Things to cook to load my freezer

[wildpoppy]

From last time I know that the food in the freezer should be kept for when dh back at work, not for first few weeks when dh can make food. Any ideas for things I can cook now that can be easily stored in freezer and heated up in microwave with one hand while holding baby.

Things you can eat with one hand, like chilli, curry, pasta bakes (not lasagne but penne / fusili type shapes), shepherds pie etc.

Ha your dh must be handier in the kitchen than mine!! I get most of my recipes from bbcgoodfood.com - hundreds of simple recipes that also taste reliably good. On the home page you'll find a 'freezable' category. I am never very good at knowing what foods can be microwaved from frozen, so I tend to pick a meal the night before, lob it in the fridge to defrost and then heat it on the hob the following evening. Those microwavable packets of rice made by Uncle Ben and M&S are a godsend - I have a ton of those in the cupboard as they'll go with anything. I've got a variety of meals in my freezer ready for reheating including spanish chicken and bean stew, chilli (mild!), lamb casserole, ratatouille. A bag of frozen peas is another handy staple to add veg to anything. Can always chuck in a handful before reheating. x

Home made soups are good. You can drink them from a cup when feeding baby if you have to and are packed full of vitamins. They are also a healthy snack between meals if you're hungry.

Bolognese, chilli, curry, chicken casserole. We lived off these for weeks. We just cooked the spaghetti, potatoes or rice to have with them at the time. We spent a weekend making massive batches of them and most of the freezer was full. We had a December baby so they were nice warming meals for the cold weeks when we were knackered!