My friend Erinn from Embracing Everything asked for a list of the freezer meals that I used after this pregnancy, so I thought it might be helpful to a few other people as well. Why kill two birds with one stone when there are eggs in your bush that you shouldn’t count?
I started too late preparing for Eli Benjamin. I felt like doo-doo for most of the pregnancy, so I blame it on that. In all honesty, you should start prepping freezer meals in the middle of your second trimester. Most meals and foods will be fine for 6 months in the freezer. Even starting late, I managed to get quite a bit put away. I used a lot of meal components this time so I would be able to throw a meal together quickly instead of making a vast amount of fully cooked meals.
Also, 4 weeks before my due date, I made a HUGE shopping trip and stocked up on everything I might need: snacks, condiments, nuts, butter, etc. After my babies are born, I don’t get out much…I usually take a 2 month hiatus from shopping and gallivanting around the countryside. My mom went with me on this trip and I literally filled the car up with supplies and groceries.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Don’t use all your freezer meals at first. Do. Not. Panic. Please, for the love of all that is holy, cook if you are able after the baby is born. Honestly, for the first month the baby sleeps most of the time. Yes, you should sleep too…but, let me tell ya – when the baby is awake more often, THAT’S when you’re gonna need your freezer meals…because when you have a minute you’ll be taking a shower, not worrying about dinner. Take that to the bank.
Now, for the nitty gritty. I have written about freezer meals several times and a good majority of my recipes are freezer friendly. Here is how I freeze stuff:
- Breads, muffins, etc. are frozen double-bagged with Ziploc freezer bags.
- Baked Oatmeal is frozen in serving sized pieces. I wrap in plastic wrap and then put a bunch of them into a Ziploc.
- I use empty yogurt containers for a lot of items. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Hug a tree.
- If I am freezing a casserole, I use disposable pans or line my baking dish with parchment before cooking. Then I put the whole dish in the freezer once it cools down. After it is frozen, I can pull the whole thing out and freeze it in a Ziploc, freeing up my dish again. Also, this means it will fit right back down in the dish later.
Below are the freezer meals I used this time. Most of them are repeats because I knew they’d freeze well and I’d made multiple batches of most of them. I’ve included links for almost all of them…except for things like hot dogs. I’ve never made my own hot dogs – I’ve never kissed a chipmunk – and I’ve never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball (finish that tune, Veggie Tales fans!).
Breakfast
- Baked Oatmeal
- Muffins of all sorts (especially these Bran Muffins)
- Breakfast Cake
- Pancakes and Waffles (including Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes)
- Breakfast Burritos
- French Toast Casserole
- Granola – frozen double bagged (we love this Chocolate Peanut Butter recipe)
- Pancake Muffins
Breads
Meals
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Taco meat
- Hot dogs and hot dog chili
- Vegetable Beef Soup
- Cincinnati Chili
- Fish Sticks (keepin’ it real – I didn’t make these….Thank you, Sam’s Club.)
- Bean and Cheese Burritos
- Freezer Quesadillas
- Chicken Fajita meat
- Freschetta Pizzas….because sometimes the bottom falls out at 5pm.
- Manicotti
- Cooked hamburger patties
- Salisbury Steak
- Chicken Taco Casserole
- Cheesy Ground Beef Rice
- Sloppy Joes
- Pulled Pork BBQ
Thank you so much for this. I am 36 weeks pregnant and was doing great stocking up on freezer meals for our second baby. Last month our freezer had issues, so we have to start all over. This will help so much for finding quick ways to refill the freezer. I love your healthy crockpot meals list too. Actually, your whole blog is great! We already got out of debt using Dave Ramsey’s method. You provide great motivation and mentoring.
Congratulations on many fronts! 🙂
Stacy, I know you are busy. But I would REALLY appreciate you filling my freezer. Not asking for the world here, just a few meals 🙂
Move here. Problem solved.
How do you freeze the cheesy ground beef rice casserole?
I cooked a double batch and froze half in a Rubbermaid container.
And I’ve never bathed in yogurt and I don’t look good in leggings… And I’ve never been to Boston in the fall!
Thanks for the freezer meal list! I’m always looking for ways to save time during the week.
Also, that song is going to be stuck in my head for days.
BOOM! I was hoping someone would catch that. 😉
Lovely list! Somehow the mind goes numb whenever one tries to compile their own list in time of need…
Ain’t that the truth.
I am so glad you are back blogging, you were dearly missed! Thank you for the amazing freezer meal recipes!
You’re very welcome.
Because of c-sections and recovery, I prepare 4-6 weeks’ worth of freezer meals, but women seem to bring me meals the first week and a half or so, so it ends up being more like 2 months worth of meals. 🙂 I use them all up so I can take time to recover post-surgery. By 2 months, I’m ready to start cooking again! 2 books that have been a lifesaver for me are “Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer” 1 and 2. AMAZING! They have tons of different recipes, they x them by X3, x6, and x9… so you don’t have to do the math, they teach you about freezing lengths/what they do for containers (I do ziploc freezer bags as well and buy Sam’s Club aluminum foil pans for super cheap). They helped me a lot.
Love your list and will start trying some of them out in preparation for Baby #5. I can add on too!:
3-cheese spaghetti
spinach, white lasagna
regular lasagna
comfort meatballs
mongolian beef (crockpot recipe and great if you have a rice cooker too)
white chicken chili
cornbread
breakfast bake
tamale casserole
healthy mama’s bbq chicken and veggies (throw everything in marinade raw and freeze, then dump in crockpot)
salsa chicken (for soup or burritos)
cheesy chicken bundles
italian meatloaf
pizza kits (make individual sized crusts and bake and freeze; chop up toppings and place in little baggies, including shredded cheese and pizza sauce; put baggies in 1 gallon freezer bag… and there you have pizza kits!)
chicken pot pie
cedar lake chicken bake (not the healthiest, but was a major comfort food)
macaroni and cheese
chicken marinades and veggies (like orange chicken, teriyaki chicken… great for crockpots)
steak dionne
continental beef and rice
——————————————-
Some of my favorite freezer meals! I also make them for busy, appt. days; lazy days; surprise company days, etc.
I’ve not had many people bring meals (just a couple friends and my mom/MIL) – so you are very blessed. 🙂
I totally agree with you on preparing freezer meals during the 2nd trimester. 🙂 I waited too long to prepare mine, too. My babies usually come a week after their due dates, so I thought I would have plenty of time. Nope! She came along three weeks before I was expecting her and just two days after I started putting things together. I’ll have to share this with my readers today. I know another expectant mama (or any other busy mama) will appreciate these.
Babies don’t really follow anyone’s schedule. Ha ha! Andy was 3 weeks early and Eli was 2 weeks early.
I made a ton of freezer meals before the birth of my little one… then it turned out she has a dairy protein sensitivity and all of the meals that I made with any dairy or beef are still hanging out in my freezer 10 months later… one day we’ll be able to eat them as soon as I am finished breastfeeding or if she decides to tolerate dairy.
Please make your life easier if you plan on breastfeeding by making some sensitive diet meals that don’t include major allergen or sensitivity triggers. You never know what you might find out later!
Very true! But even if the mama couldn’t eat the meals, the other family members should be able to – and then mama can just binge on almonds and raisins. Oh wait – is that just me?
Not related to the article but to Amanda, my daughter was dairy intolerant, so I bought dairy free acidophilis and diligently gave her a capsule throughout the day and it healed her gut. She was intolerant to LOTS of other foods like gluten and nuts too. After about a month I slowly started to eat (I was breastfeeding) off limit foods. She reacted more to some than to others so if I noticed a reaction I’d back off, of not I’d continue eating it. Within six months I could eat everything with no reactions.