Hey, everyone! I was wondering if any of you had any good recipes for food that can be made in advance and then frozen to be prepared at a later date? I am expecting my third child in two and a half weeks, and I was wanting to prepare some easy meals for my hubby to dish up. I have to have a cesarean delivery and will be in the hospital for atleast three days and on very light duty for two weeks after that. My husband will be in charge of the kids and the house (which is going to be tough for him) and I atleast wanted to make the food part a little easier. So, if anyone has any good ideas, I would be very grateful to recieve them. Thanks!
Kraftfoods.com is the best place to get recipies. I use it every week. The recipies are quick, easy & cheap & always taste really good.
You can try Supper Supers or Main Dish. They make freezer items (you can actually make them at their location and customize to your families tastes. I went once and now I got some really good ideas on what and how to prepare freezer items. Here is what I learned:
Take chicken and apply dry seasonings or marinades and place in freezer. If you have freezer to oven containers then you can have it ready to bake (dry seasonings) and all hubby has to do is move it from freezer oven. You can even take a label sticker and put the directions on the top of the container.
If it's a marinade then put it in a ziplock with directions on transfering and baking on the bag. I find that if it's already prepped hubby doesn't mind putting it in the oven.
Also rice freezes REALLY well. So make up a bunh (even season different for variety) and freeze in family portions.
Casseroles freeze really well too. But noodles do not (IMHO). So make rice based casseroles. I like to make a few chickens pull the meat off and use different themed seasoning (oriental, southern, gravies, & whatever you like) and mix rice and chicken together. Then freeze. I've not heated from frozen so you'd have to play with that.
HTH
D. Heisler
www.kidsconsignmenttreasures.com
a good idea for luches is uncrustables
Dinner Done is a real good choice and is really not as bad price as you may think. Also Vegetable soup freezes real good.
Good Luck and Congratulations!!
Kathy
Lasagna freezes well and can just be put in the fridge the morning before you cook it to thaw. Spagetti sauce freezes well and all he would have to do is make the pasta and you could get a bag of premade salad and frozen garlic bread. Shredded BBQ chicken/beef/pork freezes well. Cream sauces do NOT freeze well. I tried. Didn't work. Chili, soups like chicken and rice, (don't make and freeze soups with pasta, it gets all mushy when you heat it back up and ends up dissolving). I found a recipe online for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli and it freezes very well as long as you don't put in the pasta part. Then when you reheat it, you can just add the cooked noodles and it's great. You can grill chicken marinated in italian dressing, teriyaki sauce, or whatever you like and freeze it in little baggies for individual servings. They thaw out really fast. Then you could just make rice or steam some veggies. I saw at Walmart that they have veggies that you can steam right in the bag in the microwave. It takes 4 or 5 minutes and that's it. Hope that helps. I've just found out I'm pregnant with our third also and I intend on doing the same thing as you :) Best of luck, Jen
I don't know if you've thought of cooking a turkey or a ham. You get a lot of meat and can freeze it to make quick easy meals.
any lind of casseroles are good sheppards pie,beef stroganoff good luck with the kids where are you located
My mom swears by allrecipes.com. You can put in the servings you need and how you have to prepare it and it finds lots of recipes for you. Good luck!
Hello N. H:
Most casserole recipes can be prepped ahead of time of serving and froze for a later date... like lasagna, I have a King Ranch Chicken recipe, veggie casseroles are easy . A good source for recipes is www.foodnetwork.com. they really have great ideas for all mommas out there. I really love Paula Dean, Racheal Ray, Emeril and etc.There are so many you just can't believe. Quick fixes is where I'd go on the site. My King Ranch Chicken is as follows:
two large cans of chicken
two cans of cream of chicken soup
1/4 of large velveeta cubed and melted w/creamed soup
two cans of ro-tel tomatoes&chiles
24 corn tortillas cut or torn in bite-sized pieces
1/2 to 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese for top
mix all ingredients and bake in 350 degree oven until bubbly.Serve with refried beans and spanish rice and salad. The casserole can be prepared and froze before baking. It is delish!
Note: you can double recipe and if can of chicken is not availabe, boil and debone/dice a chicken or legs an thighs. you can sub turkey for chicken too.Enjoy! I'm not one to measure I eyeball it if you know what I mean.
I just got a book from the library called "Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer". The book is all recipes that can be made ahead of time and frozen. All the recipes in the book sound so good. So far I've only made the Rio Rancho Taco Meat which is basically browned beef seasoned for taco, burritos, nachos, etc. Other recipes include Manicotti, Apricot Glazed Chicken Tenders, Dijon Pork Loin Roast, Barbecue Spareribs, and lots of dessert and breakfast/brunch recipes.
Wishing you a smooth delivery.
