Best Meals to Freeze and When?

Some recipes that are easy to freeze:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_frozen-assets-10-easy-recipes...

there's many recipes on here from past askers...just use the search. that's what i did when i was about to give birth. and i'd say that 35 weeks is not too early...you really never know when you'll go into labor. if you freeze the meal without cooking (just prepare) it lasts significantly longer. I don't thaw them if I do that...just straight to the oven (like for lasagna, pot pies, etc). i usually use freezers bags (double or triple layer them) so they don't get the frostbite in there ..lol. congrats on the baby :)

I mostly make and freeze a lot of pieces of meals - a bolognese or meat sauce, for example. Rice dishes freeze pretty well - fried rice is a quick go-to. Chili freezes well. Also things with cooked shredded chicken - enchiladas for example. Also, I don't know how you feel about "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) but breakfast foods freeze very well - pancakes, homemade waffles, muffins, etc. Then you can just cook up some sausage or something at the last minute and serve with fruit. The only thing that really can't be frozen is potatoes. The texture just gets all wrong.

If you have a separate freezer, most stuff should last about 6 months. The biggest thing to be careful about is that whatever you've made is completely totally cool before you wrap it for freezing. Otherwise ice crystals form and the food gets freezerburnt. I normally put sauces in a tupperware and that's enough. If it's something that needs to be wrapped up, I normally do a layer or two of tin foil and then stick in a freezer bag, making sure to get all the air out.

I just tend to leave everything out on the counter to thaw.

Good luck with the new little one!

If you can figure out how to access archives for this site, you should find other moms who have asked the same or similar questions. Generally soups, stews, and chilies freeze well, lasagna, homemade spaghetti sauce, and meat loaf.

If you are going to breastfeed I would go easy on the seasonings, in case you get a baby who is sensitive to onions, garlic etc (a friend had girls like that). You can always spice things up a bit later, wwhen you thaw and eat.

Congrats on the new little one!

K. Z.

go to saving dinner.com Leanne has menus for this specific purpose. you do have to buy them but they are prety cheap. I think she even offers a few to try out.

Lasagna, chili, veg. beef soup, spaghetti sauce, enchiladas... these are some we freeze at my house. I freeze in Tupperware containers or wrap foil pans in foil then freeze. I like cooking in foil containers because when you don't want to deal with cooking you don't want to deal with a big clean-up either! Congratulations...

PS - I would also say 2-3 months is probably ok.

Hi S.,
I make a double batch of meatloaf every time so I can throw one in the freezer. You can use foil bread pans for easy freeze and clean-up. If you make tomato sauce you can freeze that two. I just use freezer bags . Also chili freezes well. If you freeze it lying flat so it looks like a big plate it thaws a lot faster.
My stuff doesn't last that long so I guess about 2-3 months but you can check online to see what the actual limits are.
Oh! I almost forgot, I buy the frozen raw shrimp (shelled and deveined) from Costco. They are an easy meal and thaw in minutes. Saute with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper and serve over rice with some steamed veggies.
Hope this helps!
Suzy and her men