Frozen meals?

[Stayseeliz]

My niece was born last week at 30 weeks. She's doing well but she's in the NICU of course and she'll be there for 4-8 weeks. They live 3 hours away and we've been down there once but I wanted to go again next week and take some meals. It's just two of them. I wanted to take at least 3 full meals for the freezer that they can just stick in the oven, etc so they'll have plenty of time to spend at the hospital. I'd love recipes that I could make, freeze and transport well. Thanks for suggestions!!

[plansrme]

http://erinkristine.blogspot.com/2010/01/freezer-meals.html

 

This is a blog by a couple who froze meals in anticipation of their own baby's birth. You can click from there into a later post reviewing their recipes. I made the baked ziti they made (the recipe is from Annie's Eats, another bog). Here's a hint: if you double the recipe, you may want to pull in something from your garage to mix it in. It was a huge, enormous hit. Everyone who has tried it wants the recipe. The recipe calls for turkey sausage, but I just used regular (bulk) Italian sausage.

 

I have frozen the ziti several times by lining the 9x13 pan with foil, filling with the ziti, freezing, and then popping it out of the pan to complete the wrapping. Works great.

 

Terri

[Bassoonaroo]

Thanks for doing this. My oldest was born at 29 weeks and spent 11 weeks in the hospital. We received a few meals from church and work and I appreciated all of them very much because I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

 

One thing that my family has been appreciating from the freezer are frozen burritos. My hairdresser told me that she makes them and keeps them handy for her son and husband. So, I started making them and my kids are grabbing them when they need a bite to eat before an activity or whatever...

 

I am sorry that I don't know exact measurements and such, but this is truly a "wing it" sort of dish. Go to the store and buy a pack or two of flour tortillas. Buy a few cans of refried beans (I usually get a mix of spicy and normal and sometimes I get fatfree). Then get a big pack of shredded cheddar and a huge tray or "chub" of ground beef (5 lb. or so). and enough taco seasoning mix for the meat (I got the huge Costco bottle of seasoning...).

 

Brown all the ground beef and drain it. Then prepare taco meat as the packets direct.

 

When the taco mix is done (it takes about 15 mins or so), mix it in a big bowl with the refried beans and the cheddar.

 

Prepare the burritos by spooning the mix on the tortillas and roll them up with the ends folded in. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and pack them in gallon freezer bags.

 

When you need a bite to eat, just grab one and zap it until it's hot. Easy!

 

I like the ziti idea too. Sounds yummy.

[justasque]

A batch or two of healthy muffins makes a good grab-and-go snack or even breakfast. Choose a recipe with fruit and nuts to bring in those other food groups.

 

I second the burrito suggestion; it's easy to cram these full of veggies, which aren't always abundant in frozen meals. (If you're using Bassoonaroo's basic formula, you can also saute onion/garlic, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, corn, etc. and mix them in with your meat and beans.)

 

If they're feeding a family (not sure if they have other kids) a nice crumble topping and a bag of frozen berries is a nice touch. The crumble is easily made in bulk in a food processor, and it's nice to have a quick-to-make dessert ready to go. Recipe here.

 

Quiche is another good choice; again you can fill it full of veggies so it's an all-in-one meal. You can do a whole quiche, and/or grab-and-go single servings which are nice for breakfast or lunch too. Skip the crust for a healthier version. Recipe here, but you can mix up the veggies a whole bunch.

[acurtis75]

There are some good menus for this at http://www.savingdinnee.com. All the ones I've tried have been good.