Postpartum meal planning.

It is that time again.. time to stock up the freezer and pantry in preparation for the arrival of another little Hayes. Here is the basic list for this time. I will include a quick how-to and, if I can, a link to the recipe if you're interested!

• Lasagna - I split a regular 9x13 of my favorite recipe into two 8x8 aluminum containers because we can't eat an entire 9x13. Works great! If you need a recipe, hit me up!
• Goulash - This is just my grans basic recipe. You can find the recipe HERE.. super easy and the kids love it!
• Enchiladas - This is another one that I split up into two 8x8's. My step-mom's recipe.. again if you need it just ask!
• Chicken potato casserole
• Chicken pot pie - HERE is the recipe. I make the chicken and veg mixture and freeze it in an 8x8. Thaw overnight. Then layer with about 6 sheets of filo (cooking spray between each layer) and bake.
• Sweet soy chicken
• Veggie pasta shells
• Red and white tortellini
• Burgers (boca burgers, too) - Confession: I used to make beef and turkey burgers and freeze them. Now I just buy them in bulk at Sam's club. Freeze the buns, too, and just pull them out as you need them.
• Hotdogs - Hebrew Nationals, of course.
• Meatloaf - Again, I think any recipe will work, but if you want mine just ask!
• Beef barley soup
• Spaghetti and meatballs - I buy beef meatballs in bulk and put them in the crockpot with spaghetti sauce.

I buy frozen and canned veggies and add them in to each meal as a side dish. I even buy frozen bread and dinner rolls to serve, too. This time I am also stocking up on some desserts and even some frozen Stouffer meals, too.

If you all have a favorite frozen meal recipe please let me know! I need some new ideas, especially some vegetarian options!!

Happy cooking!

Month of Meals.. March!

Here we go again! This month I have the entire month planned, but I'm not making and freezing everything ahead. I'm doing the shopping for the first half of the month, and then I'll do a second trip on the 15th. I think this is working out great, and we are saving money! Here is what this month looks like. (I will link to the recipe when I can. There are a lot of recipes that are new to me this month, and if I come across some winners I will be sure to post them on chowcity.blogspot.com!)

1 - The Mirabal's are making us dinner!

2 - Steak, rice, veggies

3 - Spaghetti

4 - Help yourself night

5 - Meatball soup and bread

6 - Leftovers

7 - Dani's pizza

8 - Huevos

9 - Chicken packets and veggies

10 - Chili hamburgers and fries

11 - Help yourself night

12 - Dinner at the Frost's

13 - Easy chicken and rice

14 - Philly pizza

15 - Salmon and veggies

16 - Chicken with wild rice and salad

17 - Pot roast

18 - Help yourself night

19 - Tetrazzini

20 - Left overs

21 - BBQ chicken pizza

22 - Breakfast for dinner

23 - Swiss steak, potatoes, veggies

24 - Teriyaki burgers and fries

25 - Help yourself night

26 - Dinner at the Donaldson's

27 - Easy peasy jambalaya

28 - Turkey pepperoni pizza

29 - Stacey's hamburger soup

30 - Sweet soy chicken, rice, edamame (take a deep breath and think about my sweet baby girl, due one month from today!!)

31 - Crunchy chicken crescents

Month of Meals.. Round Two!

Last month's meal planning turned out to be such a hit! One shopping trip and 4.5 hours of cooking (thanks to all the help from my mother-in-law!) equaled 31 days of meal planned bliss. Really, it made my life so much easier! Now, here comes round two! I am changing it up a bit this month because I wanted some healthier options. The casseroles were delicious, but not very easy on my already expanding waist line! I had a few meals left over from last month, so I threw them into the mix, and my mother in law gave us some steaks and chicken breasts she bought. Here is what this month looks like, and where possible I linked the recipe!

2-1 Baked potato soup (Jeremiah's favorite - made with turkey bacon!) served with cheese and sour cream, and this bread (made in a loaf pan, not braided).

2-2 Breakfast for dinner

2-3 Salmon, sweet potatoes and veggies

2-4 Help yourself night

2-5 to 2-7 Weekend getaway with Jeremiah!!

2-7 Sherried tomato soup with grilled cheese

2-8 Steak, veggies and rice

2-9 Breakfast for dinner

2-10 Burritos (left over from last month)

2-11 Help yourself night

2-12 Dinner with the Donaldson's

2-13 Huevos

2-14 Homemade pizza - may be Dani's Thai Pizza!!

2-15 Steak and veggies

2-16 Breakfast for dinner

2-17 Salmon, rice and veggies

2-18 Help yourself night

2-19 Italian meatball soup

2-20 Left overs

2-21 Chicken soup

2-22 Steak and veggies

2-23 Breakfast for dinner

2-24 Meatloaf, potatoes, veggies

2-25 Help yourself night

2-26 Lasagna!

2-27 Leftovers

2-28 Headed to Albuquerque for a baby shower!

A month of meals!

Jeremiah had some things to do this evening so I have some free time to blog my heart out.

Here is our month o' meals. Each week follows the same basic pattern: Monday - frozen meal, Tuesday - breakfast for dinner, Wednesday - frozen meal, Thursday - help yourself night, Friday - big casserole to feed 10-12 people, Saturday - leftovers, Sunday - pizza night! I stock my freezer with frozen veggies for side dishes and since casserole eating isn't the healthiest option, I try to make sure we eat a lot of veggies with each meal.

Also, I have all the breakfast foods we eat stocked up (eggs, tortillas, cereals, yogurt...), lunch foods (lunch meat, veggies, bread, cheese) and snacks. We snack on fruit a lot, so I will have to do a produce run to keep us stocked next week.

Here goes nothin'!

January 1 - Beef stroganoff, fresh bread (made fresh, but it would freeze well minus the noodles and sour cream)

2 - Leftovers

3 - BBQ Chicken Pizza

4 - Chicken fried steak, potatoes, veggies, left over bread from Friday (this meal was not frozen, made fresh)

5 - Breakfast for dinner (biscuits, gravy, eggs - Trader Joe's has a great multi grain baking mix!)

6 - Huevos

7 - Help yourself night

8 - Enchiladas (on Fridays, someone else brings a side and a dessert, so it's not on my list)

9 - Left overs

10 - Pizza - topped with ground beef and turkey bacon (the toppings are ready to go, in the freezer)

11 - Out of town

12 - Out of town

13 - Burgers and fries

14 - Lasagna and veggies

15 - Meat loaf (2 recipes worth)

16 - Left overs

17 - Miah's spaghetti

18 - Chicken Potato Casserole

19 - Breakfast for dinner

20 - Hot dogs and fries

21 - Help yourself night

22 - Potato soup (will be made fresh)

23 - Left overs

24 - Pizza night - topped with turkey pepperoni and green chile

25 - Goulash and veggies

26 - Huevos

27 - Burritos

28 - Help yourself night

29 - Stouffer's lasagna

30 - Leftovers

31 - Tortellini with cream sauce

After doing that I am fairly certain I won't be putting up recipes or a shopping list. I just don't have that kinda time! :) But if anyone has any questions on anything I made just let me know! I can also email my shopping list.. I have it on the computer divided by aisle at the grocery store :)

When you do the shopping for a month you may be able to fit it all into one cart as you gather it, but once the food is bagged you will need two carts to either be prepared to do that yourself or bring a helper!

I buy chicken thighs in bulk and then put them in the crock pot overnight with water and seasonings. In the morning the chicken is ready to be shredded and I cool the broth, drain the fat and freeze it for soups. Works great! You can also freeze it in smaller portions to use as needed.

On the day I will be doing all of the cooking I start with a clean kitchen and empty dishwasher. I lay out each recipe and put the ingredients for each recipe on top of it. I figure out how much cooked ground beef I will need and I cook it all at once. I chop all onion, garlic, etc. for all of the recipes so that I don't have to do that each time I start a recipe.

As for storing everything, for right now I use those disposable aluminum trays, Tupperware, and freezer bags. I make sure I have lots of freezer paper, heavy duty aluminum, and labels. Each recipe has a label on top that tells me what it is, how long it needs to cook and at what temperature.

Sometimes for a larger recipe (like lasagna, for example) I divide the recipe in half because my little family can't finish and entire recipes worth!

Happy shopping!