Preparing for Baby: Freezer Meals

As many of you know, I am expecting my second little girl any day now! I have been a busy little bee preparing for her impending arrival! I thought I would share with you all some ideas on what you can do in the last couple weeks leading up to baby!

First on the list, stocking your freezer with some great meals you have prepared! Why do this? Well, you will be busy, busy, busy with the new baby and most likely won’t feel like cooking. Prepare a few meals ahead of time, freeze them and just heat up the amount you would like to eat!

A little tip that I have is to purchase a bunch of those disposable baking pans, who has time for cleanup afterwards? Plus, you will lose your good pans if you use them to freeze meals in. Here’s a few worth considering:

Trust me, it’s worth it 🙂

Easy 10 Freezer Meals

1. Lasagna –

• 1 Box Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Lb Ground beef
• 1 Large jar Spaghetti sauce
• 1 Medium Onion
• 24 oz Cottage cheese
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 Lb Mozzarella cheese

Cook noodles until soft. Brown beef and onion in pan. Add spaghetti sauce. Combine cottage cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese in separate bowl. Layer noodles, then pasta sauce mixture, then cottage cheese mixture then mozzarella. Repeat 3 times, ending with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

2. Chicken and broccoli alfredo – Grill 2 Large Chicken Breast. Cook one bag of broccoli in microwave. Cook one large box of penne noodles (or whatever type you prefer). Mix all together in large bowl with one jar of alfredo sauce. Pour in disposable baking pan. Cover with foil and freeze.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo and Sausage Penne Pasta

3. Sausage penne pasta – Cook 12 oz turkey/chicken sausage/kielbasa. Cook one large box of penne noodles (or whatever type you prefer). Mix all together in large bowl with one jar of spaghetti sauce. Pour in disposable baking pan. Cover with foil and freeze.

Store pasta dishes in disposable pan to reduce dirty dishes to clean and free up your other pans for every day cooking.

4. Chili –

• 1 Lb Ground beef
• 1 Can Green beans
• 1 Can Chili beans
• 1 Can Pinto beans
• 1 Can Diced tomatoes
• 1 Small Can Tomato paste
• 1 Can of Water
• Chili powder to taste

Mix all ingredients together in large pot and allow to simmer. Allow to cool and freeze.

5. Tuna noodle casserole (or ‘hot dish’ for all you fellow Minnesotans!) –

• 1 Large bag of Wide egg noodles
• 1 Can Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 Can (drained) tuna
• 1 Can Peas (Optional)
• Garlic powder and pepper to taste
• Pepper jack cheese

Cook noodles until soft. Mix all ingredients in oven-ready bowl. Top with desired amount of pepper jack cheese (or preferred cheese). Bake until cheese is browned.

6. Pot roast fixin’s – I filled 2 – 1 lb ziplock bags with cut up potatoes, baby carrots and onion. Season to taste.

7. Fajita fixin’s – Cut up 2 large green and 2 large red bell peppers and 1 large onion. Separate in half and freeze in 2 – 1 lb ziplock bags. When ready to eat, grill fixin’s in a pan, add grilled chicken (See below) and 1/2 packet taco seasoning.

Grab a ton of freezer bags and be ready!

8. Muffins

• Apple Oatmeal Muffins (Let’s Dish)
• Coffeehouse Coffee Cake Muffins (Chocolate, Chocolate and More)

9. Energy Bits – See recipe Here!

10. Grilled Chicken – Cook several chicken breasts and throw them in the freezer. Add them to fajitas, salads, etc…

I hope you found this useful! Stay tuned for my “Nesting Check-List!”

Love, Macy