Freezer Meal Ideas?

clarks415

Okay, one of the awesome c/s mamas posted about have 3-4 freezer meals ready to go. I think I am def going to have to do this. Anyone have any ideas of what I could freeze and will reheat well? I have never frozen meals before so I honestly have no idea.

KSimone619

I have a great link for you:

https://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html

I'm also doing a swap with some friends- we're all making 3 meals and swapping.  I'm making ham and potato soup (most ALL soup frezzes well); ham and cheese calzones, and ham/pasta casserole.  My friend is doing chicken enchiladas, chicken lasagna, and chicken pot pie.  Not sure what my other friend is doing... but if you want any recipes for the ones I wrote above just let me know 

MDmama519

Joelene's is a great place for inspiration.

I just started last week, so far I have:

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken and Veggie Soup

This week I am making:

Baked Ziti

Breakfast Burritos

 

ChiTown Bridget

Chili, soup, spaghetti sauce, chicken casserole, lasagna

EveryNameIWantIsTaken

I totally didn't want to cook right before to get things ready so we raided Trader Joe's frozen section and had lots of things that were quick to cook from there.  I'd do it that way all over again because we did the freezer meal thing when ds was born and it sucked.

I will say soups do freeze well.  That was the only thing we ate out of what we made the first time.

harmonicbabe26

I just made what my hubby likes to eat a lot since we'd be cycling that repeatedly... 2 pans of chili con carne, 2 pans of baked chicken bacon alfredo and about to make 2 pans of baked ziti... I just doubled each recipe and then split them in half and put them into those disposable tinfoil pans and shoved in the freezer.

pepomntpat

Do you have a Dream Dinners near you?  I work at one and was a customer for three years prior. Lots of pregnant women come in to stock up before LO comes. They do all the chopping ahead and you just put the ingredients together and pop them in the freezer.

I did a lot of casseroles as well. Things that could be heated from frozen in case I forgot to defrost. And I did larger portions than normal so we would have leftovers. I don't usually do leftovers, but it was nice to only have to cook 2-3 times a week.

Some ladies at our church also helped fill our freezer. We were well fed for three months! 

Mustardseed2007

I did this before my c section. The items that turned out the best were the chili and the lasagna. 

RA1109

Taco soup is awesome reheated, I made an enormous batch in the crockpot and divided it into meal-sized freezer bags.  I also made about 5 meatloafs.  Nothing italian froze very well.  The spaghetti sauce thawed kind of watery and the lasagna and ziti both tasted like they were missing sauce and were bland.  The spaghetti sauce was bland too and my sauce is NOT bland. 

RA1109

KSimone619:

I'm making ham and potato soup (most ALL soup frezzes well)

Actually most potato soup does not freeze well.  I made the same and did tons of research on how to freeze potatoes, but it's not easy without making them mealy.  I tried, but mine didn't come out so great either.  Potatoes are not meant to be frozen.

hopkins5

Chili, lasagna, your favourite soup, shredded chicken, pulled pork

Link

I also did some baking beforehand so I could pull out a few muffins or banana bread when we wanted some snacks. Your crockpot could come in handy as well once the freezer meals run out, whenever you're in a crunch for dinner. Throw everything in in the morning, and you won't have to worry about it all day.

clarks415

Thanks ladies! I can't wait to stop working so I can get started on making some meals!