Preparing for Baby #3 with 2 Months of Freezer Meals - Day 4 - Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken Noodle Casserole - Makes 3 Freezer Meals

Today's meal was the perfect comfort food for a cold day like today. It reminds me of pot pie but instead of a pie crust, you use egg noodles. This made 2 freezer meals and another meal for tonight.

Ingredients:

4 cups uncooked egg noodles

4 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 32 oz package frozen peas, carrots, beans and corn

2 cups milk

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Instructions:

Cook noodles according to package directions.

 Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

 Drain noodles, add to chicken mixture.

 Transfer to greased 8 inch pie pans.

 On baking day: cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer until heated through.

Preparing for Baby #3 with 2 Months of Freezer Meals - Day 3

Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast - Makes 2 Meals

Today's meals were SUPER easy and only took about 10 mins to prep tonight's dinner and 1 freezer meal. 

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lb boneless pork roast 

2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup dried minced onion

cooking spray 

Directions:

1. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. 

2. Cut the pork roast in half and put half in the crockpot.

 3. Label freezer bag and put the other half of the roast in the ziploc bag. 

 4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, honey, and minced onion. 

 5. Pour half over pork roast in the crockpot. 

 5. Pour the other half over the roast in the freezer bag and place in the freezer.

 6. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

7. Shred and serve!

8. I served the pork over mashed potatoes with green beans.

On the day of cooking second freezer meal: thaw in refrigerator over night, pour into crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Preparing for Baby #3 with 2 months of Freezer Meals - Day 2

Preparing for Baby #3 with 2 months of Freezer Meals - Day 2

Chicken Enchiladas

Makes 4 Freezer Meals

I am making these for our Mom's Meal Swap this week. I made 3 9x11 pans of Chicken Enchiladas and 1 9x11 pan of Vegetarian Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas.

Ingredients:

12 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

3 onions, diced

9 cups shredded cheddar cheese

18 flour tortillas

3 large cans of enchilada sauce

3 cans black beans

2 cups cooked white rice (for vegetarian dish)

Instructions:

For chicken enchiladas, mix cheese, onion, chicken, 2 cans black beans and 1 1/2 cans red enchilada sauce in a bowl. (This made so much I had to split between 2 bowls to be able to stir it.)

 For vegetarian enchiladas, mix cheese, rice, onion, 1 can black beans and 1/2 can red enchilada sauce in a bowl. 

 With a large spoon, fill each tortilla with mixture. Roll it up and place it in 9x11 baking dish, seams down. Repeat until all mixture is used. 

Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of each. 

Sprinkle with cheese, cover with foil, and freeze. 

 Instructions for day of baking: Thaw, bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Easy Asian Salad

Dressing
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Sesame Oil
1 clove Minced Garlic
Juice of 1 Fresh Lemon
2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
2/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Wasabi
1/4 cup Toasted Sesame Seeds (Lightly toast on a sheet pan in the oven, or in a pan on the stove)

Add all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigourlessly until combined

Salad
Make a blend of whatever vegetables you like or have in the fridge!
Vegetable Ideas:
Romaine Lettuce
Shredded Nappa Cabbage
Cucumbers
Red Peppers
Green Onions
Tomatoes
Avacado
Carrots
Mandarin Oranges
Radish
Edamame

Pick a Protein!
Protein Ideas:
Shrimp
Salmon
Crab
Chicken
Fried Egg
Fried Tofu

My FAVORITE (and my husbands favorite part!) add noodles! I usually use rice noodles (I like the thick ones) but udon are great too or even just Ramen if it's what you have.

Just throw everything into a large bowl

Just before eating, add enough dressing to lightly coat everything, toss and enjoy!

Preparing for Baby #3 with 2 Months of Freezer Meals

In two days, I will be exactly 1 month from my due date. This realization makes me both anxious and excited! But mostly it puts me in planning mode. So, I sat down this last weekend and planned out 2 months of freezer meals that I don't have to make all at once. Here is the simple calendar print out I used to plan the meals I'll be making: Free Printable Calendar  My plan is to make most of the freezer meals in the next 3 weeks and the closer I get to my due date, the less I have to prepare/make. Since my first son was 3 weeks early and my second son was 2 weeks early, I'm thinking this little one will be at least a week early so I want to have as many meals frozen by then as possible.

Here is my plan for now. I'll be adding more as I go along. The green meals are meals that I have left over from our last Mom Meal Swap and the pink ones are meals I'll be getting from our next Mom Meal Swap. By the way, this is a great thing to do if you are expecting or just busy because it gives you a chance to try other people's favorite recipes and switches up the routine.

 January

 February

 March

So, today I started on day 1 with Cilantro Lime Chicken in the Crockpot. This is one of my favorite freezer meals because it is delicious and so simple. I prepared all 3 of these meals in less than 20 minutes today. I prepped 2 and threw one in the crockpot for dinner tonight. Here's the recipe and what I did:

Ingredients:

 9 chicken breast

Juice from 4 limes 

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

3(16 oz) bags frozen corn

6 minced garlic cloves

3 can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

First, label the ziploc bags with the date, meal and directions for preparation.

 Next, split all of the ingredients into the 2 bags and the crockpot (3 chicken breasts per bag). Remove as much air as possible from the bags and put in freezer. That part is done!

Then, add all of the ingredients for dinner tonight into the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 

For this meal, I made it into nachos, but you can also use this recipe to make tacos as well. To make the chips I cut corn tortillas into four triangles...

 Then fried them in vegetable oil until just crispy. 

 Then I layered the Cilantro Lime Chicken with cheese on the homemade chips and broiled for about 3 minutes in the oven. 

 Dress with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, lettuce and any other nacho toppings that you prefer. 

I'll be adding to this post every day that I make a freezer meal so keep checking back to find other great freezer meal recipes!

Vegetable Lasagna

This lasagna is so delicious you won't miss the meat!

Yields: 2 Pans

1 Recipe Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce with a Kick!
2 Boxes Oven-Ready Lasagna Sheets

Desired Vegetables (I switch it up each time I make this based off of what's on sale, what sounds good, or what's blooming in the garden!)
This time I used:
1 Egg Plant
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
1 Bag Baby Spinach
2 Carrots (Shredded)
1 Bunch Asparagus
2 Red Peppers

1 tub (32 oz. size) Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs (beaten)
2 tsp. Italian Season Blend
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

1 Bag Italian Cheese Blend

Slice up your desired vegetables and spread them out on a sheet tray, coat them with olive oil, and then sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees until vegetables are tender. (I always line my tray with tin foil for an easy clean up! If you are using spinach or carrots I usually lightly sautee them in a pan on the stove rather than on a sheet tray)

While your vegetables are cooking mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, italian seasoning blend, and sea salt, season lightly with a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper.

Now you are ready to build! (Makes 2-9x13 pans)

Layer 1-Start by adding a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan
Layer 2-Next evenly spread out sheets of lasagna
Layer 3-Now spread an even layer of the ricotta cheese mixture
Layer 4-Evenly spread out a variety of vegetables
Layer 5-Top with sauce
Repeat layers 2-5 one more time
Top with lasagna sheets and then a mixture of sauce and ricotta cheese.
Sprinkle with italian cheese blend

Cover with foil and bake and 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

This is also a great meal prep item! Instead of making 2 pans I made 1 and then made 3 small disposible pans to freeze and will bake them off one night I don't have time to cook.

Creamy Pasta Sauce with a Kick!

This is a great easy go to sauce that's sure to impress! Its great with pasta, chicken, lasagna, gnocchi, and so much more!

1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 can (28oz. size) Whole Peeled Tomatoes
2 cans (28 oz. size)Dei Fratelli Chopped Italian Tomatoes Herbs & Olive Oil

4 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tbsp. Sea Salt
1 cup Heavy Cream

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add in the garlic. Add in the can of whole peeled tomatoes, and 1 can of chopped tomatoes. Reduce for 40-45 minutes on medium low heat stirring occasionally.

Using an emursion blender add in the heavy cream and blend until their are no more large chunks.

Add in the remaining can of chopped tomatoes, italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and sea salt. Cook on low for 45 minutes. Enjoy!