What Are Some Good "Freezer Meals?"

I was into freezer cooking some time ago. I found several interesting books on the topic. One author stands out: Susie Martinez has written a few books on the topic such as "Don't Panic: Dinner is in the Freezer" and several follow up books.

Good luck!

Taco meat
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Shredded-Beef-for-Tacos/Deta...

Veggie Soup(I use fresh veggies on this one)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Beef-Vegetable-S...

Spaghetti sauce (make a huge 5-8lb batch and freeze into 1lb zip locks

Stuffing

Dont forget to have some crockpot ideas/ food in the freezer that you can just pop on in the morning..those work out great.

To thaw, you just place in the fridge approx 2 days before you need it. ..if you forgot then put it in the defrost microwave based on lbs

Congrats on the new addition

Another way to get ready for post-baby food... you can freeze all the ingredients you'll need for your favorite crock pot meals all together in one bag. Then pull the bag out the night before, stick it in the fridge, then pop it in the crockpot for the day. You can put the spices, protein, carbs, everything, all together and freeze it so you don't have to cut anything up or find spices the day of.

I've basically just been in your position...had a baby in October when my 1st was 2.5. I wanted to do the same thing. My mom came to visit and made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs, which we froze in meal size containers. (Freezing the meat separately to pull out what we needed for each meal.)
We used to live up in the Tampa area and went to a place called Dinner Done. You go and prepare 8 to 12 meals at a time, which are then frozen for you to use as you need. On the whole, I don't like freezing cooked meals, then defrosting and reheating. Just not very tasty to me. So, I really liked this place because you freeze prepped meals and then actually cook them. So, 2 things about this place that could help you: pretty much all of their meals follow 2 basic cooking instructions. Either they are stored in ziploc bags which you thaw completely in water first and then either grill, saute or put in the crockpot. The other method has you cooking the dish in the oven on 350F, covered for the first 30-45 minutes, then uncovering and cooking another 30-60 minutes. I always use a meat thermometer to get the right doneness as their times tend to overcook in my oven.

It is so awesome to be able to just open up your freezer and pull out a the main dish of a meal and pop it in the oven or quickthaw and put it in the crockpot. You would still need to add fresh veggies and possibly a starch, like rice. The 2nd thing about this place that I wanted to mention is that they now deliver to all of Florida for $25! Instead of going there and prepping your dishes yourself (unless you were in the area, I guess), they prep it for you for an extra fee and now they deliver. Unless you think you will have to be 100% dairy free when you breastfeed (as I am now), it could very likely work for you. And the cost is reasonable. Plus, they do not do a bunch of casseroles, which similar places do. Their website is: www.dinnerdone.com. We probably got food from them 4 times both towards the end of pregnancy and the first several months. My parents would drive it down for me since they didn't have delivery then.

Since I do have more dietary restrictions now with the baby, I have opted not to order the food again quite yet. But I have discovered some crockpot dishes that aren't soups/roasts that I like. I actually cook a bit of chicken in it. I will put in a few pounds of chicken breasts to make bbq or taco meat. It only takes a few hours on high, so you don't have to remember to do it 1st thing in the morning. Then I shred the chicken (or chop it up). For the bbq, I season it with a bbq rub and add some water. For the taco meat, I might add the taco seasoning and half the water it calls for. (Alternately, for tacos, I grill up the meat and then heat the seasoning packet and water up on the stove, chop the chicken and add it to the sauce. I just prefer this to chopping the raw chicken, then browning, etc.)

Another thing that my mom made for us that we froze were potato pancakes. I would just thaw them a little and either put them on the grill with whatever meat I was cooking or put them in the oven for a quick reheat.

Another nice thing about the Dinner Done meals is that they ARE from scratch. You make all your own sauces when you go there, etc. One dish that I have the recipe for from there is a General Tso's chicken. The sauce is super yummy, and my mom put all the ingredients together in several meal portions in ziploc bags and then I froze those. When we made the meat part at dinner done, we took diced chicken, rolled it in panko bread crumbs and then put in the foil cook pans. When it came time to cook, you put them in the oven (I usually transferred to a cookie sheet), and it makes a nice crispy chicken 'nugget'. My daughter doesn't eat heat up chicken nuggets either, but she likes these.

I like to really cook too, but with 2 kids and a rough delivery recovery, it has been helpful taking advantage of these tools. You are smart to think ahead! Hope you are able to fill your freezer with food that will make the transition simpler. Congrats!

I've made casseroles and have put them it the freezer ready for the oven. I've just pulled them out of the freezer the morning before you want them for dinner and it's worked really good. Depending on how dense the food is like some macaroni casseroles are less dense that I've just put it into the oven strait from the freezer and they worked great.

I did the same thing and premade then froze several weeks worth of meals prior to giving birth. One of our fav's in sheppard's pie. Brown up ground beef (we use turkey and I also add an onion) drain off grease then transfer to casserole dish, mix in green beans, corn, peas, carrots, add a jar of beef gravy. Top with mashed potatoes and then freeze it. Defrost prior to baking at 350 about 1/2 hour, the gravy will be bubbling and the potatoes will slightly brown. Freezing mashed potatoes sounds weird but I use this recipe and they turn out wonderful. Boil 8-10 potatoes, add 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 package of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of butter, and a dash of milk. They are very creamy and freeze very well. I've made several large batches and just freeze individual dinner servings in ziplocs. My hubby loves to have home made potatoes but I don't always have the time to mess with it. Now I just pull them out to defrost and bake...viola. I also freeze lasagna, ziti, home made meatballs - swedish and italian with gravy/sauce. Really easy to defrost and boil some noodles.

I make spagetti sauce and freeze it.

I use a 3 lb. chub of HB meat from Walmart.
I buy only a name brand gallon of tomato sauce
I use about 1/3 bottle of Spice Classics Italian seasonings. It has Marjoram, Basil, Thyme, Sage, etc...all mixed in and I like the balance. I get it at Walmart in the spice section and it's usually under a dollar.
I use bell peppers, chopped onion, chopped garlic, etc....what ever you like in your sauce.

I cook the HB meat with the onions, bell peppers, garlic, etc...in a large sauce pan then drain it well. I dump it in the gallon of tomato sauce in a medium stock pot. I add the seasonings to taste, never more than 1/3 of the bottle and usually less. I sometimes add more marjoram and I add up to a stick of real butter.

I heat it slowly over low heat and then let it cool some. I put it by the ladle full onto either gallon or quart freezer bags. Make sure they are CLOSED before laying them down in the freezer. Then I cook my pasta and while it's cooking I slice the freezer bag open and dump the frozen contents into a microwave safe bowl, cover, and heat a couple of minutes on 40%-50% to where it is soft enough to break into smaller chunks then heat it on high for a minute of so. Just enough to get it warm enough throughout to melt Mozzarella cheese.

Any soups are great. Spaghetti sauce, lasagna, chicken, turkey, ham...basically anything you can find in a frozen food aisle. As far as defrosting goes--the lasagna is put directly to the oven & cooked. Meats and whatnot are done in the microwave.

I just made a good recipe last week that would freeze well: Cook up 2 cups of white rice. Let it cool, mix it with a can of black beans, some diced tomatoes, salsa, corn, sour cream, and Mexican style cheese. If you like to cook at home you'll have a feel for the proportions. I bet you could put some cooked diced chicken in there as well. Freeze in a greased casserole dish. I would imagine to cook you would pull it out of the freezer, let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours or so, bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Top with more cheese and bake til melty. Yum now I know what I want for dinner:)

I love to cook from scratch....the following freeze well:
meatloaf
chicken and noodles
lasagna
burritos - I have an amazing recipe if you'd like it - not like your typical burritos!
baked ziti
any stew or soup (google winter soup, made with italian sausage - so yummy)
baked bread - pumpkin bread is awesome! You will love having some bread to just grab and snack on - banana bread is a good one too. Email me if you want recipes!

To defrost most of these, I simply put them in the fridge a day or two before I want them. Be sure to wrap, wrap, and wrap again when storing. I usually triple wrap my breads - once in clear plastic wrap then twice in foil.

I havent tried to freeze this recipe cause it is devored too quickly,but it should do well. Got it from betty crocker

Mini meat loaves

preheat oven 350

Mix 1lb of ground beef ( i like the 97%), 1 package of stuffing (any), 1 cup of water, and add 1 jar of sweet potatoes baby food instead of egg( it makes it sweeter and lighter, as well as added veggies. I have a picker eater. Dont worry cant taste the potatoes- sworn from the pickey mom. You can add some italian seasoning as well- about two dashes. Then fill a cupcake pan about 3/4 full. Make an indent with a large spoon. Top with spagetti sauce instead of ketchup( prego tradional is my favorite). Cook for 15mins til brown. Then top with kraft mexican 4 cheese and put back in oven to melt cheese.

Also, for lasanga i omit the egg as well and use the baby food sweet potatoe for less greasy and sweeter taste. Just mix it with the ricotta. Again, i like the mexican 4 cheese and prego tradional sauce.

I use the baby food doesnt matter brand and use stage 1 or 2, cause i dont have to puree anything. Got the idea from a cookbook called Deceptional delicious by jessica seinfield.

Well I cook/bake a ton due to food allergies at my home. Things that I always have on stock in my freezer that I've made are: Spaghetti sauce, browned taco meat, shephards pie, various rice dishes, muffins, breads. I'll also hit Whole Foods on Wednesdays (at least at my local store) when their whole roasted chickens are on sale, buy about 3, de-bone them and freeze the meat. To defrost anything I've listed above, I do the safe route by placing it in my refrigerator to thaw except for the baked goods like the muffins and bread, that I just go straight from the freezer to the counter. Congrats on your new little one on the way!

Stews freeze well. Tomato sauce, brisket/pot roast also freeze. I suspect that 3 months is plenty of time for DH to learn to cook if he doesn't know how.

Homemade spaghetti sause freezes well. Really anything is fine in the freezer as long as you package it right. Use the freezer ziplock bags. Or better yet, get one of those vacuum food savers. If will minimize the freezer burn.

Don't cook the food completely, that way when you reheat it your food won't be over cooked. Congrats or the pregnancy!!

Pasta sauce of almost any variety freezes well, and then all you have to do is cook the pasta.

Cooked meat also freezes well. I sometimes make the filling for shepard's pie and then defrost it and top with mashed potatoes.

Enchilladas made with flour (rather than corn) tortillas.

Rice freezes really well. Curries over rice works, for example.

The only thing that really doesn't freeze super well is potatoes.

Good luck!