After-Baby Freezer Meal Ideas - Page 3

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by ryansma

Good point. I would probably go the defrosting route. Even though every time I defrost in the microwave instead of thawing the meat gets cooked around the edges. I guess its worth a try.

My trick with that (and it works at least most of the time) is to set the microwave for defrosting a smaller portion than I have. For example, if I need to defrost a pound of meat, I set the microwave for .5-.7 lbs.

[ryansma]

Originally Posted by spiderdust

My trick with that (and it works at least most of the time) is to set the microwave for defrosting a smaller portion than I have. For example, if I need to defrost a pound of meat, I set the microwave for .5-.7 lbs.

Ahh! I will definately try that.

[Charmie981]

My plan re: defrosting before cooking is for DH to make it a part of his morning routine to pull something out of the freezer before he leaves for work. Since he usually fixes himself a big glass of ice water, I think this will *probably* work, although I anticipate him forgetting a few times in the beginning. We defrost on the countertop rather than in the fridge or microwave, so if he pulls it out in the morning it should be ready for me to cook by 4-5 in the afternoon.

So, how has feeding the freezer gone for everyone else? I'm *almost* done. We did a big $400 grocery trip last week and I have gotten all but a few meals prepped and into the freezer. So far I have:
2 Spinach, Rice and Black Bean Casseroles
2 Balsamic Mustard Chicken
2 Honey Sesame Dump Chicken
1 Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Chicken
2 Chicken Pot Pies (which are huge and will serve our family at least twice each)
2 Sherry Chicken Casseroles
2 Zucchini Beef Bakes
2 Shepherd's Pies
3 Bags of Chili

This morning I added:
1 Lasagna (we ate the second one for dinner last night..yummy!)
2 bags of BBQ beef (this was so good it almost didn't make it to the freezer...we've been eating on it all weekend!)
1 Bacon Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
1 Sausage, Egg Cheese and Potato Breakfast Casserole
2 Corn for Breakfast Casseroles

And still in the works for today:
2 bags of minestrone
1 or 2 World's Best Breakfast Casserole
Chicken Enchiladas (I keep putting these off because assembling enchiladas is so tedious and MESSY)
Chicken and Dumplings (if there's enough chicken left after the enchiladas)

If I do everything on the list for today, I will have surpassed my goal of a minimum of 30 meals because I didn't count the breakfast casseroles in my count and I didn't expect to have some of the recipes make three meals (like the chili). I still have the makings for thai sqash soup, cheesy potato and corn chowder and lentil soup. I guess the first one of those that needs to be done is the squash soup because I don't want the squash to go bad. My goal is to use ALL of the food we bought for these meals and not let ANY go bad before getting into the freezer!!

[xochimama]

finally subbed to this thread! need to start cooking this week...

Can you freeze mashed sweet potatoes?

[VeganCupcake]

Aaack, I am so behind on this. Must do something about it.

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by xochimama

Can you freeze mashed sweet potatoes?

It seems like the general consensus is that carbs don't freeze and defrost very well. I didn't top my shepherd's pie with potatoes because I was worried about that. I wonder, with sweet potatoes if it would be different since they have more fiber?

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I have about 6 frozen meals in the freezer...i normally dont cook at all..so it was fun cooking..it's really not to bad afterall. I should have more but i havent taken the time to get anything else together.

[cellarstella]

I'm so impressed with that list of 30 meals! I don't have much freezer space and had to stop filling my freezer because the circulation was getting bad. I flattened everything in ziplock bags, even. Someday we'll get a separate deep freezer! I have a dry erase board on the side of the fridge where I wrote down all the meals that are frozen in there:

ginger lime chicken w/ coconut rice (frozen separately)
beef kebabs (not on the sticks yet) w/ risotto (mix in the cupboard)
thai chicken burgers
roasted potatoes and carrots
chicken casserole (to be topped with dumplings when cooked)
orange tarragon chicken
gyro lamb patties (we serve these up buffet style with pitas, veggies, and tzaziki)

I'm going to try to make some breakfast stuff and fit it in there:
baked french toast
breakfast casserole (haven't picked one yet)
maple bacon quiche (off marthastewart.com)

I also filled a cupboard with boxes of pasta and jars of pasta sauce, as well as like 10 boxes of Annie's mac-n-cheese, and various rice and risotto boxed mixes. Basically a bunch of stuff that DH can make! He's a really pathetic cook.

[ryansma]

Originally Posted by Charmie981

My plan re: defrosting before cooking is for DH to make it a part of his morning routine to pull something out of the freezer before he leaves for work. Since he usually fixes himself a big glass of ice water, I think this will *probably* work, although I anticipate him forgetting a few times in the beginning. We defrost on the countertop rather than in the fridge or microwave, so if he pulls it out in the morning it should be ready for me to cook by 4-5 in the afternoon.

So, how has feeding the freezer gone for everyone else? I'm *almost* done. We did a big $400 grocery trip last week and I have gotten all but a few meals prepped and into the freezer. So far I have:
2 Spinach, Rice and Black Bean Casseroles
2 Balsamic Mustard Chicken
2 Honey Sesame Dump Chicken
1 Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Chicken
2 Chicken Pot Pies (which are huge and will serve our family at least twice each)
2 Sherry Chicken Casseroles
2 Zucchini Beef Bakes
2 Shepherd's Pies
3 Bags of Chili

This morning I added:
1 Lasagna (we ate the second one for dinner last night..yummy!)
2 bags of BBQ beef (this was so good it almost didn't make it to the freezer...we've been eating on it all weekend!)
1 Bacon Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
1 Sausage, Egg Cheese and Potato Breakfast Casserole
2 Corn for Breakfast Casseroles

And still in the works for today:
2 bags of minestrone
1 or 2 World's Best Breakfast Casserole
Chicken Enchiladas (I keep putting these off because assembling enchiladas is so tedious and MESSY)
Chicken and Dumplings (if there's enough chicken left after the enchiladas)

If I do everything on the list for today, I will have surpassed my goal of a minimum of 30 meals because I didn't count the breakfast casseroles in my count and I didn't expect to have some of the recipes make three meals (like the chili). I still have the makings for thai sqash soup, cheesy potato and corn chowder and lentil soup. I guess the first one of those that needs to be done is the squash soup because I don't want the squash to go bad. My goal is to use ALL of the food we bought for these meals and not let ANY go bad before getting into the freezer!!

Charmie you are a freezer feeding guru!!!!!

[alyssatuininga]

I have about 22 meals in the freezer right now including:

2 "Chicken" pot pie
Cheesy eggplant noodle bake
Vegetarian Sheppard's Pie
Lasagna
Enchiladas
Mexican lasagna
Macaroni and cheese
Eggplant Parmesan
Autumn Millet Bake
Lentil Loaf
Tofu noodle soup
Lentil soup
Mushroom soup
Onion soup
Vegetarian chili
Macaroni and cheese soup

Feeling good about all the food in the freezer...

[VeganCupcake]

Originally Posted by alyssatuininga

I have about 22 meals in the freezer right now including:

2 "Chicken" pot pie
Cheesy eggplant noodle bake
Vegetarian Sheppard's Pie
Lasagna
Enchiladas
Mexican lasagna
Macaroni and cheese
Eggplant Parmesan
Autumn Millet Bake
Lentil Loaf
Tofu noodle soup
Lentil soup
Mushroom soup
Onion soup
Vegetarian chili
Macaroni and cheese soup

Feeling good about all the food in the freezer...

Ooh, do you mind posting that "chicken" pot pie recipe? And when you make the noodle soup, do you add the noodles when reheating, or do you freeze with noodles in it?

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by cellarstella

I have a dry erase board on the side of the fridge where I wrote down all the meals that are frozen in there

That's a GREAT idea. I've been thinking of doing something like this, but it didn't dawn on me that I could just use one of my magnetic dry erase boards (I have THREE on the fridge! ).

Originally Posted by alyssatuininga

Cheesy eggplant noodle bake
Mexican lasagna
Autumn Millet Bake

Do you think you could post these recipes when (if?) you get the time? They sound yummy!

Here's a pic of my freezer with all of it's meals so far:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...rmieCM/010.jpg

I am actually really suprised at all of the room I still have in there. Like I said a while ago, we traded for this freezer last winter and I've not been very good at utilizing it...yet, but I'm learning!

[allisonrose]

Wow you ladies are superheroes! I still need to go through my freezer and get rid of any yucky stuff lingering in there before beginning freezer meals.

One of my local markets has some chicken on sale and I'm trying to convince myself to go out and buy a bunch to prep, marinade and freeze. I'd been hoping to get out to Costco to look at the price for chicken but my hubby works so much - we're thinking about buying a large item he saw there last time and I'd rather not have to wrangle it into the car by myself.

Charmie - You could do what my friend from New Mexico does for enchiladas - make them casserole style instead of traditional, rolled style. I do the same too after getting her recipe.

cellarstella - Would you mind sharing the recipe for the orange tarragon chicken?

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by allisonrose

Charmie - You could do what my friend from New Mexico does for enchiladas - make them casserole style instead of traditional, rolled style. I do the same too after getting her recipe.

I COULD, except that DH is the enchilada fan in this house and he says that enchilada casserole "just isn't the same." You'd think since I only make real enchiladas like ONCE A YEAR he'd be willing to settle for casserole, but he's just...not. :

I'm at the point where all that's left on my list for today is the stupid enchiladas. I'm taking a break and then I'll clean up the entire kitchen and go ahead and make his stupid ROLLED enchiladas, but I'm gonna make him clean up the mess it makes .

[allisonrose]

Maybe you could mix up the filling and pop it in the fridge for him to roll them up. My hubby can be pretty picky about food too but he doesn't mind the enchilada casserole somehow. Perhaps because it's a creamy style rather than traditional red sauce.

[cristina47454]

You all are inspiring me! We finally have a separate freezer and I finally washed it down, but all we have in there is a couple of packages of bagels and loads of corn that we parboiled and have frozen.

I'm completely new at this. Can someone tell me in a nutshell...how do you know which recipes to cook before you freeze them, and which ones to freeze "raw"? And ideally you defrost all day and just cook the meal as usual when dinnertime rolls around? I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of doing this, but I know I will be thanking myself (and you all!) when the baby is here!

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by cristina47454

Can someone tell me in a nutshell...how do you know which recipes to cook before you freeze them, and which ones to freeze "raw"?

Okay, so my guideline for this has been that if most of the ingredients are cooked ahead of time (as in lasagna or the spinach and rice casserole), then I assemble to the point where it would go in the oven to get heated and get the cheese melted, and freeze at that point. If, however, the ingredients are mostly raw at the point where you'd cook it (as in all of the breakfast casseroles with egg in them), I have gone ahead and baked according to the directions, then frozen the already baked item and will defrost and reheat at about 25* less than the original baking time for about 15-30 minutes (I'll just have to watch to make sure they're not getting overcooked).

And ideally you defrost all day and just cook the meal as usual when dinnertime rolls around?

This is my ideal, yes. I've not had good luck with cooking stuff from frozen because I never know how long it will take to reach a good temp and I worry that it will burn on the top and edges and be barely warm on the inside. So my goal is to set it out in the morning and cook/reheat in the evening.

Because I know there will be days when I don't think about it or don't realize it's a freezer meal day until 3 in the afternoon, there are some exceptions to this: anything that I froze in a ziplock (chili, BBQ beef, minestrone, chicken with marinades, and soups) can defrost in hot water in the sink or in the microwave (the microwave is not preferable, though, because I find that the ziplock gets really hot and almost melted).

There's a thread in mindful home management called "feeding the freezer" that has some good information, recipes, and guidelines for what to freeze when and how, but it's something like 48 pages long :.

[alyssatuininga]

Originally Posted by VeganCupcake

Ooh, do you mind posting that "chicken" pot pie recipe? And when you make the noodle soup, do you add the noodles when reheating, or do you freeze with noodles in it?

Sure. it is from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons

It is called "All American Pot Pie"

1 T butter
8 cups of veggies (I use corn, green beans, carrots, onion, peas, potato)-
fresh is usually better (use fresh corn, carrots, etc)
1 large clove garlic minced
2 cups warm milk
3T flour
1 pinch thyme
1 t salt
black pepper to taste
pie crust (I cop out and buy the premade crusts but you could make your own)
16 oz of "chicken" I have used "quorn", Morning star farms chicken strips, Light Life Chikn Strips or Wheat Meat (seiten)

In a big pan melt the butter and saute and the veggies and chicken for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 5 more minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle the 3T flour over veggies and stir for 2 minutes. Add warmed milk slowly stirring to avoid lumps. Sit in thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens. Cook until veggies become tender. Add salt and pepper. Put bottom pie crust in and pour in mixture. Let cool and then put on top pie crust. I freeze the pie at this time.

Preheat oven to 400 and bake 20-30 minutes until filling is bubbling and crust is golden.

With the soup I make a tofu noodle soup with carrots, celery, onion, tofu and egg noodles. I make the whole thing (noodles included) and freeze. Tastes good although you sometimes need to add extra stock because the noodles suck up some of the liquid.

[alyssatuininga]

Originally Posted by cristina47454

I'm completely new at this. Can someone tell me in a nutshell...how do you know which recipes to cook before you freeze them, and which ones to freeze "raw"? And ideally you defrost all day and just cook the meal as usual when dinnertime rolls around? I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of doing this, but I know I will be thanking myself (and you all!) when the baby is here!

I have always heard that you should cook things with meat and dairy before cooking. So I half cook and then freeze (like lasagna, macaroni and cheese etc). With soups I make the whole thing and then freeze.

[ryansma]

Originally Posted by Charmie981

Okay, so my guideline for this has been that if most of the ingredients are cooked ahead of time (as in lasagna or the spinach and rice casserole), then I assemble to the point where it would go in the oven to get heated and get the cheese melted, and freeze at that point. If, however, the ingredients are mostly raw at the point where you'd cook it (as in all of the breakfast casseroles with egg in them), I have gone ahead and baked according to the directions, then frozen the already baked item and will defrost and reheat at about 25* less than the original baking time for about 15-30 minutes (I'll just have to watch to make sure they're not getting overcooked).


This is my ideal, yes. I've not had good luck with cooking stuff from frozen because I never know how long it will take to reach a good temp and I worry that it will burn on the top and edges and be barely warm on the inside. So my goal is to set it out in the morning and cook/reheat in the evening.

Because I know there will be days when I don't think about it or don't realize it's a freezer meal day until 3 in the afternoon, there are some exceptions to this: anything that I froze in a ziplock (chili, BBQ beef, minestrone, chicken with marinades, and soups) can defrost in hot water in the sink or in the microwave (the microwave is not preferable, though, because I find that the ziplock gets really hot and almost melted).

There's a thread in mindful home management called "feeding the freezer" that has some good information, recipes, and guidelines for what to freeze when and how, but it's something like 48 pages long :.

This is all really good info -thanks!
I am such a freezer novice. We just got ours last year and I stock it with things I find on sale and organic meat from my il's but meals are a whole new game. I have made pot pies, zucchini bread and ravioli lasagna but that's about it. I didn't even think of preparing and marinating meat now. That's perfect since dh is the grill guy. I think I will do that this week.