Freezer Meals

Okay, so I really hadn't planned on doing any stocking the freezer, but it sort of just happened to work out. Now, I am so glad it did. I posted a LONG time ago on making a bunch of meals for the freezer before Jake was born. I spent over 10 hours that day standing on my feet cooking at about 34 weeks pregnant. At the end of the day, the freezer was stocked, and I thought at first I had sent myself into labor. Not the wisest plan I've ever had, mind you. Occasionally, if I make a casserole or lasagna or anything else that I know will also freeze well, I will make one for dinner and an extra for the freezer. I just haven't done another marathon freezer session - until now.

The other day, I was surfing the internet looking for recipes for dinner. Connor had been really fussy during naptime and was asleep on top of me while I "shopped" for dinner ideas. I had made a spiral ham for dinner the night before and ran across a recipe that I could use to use up the ham. Sarah Spooner, who I worked with what seems like forever ago at the Medical Center, has a food blog that I was looking at when I ran across her "freezer sandwiches". I realized she had some other freezer recipes that sounded pretty good, too. It sparked a desire to do another big cooking day since Jason is about to start a string of night shifts. It will be the boys and me for a few days, but I would like to have dinner for Jason before he heads to work.

The "Before" Pic

I think I did really well. This was the EASIEST thing to do. There are no fancy recipes here, peeps. It is just easy, peasy family friendly eats. I don't think anyone is going to say, "Well, the Smiths are coming for dinner, we better thaw out the sloppy joes." However, for a quick and easy meal, who needs fancy? I picked a day that Jason was off, but truthfully I have been able to do all the cooking while the kids have been playing, napping, or last night after they went to bed. I am telling you - totally doable for even those with little kiddos. And for less than $200 in groceries, we have a TON of meals. I picked things that were quick and easy to prepare, quick and easy to prep once I got out of the freezer, and things that I didn't have to buy a ton of groceries to make.

My "must have" supplies include: foil containers with lids (I buy these at Sam's for about $13 for 25 lids and pans - they are a staple here for when I want to make someone dinner or if I know that what I am cooking is messy and just want to throw away a container rather than wash it), foil squares for wrapping sandwiches (you could just use foil you have), and gallon sized zip lock bags.  Anything that can go in a freezer bag (like the sloppy joes) can be placed in the bag, air smoothed out, and then spread the contents so that the bag is flat. Place it on a pan in the freezer to freeze and once it is frozen, then you have a very thin package to store in the freezer versus a bulky bag. Everything gets labeled with a trusty Sharpee, along with cooking instructions, and arranged in the fridge.

Here is the breakdown of what I made and how much I got from each (click on the item to go to the page with the recipes) I am WAY too lazy to type these out.

Chicken Spaghetti (recipe below - no link) 2 pans
Pioneer Woman's Sloppy Joes (2 bags - I can probably get 4 sandwiches out of a bag)
Pioneer Woman's Dr. Pepper Spicy Shredded Pork (I got 3 bags of this to use for tacos and pulled pork sandwiches)
Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole (1 pan)
Freezer Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (I got 16 sandwiches using my leftover ham)
Spaghetti Sauce (I got 4 large bags of sauce for pasta and pizzas)

Here is how the cooking schedule went. I put on the pork during naptime yesterday since it has to cook for 6 hours. While Jake ran around and Connor hung out in the bouncy seat, I took about 20 minutes yesterday afternoon to assemble sandwiches. After the boys were in bed, I pulled the pork and bagged it. This morning, I put the chicken onto boil, and once it was ready, I shredded it using my KitchenAid mixer (great tip from Pinterest). I had enough left over for chicken salad. While Connor napped this morning and Jake watched an episode of Thomas the Train, I mixed the 3 casseroles and let them cool. During naptime, I made sloppy joes and spaghetti sauce. Easy, easy... I also had made a batch of meatballs a while back for the freezer, and if anyone is interested, I will be happy to give that recipe. They are similar to meatloaf, but you just take out what you want, mix up a sauce of ketchup/brown sugar/ and a few other things, and pop them into the oven without even thawing.

The "After" Pic - this is in our garage fridge minus the 4 bags of spaghetti sauce that are still cooling

Recipe for Chicken Spaghetti (courtesy of Brenda Gay) - makes 2 casseroles - halve ingredients for one casserole
8 chicken breasts
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of celery soup (I use one can cream of celery and 3 cans cream of mushroom)
16 oz spaghetti noodles
2 sticks butter, melted
6 slices white bread

Boil chicken breasts in water and shred. Cook noodles in broth from chicken. Mix noodles, chicken, soups, and cheese in a large bowl. Pour into 2 casserole dishes. If you are cooking them now, tear up the bread and put on top of casseroles. Melt the butter and pour on top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. If you are going to freeze, leave off the butter and bread. Cover and freeze. When you are ready to cook the casserole, thaw it completely, then top with bread and butter and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated and bubbly.
*Parmesan cheese is good on top and you can always add more butter/bread and cheese to the recipe