freezer challenge - (nesting too) One easy meal to make ahead

[Michelle Renee]

Okay mamma's I have a challenge. Please join in!

I want make ahead meals to make that are not too heavy for summer time and Daddy friendly for when new baby comes.

Cos its my challenge - I get to make the rules (mu ha ha ha ha)

Objective: Momma's have easy quick meals to have for postpartum days that are decent, home cooked, and cheap.
Rules:
1. Must contain common ingredients -no trips to special stores especially for mamma's who may not be able to aquire ingredients easily due to location or just being too preggo

2. Must be reasonably healthy and tasty so the spoiled Daddy/partners/children will eat them

3. Must not take 3 hours to make cos I dont know about you but I, the new beached whale cant tolerate standing in kitchen for 3 hours to cook

4. Must be freezer/make ahead friendly.

5. Easy on the pocket book. Lots of us will have new baby costs we didnt plan for and budgets may be strained -try not have ingredients that are super costly.

Try and list what it is, ingredients, and directions. Try and keep ingredients seperate so if Mammas want to cut and paste to make an easy grocery list - they can.

(shh I'm not at work avoiding writing subplans for my students- Im not procrastinating REALLY!)


Title: Chili and the sink
Ingredients:
ground beef
can of corn
can of beans (I had black)
2-3 cans of canned tomatoes ( I used up some denteds that I had everything from whole peeled to stewed to spicy just for chili)
can of mushrooms
garlic powder (to taste)
chili powder (to taste)
frozen onions
chopped celery if you arent too tired

Directions:
Brown ground beef (and brown onions with if you would like(I cheat and brown 10 lbs ahead of time and put in small baggies to add to my cooking)
Put in big kettle, dump all ingredients in (drain what you feel you should) and simmer for an hour or so. Use crock pot if so inclined

Done!

Put in ziplock bag, put bag in a bread pan so it freezes in a nice loaf shape. Defrost and eat when ready

What is yours?
I didnt put this in meal planning because I wanted may mamma's!

[chirp]

i'll join...here's a recipe my husband and i love...the feta can get expensive and fattening. So I've modified this recipe to about half feta cheese and half pureed cannelini beans. I promise you, you cannot taste the cannelini beans and you're heart will thank you for it!

The ingredients are separated into the order you'll need them in.

Spanakopita (Makes 1 8x11 or 9x12 pan)

1 onion small chopped
2-6 cloves of garlic minced or crushed (to taste pretty much)
olive oil (1 tbsp)
dill (dried or fresh to taste~1 tsp?)
oregano (dried or fresh to taste~1 tsp?)
salt and pepper to taste

10 oz. fresh stemmed or frozen thawed and drained spinach.

3 eggs
2 tbs flour
4 cups (2 cans) cannelini beans (or any white bean where you won't be able to tell its beans and not cheese, great northerns work too)
3 cups feta cheese

1 lb filo pastry (defrosted)
6 tbs butter/margarine, melted


step 1: saute all the ingredients in the first section together until onions are soft.
step 2: if using fresh spinach, steam until soft, drain well. (sometimes if I'm in a rush I just put the spinach in the already started step 1 ingredients saute pan and wait for it to get soft that way)
if using frozen spinach, just thaw and drain WELL!!
Step 3: three eggs, hand-crumbled feta, pureed cannelini beans and flour in a LARGE bowl.
Step 4: Add veggie mixture. Mix well.
Step 5: Assemble. Unwrap filo from packaging leaving plastic underneath it and placing a slight damp towel on top so it doesn't dry out and crumble while you are trying to work with it.
Place three sheets of filo in the bottom of greased baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Place three more sheets in bottom, brush with butter. (let the excess hang over the sides for now.) Add mixture. Fold over excess filo dough onto mixture. Add three more sheets of filo, brush with butter. Three more, brush with butter. Keep doing this until all the filo is used up. As you go fold the excess edges into the corners. Wrap with whatever you use and put in freezer.

When ready to cook...thaw, and bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour (give or take ten minutes) It should be crispy brown on top and the middle should be set (which you can tell by kind of pressing in the top gently to see if it gives a lot. It should only give slightly.)


TIPS: Of course if using fresh spinach rinse carefully...otherwise you'll have a gritty texture (mmm, sand)

Don't be afraid to add more spices that you like. Go easy on the salt though, feta is salty as it is.

[Shanana]

Chicken in Raspberry Sauce

This is very simple, and very delicious! It might require a trip to the grocery store, but all ingredients are very easily found. Except for maybe the "fruit-only" preserves ... dh did the shopping and just got regular preserves and they worked fine .

From: Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer

1/2 c raspberry preserves (fruit-only type)
1/2 c frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 c soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar (found in Japanese section of store)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c fresh or frozen raspberries, mashed
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 servings

Combine preserves, juice concentrate, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, curry powder, garlic powder, and mashed raspberries. Place raspberry mixture together with chicken breasts in freezer bag and seal bag securely. Place bag in a pan and flatten into a "stackable" shape; freeze (bag(s) can be removed from pan once they're frozen into shape).

Serving day: Thaw chicken mixture completely and place sauce and chicken in large baking dish. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer chicken to serving platter, and top with pan juices. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

The wise thing to do is double, triple, quadruple, etc., and then you'll have a bunch on hand .

[Shanana]

Lemon Glazed Chicken Breasts

This is a fantastic recipe. Super easy and it tastes awesome!

Also from Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c butter, melted
1/4 c honey (easier if it's liquidy enough to be "pourable")
1/4 c lemon juice
1 Tbs soy sauce

3 servings

Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness. Mix flour and pepper together. Dredge chicken through flour mixture (I found there was enough flour mixture for far more than 3 chicken breasts; again, I advise doubling, tripling, etc. the recipe). Lay breasts flat on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and put in freezer for one hour.

Mix together butter, honey, lemon juice and soy sauce. Place in quart-size freezer bag (mixture will be watery). Freeze glaze (put bag flat in a pan until it's frozen, then you can just stack the bag(s) in the freezer). Place frozen chicken breasts in separate freezer bag and freeze.

Serving day: Allow chicken breasts and glaze to thaw. Place chicken in baking dish, pour glaze over chicken breasts and bake at 350 degrees for one hour (this was WAY too long for me ... they were done in about 30 minutes). Glaze will thicken as it cooks.

[PuppyFluffer]

This is a quick assemble meal!

New Mexico Enchiladas

Package corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
cheese
diced onion (optional)

side toppings:
sour cream
salsa
avocado slices/guacamole

Dice onions
Grate cheese
Warm enchilada sauce in small saucepan

I get frozen corn tortillas. You can heat them on the stove in a pan first or just place them frozen on an oven-safe plate.

Spoon some enchilada sauce over the flat tortilla.
Sprinkle some onions.
Sprinkle some cheese.
Layer another tortilla on top and repeat.
I usually make a stack 2 or 3 high.

Place in the oven at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly - cheese melted and hot in the middle.

While cooking in oven, cook an egg on the stove. I usually cook mine sunny side up or over easy. Place on top of enchilada when removed from oven.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, or avocado slices/guacamole on the side.

Rice makes a nice side dish for this as well.

I grew up eating these and loved them. I had to give them up during this pregnancy because of the heartburn. I look forward to eating them again after this baby comes.

[Nate'sMama]

These are awesome. I have to get DH to set up the cube freezer in the basement and spend the day cooking!
Love it!
I'll think of one to share...

[Shanana]

Baked Blueberry French Toast

I don't know about you guys, but I know I'll need a hearty breakfast in the morning while breastfeeding, but it will probably be a difficult time of day to cook. So I've also been trying to freeze some breakfast casseroles. I really like this one, but it's sort of like eating pie for breakfast ... so I'd love to hear any suggestions for substitutions for the pie filling. I've been too nervous to sub in just fruit for fear it would be too watery. If anyone with more expertise has some suggestions, I'd be very appreciative! It is possible to find pie filling without high fructose corn syrup at Whole Foods.

Also from Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer

6 slices French bread, cubed
8 oz. package cream cheese, cubed
1-21 oz can blueberry pie filling, divided
6 large eggs
1/4 c maple syrup
1 c milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

6-8 servings (um, I go through it a lot faster )

Line an 8x8 baking dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving a lot of extra at the sides so you can wrap it up and around the casserole for freezing. Then line the foil with plastic wrap, again leaving a lot of extra. Place half the bread cubes in the dish. Scatter cream cheese cubes over the first layer of bread cubes. Spoon half the can of pie filling in dollops over top and complete layering with remaining bread cubes. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, maple syrup, and milk. Whisk until well blended. Pour over existing layers. Spread remaining blueberry pie filling over top, then sprinkle with cinnamon. Wrap excess plastic wrap over top of casserole, then foil. Freeze (once dish is frozen solid, it can be removed from the pan, freeing it up for other uses).

Serving day: Butter an 8x8 baking dish (same size that you used for freezing the casserole, so it will fit back into the dish). Remove frozen casserole from foil/plastic wrap (run briefly under hot water to assist with this as needed). Thaw completely (this takes a couple of days). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking dish with foil and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil from dish and continue baking uncovered for an additional 30 minutes. Place in individual serving bowls and serve warm with maple syrup.

Note: I've found that it takes FAR longer than an hour for this dish to cook all the way through (to get the eggs to set). I usually cook it for at least an hour after removing the foil. I have not experimented to find if it's better to let it cook longer with the foil on, though. Maybe it would go faster ...

Also, it notes that other fruit pie fillings may be substituted (apple, cherry, etc.).

[Shanana]

Farmer's Casserole

Another breakfast dish, once again from Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer

3 c frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c diced ham of Canadian-style bacon
1-4.5 oz can mild green chiles (optional)
1/4 c green onions, sliced (2-3 medium)
4 beaten eggs
1-12 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt

6 servings

Line an 8x8 baking dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving a lot of extra at the sides so you can wrap it up and around the casserole for freezing. Then line the foil with plastic wrap, again leaving a lot of extra. Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles, and green onions. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper, and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. (If not freezing, cover and chill several hours or overnight, then follow serving day suggestions.) Wrap excess plastic wrap over top of casserole, then foil. Freeze (once dish is frozen solid, it can be removed from the pan, freeing it up for other uses).

Serving day: Butter an 8x8 baking dish (same size that you used for freezing the casserole, so it will fit back into the dish). Remove frozen casserole from foil/plastic wrap (run briefly under hot water to assist with this as needed). Thaw completely (this takes a couple of days). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes (I found it takes at least 60 minutes) or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. If you prefer, extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

[amyaebi]

We love chicken fajitas at our house. It doesn't freeze perfectly (the peppers get a little mushy) but it tastes super good.

Chicken Fajitas
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 red peppers, cut into strips
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 large onion, cut in half-rings
1 T. Cumin
1 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Chli Powder

In a large skillet, heat 1 T. olive oil until near smoking (medium high heat), and add chicken strips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and half of the spices. Saute until chicken cooked through and has some brown on the outside. Pour chicken out onto a cookie sheet to cool.

Wipe out that same skillet and heat another 1 T. oil until shimmering (medium high heat) and add peppers and onions. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and remaining spices. Saute until peppers are slightly tender and have some color. Pour out onto another cookie sheet and allow to cool.

Once cool, put both cookie sheets in the freezer for one hour. Take out and dump contents into a gallon freezer bag or two, mixing chicken and peppers together (nothing should be sticking together). When ready to eat, set out on the counter for an hour or two and then add to a hot skillet with a little oil over medium heat. Cook until heated through.

Serve with tortillas and sour cream.

[happyfrog]

I'm gonna tell you my 'secrets' to having fast dinners. . .

You'll need your crockpot.


To have precooked meat for 'fast meals':
You'll need:
5-8 lbs of beef/turkey (ground)
1-2 onions, chopped up
1-2 green peppers, chopped
garlic - either cloves or the lazy way (I buy jars of minced/diced *smiles*)

Simply put the meat in the 6 quart crockpot RAW - thawed if possible, but if not, do this on a day you'll be home so you can walk by and stir it every once in a while. . .
throw in the onions, green peppers, garlic.

Stir it all up.

crockpot on low all day. If you're home, stir it every once in a while.

At night, turn it off while you eat dinner so the meat has a chance to cool down a wee bit. Then use a colander and drain the meat fat off. Use freezer bags and a measuring cup (if so inclined) to put about 1 cup per bag - equals about 8 oz. . . freeze flat in freezer. Just grab and go bags for tacos, 'hamburger helper' style meals - where you cook lots of different items in one pan (we don't 'do' real hamburger helper - but the outcome looks about the same, just doesn't taste as salty and processed. . .) you get the idea.

Do the same thing with frozen chicken breasts - 4-5 lbs will fit in a 6 quart crock.

Cut a couple onions in half, throw in a couple scrubbed carrots, some garlic. add a couple cups of water.

Cook all day on low.

Then do as above for meat, but scoop out the veggies and toss them (that's why you didn't chop them up - they're easier to remove this way). you now have broth to freeze for whatever 'base', and each chicken breast individually freeze. you can dice some up, slice some into strips, etc. really fast to toss into meals to make chicken tortillas or even a chef salad, chicken salad or whatever. . . because there's not much extra added to them, you can 'dress' them up however you want for a real fast meal and because the meat is precooked, you just saved yourself at least 20-30 minutes down the road.

BettyAnn
who needs to do this as our 'frozen' stash of precooked meat is gone. . .

oh, simple recipe for a yummy dinner that the family will rave about?

get a pork roast/beef roast. about 3lb or so. - put in greased (coat innards of crockpot with olive oil) - frozen meat is fine. . . (i usually never remember to thaw meat, lol).

add a bottle of bbq sauce and a bottle of water.
cut up a few potatoes and toss in
put in a couple scrubbed carrots if so inclined (i don't like cooked carrots personally).

crock pot on low all day - this will fit in the 3 quart crockpot.

you now have a roast to eat that took NO time at all to do. . .scrub those 'taters and carrots when the kids are calm and eating breakfast and dinner is done by 8am.

ps: if you want a really yummy pork roast recipe instead of bbq sauce, simply mix together in a small bowl:

1 can berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup honey
1t nutmeg
1t orange peel or zest of an orange
1t cloves
1/2 cup water


then pour over the pork roast. yummy! (crockpot on low as already mentioned for the bbq sauce version. .. )

[rubyeta]

Hello from the april ddc! I just wanted to let you all know of a freezer meal mistake that i made: My baby is very gassy and i have had to cut Dairy, soy, egg, garlic, onions and other gas causing veggies out of my diet. now i have a freezer full of food that i cant eat Just thought some of you may want to take that into consideration

[chirp]

Originally Posted by rubyeta

Hello from the april ddc! I just wanted to let you all know of a freezer meal mistake that i made: My baby is very gassy and i have had to cut Dairy, soy, egg, garlic, onions and other gas causing veggies out of my diet. now i have a freezer full of food that i cant eat Just thought some of you may want to take that into consideration

good point...only now I'm at a loss because that's all i eat!!!

[happyfrog]

Originally Posted by chirp

good point...only now I'm at a loss because that's all i eat!!!

Here's my view. There are other people in the house. So you do elim diet and they eat the frozen stash you made up. it's what i did with my first kid who was/is allergic to just about everything in my 'regular' diet. . .

bettyann

[Shanana]

My dd had serious digestive issues. Homeopathy fixed them ! This babe already has an appointment with my homeopath (for 2 weeks out from my due date). Also, my friend's son has big-time allergies and she has started taking him for NAET treatments. They are working great, and he can eat dairy for the first time in his entire life! So there are lots of tools out there for dealing with food issues .

[kalisage]

Mama's Quickie Spaghetti

Ingredients:
Spaghetti noodles
2 lbs ground turkey/ground beef
6 - 8 italian sausage links
2 jars ready made spaghetti sauce
garlic

Brown ground turkey, drain & set aside. Cut sausage into bite sized pieces, brown up - drain. Add ground turkey with sausage, and both jars of spaghetti sauce. Add garlic (or any other herbs) and heat for 30 minutes on med-low heat.

Make up spaghetti noodles & there's a quick easy meal. Freeze up half, reheating time is about 10 minutes!

Yummy Chops!
6 boneless pork chops
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 sm can condensed milk
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375*, lightly season chops and brown on both sides. (just brown meat, don't cook).

In a casserole dish mix up cans of mushroom soup & condensed milk. Place chops in soup, and cover. Put in the oven for 45 min to 1 hr.

We love these with mashed potatoes & baby peas. A great comfort food meal

[cj'smommy]

Keep the recipes coming ladies! :

I have no freezer space for make ahead meals I'm trying to convince DH to buy me another freezer. I could threaten him with cooking but that won't work since he LIKES to cook so that won't be a problem for him. I could threaten him with eating/take out though and the cost of that might just convince him...

[MamaWolfe]

These are such great suggestions! I'm making enchiladas, green bean casserole, a veggie version f the farmers casserole, lasagna, and some crepe mix. The crepe mix is great bc you can fill it with a bit of jam and cream cheese for breakfast or desert, and reg cheese and veggies or even meat for dinner. Fortunately I have tons of freezer space. Our fridge broke a few weeks ago and we lost everything so I am starting out with a pretty empty freezer.

[MarchWillow]

I have one you don't need the freezer space for...or you can make in advance.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo! (Keep in mind I have a family of five and all boys, so I make LARGE dinners-you may want to freeze in two batches or half this recipie)
1 pack (6-8) fresh, skinned, boneless chicken breast.
2 Large heads of broccoli
Spaghetti noodles (I like the flat ones)
2 Jars of alfredo sauce (there's tons of varieties-garlic, three cheese, w/e sounds good to you)

Bake the chicken breast 20-30 min until done all the way through. I just throw mine in a glass casserole dish, and Im lazy, no seasoning. After it cools a little bit, cube it-again, I am lazy so my cubes are big lol probably 1-2 inch cubes.

Steam your broccoli. And chop up to bite size pieces.
Boil noodles.

You can either mix all the ingredients together (optional: add salt and pepper before alfredo sauce)...or my family likes it seperate, cause the boys eat more chicken, and I prefer more broccoli. Usually though I put everything in one dish (which I will to freeze it) and then do the alfredo on the side. The alfredo sauce I buy is like spag. sauce and can sit in cubbord. So you can just throw the rest in the oven to heat up from the freezer and then pour the alfredo over it, or warm the alfredo first...but it's such a thin sauce it usually warms right up over the food on its own.

GOOD SIDES: Which also help stretch the budget if you're feeding the masses like I am...a loaf of plain jane french bread or two with butter. Just slice and warm for a couple minutes in the oven. (unless your kids are like mine and will eat it straight from the bag lol-they love food, no pickiness here)

Whoever thought of this post... Thank you!!!!! This is the one area I have been putting off! Gotta get the food part done in the next couple weeks.
PS-I would love to see ideas for labor snacks, for us, and for our MW/Support ppl...something easy and big. :P I'm all about big now days.

[MarchWillow]

I thought of one more real quick:

BBQ Shredded Pork sandwiches-This one always reminds me of the sandwiches from the fair...

Get a large package of pork chops (make it boneless if you wanna be easy on yourself) and a jug of BBQ sauce. Put the meat in the crockpot and just enough bbq sauce to cover the meat. Leave in the crockpot 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally and let the bbq simmer into the meat. Add more sauce if needed. When you have time that night take out the meat and use a fork to just pull it apart, it should be super tender and easy to shred. Throw it all back in the pot and stir it up, let cook another hour if you can, on low. or take it out and freeze it.

All you need are buns! And if you want to stretch it out like we do: get a bag of frozen veggies and steam them while the meat reheats in oven/crockpot/microwave. Grate cheese over the veggie to interest the little ones.

Other variations: the bbq meat is a good place to sneak in some veggies: Chop up a green pepper and add to the mix, or even some beans for more protien...you can disguise almost anything in the shredded pork.

[UnskulinMama]

Loving this thread!

Here's what I made yesterday to start stocking our little top-of-fridge freezer.

1 lb Seasoned, cooked taco meat & onions (qt size freezer bag)
2 lbs of meatballs, from the following recipe (which is SO GOOD!) - I doubled it, we ate some for dinner last night, and I think about 2 lbs is what was left of the meat.

Meatballs Waikiki

Meatballs:
1 ½ lbs ground beef
²⁄3 cup cracker crumbs (I used rolled oats)
¹⁄3 cup minced onion (I use more )
1 egg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ cup milk
Combine all ingredients, shape into balls. Bake at 350°F on rack until done.


*** The meatballs are all I froze for this... the sauce is super easy to mix up but I don't know how well it freezes. I just pinned a note on the meatball freezer bag with the ingredients, so I don't have to look them up down the road. ***

Sauce:
2 Tbsp cornstarch
½ cup brown sugar, packed
13.5 oz pineapple tidbits, reserve juice
¹⁄3 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
¹⁄3 cup chopped green pepper (I use more)

Mix sugar & cornstarch, add pineapple juice, vinegar & soy sauce until smooth. Pour into skillet, cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture boils & thickens. Boil and stir 1 minute, add meat balls, pineapple & green peppers. Allow to heat through.

------------

The meatballs are great on their own, but are also good with rice DH thinks there's never enough sauce for the rice though, so I sometimes double the sauce if I can.