Need food ideas to prepare for new baby in the house

[Jenn98]

All I remember in those early weeks with DD regarding food was that I just wanted it to appear in front of me. I was so tired I didn't care what it was as long as I had to do nothing for it to appear - and that included making a simple decision as to what we ate. And since DH is no help in the kitchen or with making food decisions, I need to start preparing for the arrival of DD#2 this December. I'm looking for both recipe ideas to work on preparing over the nexxt months and any other tips/tricks out there to make those early weeks go easier. I do plan to hit a Dream Dinners type place, but I know I can make a ton of stuff here too. I just need inspiration and any BTDT advice about food in general for days with a newborn and almost-toddler. TIA!

[kimbe]

I made lasagna and jambalaya and froze it in portions in gladware containers. I also bought a big pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts and cooked them all, then froze them in portions in ziploc bags. We just pulled the chicken out, thawed it and reaheated and served it with rice and frozen veggies. I also bought a big pack of ground beef and made hamburgers and froze them (buy some hamburger buns and toss them into the freezer too.) The hardest thing for me to do though is REMEMBER to take things out of the freezer so that they thaw and we can eat them --- still have problems with that now!

Oh, don't forget to make some cookies and freeze them for yourself too! Sometimes, you need dessert more than you need the meal!!!

HTH!

[jgriffin]

>
>Oh, don't forget to make some cookies and freeze them for
>yourself too! Sometimes, you need dessert more than you need
>the meal!!!
>

I made a whole bunch of muffins for when I was nursing. Well, I hadn't planned on them being for that, but I frequently found myself nursing E early in the morning and being totally famished! I just had a large ziplock bag of them in the freezer, and I would pop one or two out. I would have happily eaten cookies, too, if I had thought ahead (next time!)

There are cookbooks and newsgroups for once-a-month-cooking, you might look there for recipes that freeze well.

[amck]

my staples were:
chili
banana bread
enchiladas
quiche

a dear friend of mine came over and filled my freezer w/ all of these things in smaller portions so DH and i could eat. i feel indebted to her FOREVER!!!!

kudos to you for planning ahead!

[Jen841]

Things we lived on...
Mini-meatloaves made in muffin tins (2 for DH, 1 for DS)
PB&J
Lasagna
BBQ Pork (crockpot recipe)
Tacos (make a bunch of meat up in advance, freeze by the pound)
Raisin Bran (J's fav)
Italian chicken (crockpot recipe)
Turkey Sandwiches/Salads (I cooked a few, shredded them, and individually froze meat in bags)
Spaghetti
Italian sausage (crockpot recipe)

For the crockpot recipes I made 2-3X the normal amount and froze in meal size portions.

Easy dinner I did not freeze, but had things on hand:
Apple Pie Chicken (bake chicken covered with apple butter and top with cheese)

You are so organized to be planning now!

[kristenk]

My sister and her DH happened to come into town the day DD was born. They cooked tons of stuff for me while I was in the hospital and it was wonderful. They made two recipes that my Lebanese grandmother always made for us - meat pies and a rice pilaf. This is going to sound sort of silly, but it really was great. The rice was absolutely wonderful for the freezer! They froze everything in smallish glad or ziplock containers and I could just pop the rice in the microwave and it reheated wonderfully. Meat pies were great b/c it was sort of more of a "meal in one hand" kind of thing. BIL also made a ragout sauce that we used with pasta and that was positively wonderful. I need to make all of the above for our freezer again! If you'd like any of the recipes, let me know.

Oh, one word of warning. When people brought over food, they tended to bring over dry pasta and homemade pasta sauce, for some reason. Try not to go overboard on that unless you *really* like it! :)

Oh, oatmeal raisin cookies can be considered bfing aids - or at least I did! You can always freeze balls of cookie dough (most kinds, as far as I know) to cook later for nice warm cookies out of the oven.

[crayonblue]

I did the same thing with chicken breasts. DH grilled a huge pack of chicken breasts and steaks and then we froze them. No, not quite as good as fresh off the grill but it was really nice to have a quick meal after baby was born!

[brittone2]

I'm due in December and thinking about the same things. I did a lot of cooking ahead when pg with DS and I know with two kids, I'll need those frozen meals even more!

I started writing out some ideas today and so far this is what I'm planning to make:
Meatballs (flash freeze so you can pull out as few/many as you want, no big "clumps"). I'll also have rolls in the freezer so these can be used w/ pasta or as a meatball sandwich.

Meatloaves
Enchiladas
Quiche (good for lunches and breakfasts too, and my toddler LOVES it)
Lasagne roll ups (for a small family these can be flash frozen, pull out as many as you want at a time).
Roasted chicken (can be used in salads, as part of a chicken salad w/ mayo, etc.)
Extra browned hamburger, precooked (can be turned into a lot of different things).

I may also do:
Roast beef in crockpot, sliced and frozen
Chicken pot pies (have to test drive this first)
Chili
Freezer mashed potatoes (had a recipe I've used before from a freezer cooking website, but I'll have to find it)
Frozen wraps (chicken, rice, etc. wrapped in a tortilla and frozen, good for lunches)

Snacks:
Muffins/quickbreads
Oatmeal cookies :)
homemade granola bars

I was positively famished in the early weeks of BFing DS so I'll have plenty, plenty, plenty of healthy snacks on hand this time around for sure. I"ll probably buy some Larabars, etc. to keep around in addition to the homemade goodies.

Now, to find the energy to do this ;) I'll be enlisting my mom's help and I'll be borrowing her crockpot for extra cooking space.

[shellybelly]

I froze meals ahead of time, I did beef and bean burritos (homemade -- better than the bought kind), King Ranch Chicken Casserole (i just posted the recipe in the thread -- le crouset buffet casserole dish), lasagne, soups, baked ziti, corn on the cob, enchiladas, pizza (not homemade), and the rest were crock pot meals. one time I premade/combined the ingredients for a crockpot meal, then froze it. then the day before eating it, i defrosted it in the fridge, then threw it in the crock the next day. (it was one of those where you have to cook the meat and saute some veggies before putting in the crock -- i wasn't trying to make more work for myself.)

beef and bean burritos

1 lb ground beef
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 c salsa
1 c mexican cheese
1 c onion
chili powder
8 flour tortillas
8 pieces of foil

cook beef and onion together. then add beans, salsa, and chili powder. heat. place 1 tortilla on 1 foil piece. scoop 2/3 cup of mixture onto tortilla, and add cheese. wrap tortillas, then wrap up in foil. repeat until all done. freeze.

cook at 400 for 30-35 minutes. (you may have to cook longer)


-Shelly

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We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Gandhi

[kristenk]

Beth,

Could I have your granola bar recipe? I've tried a few different recipes, but I'm always on the lookout for a new one! Thanks! :)