Filling the Freezer Before Baby Arrives

keiraanne · May 2017

Most of the STM+ moms suggested making meals ahead of time and stocking up the freezer so that dinners are easy when we're too busy not sleeping in the first few weeks after giving birth. My problem is that, other than enchiladas and soup/chili, I don't make a lot of casseroles and other meals that can be frozen, so this is where you mamas come in. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to ideas around this.

What are some of your favorite ideas for make-ahead meals that freeze well and can be quickly reheated? It'd be great for all of us to have a resource of things we can make before baby (or babies!) arrives!

KDeola · May 2017

I did a lot of freezer meals before my second. I'll say though they weren't quick to reheat. Definitely needed to still plan ahead and allow a day in the fridge before baking, but it was way better than worrying about cooking. I make a few types of chicken casseroles, beef stew, and hamburger casserole. Baked ziti is a good one too. Plus I make my own pasta sauce with meatballs and sausage that I freeze for easy pasta nights. I don't think I had to really cook for a few months! I can add recipes of the casseroles when I have more time.

dajocl · May 2017

These are a few I made before DS was born, I couldn't tell you if I made substitutions at this point. I do remember really loving the second one that's listed. I definitely plan on making them again along with others. I think I had 14 or 15 meals in the freezer when he was born and it made life so much easier. Between leftovers and people bringing us meals, I don't remember cooking the first month.

https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/freezer-meal-recipe-cilantro-lime-chicken/

https://www.jocooks.com/main-courses/poultry-main-courses/chicken-enchilada-rice-casserole/

https://allrecipes.com/recipe/18781/pizza-casserole/

https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/07/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole-recipe.html

buttercream_frosting · May 2017

I would suggest some rich soup since you guys will be in Autumn and also soup gives nice easy poops which you will be grateful for if you have tears (*cringe*). All soups freeze well if you leave out the pasta and don't put too much potato which doesn't freeze well. When you heat the soup up you can add the pasta/noodles or eat with fresh crusty bread.

KSweet · May 2017

I often just doubled whatever I was already making for dinner and would then freeze the second batch. Sam's Club has the cheapest disposable trays that I have found. I made a pinterest board and found a bunch of freezer meals. I mostly made chilis, soup, lasagna, meatloafs, noodle casseroles, enchiladas, carnitas, Mexican beef, and bags of meals that you can dump in the crockpot like honey chicken. Don't forget about snacks and breakfasts, especially if you already have kids....freeze pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos, muffins, and you can make "oatmeal muffins" -- make the oatmeal, put on your favorite toppings, freeze them in muffin tins, and then pop them out into a freezer bag. Microwave a minute or so. I also suggest energy balls and lactation cookies. I also did a huge stock up of groceries, pet food, paper goods, etc a couple of weeks before my due date. Finally, I made snack bags for each kid full of goodies they don't normally get like bags of popcorn, granola bars, small cereal boxes, etc. I have a large family and no family nearby so I have to be super organized.

roo_baby · May 2017

Thank @keiraanne for starting this thread. I've been searching Pinterest and other recipe sites, but not finding much that sounds appetizing. My one tip: I've had luck freezing flourless chocolate cakes before. I might make a few of those for when we have guests or, more likely, a really rough day

My plan right now is to make some chili and bolognese, maybe some homemade ravioli if I'm feeling ambitious. I'll also prep and freeze a bunch of ingredients (butternut squash for risotto, fruit and veg for smoothies, herbs for sauces) so we can at least avoid a few grocery runs.

bluejeanbabi05 · May 2017

I plan on both cooking a ton of freezer meals and making a huge Costco run before she comes. Pro tip,Costco has the BEST frozen lasagna.

Boobopgirl · May 2017

This is my current list: (I probably won't make all of these, but I'll do as many as possible)
Soups and stews: butternut squash, chicken noodle, chicken rice stew, taco soup, chili, beef stew, chicken pot pie (the PA kind that's really soup), turkey noodle, broccoli cheddar
Meats: hamburger bbq, pulled pork, pulled chicken, pulled turkey, venison bbq, taco meat, fajita meat (with the peppers and onions), burgers, chicken patties, chicken nuggets, meatballs, 1 or 2 meatloafs
Casseroles: baked mac and cheese, chicken hashbrown, lasagne, chicken enchilada casserole, sausage and stuffing casserole, shepherd's pie, chicken broccoli rice casserole, tuna noodle casserole, cheeseburger casserole (like hamburger helper but homemade)
Broiler sandwiches (assemble, wrap in foil and then quickly reheat) roast beef ans cheddar, ham and american, turkey and swiss, quesadillas
Sauces: spaghetti w/ beef, spaghetti with sausage, butternut squash and sausage (https://www.skinnytaste.com/pasta-with-butternut-sauce-spicy/)
Other: probably a few different stir frys with the meat, veggies, and sauce precooked, then I just have to make rice, french bread pizzas

Breakfasts: mini fritatas (the kind you make in a muffin tin), baked oatmeal muffins, regular muffins...probably several flavors of each. French toast sticks, waffles, maybe pancakes to nuke in the microwave and/or toaster. I ate SOOO many mini fritatas after dd2 was born, I MAY do some breakfast sandwiches but not sure.

Smoothie packs: I premeasure frozen fruit/veggies and sometimes even the grains into quart freezer bags, then just add yogurt, juice, or milk in the morning (especially great for mornings when you have to run yourself and/ or baby to an appointment and may need to stay full a little longer.

I freeze most in gallon freezer bags and defrost in the fridge the night before. The casseroles I will sometimes freeze in pans and just set them out on the counter a little bit before cooking. The breakfast things, sandwiches, and smoothies can be used right out of the freezer. The soups only need to be defrosted enough to get out of the bag and then can be dumped in the slow cooker.

ETA: I had enough in the freezer before dd2 was born that I was fully ready to start cooking again long before I ran out, but still had back up meals for nights when I hadn't gotten enough sleep/ the baby wouldn't be put down all day.

canonmom413 · May 2017

Here is what I did for DD2 ( because we were young and clueless with DD1):

*homemade Mac n cheese- take out of freezer add breadcrumbs on top and bake. Microwave frozen steam in bag veggies. Good to go.

*Ziti- prepare and freeze. Easy to bake. We bought premade salads to have with them.

*taco casserole- just taco meat and taco cheese frozen in a tray. Bake, and top with lettuce tomatoes and plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. We would crush multigrain tortilla chips on a plate and scoop the casserole on top and eat. So easy and oh so delicious.

*shredded bbq pork - u would make huge batches in the crockpot and freeze. Heat and throw on buns. My instant pot will make this so so easy and quick now.

*soups of any kind- I would throw into my crockpot in the morning frozen on low. Yummy dinner by the evening. This year I can throw in my instant pot frozen and have dinner in like 15 minutes

*stock up on frozen pizzas, steam in bag veggies, waffles, etc like others have said. Also don't forget to stock up on drinks it's so much easier to grab a bottle of water then to get a glass and pour one with a newborn in your arms.

dumbledoredies · May 2017

Swooping in with some random and dumb FTM questions.

1) I've never frozen meals for reheat. When you freeze a meal how do you know how long it will take to reheat it? And what is your preferred method for reheating? Microwave? Oven? Crockpot? @canonmom413 what is this "instant pot" sorcery that you speak of?

2) How did you find enough room in your freezer for all of the food? I have 2 fridges but both freezers are pretty full. Our freezer upstairs is full of ice cream and frozen veggies and frozen individual meals, etc. Our downstairs fridge is full of meat that DH brought home from his hunting trip. I would like to just toss the deer meat because I hate venison and the fact that he hunts but I doubt he will allow this. I was thinking of seeing if we could store the meat at our parents house temporarily.

Boobopgirl · May 2017

@dumbledoredies. It depends on the meal and whether it was precooked or raw when you froze it and whether you are defrosting first or reheating from frozen. TBH I usually google it when I freeze and write the directions on the bags and/or containers.

I put up 20 meals in a regular fridge freezer before dd1 was born. I put them in gallon ziplocs and froze flat (on a sheet tray) and then they cold be "filed" upright once frozen. Now we have a deep freeze chest freezer (mostly full of venison and breastmilk right now, but soon freezer meals.)

canonmom413 · May 2017

@dumbledoredies it's just he most amazing kitchen appliance ever!!! Search Pinterest for instant pot recipes. It makes shreddable tender meat in a fraction of the time a crockpot would. It makes super flavoravle soups. Heats up soups very quickly. It's just a pressure cooker, but an amazing one.

keiraanne · May 2017

Oh man... you ladies are making me hungry with all these ideas! Hahaha...

And I second the baking idea, roo_baby! I plan on getting some Christmas baking done in September so that we have stuff to offer friends who drop by around the holidays because I am not going to feel like rolling out gingerbread men a month after delivering this bebe.

KSweet · May 2017

@dumbledoredies I usually put the meal in the fridge overnight and then use the oven or crockpot. It all kind of depends on the recipe and if it's been cooked already or not. If it's specifically a made-to-freeze recipe, they'll often tell you how to reheat it and then I write that info directly on to the container.

I have two chest freezers and do like comment above....freeze things in gallon bags, place on a cookie sheet until frozen, and then it can lay flat. Or I use disposable aluminum trays that stack well. Perhaps you could gift some friends with some venison (I would love to get free meat!).

Boobopgirl · May 2017

I second the free meat gifting!

Random aside: any time I take something with venison in it somewhere, I'm tempted to put a note on the dish that just says "Contains:" and then a picture of Bambi just to horrify people

hippiegirl884 · May 2017

I liked making black bean burgers (had oats in them so bonus if breastfeeding), mac and cheese, baked ziti, vegetarian enchiladas.

great idea about making soups for the fall! I'm going to start setting up a Pinterest board now that food doesn't repulse me!

melarowan · May 2017

I'm trying to figure out how to fit a chest freezer in my apartment. The apartment freezer is minuscule, but I really want to meal prep before the baby. I'm open to ideas or suggestions. Right now, I'm thinking I might fit it in the (unused) coat closet. Or store meals at SO's parent's house and pick some up/have them bring more every week.

canonmom413 · May 2017

My mom lives in a 2 bedroom condo. She has hers in their spare bedroom ( aka guest room) can you put it in your room or even against a wall in the kitchen? They sell super small ones that don't take up much space but can store a ton. @melarowan

melarowan · May 2017

@canonmom413 Unfortunately the kitchen is too small, so it's the closet, my room or the baby's room. The closet is closest to the kitchen, not that the bedrooms are much farther.

Kimmie4422 · December 2017

*Removed for TOU Violation*

Kimmie4422 · December 2017

*Removed for TOU Violation*

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