Last time I did not prep any meals to freeze and I really wish I would have, it would have been such a stress relief! Since we now have a toddler, I plan on making a few things ahead of time to freeze so we have some easy meals on hand. I don't doubt we won't run through the drive-thru or order a pizza, but to at least get a few healthy meals in there 
Any tips for me? If you did freeze meals, what were some of your favorites or easiest things?
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Subscribing! I'm in the same boat and totally plan on have some freezer meals ready to go. The first that comes to mind is lasagne.
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I posted almost the same thing on your last thread
But while I was pregnant, every time I made a meal that froze well, I would just make two or three while I was at it. I made enchiladas, pasta sauce, meatballs, quiche, casseroles, tamales, rollatini, and soups. We are still working on the pasta sauce and DS is 5 months old! It has been a lifesaver!
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@grizz: The last post inspired this post
So have the foods you made held up well in the freezer, as far as tasting ok? I never know how long things can be in there for...
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Ummm... I tried.
I would make a big batch of something really yummy - like cheesy pasta with veggies in it. And then I would eat it ALL. lol I was a giant pregnant lady eating everything in sight.
Good intentions though I promise!
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@Bao: They have all tasted great! I was really careful with bagging things tightly, and using freezer paper under or over the bags. Zero freezer burn!
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There are some good ideas on this thread:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-stockpile-meals-before-birth -
@grizz: I hope this isn't a silly question, what is freezer paper? @PurplePeony: Thank you!
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@Bao: Its with the foil, plastic wrap, etc in the grocery store. I didn't know about it either! Its like a heavy waxed paper. The butcher shop told us to get it to protect against freezer burn when I told them I'd be freezing large portions. Plus you can apparently use it for a lot of crafts, like freezer paper stencils!
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Since it's just the 2 of us right now, I typically would cook up a full package of meat and split the meat over 2-3 meals, but now, I just make a bigger meal of whatever I am cooking and freeze the left overs in single serve portions. I'm also trying to freeze crockpot meals, so I can just dump a bag in the crockpot and have a hot meal that night.
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@grizz: interesting, thank you!
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I really, really want to do this before LO arrives in Jan. I'm taking my full 4 weeks before so hopefully I can really buckle down and get some meals prepped!
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I had grand plans to freeze a ton of meals but I lost motivation at the end. Honestly, I don't really love to eat frozen meals! I went to the Italian market before I went in to the hospital and bought sausages and I made lots of sauce and meatballs and froze all that. I don't eat meat but it was for my husband. It was easy enough to boil some pasta and sautee a green veggie at dinner time. We definitely got some good takeout too, salads and some healthy things. After a few weeks I was fine cooking meals that didn't take tons of prep.
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I did. I froze a lot of pastas and stews. I also froze tons of breakfast quesadillas. The quesadillas were the easiest to make in bulk and it's the first thing we ran out of.
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Yes - I made a bunch of chicken cutlets, soups, baked ziti, and some crock pot meals like chili. I think I even froze turkey burgers. It was near Christmas so I also made and froze cookies for desserts. It was really helpful to have the stash all ready for us at the time.
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I did not, but my grandmother kept making me meals to freeze haha.
we got a lot of take out..
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Sometimes, not often. But I don't do it that often even now. We don't have the freezer space.
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No I'm not a fan of freezer meals (or cooking). We were in the middle of remodeling a house and then moving into it. We went out to dinner most nights and I had sandwiches and easy snacks for lunch.
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@SugarplumsMom: How do you make breakfast quesadillas? That sounds yummy!
I have pinned a TON of freezer meals recipes and "favorite-d" every blog and thread post about it on HB. Hoping I find the motivation as my pregnancy progresses. We have tons of freezer space and it sounds like a great idea!
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@grizz: May I ask, what is rollatini?!?!
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I had two weeks off before she was born and I froze a while bunch if meals then. Super helpful since we don't have family in the area and no one came and stayed to help for a couple of weeks. We had lasagna (I made and someone brought), Mac and cheese, calzones, quiche. My favorite were oatmeal chocolate chip muffins- tasty but I figured the oatmeal was good for my milk
I went through those fast.
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I have already started stocking the freezer! Call me crazy! I told DH I think I want a deep freezer because our freezer is so full. We do soups, stews, chili, pulled pork. Basically anything I'm making where there is extra and it's freezable, it's going in!
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I made lasagna. I had intentions of doing more as I had two weeks off before my due date but then DS decided to arrive 13 days early!
My MIL made us some chicken alfredo and cabbage rolls to freeze when she came to visit.
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@kentuckygirl: Its like lasagna! You roll all the filling up inside noodles, eggplant slices, or zucchini slices
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We did, and also had a couple of friends bring us frozen meals. It was awesome for LO #1 and with #2 due in a couple of weeks I am hoping to start work on freezer meals soon. We did lasagne, also enchilada or burrito casserole. Soups are great too. Any kind of pasta seems to do well.
@matador84: We have an extra stand-up freezer that we bought when pregnant the first time and it has been so great, also was super handy for the freezer stash of breast milk.
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I cooked a ton of freezer meals and most came out terrible! Blah.
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I made some but my sister, the chef, came to visit after dd arrived and she totally pimped out my freezer. We had gourmet freezer meals for weeks. It was awesome.
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My mom will be coming around Christmastime to help stock me up on hot dishes and soups/stews for the freezer. I've also started favoriting a lot of freeze-ahead crock pot meals so that I can just grab a bag of pre-chopped veggies and chicken and seasoning, etc., and toss it in the crock to cook all day. I'm picky with re-heated items and their texture, so I won't likely make to many pasta or starch dishes ahead.
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@kentuckygirl: It's not at all homemade, but really easy to put together. It's essentially a few packs of torillas, cheese, chopped ham, and scrambled eggs. I made a few with only cheese, eggs with a little bit of salsa.
My fave was eggs, cheese, ham, a tiny bit of green salsa and ham. It's kind of fun because you can have a whole assembly line going on
They freeze and re-heat super well!
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One of my favorite frozen meals we made was carrot soup! We made a ton of it and poured them into different containers for different # of servings. Another little piece of advice from a friend of mine which we are forever grateful is: buy a bunch of disposable utensils and plates! I know it's not entirely environmental friendly but we didn't have to do dishes for a few weeks after our LO came home. Time and life saver!
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Yes I did, and will do it again whenever round two happens!
I did it gradually, I would make double/triple an item for dinner and freezer the other two. Soups, meatballs, lasgana, casseroles, pasta dishes, muffins, cookie mix, stuff I could easily grab & thaw. I also put together crockpot freezers meals that all I had to do was throw in there...even easier!
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@SugarplumsMom: Sounds easy! I will have to try it, thanks!
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@grizz: Cool, thanks!
But while I was pregnant, every time I made a meal that froze well, I would just make two or three while I was at it. I made enchiladas, pasta sauce, meatballs, quiche, casseroles, tamales, rollatini, and soups. We are still working on the pasta sauce and DS is 5 months old! It has been a lifesaver!
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