BabyFireFly, thanks for the tip! I do have a crockpot, but I rarely use it. It certainly will be a help once I'm busy with baby! I'll have to look around for some slow cooker specific recipes. Thinking of doing some Indian food ahead of time too, maybe in the crockpot?
I make Indian at least once a week since it is my all time favorite cuisine! Check out Anupy Singla's site www.IndianAsApplePie.com.
I wish I could stock my freezer! This baby is due mid-April and we are due to move mid-June. I do plan on having a few things in the freezer just to make my life easier. So far I have soup and manicotti. I also will have pot pie filling ready and then I can put my puff pastry on when I'm ready. DH will probably want to BBQ a lot too. I really like the idea of having breakfast ready.
I went through my freezers yesterday and did a complete inventory. I am now ready to start cooking! I started making a list of everything I can make with what I have on hand. It's not a small list either! I am pleased! :)
Being in a camper and having the small fridge limits me in space but I want to at least have some stuff put up before baby comes. We're going to try to get a new camper before the baby comes *hopefully* and if we do I want to get a small freezer if we have the space for it. I really hope so. That would allow me to do more freezer cooking before the baby comes. With 2 little ones already and a dh that works all day I have to do everything here and won't have any help. It'll just be me, the two preschoolers and the baby. I really want to have some stuff put up. I need to start looking at recipes and come up with some ideas. I want to have a few breakfasts put up so we can have some prepared meals and dinners will mostly be soups put up so that I can get more in the little freezer. No space for casseroles or large dishes.
We are usually up at the crack of dawn since my husband needs to get out to the barn and start taking care of the horses early - so I try to have quick, easy breakfast things on hand. We always have fresh eggs from our hens, so I will hard cook a bowl of them before hand and in the morning I can just hand him and my daughter an egg with some whole grain toast and a glass of juice. I also think smoothies are great, I drank plenty of them in my early days postpartum because they are easy to make one handed, you can make as much or as little as you want and the mess factor is low. I dice up fresh fruits and freeze them (which takes up minimal space in the freezer) and just dump the fruit in the blender with milk or coconut milk and blend away. You can store buckwheat pancake mix, granolas and oatmeal in the pantry as well as dried fruits and nuts to add to the mix, so no need to fill your freezer....I make Irish Oatmeal in the slow cooker if I know we are going to have a cold morning where we are short on time and I want everyone to leave the house with a warm breakfast. I just put steel cut oats, water and dried fruits in the cooker on low before bed and in the morning you have hot fruited oatmeal ready to go - which works out well for that time after the little ones go to bed and you have a minute to throw it together vs. attempting the fast cook method in the morning chaos.
Oh I wish I liked oatmeal! That crockpot oatmeal sounds so nice. I have tried so many different recipes and types of oatmeal and I just cannot get past the texture. DH and DS love it and I try really hard to eat it but it is a real struggle for me.
I'm trying to decide what to do here. I don't really have time to cook tons and tons of extra food for the freezer before the baby comes. Besides baby items my focus has to be on getting as much school done with the kids as possible before the end of March. I'm thinking about doing a HUGE Costco run. We have a big fridge in the house and a regular fridge in the outbuilding. I have a deep freezer at my mil's that belongs to me but I think she keeps it pretty full. I really need to get that back from her. I think I'm going to focus on easy to make healthy options from Costco and ready to eat freezer meals. It's just going to be DH helping out those first few weeks since my parents aren't coming until the baby is a few weeks old. MIL lives around the corner and she'll help some but she won't be hanging out cooking. I need to start planning.
I'm trying to decide what to do here. I don't really have time to cook tons and tons of extra food for the freezer before the baby comes. Besides baby items my focus has to be on getting as much school done with the kids as possible before the end of March. I'm thinking about doing a HUGE Costco run. We have a big fridge in the house and a regular fridge in the outbuilding. I have a deep freezer at my mil's that belongs to me but I think she keeps it pretty full. I really need to get that back from her. I think I'm going to focus on easy to make healthy options from Costco and ready to eat freezer meals. It's just going to be DH helping out those first few weeks since my parents aren't coming until the baby is a few weeks old. MIL lives around the corner and she'll help some but she won't be hanging out cooking. I need to start planning.
You could try putting a few casseroles in the freezer just by making up double batches when you are making your regular suppers. Also, just having a meal PLAN would probably be a big help, having a freezer/fridge/pantry inventory plus a list of meals that can be made with your ingredients, would enable you and your DH to put less thought and effort into meal prep.
Alright, I'm finally ready to post a list for my freezer stash. If anyone is interested in recipes, just ask.
Breakfasts
French Toast Casserole (recipe linked upthread)
Random Egg Casserole
Squash Muffins
Waffles (if I can borrow a waffle maker)
Lunches
Are almost always supper leftovers
Supper
Sloppy Cornbread
Corn dog muffins
Chicken enchilada casserole
Chicken Chimichangas
Pizza Pockets
Pasta Bake
Pre-marinated chicken and beef
Meatballs
Bread/Snacks/Desserts
Mini Apple Pies
Banana Chip Bread
Whole Wheat Bread
WW Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
WW "poptarts"
That is all I can think of at the moment. I'll also stock up on plenty of frozen veg for steaming, and fruit for smoothies. So even if I have a c/s and not able to shop for a while, DH should be able to just go buy milk and we can eat out of the freezer til I'm on my feet again.
I am dying to try this recipe with some of the honey-sweetened strawberry preserves I put up last year. http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-healthy-poptarts
I can't speak for how good it is personally, because I haven't tried it yet.
I am dying to try this recipe with some of the honey-sweetened strawberry preserves I put up last year. http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-healthy-poptarts
I can't speak for how good it is personally, because I haven't tried it yet.
I'm loving the sounds of the french toast casserole, but wonder about making it DF and subbing the cream cheese might be tricky. Could I use a goat milk yogurt, or make goat milk yogurt cheese to use instead? Or leave it out entirely? any other sub ideas? I don't like using the tofutti soy cream cheese, but could if nothing else would work.
You could leave it out, it added a nice textural element but you probably won't miss it if you don't know what it tastes like with it. I do have one recommendation: add a healthy dash of cinnamon, and any other similar spices you feel like. I made it and we really missed that cinnamon taste, we actually sprinkled some over the top.
I'm loving the sounds of the french toast casserole, but wonder about making it DF and subbing the cream cheese might be tricky. Could I use a goat milk yogurt, or make goat milk yogurt cheese to use instead? Or leave it out entirely? any other sub ideas? I don't like using the tofutti soy cream cheese, but could if nothing else would work.
You could leave it out, it added a nice textural element but you probably won't miss it if you don't know what it tastes like with it. I do have one recommendation: add a healthy dash of cinnamon, and any other similar spices you feel like. I made it and we really missed that cinnamon taste, we actually sprinkled some over the top.
Crap - now you tell me! I just put three of these in the freezer yesterday without any spices. Will have to remember to make a note to spice them when I label them tomorrow.
Thanks for the thoughts on the french toast casserole!
I officially started making food for my freezer today. I made a new banana bread recipe (link below) and it is SOOOO YUMMY! Way better than my previous favorite recipe. But only makes one loaf/pan of muffins. I'll have to make more a different day to freeze. I also made a double batch of whole grain pumpkin bread --- made one in a 13x9 cake pan with chocolate chips, and two pans of muffins with raisins/dried cranberries/dates and dried coconut in it. Haven't tasted those yet, but I can't wait 
I'm also going to make some BBQ meatballs, sweet potato chicken pies. I have to go through my cookbooks for more ideas, as well as finish perusing this thread too. But that's what I'm starting with.
I'm loving the sounds of the french toast casserole, but wonder about making it DF and subbing the cream cheese might be tricky. Could I use a goat milk yogurt, or make goat milk yogurt cheese to use instead? Or leave it out entirely? any other sub ideas? I don't like using the tofutti soy cream cheese, but could if nothing else would work.
You could leave it out, it added a nice textural element but you probably won't miss it if you don't know what it tastes like with it. I do have one recommendation: add a healthy dash of cinnamon, and any other similar spices you feel like. I made it and we really missed that cinnamon taste, we actually sprinkled some over the top.
Crap - now you tell me! I just put three of these in the freezer yesterday without any spices. Will have to remember to make a note to spice them when I label them tomorrow.
I know I'm a little peeved myself since I have 3 in the freezer also. If I had been thinking while putting them together I would have known. French toast without cinnamon? no way! But I was determined to follow the recipe exactly...it's something I struggle with and DH is always making comments on how to improve things but if I never follow the recipe...well you see where this leads. I make tons of notes in my cookbooks and recipe cards now, it helps a lot.
Also - you are NUTS. Overachievers like you make the rest of us look bad. :p 3 FREEZERS? Why not use the food in one to cook all the recipes to fill it back up? I went through and did a freezer inventory with the intention of doing just that. So far so good! I've used up several little odds and ends that I forgot I even had and I feel very efficient.
Thanks for the thoughts on the french toast casserole!
I officially started making food for my freezer today. I made a new banana bread recipe (link below) and it is SOOOO YUMMY! Way better than my previous favorite recipe. But only makes one loaf/pan of muffins. I'll have to make more a different day to freeze. I also made a double batch of whole grain pumpkin bread --- made one in a 13x9 cake pan with chocolate chips, and two pans of muffins with raisins/dried cranberries/dates and dried coconut in it. Haven't tasted those yet, but I can't wait
I'm also going to make some BBQ meatballs, sweet potato chicken pies. I have to go through my cookbooks for more ideas, as well as finish perusing this thread too. But that's what I'm starting with.
Mmmm meatballs. We love meatballs. :)
I am exactly the same way. DH hates following recipes and is always making changes as he goes along and it drives me nuts!
Wow, I'm very impressed with these freezer lists! I thought it was too early to start stocking the freezer, and on top of that, I didn't think the winter-type meals I'm making now (soups, chili, etc) would hit the spot in Spring. My freezer is currently stocked with dinners for me the kids while my husband travels over the next few weeks. As soon as those are gone, though, I'm going to get cracking with the post-baby stash! Thank you for the inspiration!
hmm, I'll probably start making things starting mid-february. My fridge freezer is always pretty full, mostly with frozen veggies and fruit and chicken, but I can fit some things in there. I don't want a repeat of when ds was born, we were pretty broke then though but regardless i don't want to be eating fast food all the time or worse not at all. My dh is pretty weird about freezer food, as in he pretty much won't eat things i freeze except pancakes, muffins, naan bread and maybe lasagna, but honestly if he doesn't like the food than he can eat take out, but I know i will get pretty sick of it. I am not that picky about food, but i plan to stock up on lots of pantry items like tuna, nuts, peanut butter, rice, canned beans, canned tomatoes, cereals, etc, and I plan to freeze a lot of the basics, like cheese, bread, tortillas etc so that we can whip together quick and easy meals and dh will only have to go out for the things like bananas, lettuce, eggs and milk. I think i will plan to have lots of long lasting veggies and fruit like baby carrots, apples and oranges, things that can be eaten with little prepping
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