Tuesday I spent my day making freezer meals to help nourish us a little after our bundle arrives.
This was no easy task. It took a lot of organizing and preparing to make sure I had everything I needed and that I knew how to package everything to freeze properly and still be edible when we ate it. I have NEVER done freezer meals before so it was an interesting first experience. I used a couple of different websites to help a little with recipes and added a few of my own.
I also learned that apparently there is a new wave a moms/wives that do “once-a-month-cooking”. I used Once a Month Mom to help me a little. They seriously spend the month buying groceries when the sales and coupons come out and organizing their meals for a month… not just their dinners- but breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert even, then spend a weekend making all of these meals and stock their freezer for the next month! I am a little overwhelmed by the thought of this, as it pretty much took everything I had just to make meals for a week or two, but I think the whole 9-months pregnant thing might have added to my exhaustion! 🙂
I had planned on making six different meals, a couple of each. On my list was Taco Soup, Roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, tortilla tower (my version of enchilada casserole), chicken pot pies, and sloppy joes.
Here is part of the beginning… those are only the ingredients for the roast, taco soup and sloppy joes- everything else was behind me!
In the end, I made two crock-pot roast dinners, two tortilla towers, three batches of taco soup, one lasagna, and three batches of sloppy joes. I still need to make the chicken pot pies but I feel accomplished for now! We can eat if she comes early! And my feet hurt too bad to continue on today… I think a pedicure may be on the schedule this week!
Also, thanks so much for your comments on my post yesterday. I was really surprised at how much support I received and it was so reassuring to know that it is possible and that it is a priority to so many other moms. This is one of the reasons why I love this blogging world!
Yum! Everything sounds so good! That is such a good idea!
Ok Stephanie, you’ve inspired me! I’ve heard about the monthly meal planning thing, but it just sounds so overwhelming to me. I have a hard time collecting the right ingredients for ONE meal, I think I might just start with weekly planning. Gosh, how convenient to spend one day in the kitchen instead of hours throughout the week? I love it.
PS- I loved your last post about loving Ben first. I recently went to a women’s study at our church and we listed “Godly priorities.” It amazed me, because if I read the priorities from bottom to top, it was exactly how the world categorizes their life. But God wants the opposite! God, spouse, children, job… See? TV shows and movies and even friends and family put their job at the top, then their children, then MAYBE their spouse comes last, and God might not even be a part of the equation.
Can’t wait for your little girl to make her appearance. I’m sure she’ll show up with her running shoes on 😉
I love that you posted a picture of how it all fit in your freezer because that is what I have been worrying about! I know I want to freeze some meals for after the baby comes, but I have no clue how I’m going to fit it in my freezer, but seeing how you got yours in there, I think I can do it! 🙂
Steph, you are amazing!!! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you did all that being 38 weeks pregnant! I’m super impressed, and although I wish I could say I’m inspired to do this, I have to say it all looks a little overwhelming 🙂
I have faith in you all!! If I can do this, you all can do this… trust me. I am a basic meal kinda girl- these are the meals that worked easiest for me because I could make more than one at a time- which I think is part of the trick. If you pick meals where you can’t make large batches you will be there forever!! And if you can make 2 or 3 batches, then you can add them to 2 or 3 weeks worth of menus!
You go girl! I’ve been so into this too lately. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when it’s all done! I haven’t had any time lately to spend a whole day at it, but just yesterday I made chili for dinner, and made a HUGE pot and froze three more meals worth. So that’s how I’m doing my freezer cooking. When I have something on the menu for the week that I can double, triple, quadruple easily. I do. I LOVE the feeling of a full freezer!! I’m sure you do too 🙂