Anyone Preparing Meals in Advance for Freezer etc.?

Keela - posted on 04/20/2009

Kitchen is being remodeled. No stove or refridgerator (?sp) im screwed!

Tina - posted on 04/20/2009

I have made lasagne, spaghetti sauces, chicken soup, beef casseroles, potato bakes, just spent 1 day making it all, a lot in crockpots and filled the freezer to the brim lol. My mum will be here for a couple of months too, so she will help out a lot. I also keep cooked chickens in the freezer, they are great for sandwiches, salads and quick stirfrys.

Ann - posted on 04/20/2009

Quoting Rachel:

No, not freezing anything in advance--instead I've been broadening my husband's cooking skills LOL He's always been good with meat but tended to do nothing but meat for meals. I've been teaching him healthy lunches, veggies for dinners, well-rounded breakfasts, etc. He's coming along well and has even learned the wonders of herbs! :)

Now YOU are on to something good here!  My husband is a good cook but because I usually have the time to cook and he works later, I doing most of the cooking. Hmmm...I'll be dropping a few hints now. ;)

Ann - posted on 04/20/2009

Quoting Rachel:

Whenever I have leftovers enough for 2 of us from a meal, I've been putting half of it in the freezer. There hasn't been just tons, but at least there are a few things to help out. Lately, I haven't been up to much cooking anyway, so we've been discovering all the freezer meals available from the grocery store. I've been kind of impressed! It's not like the horrible microwave meals I remember from college days 10 years ago. Lots of days I have either my husband cook dinner (which is much easier if it's putting something in a skillet or in the oven for a few minutes) or making something super simple that doesn't keep me on my feet for more than 10 or so minutes. I guess post-baby will be a lot of the same!

Good Plan...I think I'll start trying that out tonight...leftovers in the freezer!

Ashley - posted on 04/20/2009

I've frozen some soup and enchilladas, they come out just as good as they went in.

Tammy - posted on 04/19/2009

I prepared a few meals when I was pregnant the first time with my son & it was a fantastic idea. Neither myself or my husband felt like cooking so it was great to just take something out of the freezer & pop it in the oven. I made home-made pizzas, spaghetti sauce, lasgna, meatballs, soup, chilli, etc. I even frooze some yummy treats like cookies & squares, which was great to have when visitors came over. I'm due soon with our second child, so I'm planning on preparing meals again. Good luck!!

Rachel - posted on 04/19/2009

No, not freezing anything in advance--instead I've been broadening my husband's cooking skills LOL He's always been good with meat but tended to do nothing but meat for meals. I've been teaching him healthy lunches, veggies for dinners, well-rounded breakfasts, etc. He's coming along well and has even learned the wonders of herbs! :)

Rachel - posted on 04/19/2009

Whenever I have leftovers enough for 2 of us from a meal, I've been putting half of it in the freezer. There hasn't been just tons, but at least there are a few things to help out. Lately, I haven't been up to much cooking anyway, so we've been discovering all the freezer meals available from the grocery store. I've been kind of impressed! It's not like the horrible microwave meals I remember from college days 10 years ago. Lots of days I have either my husband cook dinner (which is much easier if it's putting something in a skillet or in the oven for a few minutes) or making something super simple that doesn't keep me on my feet for more than 10 or so minutes. I guess post-baby will be a lot of the same!

Jessica - posted on 04/19/2009

I am definitely preparing in advance! here's a really good AND easy recipe- and it does freeze well!

Shredded Chicken
1 large can of cooked cubed chicken- you can really vary the amount if you wish, and make as big of a batch as you want...sometimes I do two large cans

8 oz Sour Cream

1 box Stove Top Chicken Stuffing mix- or off brand- you may not need the entire box

1 or 2 chicken bullion cubes (once again, add to taste, depending on size of batch!)

Stick it in your crock pot, let it heat up- the beauty of this recipe is that it's already cooked chicken, so basically you just heat it until the ingredients are easily mixed together.

You will most likely need to add some chicken broth, to bring to desired consistency- it can be pretty dry if you don't, especially if you leave it cooking in the crock pot for long.

I love this recipe, as does my whole family...and I always make a large enough batch to freeze some! As you see, I kinda' take some creative liberty with this recipe, and you really can't mess it up! Hope you can use it! :)

Danielle - posted on 04/19/2009

i have a few pasta sauces, stews and pumkin soup portioned out into individual serves and filling up my freezer, most of it was extra i had made over the last few months but the soup i made just to freeze.

just make sure you always have things stocked up int he freezer like frozen veg or crumbed fish, stuff that can just be thrown in the oven and then its ready

Darci - posted on 04/19/2009

Before my first child was born (December 2005), the ladies at my church had a surprise baby shower for me. One of the ladies brought the normal "baby stuff" AND frozen lasagna & sweet corn... it was WONDERFUL. I am not preparing meals ahead as my mom will be here for 4-6 weeks to help with my toddlers following the birth of my third. Also, my husband will be home for about 2 weeks too. I am having my third c-section on the 13th, so it's great to have the help here for my 3 year-old and 2 year-old.

Schmoopy - posted on 04/19/2009

I made lasagna, and my husband is going to make chili - both to freeze. Luckily my mom is in town and has volunteered to contribute a few dinners, too. Otherwise, my plan is lots of egg and breakfast dishes for dinners, and sandwiches, too.

You can also try grilling sandwiches like turkey/peach preserves/goat cheese or scrambled egg/cheese/honey mustard. Or a Monte Christo - a regular sandwich dipped in egg batter and grilled. Yum!

Brenda - posted on 04/19/2009

I'm not but a great thing to fix is lasagna or spagetti pie. It freezes really well and is easy to pop back in the oven, and has lots of good carbs and tomatoes in it for energy after the fact. I usually make a double batch of lasagna when I make it anyway, so I end up with two huge dishes of it. If you fix spagetti, you can throw it in a pyrex dish or something and put cheese on top and make a spagetti bake. Beans freeze pretty well too, and you could even do a big stew that would be easy to thaw and warm on the stove. Also making up some chicken salad or something like that ahead of time is nice for quick sandwhiches after you get home. I'm all for quick foods after baby gets here...lol.