have some easy options, in whatever form those options come in!!

highsteaks

@lachnessmomster dh came through with one dozen from krispy kreme. he did say he saw a sign that said that tomorrow (27th) is their anniversary or something, so they’ll be offering a buy one dozen donuts, get the second dozen for $1 special... passing the info along in case someone wants to be the friday office hero (or just homer simpson some donuts). 

lachnessmomster

@highsteaks Girl, you are the real MVP. I know someone here is going to benefit greatly from this information!

kamahina9

Wow! Such a great deal! Please eat one (or two) for me. It sounds so yummy!!

emjohn517

Just sent this to MH, who has a KK on his way home from work....and now we wait....