cooking/freezing meals ahead of time

PreggoAZ · August 2011

Is anyone considering cooking meals and freezing them ahead of the birth? We are already a family of four and DH will only be taking 2 weeks off (that long if I am lucky) and the kids will be on christmas break. I am thinking this may be a good idea but with picky kids I know I can't get away with a lot of soups and such. I am trying to plan what I could cook and freeze that will please everyone and also be easy to cook

Lexie Marie · August 2011

Me! I've seen alot of other momma's on blogs do this and I really think I will. I barely what to cook dinner now...vs. having a newborn around and BF etc. heating the meals up sounds more appealing to me lol.

nekillo · August 2011

Homeade chicken nuggets, meatloaf, lasagna, pre-cook some chicken to heat up for wraps, sammy's etc, pulled pork sandwhiches.

also, I'm a huge fan of crock pot meals, pot roasts with potatoes & carrots, chicken with french onion soup and water, all super easy!!

Happyappy · August 2011

I will be freezing lots of meals. I went to B&N and looked through a couple freezer cookbooks. My favorite one was Fix Freeze Feast. https://www.amazon.com/Fix-Freeze-Feast-Delicious-Money-Saving/dp/1603427260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312683328&sr=8-1

emd2887 · August 2011

I'm planning on doing this. There's a lot besides soup that you can do- I've done lasagna, spaghetti sauce, meatballs (can you tell my family's Italian?), and meatloaf before. I bought a whole cookbook devoted to freezer-friendly meals that I'm going to try out. Another thing I'll be doing is to simply put our dinner leftovers in individual-serving size tupperware containers and freeze them, so either DH or I can pull out something to eat quickly. That wouldn't necessarily work for feeding a whole family but it'll give you a nice variety.

MissBHaven1024 · August 2011

I plan to do this also, but we are fortunate that our family lives close by, and with DD, they brought us meals alot during the first two weeks! DH is most likely going to take off the whole month of December which will be nice, but he is not a chef by any means, so to keep us from starving, I will plan ahead and make and freeze some meals!

Lexie Marie · August 2011

Here is a blog I follow, she just recently stocked her freezer up and shared some recipes... if you interested check her out: https://destinedtobedomestic.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-freezer-is-stocked.html

kissthenkill · August 2011

I plan on doing this. So far on my list I have:

Meatloaf

Meatballs

Lasagna

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chili

Ziti

Enchiladas

I keep looking for more stuff that is easy to freeze to add to my list! I would like the freezer to be stocked enough for a few weeks.

tosh24 · August 2011

I'll be making freezer meals as I get closer to full term (most pre-cooked frozen meals are safest if used within 3 months so I don't want to start cooking yet).

I'll be making:

chicken broth

pasta sauce

chili

meatloaf

meatballs

Irish stew

Lots of bread, buns, pizza dough (I'm gluten-free so I know I won't have it in me to make all of my baking from scratch after baby comes).

I'm sure I'll think of tons of other stuff too....

As for the picky-eater thing, we've got a rule in my house: "You've got two choices for dinner: take it or leave it". I make one dinner and constantly use lots of different ingredients. Don't like something one night? Too bad. When they're hungry enough, they'll eat it. I've never understood catering to picky eaters (allergies aside). JMO.

Mye · August 2011

thats a great idea! I hadnt even thought of that at all. I love soup, so I will just make a bunch of diff and freeze it

micaela421 · August 2011

i got this from a WC nestie's blog...https://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html

tessylynn6 · August 2011

we definitely are! if you are in need of some inspiration check out onceamonthmom.com....all her recipes are freezer friendly. you could even try some out between now and then to make sure everyone likes them. i think they even have ones specifically for kids....

uncharch7 · August 2011

yes. we have 2 days in november picked out for cooking. we have done this before and it works out great. my favorite is joelen's, posted above, and google once a month cooking. there are several sites that come up that have good ideas.

when i have done it before, i took recipes we already make and adjusted them for freezing. we often make casseroles and pastas that can be frozen; we'll bake/eat half and freeze the other. the last time i did it i made enough to eat off of for 3 months.

bendylim · August 2011

Yes. I did this when I was pregnant with DS and it was great, especially when DH went back to work.

I made meatballs, some soups, chili, casseroles, muffins/breads, and premade a bunch of stuff to put in the crock pot too. for the crock pot I would just cut up anything the recipe called for, stuck it in a ziploc bag and froze. Then come cooking time, dump the bag into the crockpot and turn it on. Just make sure to have any liquids needed on hand.

InTheSun · August 2011

Everyone has commented on dinners, so I'll tell you about my freezer breakfast. I make breakfast burritos and freeze them. I make scrambled eggs with cheese and usually throw in a chopped up meat like sausage or bacon. Then I wrap them in tortillas and then individually in foil. Stick them in the freezer and when you're ready to enjoy, put them in the oven for about 40 minutes (usually the time it takes me to get ready in the a.m.) at 350. I take the foil off for the last 5 minutes of heating up. You can cut them in half to see if they're heated in the middle and if not, just stick them back in for a few minutes.

KeyLime81 · August 2011

tessylynn6:
we definitely are! if you are in need of some inspiration check out onceamonthmom.com....all her recipes are freezer friendly. you could even try some out between now and then to make sure everyone likes them. i think they even have ones specifically for kids....

Yes THIS!! The site has a ton of great ideas for a variety of dietary needs/preferences (diet, gluten free, traditional, whole foods)

iluvmylab · August 2011

I will be doing this. We will be buying a chest freezer to put outside to give us some extra room since our side-by-side freezer isn't that spacious. I plan to make soups, casseroles, and pasta dishes. Also, it's good to pre-cook and then freeze meat to quicky make dishes. Such as grilled chicken breasts, seasoned ground beef for tacos, etc.

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