Alright, so I am preparing for baby. I am wondering what is it that I can make now that would be good to reheat after baby is here.
Are there any caseroles that would be good to put together now and then get out of the freezer and bake? I know there are so many crock pot dinners and what now. I already plan on getting some of those. But I was just lookign for some other ideas.
I have already browned 4 pounds of hamburger meat and froze them in individual 1 pound bags. I figured this would help with spaghetti or sloppy joes.
Please, any more ideas??
(thanks)
~tracy
__________________
me-29 dh-36 married 8/18/01
Our miracles:
Maddox William 9lb 13oz 5/12/06
Lincoln Anthony 9lb 5oz 8/1/08
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I did really well with mac & cheese (a friend made me some and put it in small containers) and meatballs and sauce (frozen in ziplock bags, enough for 2 people for a meal in each bag). That made dinners really easy. Also? An aunt brought us a deli platter when we got home from the hospital and that was GREAT for quick lunches.
Good luck! I can't believe how far along you are!
__________________ My sweet babies ~
Justin Ames - born 12/18/03
Molly Brewster - born 2/3/05
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Alli - I was thinking meatballs or meatloaf. Never really thought of mac and cheese. The deli tray sounds like a great idea.
Kibbie - I know how to do chicken pot pie. I may have to do that one. Do you freeze it in a glass caserole dish?
How do you do the bake ziti and the beef stew.
I was thinking of doing some soups also. Maybe vegetable. But then also this little one will be coming when it is warm out and do we really want soup when its warm. LOL
Oh and Kibbie - I seen the rep points you gave me. HEHEHE Better stay away from my snake trophy. Guess I'm going to have to get in there and play some more.
~tracy
__________________
me-29 dh-36 married 8/18/01
Our miracles:
Maddox William 9lb 13oz 5/12/06
Lincoln Anthony 9lb 5oz 8/1/08
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I bought the greatest foil pans at BJ's Wholesale Club, but you can get them in regular grocery stores too. They were deep, 9x13 foil pans with clear plastic covers. I put the food in them, covered with a layer of tin foil, and then the plastic cover on top of that. I labeled each one and included baking instructions for DH. The disposable pans were great, they went right from freezer to oven. And if I felt like washing and re-using them...great, if not, in the garbage they went! In the early weeks of baby bootcamp, I wasn't too concerned about recycling. LOL
(You can also buy smaller disposable pans and make individual meals).
When I did baked ziti, I prepared it just as if it was about to go in the oven. I cooked the pasta, added the sauce, and in my baked ziti I like sweet italian sausage and ricotta cheese. I mixed the ricotta with an egg, some grated parmesan cheese, salt & pepper, and put large dollops of ricotta throughout the pan of ziti. When making it for freezer meals, be sure to add extra sauce (more than you think it will need), because the pasta absorbs the sauce, and after freezing and baking, the ziti will be pretty dry unless you added extra sauce to compensate. You can either mix shredded cheese in the ziti before freezing, or put a layer of cheese on top about 15 minutes before it's done. Lasagne can be done the same way.
Beef stew was almost fully cooked before freezing (try to make extra gravy, beef stew also absorbs sauce), and then put in the oven for an hour. Get inspiration from commercially frozen meals in the grocery store, you can make and freeze just about anything, and your meals will be tastier and healthier than the pre-made ones you can buy at the store.
Since you are going to have a warmer weather baby, I suggest pre-marinating raw chicken breast, steak tips, etc....and freezing in meal-sized portions...(wrap the meat well with foil, and then put in freezer bags). That way the meat can be defrosted and thrown on the grill, and it's all marinated and ready to go!
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Here are some of my favorites - they all freeze very well.
Southwestern Casserole
1 onion, chopped 1 can cream of chicken soup
1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 (10 oz) can tomatoes & chiles
2 garlic cloves, minced 2 ½ c chopped cooked chicken
2 tsp. chili powder 2 c crushed tortilla chips
1 tsp. oregano 7 Tbs. chopped cilantro
1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 c shredded Cheddar cheese
Saute’ onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, and oregano in a large nonstick skillet coated with Pam over medium heat for 8 minutes. Stir in soups, tomatoes & green chiles, chicken, crushed chips, and 5 Tbs. cilantro. Spoon into greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Toss remaining cilantro with cheese and sprinkle on top. Bake an additional 5 minutes uncovered.
Cook ground chuck and onions in Dutch oven. Drain fat off and add soup, Rotel, and beans.
Layer half of tortillas evenly into 2 lightly greased 13x9 baking dishes. Top each with ¼ meat mixture and ¼ cheese. Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes.
Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed.
Chicken Stuffing Bake
1 (10 oz) can cream mushroom soup 2-3 c cooked chicken
1 c milk 2-3 c cooked broccoli florets
1 (6 oz) pkg. stuffing mix 2 celery ribs, diced
1 ½ c shredded Cheddar cheese
Combine soup and milk. Add stuffing mix with contents of seasoning packet, chicken, broccoli, celery, and 1 c cheese. Pour into greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake additional 5 minutes.
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Double
2 (6 oz) pkg. fast cooking wild rice mix 4 c shredded Cheddar cheese
¼ c butter 2 (10 oz) cans cream chicken soup
2 medium onions, chopped 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
4 celery ribs, chopped 1 c milk
2 (8 oz) cans sliced water chestnuts, ½ tsp salt
chopped ½ tsp pepper
5 c chopped cooked chicken ½ c bread crumbs
Single Recipe
1 (6 oz) pkg. fast cooking wild rice mix 2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 c butter 1 (10 oz) cans cream chicken soup
1 medium onions, chopped 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
2 celery ribs, chopped ½ c milk
1 (8 oz) cans sliced water chestnuts, ¼ tsp salt
chopped ¼ tsp pepper
2.5 c chopped cooked chicken ¼ c bread crumbs
Prepare rice according to package. Set aside.
Melt butter in large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat; add onions, celery, and water chestnuts. Saute’ 10 minutes.
Stir in rice, chicken, 3 c cheese, soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper.
Spoon mixture into 2 lightly greased 11x7 baking dishes. Top casseroles with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Note: Freeze unbaked (without cheese topping) up to 1 month. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 55 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes.
__________________ Me - Jen 30
DH - Cash 35
DS - Danny 5
Married 3-15-98
It's made a thousand different ways. It's basically meat, elbow macaroni, and some sort of tomato sauce. I make mine with ground beef, macaroni, diced canned tomatoes (italian style), chopped onion and green bell pepper, garlic, worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper, and a little bit of brown sugar.
pretty much almost anything freezes well. Lasagna(before you bake it thought its better, just put together then froze) Turn over to 375 and place it in frozen for 45 minutes, done.
Chil cooked.
Soups.
Spaghetti and meatballs
Meatloaf
Chicken and broccoli, rice(great for lunch at work in individual containers)
The Ham & Cheese Macaroni was excellent, although I may have doctored it a bit. I think that I added broccoli once.
The Cannelloni with Cheese Sauce completely goes against everything that I love about Italian food (cheddar cheese sauce?), but I tried it anyway when a friend had a baby and she said that her husband loved it.
__________________ Nikki, 30 DH 35
DX 1995, currently taking Metformin XR 500mg/day IT'S A GIRL! - Miranda Lois, Born May 18, 2006
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Freezable Dinners 
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