make-ahead and freeze meal ideas please!

[Anonymous]

I am trying to get some ideas for meals I can prepare ahead of time to defrost after I give birth in late May.

So far I've made roasted eggplant lasagna. I would love to get away from lasagna but I am not sure what freezes/defrosts well.

TIA for your best ideas!

[Anonymous]

should add, my husband and I eat most anything (if it's tasty! )

[Anonymous]

chili
chicken and rice
bbq chicken and roasted potatoes
enchiladas
mexican type casseroles

[Anonymous]

-meatballs and sauce with or without pasta
-chicken enchiladas
-sauteed garlic and olive oil tossed with all, or some combination of chicken, broccoli, pasta
-thai basil chicken

[Anonymous]

Beef stew
Meatballs
Macaroni and cheese
Meatloaf

[Anonymous]

OP, I know I'm about to start a war here, but IF you are planning to BF (and no judgement either way) you probably want some less spicy/dairy free options. JUST in case... I froze a whole bunch of 2-person-sized lasagnas, then turned out that DD required me to follow a dairy-free diet. Crud.

Chili - make it "hardly spicy" and you can add spice when you reheat
rice - cook it now, portion it, and freeze. Defrosts beautifully and has endless uses.
Same thing for roast chicken - roast a couple, pull the meat off, and freeze. This is a godsend - defrost, mix with pasta and random veg, call it dinner
breakfast burritos - egg, cheese, bacon bits, whatever. Good for mini-meals and quick bites.

[Anonymous]

I made a couple huge batches of empanadas before my son was born and they were fantastic since you can heat them up one at a time (just throw one in the toaster oven and you've got lunch or dinner). Quiche and enchiladas are also good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I know I'm about to start a war here, but IF you are planning to BF (and no judgement either way) you probably want some less spicy/dairy free options. JUST in case... I froze a whole bunch of 2-person-sized lasagnas, then turned out that DD required me to follow a dairy-free diet. Crud.

Chili - make it "hardly spicy" and you can add spice when you reheat
rice - cook it now, portion it, and freeze. Defrosts beautifully and has endless uses.
Same thing for roast chicken - roast a couple, pull the meat off, and freeze. This is a godsend - defrost, mix with pasta and random veg, call it dinner
breakfast burritos - egg, cheese, bacon bits, whatever. Good for mini-meals and quick bites.

I AM planning on breastfeeding and the post birth doula suggested less spicy food. BF didn't go so well with my twins so I didn't even consider spicy foods. I think I can probably make unspicy chicken enchiladas.. thanks for the other ideas!

[Anonymous]

My midwife suggested eating chicken soup in my postpartum days. She was very specific about it: one organic chicken, carrots, rice, salt, water. That's it. It seemed a little rigid, but boy did I eat the hell out of that soup for days. It was simple and nourishing, just what I needed after my difficult vag delivery.

So basically, maybe get some chicken soup in that freezer!

Good luck with everything!

[Anonymous]

How about soup? I like to make big pots of soup and freeze in individual portions.

Also, sauces like bolognese or meat sauce freeze well.

[Anonymous]

My go-to freeze recipes are not ready-to-eat but they sure make life easier. Once a month I portion chickens and freeze them in different marinades. Once frozen, I take them out in the morning to defrost. By the time I come home, they are ready to toss in the oven.

My husband is a freak in that he is a VERY reluctant eater of leftovers and will actually prefer to skip dinner or eat cheese and crackers over yesterday's chicken. So I have to make a minimal effort to avoid repetition.

I will also make big-ass pots of lamb stew with plenty of liquid sauce, and after lamb is all gone, freeze remainder sauce and use it on pasta. He can't tell about that one.

Soup of all kinds freezes beautifully. I don't believe, however, that potatoes freeze well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a freak in that he is a VERY reluctant eater of leftovers and will actually prefer to skip dinner or eat cheese and crackers over yesterday's chicken. So I have to make a minimal effort to avoid repetition.

Are you ME? I was raised on the concept of leftovers/re-purposing leftovers for another meal, and DH finds it totally off-putting. So if I roast a chicken, I do not DARE serve just leftover chicken and potatoes. It needs to be "hidden" in chicken enchiladas or chicken salad, etc. He says he "gets tired of eating the same thing." I tell him I get tired of cooking

[Anonymous]

I should add that I tend to roast chickens and FREEZE the leftovers, because that kills multiple birds (fast/easy/healthy/not the same thing).
The spicy thing... don't worry about it til it becomes a problem... DD didn't care about spicy but couldn't tolerate dairy. Ugh. Luckily once they're born you're past the point where you have to justify eating sushi. We ate lots of sushi, in the early days. Very easy to eat with one hand.

[Anonymous]

Comfort food from my childhood -- stuffed cabbage. Freezes super duper well. Make with a bit of brown rice. Good on top of quinoa too.

[Anonymous]

if you are BF - this is a yummy way to get oatmeal, and they freeze well.

NGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.