Stocking The Freezer for Our New Baby

I'm not a neat freak. I'll admit it.

I'm currently too tired to stay on top of my housework the way I should or keep it organized the way I like.

The nursery is still in a state of limbo. (Trim will be painted this weekend, and then we can finally arrange furniture, yay!). It's also freezing cold up there compared to my spot next to the fire.

Seriously, why would I ever want to leave?

So if my family lives in a dusty, house with clutter on the kitchen counters, we will survive (well, Hubby might be unhappy, but he'll live). But one thing we can't survive without? Food.

I'm fortunate to have a husband who knows his way around around the kitchen, and we're blessed to have a great group of friends and church family who have already offered to bring meals once our baby girl comes. However, I really wanted to make our lives a little easier by prepping a few meals for the freezer. You know, for those days when Hubby is working late or the baby is in the midst of a growth spurt, wants to eat constantly, and I'm exhausted because one or both kids just. won't. sleep. This isn't my first rodeo, after all. I know how these things can go.

So I've spent the last few weeks adding food to the "baby stash" in my freezer.

What I've Frozen So Far:

• 1 Ham & Swiss Casserole 
• 1 Tuna-Noodle Casserole
  (I very loosely followed this recipe, mostly because I didn't have all the ingredients called for in the recipe. Whoops!)  
• 3 pans of Lasagna Casserole 
• 6 pounds worth of Meatballs (made with half venison, half beef)
  Does anyone want to guess how many meatballs 6 pounds of meat makes? I counted because I'm a total nerd. :)  
• 1 batch of whole wheat pancakes (from my Betty Crocker Cookbook)  
• 4 loaves Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (we're actually eating some of this now) 
• 3 dozen dairy-free Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins using coconut oil instead of butter.
  (Just in case our little girl has dairy issues like her brother did.)

Yup, I must be #nesting! We were "iced in" today so I decided to stock my #freezer with foods for us to eat once the baby arrives. One tuna-noodle casserole, a double-batch of pancakes, 3 dozen zucchini muffins, and 4 loaves of zucchini bread all in the freezer. I. Am. Tired.

A photo posted by Kim {Pinspired Home} (@kim_pinspired_home) on Feb 9, 2015 at 3:23pm PST

What I Still Hope To Freeze:

• Cooked and chopped chicken to make casseroles, quick meals, use in soups, add to salads, make chicken salad, etc.
• Muffin Tin Meat Loaves
• More muffins and/or quick breads (we eat these on a regular basis)
• Soup (maybe Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup, since it makes so much)
• Some sort of Burrito or other easy lunch
• Breakfast Casseroles or Mini Quiches
• Cookies or Cookie Dough (to bake as needed)
  Because a nursing mama needs extra calories, right?
  

Why I'm Not Making Freezer Crock Pot Kits:

I love freezer kits. I even wrote a post about them way back when I was first blogging. And they are a great option for many people.

Unfortunately, they don't really work for our current "real food" lifestyle. I haven't bought any raw meat from the grocery store in over three months. If you don't count pork, sausage, or ground turkey, it's been at least six.

In the last year, we've made a conscious effort to find ways to locally source as much of our food as possible. (More on that in a series of posts I hope to have ready to share during those first weeks while we adjust to our newest family member.)

For us, that meant raising our own chickens for meat and finding a local farm to purchase beef in bulk. I made a few freezer kits when we butchered our chickens, but those are long gone. As for the beef, it came from the butcher already frozen (our choice). Since you're not supposed to thaw and re-freeze raw meat, it would be really hard to easily make kits. Instead, I'll work on assembling a list of quick and easy crock pot meals that I can throw together in minutes when I have some spare time the morning of or night before.

That being said, do you have any easy, tried-and-true crock pot recipes? I'm always open to suggestions!

 What About You?

If you were stocking your freezer with meals for your family, what would be on your must-have list?
And again, I welcome suggestions for delicious and easy crock pot meals. :)

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Pumpkin French Toast Bake (Freezer Friendly!)

Thanksgiving is this week, and if you are looking for something quick to serve for breakfast, this is a great choice. You can make it ahead (even freeze it) and then just pop it in the morning as you begin your turkey day preparations. Imagine the kids happily eating a plate (and letting you cook in peace) while they watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bliss. :-)

I improvised and froze this recipe to use up some milk and then brought my experiment to MOPs. Thankfully, my fellow moms of preschoolers didn't mind being guinea pigs. In fact, the Thursday before Thanksgiving meant a lot of pumpkin dishes. There were actually two different pumpkin french toast casseroles!

This french toast was perfectly delicious! Just the right custard-to-bread ratio, not too sweet, and plenty of pumpkin flavor. Kiddo ate some of the leftovers for lunch that day and he LOVED it! Since it was so easy to make (and freeze!), I can guarantee that this Pumpkin French Toast Bake will grace our table many times in the future.

NOTE: This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 13x9" baking dish. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

Ingredients:.

• 1/2 loaf french bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/5 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the Brown Sugar Drizzle: 
(Optional, but recommended)

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons butter

  Instructions:

1. Grease a 2.5-quart casserole or 8x8" glass dish and add cubed bread evenly to the pan, pressing down if necessary.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Pour evenly over the top of the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
   *To freeze, wrap tightly with foil and pop the dish in the freezer. Let the casserole thaw overnight in the fridge (at least 12 hours).*
3. In the morning, prepare the Brown Sugar Drizzle: Add the cinnamon, sugar, and butter to a small glass dish. Microwave for 30 seconds to melt the butter and stir. Microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring, until the mixture bubbles and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Drizzle over the top of the casserole. (This can also be done on the stove top in a small pan, but with such a small amount, it seemed easier to microwave.)
4. Place the casserole dish in a cold oven and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve with syrup if desired. (I thought it was sweet enough as it was!)

Do you eat a special breakfast on Thanksgiving? Are you a fan of pumpkin dishes?
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

 I link up at these fabulous link parties.

How to Freeze Zucchini and Yellow Squash

I feel like all I've talked about lately is zucchini. I can't escape it! One plant produces a lot of squash -and we have six! (Two yellow squash and four zucchini). Needless to say, we are a bit overrun with the yellow and green veggies right now.

How To Freeze Strawberries Two Ways

{This post contains affiliate links for your convenience}

The middle of June means many things: the official start of summer, school letting out, warm weather, longer days... But one of my favorites? Strawberry season.

Last Week's Freezer Cooking in Review: Ground Turkey and Chicken

Ground Turkey was on sale for $1.66/lb last week. I look forward to this sale, which seems to happen quarterly, because I have never seen a lower price!  As usual, I bought 9 pounds for $15. Here was the breakdown of how I prepared almost all of it during nap time one day:

A Great Freezer Cooking Resource!

 

By now I'm sure you know how much I love to stock my freezer with healthy meals for my family. There's nothing better on a busy day than to know that dinner is ready to pop in the oven or crock pot!
Which is why I have to share this great e-cookbook from Kelly over at New Leaf Wellness. Kelly is a psychologist, wellness coach, and mom of three little girls. She writes about healthy living, DIY's, recipes, and mothering on her blog. And let me tell you, this girl is a pro at freezer cooking! Kelly and I "met" when I used her her goal sheet in my round-up of Free Goal Printables, and I've enjoyed getting to know her through her blog and Facebook ever since.
When Kelly was looking for people to proof her newest e-book, I jumped at the chance. As I told Kelly, since I'm a former Language Arts teacher, I take not-so-secret joy in editing. :) And since I'm really passionate about freezer cooking, it seemed like the perfect match!

Yes, I just used the words "passionate" and "freezer cooking" in the same sentence. Wow. I think my kitchen nerd status has been confirmed. ;-)

All This Snow Is Keeping Me in the Kitchen!

I don't know what it is, but there's something about seeing our yard blanketed with snow that makes me want to cook and bake! I know I'm not the only one, because many of my friends on Facebook have been sharing their adventures in the kitchen today.

Stock Your Freezer: Soups and Stock

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If you follow my Menu Plan Monday posts, you know that I love soup in the fall and winter! I can think of few things I find more comforting than a warm bowl of soup on a cold day.  One of the best things about soup is that it lends itself to large batches, making it a perfect food to freeze so you cook once and eat twice or even more. Granted, not all soups freeze well. Through experience and the advice of cooks I respect, I've come up with a few rules of thumb for deciding if a soup will work for the freezer.

Stock Your Freezer: Garden (and Store-Bought) Produce

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As I have mentioned before, we have very full freezers right now. If you look in our chest freezer, well over half is currently full of berries and vegetables, most of which came directly from our garden. There are also times when I'll buy extra vegetables (like celery, carrots, and potatoes) when there is an amazing sale. We definitely appreciate having these veggies available all through the winter, and I know we save plenty of cash by using our frozen produce rather than buying the same items out of season.

Stock Your Freezer: Freezer to Crock Pot Kits

Oh, how I love the crock pot! Now that we are busy with various church activities, it's so nice to make a meal where I can "set it and forget it."
I don't know about you, but my "Dinner Ideas" board on Pinterest is full of crock pot meals, and some of the most intriguing are the freezer-to-crock pot kits. It's such a great concept - you dump ingredients in a bag, freeze it, and dump the contents into the crock pot when you want to make the meal.* You can't go wrong with an easy, no-fuss dinner!

Stock Your Freezer: Five Ways to Prepare Ground Meat for the Freezer

A few weeks ago, my favorite local grocery store had an amazing deal on ground turkey -- $1.66 a pound! I had some wiggle room in my grocery budget, so I bought three 3-pound packages. Nine pounds is a lot of ground meat, but I had a plan.

 Five Ways To Prepare Ground Meat for the Freezer:

Stock Your Freezer: Introducing a Blog Series at Pinspired Home!

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I'm excited to announce our first official blog series on Pinspired Home!