Freezer Meals/ Food Prep

smallbutmighty77 · January 2020

Going off the intangibles thread- I know a lot of us are planning on making easy freezer meals that can go straight to the oven or crockpot dump meals before babies arrive- so I thought we could share some of our favorite recipes to help each other plan.

smallbutmighty77 · January 2020

My go to crock pot is shredded enchillada chicken- add extra liquid if freezing. I freeze it in 2 parts so I don't have to defrost the entire thing, and use it for tacos, nachos, enchilladas.
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 pkt taco seasoning
1 jar salsa (your heat pref- if freezing I do an extra half jar or one of the larger jars)
In crock pot on low for 6-8hrs
Shred chicken and let cool before freezing with the liquid

Also plan on doing energy bites:
Pinterest Link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/235876099213740270/

And croissant bfast sandwiches:
Scramble eggs adding any things you like (I do cheese and veggies)
Cook some bacon
Take crescent rolls and put a strip or half of bacon and a good scoop of eggs in the wide triangle part, eta-roll up the rolls as normal- bake until rolls are done- let cool, wrap individually in wax paper or tin foil, throw all in a ziploc and into the freezer.

babybison · January 2020

Yes yes yes thank you for this thread!

I second the breakfast items. The best thing I made last time was breakfast burritos. They were so easy to pop in the microwave whenever we were starving and didn't have time to cook. Plus you can fill them with whatever you like.

We also made twice baked sweet potatoes. Another hearty meal that was easy to make on the spot. The recipe I used doesn't recommend freezing them, but they turned out great. I froze them before the second bake.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-freezer-friendly-breakfast-burritos-234556

https://www.staceyhomemaker.com/twice-baked-sweet-potatoes-with-balsamic-onions-goat-cheese-2/?epik=dj0yJnU9SlZBN21qS3FaWFNTNmFXVzBlZzdTRHlMMTFwMGV3TWombj1kY0VBbVNwOW1iMUw4TGc0OE9aMzh3Jm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjRoNWhN

Kathryn0903 · January 2020

If anyone has good instant pot freezer meals, please share. I'm all about the instant pot lately. So, I've never done a freezer meal. How do you store them?

KFrob · January 2020

Agreed!! Also, @smallbutmighty77 thank you for those recipes! I definitely want to try the egg one.

With DD2 all I managed to get done a head was breakfast food. I used a muffin tin to make 24 "servings" of overnight oats. I used different fruit and seasoning combos, let them sit overnight in the fridge then threw the whole muffin tin in the freezer so I could pop them out and put them in a big zip lock. It was a life saver just to have a little thing made ahead. Like @babybison I also did some easy breakfast burritos, just scrambled eggs, re-fried beans, and cheese in a wrap.

This time I'm hoping to make ahead and freeze some chili, muffins, the overnight oats and burritos again, and meal prep and freeze some veggie and sauce combos to make things like Korean beef and rice bowls and chicken cacciatore. I'll post some recipes when I have more time.

skc040512 · January 2020

@Kathryn0903 I do all my freezer storage in gallon ziploc freezer bags, vacuum sealed bags, or freezer safe Tupperware. If you are on Instagram, @naptimekitchen has a TON of freezer meals and has a guide on how to get started with freezer storage.

gingers19 · January 2020

Pinch of Yum has a ton of freezer meals also. I am planning on picking a few of these To prep when I get closer. Also,@kathryn0903 love the instant pot! She has a few that you can prep and then cook in instant pot straight from freezer.

https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals

doraleigh35 · January 2020

I am planning to start freezer meals in the next few weeks. I bought individual sized containers off of Amazon, so that we can easily grab single meals as needed. I plan on just getting ideas from Pinterest, but I’ll post recipes here when I decide on them. I want to freeze a few batches of lactation cookies too!

We will also probably do a lot of pre made meals from Costco. Their chicken tacos are amazing!

We were poorly prepared for postpartum life after DD and I think I lived off of granola bars for a few weeks. Definitely need to do better this time around.

literatureandink · January 2020

My husband who is a chef and caterer thinks that he is talented enough to still cook every day after baby comes. 🙄 I am trying so hard to get him to just prep some stuff so we don’t have to worry about it. He’s driving me bananas.

babybison · January 2020

@literatureandink Can your husband come to my house and prep? Lol

literatureandink · January 2020

@babybison I’ll send him over after I force him to do it at our house 😂

danibean19 · January 2020

Cooking is a stress-relief activity/hobby for us, and we love doing new recipes and intricate things. It's been really hard for us to slowly start to pull back on that as we focus on preparing for baby (and my lack of energy in the evenings).

For me, I really need variety and we're really trying not to order pizza every night. We're planning to do a few small freezer meals, but also stock up on a few things to make as we go. Here are a few of our favs. I've even prepped most of these as gifts to my sisters/friends when they had their babies:

Stocking up on:
- lunch meat/cheeses and bread
- string cheese & crackers
- Granola bars
- oranges/apples (fruit that lasts pretty long)
- rotisserie chickens (pick the meat and freeze in smaller portions. Easy to pull and add to pasta, chili, chicken salad, wraps. and cheaper than the purdue pre cooked chunks!)
- Frozen meatballs, chicken patties and burritos

Meals:
- Green Chicken Chili (Jar of green salsa, rotisserie chicken, can of beans, add broth/water to your desired thickness and heat through). 15 mins if you already have the chicken picked! Can be done stove top or crock pot, keeps really well in a crock pot all day.
- Frozen meatballs, rolls and jarred pasta sauce. 20 mins from frozen, but also keeps well in a crock pot all day.
- Pasta bake - favorite pasta shape, favorite veggie chunks (zuchinni, mush, red pepper), favorite jarred sauce, and add a protein if you like (ground beef/sausage, chicken, meatballs), then mix in a bunch of cheese, top with more cheese and freeze.
-Shepherd's pie - ground beef with peas/carrots & gravy, top with mashed potatoes and freeze!
- Egg drop soup - favorite canned chicken broth/stock, season with a little soy sauce or fav asian flavors. Bring to a boil. Crack and whisk a few eggs and drizzle them into the boiling broth while stirring. Stir fast = smaller shreds; stir slow = larger shreds. Under 15 mins!

nicoleyolee · January 2020

How early is too early to start making them? I was reading online a lady did several around 28 weeks and when she ate them she thought everything had freezer burn taste... We never have anything in the freezer that long besides frozen fruit/ veg.. so I'm not sure if it depends on your freezer or how you store them?

I would hate to do lots of work and then have them not tasting good!!!

skc040512 · January 2020

@nicoleyolee you typically want to eat freezer meals within 3-6 months of prep. I’ve found that mess that are 100% uncooked tend to taste fresh longer, while meals with cooked elements taste a bit old or freezer burnt after about 4 months (but that could just be my preference! Also, make sure if you’re freezing raw meat, never thaw and refreeze. It’s fine to cook the frozen meat and then refreeze, but thawing it out before without cooking can cause bacteria to grow!

danibean19 · January 2020

@nicoleyolee - one way to minimize freezer burn taste is to package things really well, with as little air in contact with the food. A vacuum sealer comes in handy, but not practical for everyone and won't work on everything you want to freeze. If you're putting things in ziplocks, try to squeeze as much air out as possible before sealing. If you're wrapping a full casserole dish, try putting foil right on top, touching the food and then wrap the dish in a ridiculous amount of cling film (think mummy).

babybison · January 2020

Meal planning is the worst and most dreaded part of my week, so I'm hoping to have everything planned for the month before and maybe two months after? Breakfast and lunches too. I think that will help keep DS's schedule sort of on track. And people who come to help won't have to guess and we'll know what to have on the grocery list.

Any ideas for easy to prep lunches would be great!

skc040512 · January 2020

@babybison I have no patience for meal planning so I literally have the same dinner schedule every week (ie Monday is grilled chicken with roast veggies, Tuesday is soup, Wednesday is breakfast for dinner etc). I’m planning on just making 5 or so types of meals to freeze and just have like 5 meals worth of each.

For lunches, I tend to do meat and cheese roll ups with fruit, hard boiled eggs, half a home made smoothie with a sandwich, or leftovers to try to keep things simple.

babyrummom · January 2020

I'm going to make some veggie lasagna roll ups to freeze this weekend and try to gradually build a stash of freezer meals over the next 10 weeks.

https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/freezer-meals-spinach-lasagna-rolls/

mwill291 · January 2020

I picked 10 meals and I'll make 2 of each to freeze. I have lasagna, chicken pot pie, chicken/broccoli/potato bake, chimichangas, things like that. Some are things I make occassionally anyways so I'll just double the batch and freeze some. Others I found recipes on pinterest for. Also, if you have lots of friends or family close by, someone may organize a meal train and that was very helpful last time for us, plus we got to visit with people. Most people that came to meet baby brought meals.

sbalding88 · January 2020

Any advice for someone with a small freezer? I want to do some meal prep, but I'm not sure how much I can fit. I'm definitely going to go through my freezer and get rid of old stuff but it's still awful storage-wise.

skc040512 · January 2020

@sbalding88 try cooking and freezing meat (if you’re not vegetarian) - grilled chicken and ground beef are super easy to do - just cook fresh meat and drop it into ziploc bags, squeeze the air out and you’re done. You can use them for things like salads, tacos, sandwiches or pasta dishes and cut back on cooking time by a bunch!

I’d also do a few larger dishes (something like lasagna, chicken pot pie, or some casseroles) that you can cook in one dish and then eat off for a few days. DH and I typically get 4 meals each out of a full sized pot pie, so you can get more meals for less space that way! Just stack 2-3 in disposable trays (dollar store has them for super cheap) and you can have at least a handful of meals prepped without filling up the freezer. Throw in some of the precooked meat and you’ll at least save yourself some work!

I also like to keep smoothie kits prepped in the freezer - things like frozen berries, mango, spinach and a banana in small baggies, then when I’m ready for one, I’ll dump the bag, add some yogurt and either coconut milk or almond milk, and it’s a quick and easy meal (or snack when breastfeeding lol)

sbalding88 · January 2020

@skc040512 I have some favorite casseroles that I know DH and I like that I could probably cook and then put in our freezer. My mom is coming for a little bit, and we have a lot of ladies in our church who will probably bring us food, but I'd like to at least have a few things prepped. I'll definitely cook up some ground turkey, beef, and chicken. My daughter has curbed my love of chicken this pregnancy, but perhaps, postpartum Sarah will like chicken again. :P I haven't tried the disposable trays before, but less dishes will make both DH and I very happy! I think that and freezing some breakfast meats and smoothie ingredients should get us through those first few weeks. And we're definitely going to be eating a lot of sandwiches for lunches - because they are easy and because I have stayed away from lunch meat for the most part during my pregnancy. Thanks for the ideas, y'all! I definitely have a few ideas of things to prep in the coming weeks as I'm still only in week 27 of my pregnancy and don't want to start too early.

smallbutmighty77 · February 2020

made a pesto alfredo tortillini bake thins this past week that I froze 2 batches of. Next is getting some breakfast oatmeal cups and egg croissant wraps done. Also making a big batch of french toast for the toddler.

krthouse · February 2020

Not sure if anyone has had success with these, but I was thinking of making and freezing some energy balls as a quick grab high nutrient snack. I know my Mum and sister both said they gained while breastfeeding primarily from needing easy access snacks and it was hard to have healthy options at the ready

Kathryn0903 · February 2020

@smallbutmighty77 that pesto tortellini alfredo sounds great!

smallbutmighty77 · February 2020

@korthouse I've made them and they're on my list this time too. Even if not breastfeeding, having a non messy, healthier, one handed snack would have been awesome with DD.

KFrob · February 2020

@smallbutmighty77 Please share the recipe for that pesto alfredo bake!!!

smallbutmighty77 · February 2020

This is the pesto bake link- it is the third recipe she listed: https://happymoneysaver.com/easy-freezer-meals/

I also just made this yesterday, added artichoke and mushrooms, and covered in foil for 25, then uncover on broil for 5 mins and it was really good. Testing the freezability next week- I have some in the freezer I plan to defrost and taste next week. https://www.joyouslydomestic.com/2013/04/chicken-and-spinach-pasta-bake.html

Kathryn0903 · February 2020

@smallbutmighty77 I'm gonna make that pesto bake! Did you store it in a pan?

KFrob · February 2020

@smallbutmighty77 thank you!!

smallbutmighty77 · February 2020

@Kathryn0903 I stored it in 2 8x8 aluminum pans with tight saran wrap and then foil on top.

Kathryn0903 · February 2020

@smallbutmighty77 ok cool!

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