Ideas for freezable family meals?

richard green said:

Any ideas? Favourite recipes?

I made two of these for my friends when they had their kid...they *said* it was great after being
frozen :-).

Shortcut Mexican Lasagne:

First, get a lasagne/roasting/tin foil pan...one that will hold lasagne noodles.

From 365 Easy One Dish Meals (Natalie Haughton, Harper Collins)

Shortcut Lasagne, Mexican Style Prep 15 min., Cook 45-50 min. Serves 6

1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce 1 14 1/2 ounce can cup-up peeled tomatoes, *undrained* 1 6 ounce can
tomato paste 1 16 ounce can black beans, rinsed and well drained 9 ounces lasagne noodles (uncooked)
1 pint (2 cups) low-fat cottage cheese 3 cups (3/4 pound) shredded cheddar cheese (we add a 4.5 oz
can of mild diced green chiles as well, but it's not in the recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine enchilada sauce, tomatoes with their juice, and
tomato paste (and green chiles, if using). Mix to blend well. Stir in black beans.

2. Spoon a third of tomato sauce mixture over bottom of a 12x8 inch rectangular baking dish. Top
with 3 uncooked lasagne noodles. Spread evenly with 1 cup cottage cheese and sprinkle with 1 cup
cheddar cheese. Spoon on half the remaining tomato sauce mixture.

3. Add another layer of 3 noodles, remaining 1 cup cottage cheese, then sprinkle with 1 cup
cheddar cheese.

4. Add remaining 3 noodles in a single layer, remaining tomato sauce, and remaining 1 cup cheddar
cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until noodles are tender. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce

richard green said:

Hello there,

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain. I want
to help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be portioned and
frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but something kids
under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes? Thanx, Richard.

After 4 kids I'd be considering suicide LOL Freezable meals include lots of things. Lasagna, pot
roast, stews, chicken croquettes, salmon patties, salisbury steak, mach & cheese. Many soups. Rice
and pasta freeze well and lots of veggies. Take a look around the freezer section of the grocery
store to get ideas.

I don't know about [her] kids under 5, but I always ate what my parents ate, once I had teeth.

Jill

richard green said:

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain. I want to
help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be portioned and
frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but something kids
under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes?

Search on "freezer meals" for a whole raft of recipes and suggestions.

"richard green" <[email hidden]> deliciously posted in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hello there,

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain. I want
to help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be portioned and
frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but something kids
under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes? Thanx, Richard.

Lasagna would be a good dish. Soups and/or stews would also be good. Was that 4 kids under the age
of 5? Gawd! I'd also say roasts, chicken and noodles but I'm not sure the youngsters would like
pot roasts.

Michael

In article <[email hidden]>, "richard

green said:

Hello there,

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain.

Good description, buckling. I hope she's got a husband to help with the load. My mom had her first
10 kids within 2-1/2 years of each other and said "it's hard when they're young, but nicer when
they're older." Whatever.

Quoted message said:

I want to help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be
portioned and frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but
something kids under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes?

Don't discount PB&J sandwiches -- they'll keep in the fridge for a few days. Bring her a 3-days
lunches supply. Macaroni hotdish? Hamburger patties that she can nuke and stick in a bun? Roast beef
hash that just needs browning in a skillet? For now, I'd think about what the kids would eat --
bring her some flowers to demonstrate your admiration. :-)

Quoted message said:

Thanx, Richard.

--
-Barb A good friend will come and bail you out of jail; a true friend will be sitting next to you
saying, "Damn,that was fun!"

"Dog3" <dognospam@adjfkdla;not> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"richard green" <[email hidden]> deliciously posted in news:QnpQb.25759$Wa.8609@news-
server.bigpond.net.au:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Was that 4 kids under the age of 5?<< ........

Uh huh. She needs serious help and/or a bigger freezer. Tks for the suggestions all, I better get
cooking, Cheers, Richard.

richard green said:

"Dog3" <dognospam@adjfkdla;not> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"richard green" <[email hidden]> deliciously posted in news:QnpQb.25759$Wa.8609@news-
server.bigpond.net.au:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Was that 4 kids under the age of 5?<< ........

Uh huh. She needs serious help and/or a bigger freezer. Tks for the suggestions all, I better get
cooking, Cheers, Richard.

How about a side of birth control pills? <G>

Jill

I'm here with 3 kids, one a newborn. I've tried to make lotsof freezer meals. An easy favorite is
baked chicken. Take a lot of drumsticks,and a lot of chicken thighs. Put ina large baking dish. Chop
a few onions and toss in there , throw in some spices and herbs. Add a few cups of water, cover with
foil. Cook about 40 minutes. Let cool, put enough for one meal into a gallon ziploc, cover with the
pan juices. Serve over rice. To make a complete meal. toss some carrots,potatoes and maybe peas in
there with the chicken, or cook separately in broth (so you can vary the ingredients in the frozen
portions).

"richard green" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:QnpQb.25759$Wa.8609@news-
server.bigpond.net.au...

Quoted message said:

Hello there,

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain. I want
to help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be portioned and
frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but something kids
under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes? Thanx, Richard.

When my daughter was in the hospital, we had a lot of food given to us. Lasagnes were nice, but by
our 10th Lasagne.. The best two things we got were a freezer bag full of about 12 grilled chicken
breasts (these were homemade-but I think you can get them in the stores also). You could defrost
them for lunches with fruit, for dinners with a pasta or mac and cheese, -they were very versatile.
The other great thing we got were gift certificates to our local delivery Chinese food and delivery
pizza/Italian place-for days when you can't even defrost anything.

richard green said:

Any ideas? Favourite recipes?

Taco filling. Take your favorite mexican seasoning and stir into browned ground beef, Freeze in a
thin layer in a large zipper bag, then pound it on the counter to crumble it up so she can remove
only as much loose meat as she needs to reheat and serve.

Or try this lower-fat 'fast food taco' lookalike:

Start with two tubes (1 lb?) of frozen Louis Rich ground turkey. It's mixed dark and white
meat, and if you get the good all-white meat at the butcher it won't work right. Thaw those
out and brown them in the bottom of a large saucepot. Don't add any oil or anything. This
stuff is pretty lean, so it will cook up fairly dry, and you have to keep stirring it and
breaking it up as it browns. When that is cooked, add one to three finely chopped jalapeno
or other chili peppers, to taste. Add 1/2 to one cup of finely chopped onion, to taste. Stir
in two cans of refried beans. (I use one low-fat, and one vegetarian to balance flavor with
calories) You may want to add a very little bit of water at this point. Don't add too much,
not more than 3/4 of a cup, because once the beans soften it will get very thin. Seasonings
are mostly cumin (3-4 tablespoons) and chili powder (1 tablespoon). I also throw in a TB
each of oregano and garlic, and about half a teaspoon of black pepper. You can certainly add
more pepper or chili powder to taste. Cook it until it's done, or you are too hungry to wait
any more. This is one of those dishes, like spaghetti sauce, that can sit on the back of the
stove for hours at low heat. Stir it occasionally, because it likes to settle and burn.

Dawn

jmcquown said:

richard green wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Uh huh. She needs serious help and/or a bigger freezer. Tks for the suggestions all, I better
get cooking,

Quoted message said:

How about a side of birth control pills? <G>

(laughing) Great minds think alike. She should really think about giving her body a break.

nancy

GLAD now has cassarole size plastic containers that can be baked or microwaved, and are re-usable.
These are fantastic for giving away cassaroles because you don't have to worry about loosing your
baking dishes. They also include lids, and are stackable in the freezer. One of my favorite
cassaroles to make is a chicken and stuffing cassarole. I dice 4 chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces
and stirfry on the stove with an onion, and whatever herbs I have on hand. I add 2 cans of chicken
broth, and
1/2 cup of quick cooking rice. Then mix that with 1 bag of herb flavored stuffing croutons. Pour the
whole mess into a cassarole pan and then top it with a can of cream of celery and a can of cream
of chicken soup-duluted with
2/4 of a can of milk. Cover with foil and bake for about 45 min. I've given this cassarole away a
few times and everyone loves it, and it freezes and reheats very well.

Sandra

---snip previous posts--- Uh, sloppy joe mixture freezes well, and is one of those traditionally
"kid friendly" dishes. It nukes well, too. And, don't forget to include the buns.

~~~Gina~~~

You are a friend indeed! I recently had my third child, and was thrilled to pieces whenever anyone
brought us dinner. Nobody brought us anything freezer-worthy, it was usually stuff that we ate that
night (often they would call a few days ahead to set up a date to bring the food, so I wouldn't have
already made something). I already had a lot of stuff in the freezer -- meatballs and meatloaf, taco
meat, chili, etc. (Of course, I had my baby the week before hurricane Isabel, so I lost a lot of
that frozen stuff anyhow!).

I liked getting things the day-of, because that meant I didn't have to think about it the night
before or even a few hours before -- just open the fridge, pop something into the oven, and voila!
Dinner. Some folks even delivered the meal hot to the door at 6 p.m.

The nicest meals were the ones that came with a side dish -- something plain like green beans or
roasted potatoes that the kids would eat even if they didn't like the entree -- and a dessert.
Dessert is key. Something simple like brownies or cookies, or a banana bread -- you *know* the kids
will like that.

Another nice thing to bring would be cut up fruit or raw veggies that she can use as a side or snack
-- healthy for the kids, but often time-consuming. I can get a basic meal on the table, but
sometimes, adding a side just takes those extra few minutes that I don't have if the baby needs
attention in the last minutes before dinner (many babies are programmed to be fussy around
dinnertime, shortly before the other adult of the house gets home).

In article <[email hidden]>, "richard

green said:

Any ideas? Favourite recipes?

What do they normally eat? I'm thinking things like pot roast with veggies and mashed potatoes,
stew & noodles plus a salad (dressing on the side so it doesn't sog), macaroni & cheese with some
veggies and a fruit plate, any baked pasta really, a ziplock bag of spagetti sauce and some bread
& salad, meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, chicken pot pie - we got one that had lots of veggies
in it like spinach and such which had tons of iron, chicken rice casseroles, curries & rice, stir
fry & rice. We loved it when people brought the veggies and/or salad with the meal. We loved it
when they came in those disposable aluminum pans so we wouldn't have to keep track of who brought
which dish and return them.

Regards, Ranee

--
Remove do not and spam to e-mail me.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in
shrines made by man." Acts 17:24

In article <[email hidden]>, "jmcquown"

Quoted message said:

After 4 kids I'd be considering suicide LOL

Ha ha. One wonders if you would appreciate comments about desiring suicide based on the details
of your life.

Regards, Ranee (who got really tired of all the people who asked us if we knew how babies were
made, told us to get hobbies, watch more tv, get separate bedrooms, etc. We know how babies are
made, we're really good at it.)

--
Remove do not and spam to e-mail me.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in
shrines made by man." Acts 17:24

In article <[email hidden]>, Dog3

dognospam@adjfkdla;not said:

Was that 4 kids under the age of 5? Gawd!

We're going to be there in less than 6 weeks. It's really not bad if you have trained your kids
to be disciplined. In fact, it's quite nice. Our boys love each other, are overwhelmingly
considerate for 5 and 3 year olds (the almost 2 year old takes direction very well), have all
shown care for me and how I will feel and recover after this baby is born and are thrilled to
pieces to be getting a little sister. It is tough work, but not any tougher than any other work I
could have chosen. I think part of the nightmarish problem people see with families with multiple
children is that the parents have been too lazy to do their jobs in guiding and disciplining
their kids. We are complimented without fail on the boys' behaviour and attitude everywhere we
go. They mind us, the go to bed on time (6:30-7:00 pm), they love us and each other, play well
together and are polite, they are also some of the happiest people I know and laugh all the time.

People ask us how we get our children to behave so well and mind us, part of it is because we
just expect them to do so and they know it, part of it is because we are consistent with how they
are disciplined and part of it is that we train them into habits that will aid them to follow our
guidance. An example is the grocery store. I hear other parents complain about taking more than
one child to the store, and it is harder for me too, but because of the time getting everyone in
and out of the car and store, not their behaviour. Our boys do not get the shopper in training
carts, they do not wander the aisles, the two older ones each take a side of the cart and hold on
walking alongside me and the little one sits in the seat. They ask to be excused when we pass by
someone and they know we will leave if they get out of line, throw fits, make loud or repeated
demands, etc. They respond to my direction because that is the habit we have instilled in them.
They are not perfect, but they are primarily obedient. Parents seem to be afraid to expect or
train children in obedience anymore.

Regards, Ranee

--
Remove do not and spam to e-mail me.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in
shrines made by man." Acts 17:24

In article <[email hidden]>, "jmcquown"

Quoted message said:

How about a side of birth control pills? <G>

With the belladonna? Does it every occur to you that perhaps they wanted that many children, even
spaced that way? Our boys are so close to each other and they are 20, 22 and soon to be 24 months
apart between kids. We know how kids are made and how to "prevent" them.

Regards, Ranee

--
Remove do not and spam to e-mail me.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in
shrines made by man." Acts 17:24

"richard green" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hello there,

A friend has just had her fourth baby, last week, and is buckling a bit under the strain. I want
to help out by bringing around food every now and then, something tasty that can be portioned and
frozen for easy use when needed. She's a bit of a foodie, so nothing too bland, but something kids
under the age of five will consider eating. Any ideas? Favourite recipes? Thanx, Richard.

Richard,

I'm not big on freezer stuff but make things that she can eat with one hand. With an infant, you've
always got something in the other hand.

In addition to freezer foods, why don't you plan on dropping by every week or so with some fresh
fruit (kinds that the kids like) and take the non-infant kids out to the park for a half hour. I
know that I go batty if I don't get some alone time and hers must be almost nil.

Susan B.