Let's Eat! - Freezer Meal Planning

tilournextadventure

Let's share our plans for prepping food before baby(ies) arrives. What are your go to recipes for busy nights and will be using once baby is here? Are you trying any new recipes? How many meals are you planning to prep for before you deliver? 

Any ideas for refreshing summer meals as we will be in the midst of summer? Will you have a stash of popsicles? 

Link any recipes or post the full recipe below. 

mrs_massie

we BBQ  a lot during the summer and probably will more this summer.  I have never meal prepped with my other two pregnancies, but I always say I should... The only recipe I have to share right now that we stock every summer for the kids are called Watermelon slushes. They are really good and I enjoy them myself.

You put a whole small Watermelon chopped up in a blender and add a little honey and a little lime juice. Blend and poor into a casserole dish and freeze...Once frozen you use a spoon to shave the ice and put it in a bowl. you could probably fill up ice pop molds with it too, but it would make a lot of ice pops.

akoros

Not sure how handy this would be for summer, but for a few friends I gave them frozen soups. Basically, whenever I make soup (or stew, chili) I fill up a quart-size container and put it in the freezer. Once thawed it's 2 meal-size servings of soup. Not too many restrictions, though I have noticed that the texture of potatoes can be a little weird after freezing (not terrible, just not the same) and pasta has a tendency to soak up all the liquid so it's best to leave those out until serving. 

My go-to "you had a baby!" meal contribution is generally baked ziti. Usually I'll bring a bag of salad (like a Caesar kit) and a prepped loaf of garlic bread (slice a baguette almost all the way through, brush the slices with a mixture of melted butter, minced/crushed garlic, minced parsley, and parmesan; wrap loaf in foil and bake with the ziti). I'd assume it would hold up well to freezing, but haven't tried it.

I've also done slow-cooker pulled pork: Rub pork with spices (I like a mixture of salt, pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little cayenne) and cook with 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Remove & shred the meat, skim fat off the liquid, and add meat back to the cooker. Add any sauces you'd like (or don't). I kept the seasonings pretty basic, so that it could be used for sandwiches, tacos, salad, or rice/noodle bowls. The meat itself freezes well, though some of the rest (i.e. greens/slaw) might need to be bought fresh.