Frozen Dinners

BabyCorona

I know I am still 16 weeks from EDD, but I am already starting to think about what I can make now so the fiance has food the first few weeks we are cuddling the new bundle of joy. I was hoping I could get some ideas so I can start my plannin and labeling of containers for the freezer.

EvenAngelsFall

I checked this book out of the library and it was great:

https://www.fixfreezefeast.com/

But try to hold off a lil while longer if you can.... most frozen dinners only stay good for about 12 weeks.

Julia_JJ

Lasagna and chicken enchiladas are our two big ones. Also, you can make ahead meatballs and pasta sauce, and then just boil the pasta and reheat the other stuff as needed.

CamJack mom

Anything pasta will work wonders, i.e. lasagna, spagetti, pesto, they tend to hold up well.

 

Another idea, make frozen crockpot bags. Put all the ingredients for a crockpot dinner in a large ziploc bag and freeze. DH can drop the contents into the  crock pot, add some water or stock and press go. No mess, no fuss and a fresh dinner ready for the evening.

iluvmylab

I plan on making soups (tortilla soup is my fave), stews, chili, casseroles (like King Ranch), lasagne, lots of homeade pasta sauce that I can heat up quick, ground beef already cooked in 1 pound containers, enchiladas, my list goes on and on.  I'm not going to start until November though.

Trumom76

iluvmylab:

I plan on making soups (tortilla soup is my fave), stews, chili, casseroles (like King Ranch), lasagne, lots of homeade pasta sauce that I can heat up quick, ground beef already cooked in 1 pound containers, enchiladas, my list goes on and on.  I'm not going to start until November though.

Can you please share your king ranch casserole recipe.

steph141

CamJack mom:

Anything pasta will work wonders, i.e. lasagna, spagetti, pesto, they tend to hold up well.

 

Another idea, make frozen crockpot bags. Put all the ingredients for a crockpot dinner in a large ziploc bag and freeze. DH can drop the contents into the  crock pot, add some water or stock and press go. No mess, no fuss and a fresh dinner ready for the evening.

I use the crock pot liners themselves so all I have to do is pull them out and put them in the crockpot. 

iluvmylab

Trumom76:

iluvmylab:

I plan on making soups (tortilla soup is my fave), stews, chili, casseroles (like King Ranch), lasagne, lots of homeade pasta sauce that I can heat up quick, ground beef already cooked in 1 pound containers, enchiladas, my list goes on and on.  I'm not going to start until November though.

Can you please share your king ranch casserole recipe.

This is the one I use, but I usually add extra jalapenoes to mine since we like it spicy.

https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/king-ranch-chicken-casserole-iii/detail.aspx

 This site has great recipes for all sorts of things- it's one of my favorite cooking sites. 

 

Liz17860

Whats the best containers for the freezer when you are making these casseroles? I get that I can use freezer bags for the stuff that doesn't need to be layered, but for the casserole dishes, I heard that the foil pans don't hold up well from freezer to oven to table or the food get frostburned... Help! I don't cook a lot and so I don't have a lot of glass pans to be stored in the freezer.

MrsRucinski85

ooohhhhh.... I am a big fan of making and freezing foods so that later in the week I can just pop them in the oven and relax after work. Here are my most common dinners I premake and freeze

* Chicken pot pie I actually make two bc then I can have one for lunch and one for dinner
* Lasgnana
* Shepards pie: I make two a turkey one for me and a beef one for the hub
* Stuffed shells
* Mac n cheese: this I mostly use for lunches but also ok for dinners.

And thats mostly it I think. Let me know if you are interested in any recipes. I am a big fan of quick and easy so most of the stuff I make requires little prep and/or little attention to when its cooking.

BabyCorona

Thank you for the ideas. i am not going to start yet jut need to have my plan of attack!

Hopefull11

I plan on doing alot this time around. Some of the things I will be making are, banana pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, spaghetti, lasagna, alfredo, enchiladas, stuffed peppers, ground hamburger with onions to make tacos or anything, chili, beef and vegi soup. Yeah I will be busy the next couple of weeks but it will be soooo worth the effort.

Hopefull11

I've been using the tin foil pans, and haven't had any problems with the food going bad, or the pans not holding up.

kevinsgrl

Hopefull11:

I've been using the tin foil pans, and haven't had any problems with the food going bad, or the pans not holding up.

This. I try and wrap them up good with tinfoil and if they will fit put a ziplock freezer bag over it.  Never had a problem.

haleymay18

RedheadBaker:

This blog was helpful: 

https://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/freezer-meals-preparations.html 

I heart this blog so very much. Her freezer stock is my version of postpartum heaven. Like if I die, my heaven will have a freezer similar to hers.

Trumom76

iluvmylab:

Trumom76:

iluvmylab:

I plan on making soups (tortilla soup is my fave), stews, chili, casseroles (like King Ranch), lasagne, lots of homeade pasta sauce that I can heat up quick, ground beef already cooked in 1 pound containers, enchiladas, my list goes on and on.  I'm not going to start until November though.

Can you please share your king ranch casserole recipe.

This is the one I use, but I usually add extra jalapenoes to mine since we like it spicy.

https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/king-ranch-chicken-casserole-iii/detail.aspx

 This site has great recipes for all sorts of things- it's one of my favorite cooking sites. 

 

Thanks. I too love things super spicy and have been lucky with this pregnancy having little to no heartburn. I'll make it spicy while pregnant but for the ones I freeze it will have to be mild for nursing purposes. Sometimes spicy foods don't agree with nursed babies causing gas and reflux.