One thing I know about new babies is this – they do not like late afternoon and evening before bathtime and bed. They want to be cuddled, fed, cuddled and they like to cry for no reason. I know this because I’ve experienced it before with all my little lovelies. In fact elodie still doesn’t love this time of day and loves to sit in the kitchen while I cook dinner – and she’s not always the happiest of campers.
Elodie always needs a little snack to tide her over till dinnertime!
For me the first 6 weeks with a baby are the most challenging (until I had twins and realised it took a lot longer than 6 weeks for things to settle down). And I’m sure some of you are living it right now while I’m just contemplating it. And so with every pregnancy I say I will stock up my freezer with lots of healthy and delicious dinners………….and then I make about 2 and run out of time. But with 3 weeks up my sleeve, a spare fridge/freezer in the garage I think I can do more than a few meals to freeze.
meeeeeeeeeeeeemories! The twins were about 9 months old in this pic!
But all I can think of is my super quick and easy lasagne recipe here and cannelloni here and maybe a big batch of bolagnese made in the thermomix. So help me out………….let me know your favourite meal to freeze and then reheat later that your family loves!!!!! And it might keep me from ringing Domino’s and the local chinese next month!
Curry, casseroles, pies, sausage rolls, quiche and soups – love having soup in the freezer.
If you have a slow cooker, you could chop up a massive big load of veges and separate that out between some big ziplock bags with some meat and spices – freeze the bags, and then just get one out in the morning (or overnight in the fridge), cooking on low in the slow cooker ready for dinner in the evening.
What about a stroganoff or vege soup? You could prepare a meatloaf up to the cooking point and freeze … just defrost overnight in the fridge & through the day ready to pop in the oven for the evening meal…
Buy a pie maker Corrie if you don’t already have one! Make up home- made mince/ beef/ apple pies etc and cook them in minutes in pie maker and then freeze. One pie would probably do two of your little children too. Just cook quick veges etc to go with them. Stews and curries are my only other thoughts – I do not freeze a lot!
Buy a pie maker Corrie if you don’t already have one! Make up home- made mince/ beef/ apple pies etc and cook them in minutes in pie maker and then freeze. One pie would probably do two of your little children too. Just cook quick veges etc to go with them. Stews and curries are my only other thoughts – I do not freeze a lot!
My kids love this slow cooker recipe. Have made it with pork and chicken. You can add (ie hid!) some veggies too. Does reheat really well or you can pop it on during the morning when it is a little less hectic.
http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Slow-Cooker-Barbeque-Chicken-L2367.html
Soups are really quick and easy to make and freeze! We have a yummy zucchini & corn soup recipe ( i think it was a biggest loser recipe years ago) which is AMAZING! I also like beef stroganoff – another quick and easy to freeze meal!
x
Since you have the thermomix at your disposal stock up on risotto rice. Pumpkin risotto only takes 20 minutes to prepare and cook in the thermie and my kids love it.
Like the others, I’d so stews, curries, quiches and like you already suggested- lasagne, bolognese sauce etc.
Oh and I also make pinwheels (just not cooked), homemade chicken nuggets with breadcrumbs, parmesan and herbs, lasagne (can’t beat it!) and homemade sausage rolls and pop them all in meal serving size. Makes it really easy to pull out and organise a quick, kid friendly meal.
Will your kids eat shepherds pie or a traditional pie with pastry like steak & mushroom or chicken & leek? Maybe some home made sausage rolls (although they can make quite a mess which you won’t want to add to your list of things to do)? Personally, I would buy the big boxes of 40 fish fingers & nuggets (if they have either once a week for a few weeks it’s not going to ruin them nutritionally).
Beef and red wine casserole. I make it the cheats way though. I roast a couple of legs of lamb with rosemary and garlc, chop them up and then put in the slow cooker with tomato paste and some maggi beef and red wine casserole sachets and some vegies and cook it for about 6-8 hours on low. I defrost and serve with rice – yummo.
Casseroles and I make a savory mince . If I get time it becomes a cottage pie, or it can just be served with rice…or if I’m really struggling, on toast! I just add lots of veggies to mine.
http://joelens.blogspot.com.au/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html
http://mamaandbabylove.com/2011/04/05/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker-recipes/
i hope these help
I will just run through what is currently in my freezer
Potatoe and Leek Soup
Pumpkin Soup
Risotto
Spag Bol
Lasagne
When I had 3 under two I planned ahead also and now with number 4 on the way I have also started to think ahead… Fritters can be made ahead and wrapped individually and put in a container to freeze, pasta bakes, meat balls, shepards pie made large or individually, Chilli con carne(less of the Chilli), curries like chicken tikka made very mild, burger patties can be made ahead, homemade Mac and cheese with bacon added (the only kind of Mac and cheese to have is homemade), Meat loaf just prepare but not cook and freeze ready to just remove from freezer and Bake in the oven, Pesto I make a huge quantity and divide hope this helps ……. xx
Would love to see a list of what you end up making! I face the same thing in a few months and NEED to get my freezer stocked
Carrot and orange soup and other soups would be a good addition to the list. If you make all your meals then do a few batches of soup you can use them as lunches for the first couple of weeks after Retro Daddy goes back to work x
Our family favourite is a lamb shank pasta, SO easy and freezes really well. Get 3-4 lamb shanks (you can use veal shanks instead if you like) two tins diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 cup beef stock, 1 garlic clove crushed, sprinkling of dried oregano and thyme and s & p to taste. Put everything in a big pot, low simmer for a 3-4 hours or until meat falls off the bone and sauce has thickened up a bit. I normally put it on at lunch and is ready by dinner. Serve with Rigatoni pasta and parmesan cheese. This serves our family of three with enough for leftovers and a portion for the freezer as well. So good and my husbands favourite.
Definately soups, but how about some mini muffins? Great for snacks or savoury ones are a good quick lunch. I also froze Zuchini slice.
Chicken & leek pie … macaroni cheese …
I also make sure the sweets are kept up to date and make mini-muffins and then freeze individually for lunchboxes. The kids collect themselves and somehow never ask for them outside of school!
SOUP, any kind ! Always fab with crusty bread, easy to zap in the mocrowave and nutrtitious. I cuurently have chicken, noodle and sweet coarn, minestrone and vege and barley in my freezer. Yummy for lunch too on those cold winter days!
With my last three pregnancies I make double of meals that I knew the kid’s would enjoy. This meant that when I need to grab something at the last minute I could just go to the freezer. Some of the meals we had were casseroles, suagage rolls, pizza, shepard’s pie and anything MINCE related. Potato bake and pasta bake was also very good meals for last minute grabs.
Good luck.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=Freeze+ahead&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=&filterItem=
I love the bbc good food website. It’s a very good site for searching for specific ingredients etc.
I started reading your blog after you posted “slow cooker love” and as a single chick that lives solo there is always a batch of this floating around my freezer (although i make it Korma and not Rogan Josh).
Our favourite freezer meal is chicken and asparagus risotto (a baked one – super easy and does enough for 2 meals) It is also my stock standard “take a dish” meal for new parents, ill friends, sympathy etc!
I admire you even having the energy to think about cooking in advance! All great suggestions here, I can’t really think of any more to add except I have heard of cooking up a massive lot of beef mince & onion then dividing it into portions before adding what you need for them to become different things, ie. one becomes spag bol sauce, one taco meat, one for stir fry, one for chili con carne etc, enchiladas, etc.
cheers
Karen
I did this! I stocked the freezer before I had 3 of my 4 children. See, the first baby I had no idea what I was in for! Many toasties with that one…
I did the usual things everyone has already mentioned. I also froze quiche, packed with blended up veggie goodness that no one ever suspects.
Another goodie, sweet potato pancakes! So yummy, and makes a nice (slightly healthier) treat.
i make a very tasty chicken and vegetable soup (and add pasta to the mix) – so filling and EASY! i also make beef stroganoff in the slow cooker, honestly, you’ll never have it any other way. another favourite is meatloaf/rissoles, with lots of vegies in the mix, then all you need to do is whip up some gravy and mash for dinner. good luck corrie! and happy cooking!
Hi Corrie,
Hope all goes well for you. This post has a collection of meals I cooked for the family before I went to LA last year.
Simple Recipes You Can Cook For The Freezer – http://eepurl.com/gLuRD
Nic
Canneloni. It’s freezes brilliantly. You can work out how many tubes you need for each meal and freeze the exact amount. Also, the kids love to help stuff the tubes so it’s a family activity.
My favorite is the smitten kitchen white bean and chard stew (http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/01/chard-and-white-bean-stew/) or any kind of empanadas, which can be defrosted individually for lunch or dinner.
With the soup, I cook it down a bit extra and then add some water or vegetable broth when I am reheating it. That way it takes up less space in the freezer and I can decide whether I want stew or soup consistency, depending on the day.
Sorry corrie. Can think of loads that freeze well but none the kids will like! I think my children’s frozen meal recipe reportoire is as good as yours. (I personally do love big batches of chilli con carne – bubs will get used to it!). My only other frozen meal I always resort to is the heart tick frozen birds eye fish and heart tick chips with frozen veg and believe me all can be achieved with one hand!! It’s proven. Just be careful of the oven. Good luck
When I was pregnant with my twins, I filled the freezer with lots of crumbed chicken schnitzels (just crumbed, not cooked), soups/casseroles and ricotta filo triangles – http://typicallyred.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/world-famous-cheesy-triangles.html
Good luck with the cookathon!
I do a big fry up of home made chicken schnitzels.
I figure its not much more work and then I have enough for 2 meals or some great sandwich fillers.
I take advantage of the 2 kg special.
I then turn some into Parma in a snap.
Good luck.
Oh so sweet
lg nicole
Chilli Con Carne was a big one for us. It can be used on nachos, in tacos or enchiladas or just with some corn bread on the side.
I make Paprika Chicken with a half milk/half water thickened with corn flour sauce and add capsicum and mushrooms. It defrosts well with rice (also frozen).
Apricot Chicken defrosts well. Eggplant parmigiana does too (we tell the kids it is zucchini in tomato).
Most pasta bakes defrost and reheat well and of course the good old lasagne.
Sweet and sour pork/chicken with vegies.
Zucchini Slice
Mac and Cheese
Hope you come up with some yummy things to keep you going. Don’t forget to make some single serves for yourself for those times you forget to feed yourself you are so busy with the kids!
Do you have a pie machine? I use mine quite a bit and sneak lots of vegies in the filling! Curry pork and veg are my kids favouite at the moment.
Goodluck with your cooking!
Lisa
there are lots of great ideas here, can’t really add any more. though i would also say… freeze some one person pots of homemade soup for yourself – like smooth veg/ carrot/ pumpkin/ chowder/tomand basil. as you might not fancy a full on meal and i was so hungry at random times. you can always add chopped ham/fried halloumi/ grated parmesan if you need a bit more substance.
I wish I could be of help Corrie, but I actually never freeze any meals, hmmm, maybe I should start. I always find meals like risotto or pasta go well in the fridge for a few days… but that is not really going to assist you.
Love the pics of your babies though, they’re all so cute. And my Felix (almost 2) hangs around in the kitchen with me constantly also… AND I give him Jatz to tide him over also! xo
Aside from all the soups and pasta dishes which are great for the kids, mine also like beef goulash which is great with vegies and noodles, and another favourite we call Humble Spuds, it is basically a spaghetti meat sauce with a little curry powder added plus a selection of diced vegies. Serve this up over a whole cooked potato with cheese on top. Delicious, especially on a cold winters day!
Current contents of my freezer:
Pumpkin soup
Sweet potato soup
Minestrone
Bolagnese (with and without pasta)
Shepherds Pie
Lasagne
Homemade Chicken Schnitzel
Meatballs – serve as is as finger food with a salad or add them to a tomato sauce with pasta.
Home made hamburgers (cooked then frozen)
Butter Chicken with steamed rice
Fried Rice
Zuchinni Slice
Mashed Potato
Mashed Mixed Vegetables (as in toddler mashed vegies, potato, pumpkin, peas, corn, carrot etc – my kiddo’s still love these)serve as a side dish, or use to make vegie fritters.
Beef Stew
Mild Beef Curry
Stewed Apples
Tomato and zuchinni sauce to go over baked potatoes (onion, tomato, chopped zuchinni, frozen corn, garlic, season to taste, defrost, serve over jacket baked potato with grated cheese)
Frozen mixed vegetables from the supermarket
I have some things frozen in family sizes and some in individual sizes… I have two gymnasts so we never get to all eat together as a family during the week.
The frozen mashed potato has been a godsend, defrost and reheat, pop a chicken schnitzel in the oven, serve with frozen vegies and you are done. Can easily make a chicken parmi if you have time, or make gravy/mushroom sauce etc.
Meatballs. Make up a huge batch of plain ones, freeze a meal’s worth per freezer bag, serve with sauce of choice. If you’re rushed, it can be a bottled sauce.
Mini quiches – my kids prefer mini quiches to slices from a large one.
Homemade chicken nuggets or fish nuggets. They just take about 10 mins to cook in the oven when you’re ready to eat.
Did you know you can also freeze sandwiches? Very handy for preparing school lunches when you are in a rush in the morning. Some fillings don’t work (especially tomato & most salads), but most basic fillings do.
Others have mentioned mini muffins. Brownies also freeze well.
Oh my goodness. I am loving this post and all the great comments. I do not have anything to add to the list, but I will be using many of the great options listed.
I make fish pie with lots of chopped veges and mashed potatoe top. Freezes really well and is an all in one meal
Cook a few pieces of roasting meat – beef, lamb, pork – whatever you like. When it is cooked slice is and pack in serving sized bags ready to heat later. I often do this as there are only the two of us and a piece of roasting meat is often too much for one meal.
The meat can be used for a quick roast with frozen vege or even a warm meat salad.
Just cook double of your regular meals over the next couple of weeks and freeze. It isn’t quite the overwhelming challenge of specially prepared meals.
Later, a crockpot and jars of “Just Add” prepared during the day when you have a spare moment would be the way to go.
And here’s my contribution – 30 stash meals – dinners, snacks and treats – all freezer friendly! xxx
http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2012/01/30-stash-meals-for-when-youre-away-from.html
Go Corrie! Fill that freezer girl! Here’s my two cents worth hope it helps: soup and pasties, meatballs, crumbed fish / chicken. Happy cooking
and resting!!!
Chiming in to praise the slow cooker! We upgraded after the kiddos were born and we made a lot of soups, chicken and dumplings and jambalaya. On weekends I’d roast a chicken or beef to pick at during the week.
If you don’t have one already get a good rice cooker. I love rice for stir fry or soy sauce chicken and leftovers can be used in soups and casseroles. I’m not one to have a lot of electronic kitchen gadgets but I love my rice cooker.
Meatloaf, add veggies and all you need to cook is either pasta or mash potatoes on the night
Forgot, chicken soup
Meatloaf, add veggies and all you need to cook is either pasta or mash potatoes on the night
Hi! Corrie, I think just about everything has been thought of.
Heaps of cooked frozen rissoles. Also Some salmon patties( A mix of salmon,onion,deb potato,egg,flour and breadcrumbs) and lots of pkts of frozen wedges to pop in the oven to have with gravy
Sausage Casserole is one I’d recommend. I have a recipe for it I put up here http://myrlittlerlibrary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/sausage-casserole.html
The Creamy Tomato & Salami Fettichine on page 89 of the everyday TM cookbook is the best freezer meal. Its also perfect to freeze all the ingredients & just throw in for those tricky days. Just substitute ham or bacon instead of salami. The best thing, kid friendly dinner!
I forgot to tweet you this yesterday, don’t just pre-make entire meals, precook some mince, chicken, etc and pre chop some vegies and freeze it all. Then you can decide on the day what you want to make, it’s normally the preparation that takes up your time – if you do this then you can just throw it all together later 😉
Zucchini slice! Cook it with whatever veges your kids like, bacon pieces, egg, cheese, milk, self raising flour (I’m sure you have your own good recipe worked out for this one), then cook it in mini muffin pans (for the little kids) and normal muffin pans for the older kids and grown ups, then freeze in whatever quantities you want. I wrap up different combinations of big and little ones for different meals, e.g. kid lunches (they’re great for lunchboxes, since they are just as yummy eaten cold as hot), family dinner, finger food for supper with friends, or afternoons in front of the football on the weekends… As well as the other suggestions here, I also stay stocked up on puff pastry as these are so good for making triangles and puffs with leftover casseroles and curries to give a big made-ahead meal a second life.
PIES PIES and more PIES. Chicken, meat, ricotta and spinach, vege curry… the list goes on.
http://www.frescocreative.com.au
Without reading all the comments above (maybe someone’s already offered this idea) when Cloe was ‘fresh’ and I needed to get something that resembled a meal on the table I would pop her in the Baby Bjorn at about 4pm after some milky & she’d happily go off to sleep to my heart beat & movement while I chopped, prepared & stirred. Or I’d just get most things ready waiting for my hubby & he’d finish the dinner or bath her whilst I did. I found the dinner prep a nice time of day to make me feel normal too. Plus don’t forget the gentle exercise from carrying which is a bonus! Good luck.
Without reading all the comments above (maybe someone’s already offered this idea) when Cloe was ‘fresh’ and I needed to get something that resembled a meal on the table I would pop her in the Baby Bjorn at about 4pm after some milky & she’d happily go off to sleep to my heart beat & movement while I chopped, prepared & stirred. Or I’d just get most things ready waiting for my hubby & he’d finish the dinner or bath her whilst I did. I found the dinner prep a nice time of day to make me feel normal too. Plus don’t forget the gentle exercise from carrying which is a bonus! Good luck.
Since the birth of my son I’ve been using my slow cooker like crazy. I cut everything up & keep it in the fridge overnight (with all ingredients added) then just pop it on in the morning. I’m loving the two slow cooker books by Sally Wise, great recipes!
One of my favorite things to make for a new mom is 6 week muffins using a whole box of raisin bran cereal. I cook a dozen or two of the muffins and give her the extra batter also to store in the fridge for up to 6 weeks and use as she needs more muffins. Other meals I do for new moms are a tatertot casserole, mini breakfast casseroles or mini meatloaf in muffin pan. A full loaf of bread buttered with cheese slices between then put back in the bag to keep in the freezer is handy for a fast grilled cheese sandwich too.
I’ll be on the same mission in a month or two, so this is an interesting post for me. I skimmed the responses and didn’t see baked beans. Black bean quesadillas are also a family favourite here, and they freeze quite well. There’s a great recipe for them at: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.ca/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas-661.html