Freezer Meal Frenzy!

When our good friends Josh and Ashley were pregnant, Ashley stocked up on food like World War III had broken out. I was amazed when I saw her huge freezer neatly organized and stacked with enough freezer meals to feed an army. She even had an inventory list written out and taped to the freezer. I just kept thinking how much work it was and how much time it took and how I would probably never be able to do that.

However, the advice Ashley gave me to prepare and freeze meals before the baby comes was some of the best advice I've received. Everyone has so much advice to give you while you are pregnant and a lot of it can go in one ear and out the other, but this is prime. It wasn't even as hard as I thought it would be and looking ahead, I know there will be nights where me or Andrew can just pull a homemade meal out of the freezer, pop it in the oven or the crockpot and sit back, relax and wipe the baby puke from our clothes and faces. I am so glad I did this.

Another great thing about freezer meals is that there are sooooo many recipes and websites all over the internet. Almost anything will freeze well so I even used some of my own recipes. I also have a friend Janel who let me borrow her Food Saver and it is a seriously awesome. This handy machine sucks all the air out of the plastic food bags so that your food will last twice as long as just putting it in a Ziploc bag.

The Food Saver bags can get spendy but if you are going hardcore like me then it is well worth it. I got my bags at Target for $40 and it came with 2 rolls of 8" wide bags and 3 rolls of 11" wide bags. I also bought some cheap aluminum pans at Dollar Tree for the casserole and enchiladas, just make sure the pan will fit in the 11" wide bag; length doesn't matter because you cut the bags to whatever length you need. The most taxing part is the grocery shopping of course but I figured out all my meals in advance, made a HUGE list and made the trek to Costco for everything I needed. I spent over $200 but found relief in the fact that it only means I won't spend my entire first month as a new mommy making grocery lists and prepping dinner.

Here is what my tiny freezer looks like but it includes some freezer meals, Costco meat that has been separated and re-packaged, Costco lasagna and a huge bag of stir fry veggies.

One of my favorite meals are my homemade enchiladas. They are full of fiber and covered in delicious sauce and cheese. Here is what you need:

8-10 flour tortillas
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb hamburger
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 cup cooked quinoa
Handful of chopped cilantro or however much you prefer
1 large can of red or green enchilada sauce
A lot of shredded cheese
(My favorite combo is red sauce + cheddar cheese OR green sauce + pepperjack cheese)

In a large pan, sauté onion for a couple minutes then add hamburger and brown. Add both cans of beans, quinoa and cilantro. Heat thoroughly. Pour a little bit of enchilada sauce along the bottom of an aluminum pan so tortillas won't stick. Fill tortillas with mixture, sprinkle some cheese on the inside, fold in the edges, roll it up and stick it in the aluminum pan. Repeat until your pan is full. I carefully slid the pan into a Food Saver bagged, sucked the air out and VOILA! Freezer enchiladas! When you are ready to consume, pull out them out of the freezer the night before then heat the oven to 350 degrees and cook for 20-25 minutes. Top with sour cream, hot sauce, cilantro and onion.

  

Another easy idea is fajitas and you don't really need a recipe for those. Just slice up some steak or chicken, onions and bell peppers, add some seasonings, stick it all in a bag and freeze it. Since all the prep is done ahead of time, you just defrost and fry in a pan when you are ready to chow.

For breakfast I made delicious breakfast burritos - the only way I know they are delicious is because I had to eat one... or two. Click here for the recipe.    

 

I love the blog Six Sisters' Stuff for all the freezer meal ideas they have. They have all crock pot meal recipes so you don't cook anything in advance. Simply stick all the ingredients in a bag and freeze. When you are ready to eat, put the goodies in a crock pot and cook on low until its done. Personally I like to put frozen food in a crock pot before I go to work, keep it on low all day long, then when I get home, dinner is made. Out of the Sisters' recipes, I chose the Hearty Beef Stew and Cilantro Lime Chicken.

Our Best Bites also has some awesome freezer meal recipes, like this one for Baked Chicken Penne. I added asparagus for a little extra flair.

Thriving Home blog has recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have so many good ones that I had a hard time picking. Since I have limited space in my freezer, I only chose one and it was the Szechuan Steak Stir Fry. All the ingredients smelled soooo good when I was putting it together, I can't wait to eat it. I didn't cook anything for this meal and left out the sugar, water and cornstarch for when I actually make it in the pan. I also added extra veggies and sauce to my liking.

I have the intention of making pulled pork, ribs, minestrone and pizza pockets but little man is due in five days so we will see how that works out for me. I hope this will inspire to make your own freezer meals as well - baby or not! Pin It