OT: Freezer meals for when baby arrives

[labst60]

Hi everyone,

This is a bit off topic, but I know I have seen this topic here before.

Can anyone recommend a good book a preparing freezer meals in advance? I cook frequently, but the only things I usually freeze are chili, spaghetti sauce and soups (and I don't think I'll make much chili or spaghetti sauce since since I haven't been able to tolerate tomato sauce while pregnant - which is SUCH a pain since we used to eat some variation of it at least 1-2 times per week for dinner!)

Anyway - I have a large deep freezer and a vacuum food saver with tons of bags - so I just need a good book that has not only recipies but some information on the basics of this type of cooking (since I've never done it before really). I just need to understand the basics (i.e., if I bread chicken, do I cook it before I freeze it, how do I reheat it so it tastes the "freshest"? - if I freeze marinated meat, will it "over marinate"? Is it best to cook meatloaf/salisbury steak before freezing or after it is thawed?, etc.)

My goal would be to plan everything out in July and then pick a couple days early to mid-August to do the cooking (I'm due early September), then DD2, DH and I won't have to worry about meals for at least the first few weeks after the new little one arrives!!!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Princess Roo]

I freeze a BUNCH of our meals. My favorite books are the Dream Dinners and Super Suppers cookbooks. (Don't know if you're familiar with those locations that do the pre-prepared freezer meals, but these are books written by two of those.) I also have one of the 'Everything Guides' to freezer meals (don't remember the exact title and Dsis has it right now). It has ton of recipes in it, too.

It is amazing how much you can freeze! The only thing I noticed is that some of the recipes aren't really that helpful because they have a lot of work left to do after the meal defrosts, so I pick and choose based on that. I freeze some things that are casseroles that DH can just toss in and then other things that have some more prep - usually in a skillet on the stovetop - but I can do in 10-15 minutes with a child on my hip.

Every few months I get together with my sister and sometimes a friend or two and we make a bunch of meals together and just hang out. Then, in between, my sister and I will each make a few things in huge batches for each other to freeze.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't have a book to reccomend but I do have a few suggestions since I cook for huge parties all the time.

You can make and freeze-
Lasagne
Chicken- cutlets, parmesan, cordon bleu, franchaise,marsala, picatta etc.
Ribs- par boil them, put them in a tin pan with a ton of bbq sauce, cook them then freeze. Then you just have to heat them up.
Sausage cut up (or you can buy it out of the casing already) with onions, pototoes and peppers or mushrooms.
French toast- make a tray and then you can freeze it and have breakfast for dinner!
Ham Steaks- okay I initially though this sounded super gross but if you buy them, you just defrost them and put some butter and brown sugar on them and bake in the oven. They taste great! Just like a baked ham.

These are jsut a few. I will see what else I can think of today.


Congrats BTW!

 

[grlpwrd]

Congratulations! I did the same when I was pregnant for each of my 5 kids.

One of my favorite OAMC (once a month cooking) sites is http://snider.mardox.com/OAMC.htm

I also used www.tasteofhome.com and my annual Taste of Home cookbooks for recipes.

I also used to belong to these e groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Friendly-Freezer

Also, I distinctly remember making my favorite comfort foods which were usually ethnic dishes. I just adapted the recipes to make them freezable.

GL!

 

[Girly_Qs]

I also like the Super Suppers and Dream Dinners cookbooks (in that order), but even more than both of those - I LOVE Don't Panic: Dinner's in the Freezer! by Susie Martinez.

Congratulations and Best Wishes!