This blog post has little to nothing to do with the bakery, but does deal with my life so I hope you still enjoy it! As most of you know by now, I'm nine months pregnant and ready to pop (due August 7). Time has flown these last few months....now when someone asks me when I'm due their reaction is usually "Oh! So any day now?!" Which I know and get, but also sets me into panic mode....like there's more things I need to get done before then. In reality, I'm pretty set, packed, and all that, but there's nothing like labor dreams and strangers reactions and questions to get me panicking that I'm forgetting to do something!
Photo by Kelsey Jean Photography
One thing I have been doing for the past month, and wanted to share with others, is stocking my freezer with meals! When my sister-in-laws had babies I brought them a weeks worth of freezer meals as a gift to them and hopefully as a way to relieve them of one more task in their day. I think giving freezer meals to friends, family, and co-workers when they are expecting is an amazing gift and one that isn't often thought of. So I made sure to do it for myself....because I didn't just want a few meals....I wanted a fully loaded freezer (my husband can eat a lot!....which you probably can't tell by looking at him! But he's not very handy in the kitchen.)
Why do I need so many meals?? Well I may be a tad of an over planner...but also because I don't have an actual "time off" date for post baby. If someone contacts me for an order and I feel up to filling it, I want to be able to fill it. So not having to worry about grocery shopping and figuring out meals opens up more time and energy to fill orders! Plus, my grocery bills will be a little lower since I have some meals already covered. What's not to love about that?
Below is a compiled list of what I have in my stand up freezer and how I froze/changed them to make them freezable. If you have friends, family, co-workers, are expecting yourself, or just want to stock your freezer for some busy weeks in the future, check them out! It can be intimidating to think of filling your freezer with meals. I like to cook, but most people dread the thought of just making supper. So break it up. If the meals were going to be going in the crockpot (didn't need any cooking ahead of time) I would throw a few of them together on a Sunday. If they were full meals that were done up until the point of going in the oven, or fully done, I would schedule them to be a supper one night...and then just double the recipe and freeze half/one. (This is how I did the majority of the meals). Each meals has a sticker on top saying what is is, how to finish it...in case my husband has to attempt to do it....and when it was made.
Stock up on "freezer ware" before starting. I got foil pans and lids in a larger quantity from Sams and used freezer friendly tupperware and bags for the rest.
What I stocked my freezer with:
Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers- These can certainly be assembled up until the point of baking, or even fully cooked (thaw and heat to eat), but of course when I made them for supper and went to freeze the extras....I ran out of pie crust. So in my freezer I just have the filling waiting to be put in pie dough and baked.
Taco Chicken Enchiladas- I like to have something "tacoey" -not a word, I know- almost every week so this is a great addition to my freezer meals. I assembled the dish in a foil pan with a lid, wrapped it in plastic and topped with a foil lid. All that has to be done is to finish the baking process.
Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Soup- This is one of my husbands favorites! I fully made this soup and all that has to be done is for it to thaw and be reheated. We eat with Fritos on top....so good!
Cheesy Crockpot Tortellini- For this one I just froze the meat portion. To finish it up all I need to do is add tortellini (which cooks in only 3 minutes) and cheese once the meat thaws!
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole- This recipe was already in "freezer form" so all I did was follow the instructions on the website.
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Tacos- I know...another taco based dish...told you I liked them! I also add taco seasoning to this recipe. All I did was throw all of this in a freezer bag (uncooked). When I want the meal I can either thaw it or just pry it out of the bag frozen and plop it into the slow cooker.
Crockpot Minestrone Soup- Another one of my husband's favorites. Just like with the other soup, I fully made the soup so all that has to be done is to thaw and reheat....well..and add spinach in my case....I forgot to buy it when I made this meals, so I'll need to add it when I reheat the soup.
Black Bean and Corn Salsa Chicken- This website link doesn't seem to be working right now, but it's not too complicated. It's pretty much (all tossed in a freezer bag)..chicken breasts, black beans, corn, salsa, and taco seasoning. Then when you go to eat it, cook it in the slow cooker and make tacos....yes...tacos again!
Eggrolls- I like to throw a lot of things into eggrolls and bake them. It's healthier and they are cheap! For these ones I skip the shrimp and teriyaki (not my thing) and just do seasoned pork, coleslaw mix, and cheese...and bake them for 10-15 minutes instead of frying. I assembled these and they are just waiting to be cooked. Other things I like to put in eggrolls: taco seasoned beef or chicken (go figure!); ground beef, bacon, and cheese-or make cheese sauce for dipping; chicken, onions and green peppers; ground beef, green peppers, onion, and mushrooms, with cheese or white cheese dipping sauce; scrambled eggs and sausage, or make sausage and gravy dipping sauce. I may add some of these versions to my freezer if I get time...or if I can find space in the freezer....
Cowboy Casserole (aka tater tot casserole)- My version of this is a little different (I use cream of mushroom soup, condensed cheese soup, and combine corn and green beans). I made this, again in a foil pan, up until the point of baking. So it's ready to be thawed and baked or baked, for longer, from the frozen state.
Ham and Cheese Tortellini- I fully made this dish; all that needs to be done is thaw it, heat it, and top with cheese.
Slow Cooker Cheesy BBQ Bacon Chicken Sandwiches- again..this website is down at the moment...but I just threw chicken breasts, crumbled cooked bacon, and BBQ sauce in a freezer bag. To eat: cook in slow cooker and shred for sandwiches; top with cheese (and more bacon if you want)
Pizza Casserole- If you have a big family or just like leftovers, this recipe is for you! It makes a lot of food! I made this dish up until the point of baking (in a foil pan). It just needs to be topped with cheese and baked off. It's also great because you can customize the "pizza toppings" to whatever you or your family likes.
Breakfast Corn Dogs- Warning...this one takes awhile! We LOVE these..I make the for supper (with scrambled eggs), not breakfast...but they take some time to make. So I made a huge double batch one night (one to eat, one to freeze) and stood over the stove frying corn dogs for what felt like hours....but they are so worth it! I fully made and froze them; just need to be reheated.
Cream of Mushroom Soup- This isn't a meal, but an ingredient. I made a couple of batches of both cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup. I hate, hate, hate using pre-made condensed soups...but they sure are quick, easy, and in a lot of recipes! It literally only takes minutes to make them from scratch...but who wants to add that one more step to a recipe when they are trying to get dinner on the table at the end of the day?? So make them ahead of time-cheap, easy, and way better for you.
Ground Beef Pot Pie- Like chicken pot pie, but with beef. I made this recipe up until the point of baking, wrapped it all up and froze it so it just has to be baked off.
Sloppy Joe Meatball Subs- For this recipe I used pre-made meatballs, but homemade sloppy joe sauce. I just mixed everything together and froze the meatballs in the sauce so I just have to reheat them and assemble into subs. I also froze my sloppy joe meat. (So my version of sloppy joe sauce with ground beef-froze and ready to be thawed and heated up for sandwiches)
Chili and Rice Casserole- This recipe was set up as a freezer meal already, so I just made and froze it as is.
Buttermilk Pancakes- This isn't the recipes I use for pancakes (mine is in my head) but I made a triple batch of pancakes, cooled them, wrapped them in three's, and froze them. I love pancakes and I guess I eat them three at a time according to how I packed them....so they are ready to be thawed and heated!
Chili- Also not my recipe (again mine is in my head), but everyone has their version of chili; just make it and freeze it in freezer tupperware or a freezer bag so it can be thawed and heated.
Meatloaf- Once again, not my recipe (in my head), but just use this recipe or whatever your version of meatloaf is. Mix it up, put it in tinfoil loaves, wrap it up and freeze it for cooking. You could also bake it off ahead of time.
Pork and Onion Hand Pies- These too could be done with different meats. I made them up until the point of baking, but they could be finished so they just need to be heated.
Other recipes that aren't currently in my freezer, but are on my list for this week or this weekend:
Tater Tot Taco Bake- A taco version of tater tot casserole....so good! Make up until baking, freeze-then thaw to cook and top with whatever you like (lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc).
BBQ Chicken Chili- In addition to taco stuff, I also love BBQ. I am tossing these ingredients into a freezer bag so be finished in the slow cooker.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup- this one is pretty much finished when you assemble it, just needs to "develop flavor" in the slow cooker. So I will put it all into a freezer bag to be slowed cooked at a later date.
Pot Roast- This goes against my dislike for prepackaged items, but it is really the best pot roast ever....so it's worth it. I'm just tossing everything in a freezer bag again for it to be tossed in the slow cooker later.
So that's what is in my freezer for after baby! Plus whatever else I can fit in before then! I hope you can find the recipes useful in your life as well. Thanks for another week of orders!!
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