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March 2018 Moms
ShawnnaO
member
Freezer Meal Thread
ShawnnaO
*stolen from February*
I never made meals ahead of time with my daughter but looking back, I wish I had. We spent wayyyyyy too much money ordering food because I could barely stand long enough to cook a meal. We all love talking about food here, so let’s talk our favorite make ahead, stick in the freezer meals!
I never made meals ahead of time with my daughter but looking back, I wish I had. We spent wayyyyyy too much money ordering food because I could barely stand long enough to cook a meal. We all love talking about food here, so let’s talk our favorite make ahead, stick in the freezer meals!
Re: Freezer Meal Thread
@stlbuckeye132 It depends on what you're freezing. For jam, sauce, salsa, broth, and brisket, I use glass jars (usually re-used from something I bought from Costco)--leave a bit of air in in case whatever it is expands. For lasagna I use a tin foil disposable lasagna pan wrapped in more tin foil. For chicken wings and coconut bread I use ziplocks.
Dating: 2003 Married: 2010
TTC #1: Started April 2016
Dx: Unexplained Infertility Dx: NIR PCOS
Twin boys born by unplanned c section 2/22/18
Big batches of ground beef and taco meat frozen in 1lb servings
Chicken pot pie (my favorite)
Chicken breasts (uncooked) in a freezer bag with marinade that DH could just throw on the grill
Breakfast burritos and egg mcmuffin style sandwiches
Casseroles: tater tot, tuna and noodles, cheesy broccoli chicken & noodles
This time I'm going to make some smoothie packs: freeze yogurt in ice cube trays, then put a few cubes of yogurt with chopped fruit/veggies in a zip lock and freeze. I'd like to make a few batches of lactation cookies and energy balls and freeze those too.
Pinterest has a TON of recipes and tips.
My MIL also sends a lot of food over (mostly DH and the kids eat that- but I am very grateful because I can just focus on myself and getting back to my normal eating habits.) I lose the weight quicker when I am only focusing on what I have to eat and not having to make for everyone.
@ashleyf911 I like that idea about the smoothie bags, I may need to try that.
http://diaryofafitmommy.com/15-freezer-meals-before-your-baby-arrives/#
Married: May 2008
DD Born: March 2018
Aug 19th, 2018: BFP!
I just made something that I think would freeze really well.
Ground sausage
Spiral pasta, bc it's all I had
Milk
Bell peppers
It tastes amazing and I would freeze it if I wasn't certain we will devour it in next 10 minutes.
We have limited freezer space, so another thing that worked well for quick meals once DS was here was doing slow cooker shredded chicken over the weekend to use for meals during the week. Put 4-6 boneless skinlesss chicken breasts in the slow cooker (nothing else, except maybe a 1/2 cup water if you're in a high altitude), cook on low for 5-7 hours until they shred apart easily with a fork. Then you've got a big batch of shredded chicken that you can spice, reheat, and use smaller portions from throughout the week for quick meals - throw into a pita/wrap/sandwich, make some chicken salad, toss some on top of a salad, add some BBQ sauce or pesto for a BBQ sandwich or a BBQ/pesto chicken pizza, toss some in some taco seasoning for tacos/quesadillas/fajitas, use it for soups, add to pasta, etc.
Married: 5.27.16
Baby Boy Due: 3.18.18
I feel like grocery shopping ahead for meats and frozen veg is a better option but to each their own.
I love this thread! I was talking to my mom over the weekend and asked her if she would help me come up with ideas/make some of the food because this time around I want to have a nice stock of freezer meals, hopefully healthier options. After DD was born we moved a month later so we didn't have very much in the freezer and 2 weeks after DS was born we closed on our house and moved in (it has become a running joke in my family that we always move after having another child, not this time!)
I'm loving these ideas and I appreciate that they're healthy because last time, between moving and having a then 3 yr old and not having anything pre-made I didn't eat that healthy and I also probably didn't eat enough and my supply suffered because of it. I'm going to be referencing this thread a lot in January/February and if I find anything good I definitely will share!
My favourites were things I had fully cooked ahead of time, and then threw in the freezer. So when I was pulling them out, it was literally to reheat and serve, no actual cooking required. This was great on the days that I forgot to pull something out to thaw in the morning. So I made a lot of slow cooker meals while pregnant. We'd eat some of it for supper and freeze the rest! Then pop it in the oven completely frozen and it would thaw and be ready to serve!
Examples: Spaghetti sauce (for sloppy joe's or spaghetti), beef stew, chicken stew, chicken cacciatore
Other things I made: Lasagna, tuna casserole, shepherd's pie, quiche, lazy perogies, chicken and broccoli casserole
I also made some muffins, banana bread, scones. Things that were quick to grab and eat for the morning or snack on when I was hungry while breastfeeding!
Definitely going to start making some meals once third trimester starts. If I can make even 2 a week, that'll give me like 25-30 for when baby comes! Woohoo!
Meals:
Tuna casserole
Beef stew and biscuits
Lasagna
Cheeseburger casserole
Shepherds pie
Chicken stew and biscuits
Chicken and broccoli noodle casserole
Tater tot casserole
Beef stroganoff
Loaded potato and chicken casserole
Turkey meatballs
Meat sauce (for spaghetti or sloppy joes)
Chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole
Chicken cacciatore
Hashbrown casserole
Chicken divan
Snacks:
Carrot muffins
Cinnamon buns
Cinnamon loaf
Pumpkin loaf
Pumpkin muffins
Banana bread
Quiche (for breakfast)