This is my fourth pregnancy. I’ve never done much to prepare meals before the other three babies were born. This time, I plan to prepare ahead. With a new baby in the house and three other children, I know I won’t want to cook. I plan to spend the latter half of my third trimester preparing meals and freezing them for after the baby arrives.
I’ve started collecting recipes for meals that will keep well in the freezer. First, I made a list of all the meals we normally eat that would work as freezer meals. These included lasagna, stuffed shells, and chicken soup and then I realized I’d need some help in this department. I went in search of some books on freezing meals.
“Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer: Great Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead” by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell and Bonnie Garcia
One thing that makes this book unique is that the recipes are prepared and frozen, prior to cooking. Many freezer cookbooks have you cook the meal and then freeze it. By freezing prior to cooking, the process becomes less time consuming when trying to prepare a freezer full of meals. The recipes are easy to follow. The book has recipes for beef, chicken, pork, meatless meals and even desserts.
“The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet: A Month of Meals Made Easy” by Nanci Slagle
The premise of this book is to spend and entire day cooking. By the end of the day, you will have enough meals to last the entire month. In addition to the recipes, there is a wealth of information and cooking techniques. Worksheets and charts assist in the planning and shopping for ingredients. The recipes in this book are kid friendly. You won’t have too much trouble getting your other kids to try them.
“Cook Once a Week, Eat Well Every Day: Make Ahead Meals that Transform Your Suppertime Circus into Relaxing Family Time” by Theresa Albert
Spend a half a day cooking and prepare a week’s worth of home cooked dinners. The author has included three months worth of recipes and all the instructions for shopping and planning for each meal. There are thirteen weekly plans included in the book. Most of the recipes are simple and kid friendly. They are also healthy and a few are more elaborate. The variety ensures there is something for everyone.
All of these books and many other freezer meal books are available on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home?site=amazon&tag=familiescom-20