Preparing for Twins

Hello there. I am just curious as to what meals you are preparing to freeze for when the time comes. I really don't like frozen meals but it looks like I better get used to it! I am just curious if anyone has any good ideas on what to freeze and how to freeze them (best containers, etc?). We only have one freezer so I can't go totally crazy but am almost 33 weeks and better start getting a headstart if we want to eat in the coming months! Thanks!

 

We're doing a lot of this now - as I'm already on bedrest and we have a toddler - so I'm anxious to hear other peoples suggestions.

But, after I had DS, I got a gift certificate to one of those places where you go and make 12 meals and then you can freeze them. It was terrific - we've done it every month since! So, between that and friends and family, we're in a very good place!

Also, I hear those vacuum sealers are great, but I don't have one!

Jenny

 

During pregnancy if I have time when making dinner, I just make double or triple, (so we have dinner that night), and then I put the extra in containers to freeze. I just buy the throw away foil pans--the cassarole size or even the round cake tins. If they don't come with a lid, then I cut a cereal box to fit and wrap it in foil for a lid. After I put the lid on, I seal the whole container in plastic wrap and then in foil. Here are some things that I have made and then frozen...

Chicken enchiladas
Homemade mac and cheese
Lasagna
Other pasta dishes (like ziti or shells)
Stews/soups

I'm anxious to hear other's suggestions as I am running out of "feel good" time to do this!

 

Sorry...that last post was mine...I was logged in as guest??

--Reagan

 

There was a thread in the cooking forum a while back on Freeze and Serve Meals. I tried a couple of them. HTH.

 

QUOTE(moski @ Aug 2 2007, 06:05 PM) [snapback]355153[/snapback]
There was a thread in the cooking forum a while back on Freeze and Serve Meals. I tried a couple of them. HTH.


WOW! Thanks for the link. I just copied all those fantastic recipes into a word document so I'd know where to find it later. I think I'll make almost all of these in Sept / Oct when summer is over and before the boys arrive.

 

Hey there,

Did you join a multiples group? If you have one locally and notify them, they will bring meals to you for the first week or two. I'm having that and some from church. This will be a big help .

 

That link was very helpful. I think I might try some of them. That is a great idea.

 

In general, I think pasta dishes freeze the best...so pasta based casserole dishes get my vote for freezing. I'm not fond of veggies frozen in almost any form... feel like they get frosty... Marinating meat portions that are good for just what you need in a meal or two is also a nice idea... nice to just pull it out of the freezer, thaw and throw it in the oven with no prep work really. Rice is one of my favorite quick starches... Especially with a rice cooker...so easy...and when I get tired of plain white rice I throw in some broth diluted with water and it turns out really yummy...not sure if you should do that in a rice cooker or not, but mine is still working! LOL! bagged salad for super easy veggies! Of course that needs to be bought fresh... but hey, your dh will probably be running out for formula, or diapers, or milk and OJ each week anyway.

 

Thanks for the recipes, I have been worrying about this too! How long can this stuff be frozen for? We have a separate freezer in the basement.

 

I highly recommend a Dream Dinners or similar type of place. It's a lifesaver, I went regularly in the girls' first year of life! I even bought a chest freezer.

 

Whenever I have a big life event coming up, I freeze meals!

You can get that foil bakeware at the grocery store in smaller than casserole type sizes (one pan of macaroni for example into two 9 inch cake trays), and then you have two meals out of it instead of one + leftovers!

My advice: after prepping it, don't bake it. Just put the ingredients in the foil pan, cover with foil, and then put it in a big ziploc, write the date and ingredients on the ziploc, and stash in the freezer. When you want to cook it, stick it in the fridge to thaw the night before, then bake in the oven as usual for dinner.

I like to freeze: macaroni, lasagna, moussaka, eggplant parmesan, etc. Anything casserole-like.

 

I'm planning on pre-cooking hamburger and seperating it into 1 lb containers, great for pasta sauces in a pinch. I'm aslo making cookie dough balls in advance. That way the older kids can still have snacks. On top of doing some other things. I'm hoping to have enough meals for about 3-4 meals a week for about 6 weeks.

Jen

 

QUOTE(ferfischer @ Aug 2 2007, 05:31 PM) [snapback]355115[/snapback]
i got a gift certificate to one of those places where you go and make 12 meals and then you can freeze them. It was terrific - we've done it every month since!


My friends did a session for me when i had the babies - it was tasty and EXTREMELY helpful. We were so pooped that I'm not sure we would've eaten if they hadn't done this for us!!! you'll find that these places help you prep good food at a price usually less than what it would cost you to buy all the ingredients. I too now do this once a month - for an extra fee, they will even do the work for you (great if you are swamped).

 

This is quite helpful - thank you!

QUOTE(moski @ Aug 2 2007, 10:05 PM) [snapback]355153[/snapback]
There was a thread in the cooking forum a while back on Freeze and Serve Meals. I tried a couple of them. HTH.

 

There isn't a Mothers of Twins club in my area unfortunately! There is a mother's group but I am too far along to join now. Great suggestions though!

QUOTE(pamelastwins @ Aug 2 2007, 11:50 PM) [snapback]355279[/snapback]
Hey there,

Did you join a multiples group? If you have one locally and notify them, they will bring meals to you for the first week or two. I'm having that and some from church. This will be a big help .

 

With my first I actually made a huge turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes, that helped a lot...we could make meals from it and I used to grab pieces of turkey out of the fridge when I needed a quick bit to make sure I was getting enough protein. It was just like Thanksgiving leftovers...we had turkey sandwiches for days. I also got a spiral cut ham from a local grocery store that just needed to be heated...we ate that for quite awhile too. Another thing I did was make a huge pan of chicken parmesan (using about 10 chicken breasts)...those lasted awhile too. Lasagna is another great meal that lasts a long time.

 

just a word of caution- if you plan to BF, be sure you don't make anything too spicy or gassy! i made a batch of this great black bean soup that i love and froze it in the single serving ziploc containers, and then couldn't eat any of it until 6 months b/c DS was so sensitive to my diet!!! if you have a slow-cooker, those are great too. you can throw stuff in there early in the morning and just let it cook, and usually there is enough for at least 2 meals. i used mine a lot!

 

I got this book http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Assets-Lite-E...4414&sr=1-2
and made a TON of stuff out of it! A lot of stuff you probably already have in your pantry, but these meals are designed to be good for freezing. It's relatively a cheap book and the meals are healthy too! I would make a whole recipe (they make HUGE portions), we'd save half for dinner and a meal the next day and then freeze the other half of the recipe. It worked out great. I hadn't used this book in awhile b/c I had forgotten about it...I got it out the other day and I've made 3 things out of it so far!

We are getting a deep freeze for Christmas, so I plan on doing this again after the new year to prepare for this new baby on it's way, so I'm not going insane chasing after my toddlers, taking care of a newborn and making meals!

 

QUOTE(twinzmom2b @ Aug 4 2007, 07:42 PM) [snapback]357951[/snapback]
I got this book http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Assets-Lite-E...4414&sr=1-2
and made a TON of stuff out of it! A lot of stuff you probably already have in your pantry, but these meals are designed to be good for freezing. It's relatively a cheap book and the meals are healthy too! I would make a whole recipe (they make HUGE portions), we'd save half for dinner and a meal the next day and then freeze the other half of the recipe. It worked out great. I hadn't used this book in awhile b/c I had forgotten about it...I got it out the other day and I've made 3 things out of it so far!

We are getting a deep freeze for Christmas, so I plan on doing this again after the new year to prepare for this new baby on it's way, so I'm not going insane chasing after my toddlers, taking care of a newborn and making meals!


I checked out the book, it looks like it has a lot of posibilities. Thank you!
Trina