I am about 6 weeks away from delivering my 4th child. I work from home and my husband is working 2 jobs right now. I make 3 trips into town to drop off or pick up my other 3 kids from school everyday. Then, there are of course, afternoon/evening activities for the kids. So, like most of you, I feel a little overwhelmed when thinking of cooking. So, my plan is to spend the next few weekends stocking our deep freezer (or canning) with home made meals ready to cook. Sort of like the freezer section of the grocery store, but without all the cost and preservatives. lol So, I need things that the prep work is already done, so I just have to pop it into the oven or even the microwave. Breakfast, sides, and main dishes.
Here are the things I have already thought of:
Lasagna
Enchiladas
marinating ready to cook chicken breast
pancakes/waffles for before school
Chili (canned)
Any other ideas? Having a new baby while we are trying to sell our house is a little overwhelming (have to keep it spotless at all times - with 4 kids). So, I really want to make at least one of my chores a little easier. ;)
Thanks for the ideas that have come so far........keep 'em coming! I know I could just buy more at the store, but the prices are outrageous! I don't want my husband to be working a second job any longer than he has to. Thanks for all your support and understanding!
I have a cookbook called "Make it Now, Bake it Later" that is very helpful. Good luck with the house sale and the baby!
You are already overwhelmed, and another baby almost here? 3 trips to town, after-school activities, hubby never home because he's holding down 2 jobs? Honey, I hereby bestow on you permission to BUY extra frozen, baked, canned , or otherwise prepared food and tuck it away for your down time!! I'll bet you can't wait to go into labor so you can get some rest!! Seriously, cut yourself some slack. Buy a little extra each week, and it won't hurt your budget. I know you want to do all you can to keep costs down, but you are stretched pretty thin already, and now you have official permission to let this one go. If it'll make you feel better, we'll vote! How many ladies think A. is already doing enough for her family?
"Don't Panic, Dinner is in the Freezer" and "Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer" by Susie Martinez might give you some ideas.
"Don't Panic, Dinner is in the Freezer" and "Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer" by Susie Martinez are both great books!
I also refer to 30day gourmet books quite bit too. They have a website also.
Another favorite of mine is Fix, Freeze, Feast. These are very simple to prepare. They have a lot of marnide or easy prep before freezing type recipes.
Lasagna and enchiladas are great...I do those frequently! I also like soups...most of my soup recipes make so much so I usually have plenty leftover to freeze for another time. I also do meatloaf...I usually double my batch, make 1 and freeze the other! Spaghetti sauce is another great one! Again, make a large batch, enough for a meal that night with enough left over to throw in the freezer for another night!
If you don't already have one, invest in a slow cooker..you can throw anything you want in there when you get up in the morning and then let it sit all day. Dinner is hot and waiting for you that evening!!
Chili http://busycooks.about.com/od/hotsouprecipes/r/crockpotch...
Pot Roast http://busycooks.about.com/od/beefroastrecipes/r/cppotroa...
Congrats on new baby!!!
Chili is our favorite go-to frozen meal. It is easy to make chili in bulk, and it tastes just as good (if not better!) when it's frozen and then reheated. I highly recommend it!
You could make meat sauce for spaghetti and freeze , casseroles , home made pizza freezes well. The chicken and pepper mixture for fajitas.
Meatballs & sauce (for either meatball sammies or with pasta), Sloppy joes (freeze buns too), meatloaves (good cold or hot - precook!), chicken soups, hot sausage, pre-cook/par-cook meats for shish kebab (chicken, beef, lamb, pork), baked ziti....
Good luck!
Cook the chicken ahead of time, before you freeze it. It will stay in the freezer and when you want to add it to something it is cooked and just needs to be heated.
Baked ziti, Pulled pork, soups do well in the freezer,
How about chicken manicotti. Take manicotti shells (uncooked) and cut raw chicken into strips and stuff into shells. Take spaghetti sauce (I use Prego) and put a little in casserole dish to coat bottom. Place stuffed shells onto dish and pour as much of the remaining sauce as you want over top and then add whatever cheeses you want over top (I use mozzarella and parmesan). Let it soak over night and then put in the oven. I think I put it in on 375 and cook for about an hour or until I think the chicken is done. Then you can freeze and reheat it as you want it.
You can really stuff manicotti shells with anything.
Make some spaghetti sauce and freeze it.
I make a large pot of spaghetti sauce and freeze the left overs. Pull one out the night before, unthaw it for the next evenings meal, make pasta when I get home from work. Works great! I also make cookies and freeze them in baggies for treats/lunches. Tacos are always a quick easy meal to make and you can make the meat in the afternoon and re-heat for dinner. One of my kids favorites, we buy a large package of soft taco shells. Good luck!
I know a lot of people use Susie Martinez's, but I really like "Frozen Assets" by Deborah Taylor-Hough. She gives you a 30 day, 10 day, and holiday meal plan. Oh, and several breakfast recipes. I don't follow the plan because I just want meals in the freezer for "just in case".
With basic math I was able to reduce the ingredients and make only the ones I wanted. Using 8 lbs of ground round I got 48 meatballs, 10 salisbury steaks, 6 stuffed green peppers, 3 meals of sloppy joes (about 2 cups ea), and 2 poor man's casserole (similar to shepard's pie) in 9x13 pans. And I only cooked for about 3 hours total, in which I also baked 2 loaves of banana bread. Her meals are easily seasoned to taste which is wonderful when you have little ones.
I agree with Nancy B., you are allowed to buy stuff in this situation!!
A rotisserie chicken is about $5 near here, well worth it imho.
For freezer stuff--besides what others have listed--beef stew and soups of all kinds are great; French toast might also work (make a batch and freeze a few peices to test it).
Best of luck to you with house sale, new baby etc!
PS--paper plates are ok too
