Best meals to freeze for when new baby is here

[MyLastDuchess]

I've had a bit of a search through old threads but can't find exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm expecting DC2 in a few weeks (well, could be any time really) and remembering how difficult life was with DC1 who never slept, I want to stock the freezer with lots of yummy meals that we basically just need to heat and eat. I have a slow cooker, but will try any type of cooking really. We don't eat a lot of meat but meals with mince, chicken or fish would be fine. Other than that we eat just about everything (ie all veggies etc), we are not fussy eaters.

Do you have any good ideas and/or links to recipes for me? I mostly make non-freezer type stuff so I don't have my own tried and true go-to recipes, hence my asking here.

Bonus points for things I can eat with one hand while juggling/feeding a newborn

Thanks all!

Toddler not happy at me being on the phone but SOUP!!!! Cheese scones freeze uncooked to so would be nice too...

Do you like lentils? I have the covent garden lentil soup recipe which is VERY SIMPLE/ economical and QUICK to make and freezes beautifully. Yummy too and I'm yet to meet a toddler who doesn't like it, so could be doubly useful!

Oooh yes, I am a big lentil fan and anything my two-year-old might like would be great as well

Quiche.

Slice can be eaten by hand if needed, or with veg.

Marking my place

I'm planning on going:

Chilli
Shepherds pie
Soup

Umm some other things I can't remember.... Oh lasagne

Not something to make but something to buy - I found that if you use yoghurt instead of milk on your cereal you can eat it one handed. Also, cereal bars for when you're stuck in bed in the morning feeding and starving! I never got to stock my freezer as DS came 3 weeks early but had thought to make bolognese, macaroni cheese, lasagne and veg/sausage stew.

Mince in tomato sauce, portioned into the freezer. U can add a tin of spicy kidney beans and have with rice, top with mash for shepherds pie, add to pasta for spaghetti Bol.

Portions of soup

Buy the fresh pasta and freeze in portions, that will only take minutes to cook with a pesto sauce.

Lasagne in disposable tinfoil trays is good because you can just sling it in the oven straight from the freezer, virtually no effort and less washing up too! I also did cottage pies, fish pies and chicken and veg pies in the same way. We lived off potato-topped pies for weeks! It was well worth the effort though.

Chilli
Lasagne
Pies
Canneloni
Veg soup
Stew
Shepherds pie
Pasta sauce
I also recommend the intellisteam. Chuck chicken or something else in oven. Steam potatoes and veg at the touch of a button!

Meatballs!

Yy to foil containers, you can have tasty food with no effort whatsoever ever (and no washing up if you eat it out of the container )

Fish pie
Spag Bol
Lentil bol
Stew
Meatballs

A word of warning though, I made huge amounts of soup with my first, it was a bugger to eat while feeding without damaging the baby so I gave it a miss with my second!

Freeze chicken pieces in a variety of marinades - empty into casserole dish the night before or in the morning to defrost and then chuck in oven to cook. Tasty chicken with no effort.

Make a curry base sauce and freeze in portions, then you can just defrost and chuck in whatever meat or veg you fancy for a quick and tasty curry.
I use:
3 medium chopped onion sauteed in about 1/3 cup of veg oil until translucent.
Then add 8-10 cloves of garlic, salt, 1 heaped tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric and 4-5 chopped tomatoes with a squirt of tomato puree (or a can of chopped tomatoes). Adjust chilli powder to taste!

Cook until onions,tomato and garlic soft and oil separates out. Freeze in 3 portions. To cook - defrost and heat in large pan, add spices to taste (I use ground cumin, ground coriander and fresh grated ginger but can add garam masala or whatever combination you like). Cook for about 2 mins and then add 2 or 3 chopped chicken breasts (bite-size pieces for curry or strips for fajitas). Cook, stirring frequently to prevent catching. Once chicken nearly cooked, can add veg to bulk out - peppers or quartered potatoes), add a little water to make a sauce and then finish cooking on low heat. Serve with rice or naan or pittas, chapattis) or in wraps.

Is actually quite easy.

HTH

and about eating soup - drink it using a mug!

Annabel Karmel's meatballs

Here's a great link, you can freeze most curries and omit the chilli powder. I freeze left overs regularly, and defrost after a week or two and they taste great:

www.healthyindianrecipes.co.uk/

Don't freeze rice, but rice is quick to make anyway. Lentils freeze well. You can freeze cooked mince for a bolognese and just boil the spaghetti when ypu have it. Congrats on the upcoming arrival :)

List of what freezes well and what doesn't:

www.favoritefreezerfoods.com/foods-that-can-freeze-well.html

Garlic bread too, handy for bulking out soup meals. Cheap too.
Apple crumble, get in some of that custard that you whisk up with boiling water.
Macaroni cheese, pasta bake
Fresh pasta often has a long date on it, so doesn't need freezing. It's almost as quick to cook as reheat.

Ooh just reminded me - whizz up some crumble mix and freeze in bags. Any fruit you have can be chopped up and frozen (with or without) sugar and then you have the makings of a crumble anytime! Just put your fruit into pyrex dish and cover with crumble mix and cook straight from frozen! Yum!!
In fact you can make quite a few cake/bread/cookie mixes and freeze, then just take some out, add liquid to form dough and bake. Can also freeze the dough but then have to wait for it to defrost - not good if you have sudden craving for something sweet!

I also bag up the dry ingredients for muffins and store labelled, then is just a matter of mixing and adding the wet (egg, milk and oil) ingredients and choc chips or fruit for super speedy delicious home made muffins!

I have a recipe for a yummy muesli slice which is very easy! Bag up the ingredients before hand then just mix with the melted butter, honey and eggs and bake. Fab with a glass of milk for breakfast.

Muesli Slice recipe:
1 cup = 250ml volume
1/2 cup = 125ml volume

Ingredients:
2 medium size eggs beaten
4 oz butter
2 tbsp honey
1 cup natural muesli (even better with deluxe nuttier ones)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup currants
½ cup chopped dried apricots
½ cup wholemeal flour (plain or self raising)
½ cup flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C
2. Grease or line the base of a deep sided 19cm x 29 cm traybake tin
3. Melt butter and honey together gently in large pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Add all ingredients to pan except eggs and mix well.
5. Then add beaten eggs and mix well.
6. Press mixture into tin and bake for 30-35 mins until golden brown and top springs back when pressed.
7. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool. Cut into slices with sharp knife to serve.

Enjoy!
[hgrin]

If you want to make super-fast crumble topping, melt the butter and then just stir in dry ingredients, don't need to bother with rubbing in then! PLUS it really is worth using Demerara sugar for crumble topping, produces a much better flavour/ texture to the topping. I substitute some of the flour for oats too and sonnet ones use a mix of wholemeal and white flour...

Sonnet ones = sometimes!!!!

Abuse when you say "wizz" up crumble topping do you make it in the food processor then?

Here is the recipe for Coventry garden lentil and lemon soup, it's yum!
www.nibblous.com/recipe/308
Hope you like it and good luck with the baby!!!!!

I hate my phone... COVENT garden soup not Coventry for goodness sake!!!!

Actually that's a lie, I love my phone just hate the auto-correct!

I do lots of freezing cos of working. Things that freeze well (and easy to make in bulk)

• lasagne (otherwise not a great fan of freezing pasta)
• bolognaise sauce (can have w pasta, jacket potatoes, polenta, shepherds pie etc.)
• chicken & chorizo & chickpea stew (v nutritious, can make in slow cooker)
• tomato, canneloni and chorizo stew
• curries, of every variety, plus can throw in frozen spinach for veg
• any kind of stew, lots that can be made in slow cooker

Also important to make sure you freeze sufficient quantities of cake/muffins/cookies!