Looking for Recipes I Can Prepare Now and Freeze for February

Here is a website that has a bunch of different recipes for freezing!! Good luck! :)

http://disfordinner.blogspot.com/search/label/Frozen%20me...

I did just what you wanting to do almost 3 years ago when I had my son. I made lasagna and froze it in ziploc bags with 1 or 2 servings in it (because it was just me), chix noodle soup, chix & noodles, chili and a few other casserole type items and a few other homeade soups (my baby was born in January, so comfort foods were what appealed to me at the time). The lasagna worked out fabulous! Good luck to you.

Check out Pampered Chef power cooking meals. I find them tasty and simple. The concept is to cook up a bunch of either ground beef or chicken and then pick the recipes you like and they give you instructions on exactly what to freeze together and do. I found them to be pretty quick too. If you don't have a Pampered Chef consultant already, let me know and I'll send them to you through regular e-mail(it's easier than typing it out here). (I'm a consultant, but don't worry, I'm just here to help, no sales pressure!:) )

All great recipes & ideas posted here. If you can, get yourself a foodsaver machine. If you freeze your prepared food in them, all you have to do is pop them in a pot boilng water. No pans to clean. I'm on my third machine & couldn't live without it. Just make sure to freeze sauces in the bag before sealing them.
Good luck & congrats!

you could try the website savingdinner.com. they have freezer meal recipes....you get something like five recipes for a small fee.... it is usually entrees, but they do give you side suggestions....I have made their chicken freezer recipes and pork recipes, too and have pretty much liked them all.

Almost anything will freeze (except salad). the best way is to make double the portions for dinner and freeze half. If you make pasta, freeze the sauce and pasta separate. If you do this you may even have extra so that you will get to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your new baby.

lasagna
chili
stuffed peppers
seasoned ground beef (tacos, sloppy joes)
spaghetti sauce i make and freeze
meat loaf
chicken and rice
muffins

Buy several lbs. of ground meat when on sale. Before freezing the meat, season and shape into meatloafs, meatballs, burgers, etc and then wrap well. It will cook up fast when you need it and the prep is done. Also, pre-brown and season some for tacos, meat sauces, etc. Saves lots of time and effort! Don't forget to also stock the pantry with things like boxes of different pastas, noodles, and rice to go with the meats.
I also like to buy a big bag of frozen stir fry vegetables to use in lots of different recepies. Enjoy!

I use a cook book called "The Big Cook" (I think they sell it as Costco). I do a "big cook" every two months and that way I have my main courses in the freezer. If you don't want to buy a whole new cook book you could try http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/

I keep frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. You can cook them from frozen on the stovetop (10 minutes per side) if they are the thin variety. Buy breaded chicken. It is good on a salad. Instant pancake mix. We love breakfast for dinner. I always keep frozen veggies and tater tots. I freeze meat in family sized portions. (We buy from costco). I wrap the meat in wrap then foil, then in a freezer baggie that is labeled. You can freeze a whole chicken. It will take 2-3 days to defrost meat. I always have a backup when I pull meat out (pasta, leftovers, pizza...) I would get some fish sticks for the girls and nuggets. You can freeze pasta sauce. Our kids like Annie's (organic) mac n cheese. Good luck and congrats!

I have a whole recipe book from my mom that is for freezer foods. It is called Once-a-month Cooking. It gives shopping tips, recipies and cooking methods. There are a ton of recipies in there that we liked. Also loved some we adapted to make them freezer friendly. Some ideas for you:

Meatloaf muffins-freeze your favorite meatloaf recipe in muffin tins and then put in ziplock bags or foodsaver bags. Make sure you get as much air out as possible (air causes freezer burn/spoilage). The muffins take less time to bake than a full loaf.
Soups and pastas are fantastic!!! Just make sure your pasta is slightly undercooked before freezing.

Another tip-- Make sure that you flash freeze things before you put them in the deep freeze. Don't put hot things directly into your freezer. Cool them in the fridge first. Don't thaw meat and then refreeze without cooking first. When you are thawing meat, thaw in the fridge, not counter. If you want specific recipies from my book, please just message me. Have fun.

Chicken Tetrazzini
Lemon Chicken
Lasagna
Baked Ziti
Hearty Hamburger Stew
Teriaki Chicken
Teriaki Hamburgers
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Hamburger Strogonoff
Chicken Enchiladas
Sour Cream Enchiladas

Hey,

I do this myself. We have a chest freezer in the garage. Any type of soup, stew, chowder, or chili will freeze great. Rice/Nooodles on their own, not so much. Pot pie or quiche cut into slices. One of the best things I do is what for sales in the next month or so around thanksgiving and buy a a number of whole turkeys and whole chickens. Bake them and shred up the meat. I put the shredded turkey or chicken in ziploc freezer bags enough in each for a meal. Then you can make tons of meals easy with the meat. Just take out a bag and thaw....add to enchiladas, omelets, pot pies, stirfry, etc... I also make bisquits and gravy and the gravy freezes great. If you want some specific recipes send me a message. Definitely check out allrecipes.com. I probably get 90% of my recipes there. It is a great site with lots of search options and a searchable recipe box. Good luck!

I do this all the time and my family loves it & it tastes just as good as fresh. I brown turkey, onion, garlic, green pepper (or any other veggie you like in pasta sauce) then mix it with a jar pasta sauce and freeze. Then when you want to use it just defrost, warm it up and cook the pasta. It's yummy, quick, and healthy.

R.--
Congrats on your little one. I freeze almost everything in my deep freezer. A few tips: rice and potatoes don't freeze well so add them to soups, recipes after you thaw. Also you can 1/2 cook pasta and it usually does not get mushy. And my favorite tip. You can freeze absolutely everything in zip-lock bags. Soups, chili, etc. Freeze them on cookie sheets so they freeze flat. Label the bags BEFORE you put the items in or it they don't stick. It will take up a lot less room than containers. Word of warning. Thaw in a pan since sometimes the bag splits a seam in one tiny spot. I do up a bunch of marinades this way and then just need to throw in the meat--or you can freeze with the meat in the bag already.

I would not start making meals til January. Prepared meals that sit in the freezer to long can get freezer burn or get a funky taste. I would not prepare meals more than a month in advance.
Since you are have a winter baby, consider making soups, stew and chili for freezing. You can also cook up spaghetti. It freezes great. I would also just buy some quick prepare meal items that your husband could always make at the drop of a hat. Toddlers always like hot dogs with some raw veggies or Mac/Cheese. You can precook hamburgers for later heat up in the microwave. You can cook up stew meat or hamburger as well as the egg noodles so you can throw together stroganoff at the drop of a hat.
Check out this website. http://www.favoritefreezerfoods.com/index.html
Good Luck

I teach cooking classes to groups - using great kitchen tools - called power cooking. There is a chicken or beef them. Send me a message and I can give you more information.

M.

I would say stick with the basics! Casseroles and soups are filling and easy and will freeze well. Go online to cookinglight.com for all kinds of great ideas that are low-fat, healthy and easy.
If you make them now, just make a double portion, have one for dinner and freeze one. Also, if you don't have a crock pot or slow cooker, get one! They are a real time saver and especially in winter it is great to just throw everything in at breakfast or lunch time and have a wonderful hot dinner ready in the evening.
There are a lot of great and simple slow cooker recipe books out there as well.

Wow, you will have your hands full! Congrats!!
I just recently did the same thing a month before my due date and found a few good recipes on pampers.com. Look under pregnancy/make ahead meals. I made the barbeque beef sandwiches and taco spaghetti and both were delicious. Good luck to you!

I second what other people are saying about soups, stews and casseroles. I have several recipes from a book called Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month by Deborah Taylor-Hough. You can get it through interlibrary loan if your library doesn't have it.

Hi R. I don't think food last that long in the freezer it can get freezer burn, maybe you have to do wait until Janurary or ordered from dinner by design again. Good Luck