Marks of Motherhood

Hello fellow foodies,

This past weekend I decided to tackle some freezer meals! Did it on a Saturday so my husband could help and do the dishes 😉 I’m 36 weeks and my energy comes and goes in spurts so you never know when I’ll no longer plan to cook!

I wanted to do mostly comfort foods that were easy to throw together and that I knew my kids would eat. If you’re wanting to go the super easy route I have this and this post on Trader Joe’s favorites as well as this and this one for Costco! I’ll be grabbing a few of these next week.

Now onto the meals we did!

Instant pot Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 1-2lbs of hamburger, divided
• 2 tbs of Avocado or Olive Oil
• Medium white onion diced.
• 1/2 tbs parsley, basil and cilantro paste

For later(in pantry):

• 1 16oz package of spaghetti noodles
• (2) 24oz can hunts garlic and herb sauce

Freezer part: All I do is sauté the onion in olive oil. Brown the meat. Add the 3 different herb pastes. Let it cool and divided into two quart freezer bags then place in a gallon ziplock.

When it’s time to eat– Thaw the meat in the fridge the night before or day of in the microwave. Spray the bottom of your instant pot. Put in the meat add 1 24oz can of spaghetti sauce, 2 cups of water and 8 oz of noodles (broken in half or thirds) don’t stir just press down on the noodles so they’re completely submerged in the sauce. Secure lid, close steam valve and set on manual high pressure for 10min. Quick release and serve.

Note: This is enough to make it twice and since we all love it it’s a win-win for before and after the baby comes!

8 7 can Crockpot Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 (15oz) can of pinto beans
• 1 (15oz) can of black beans
• 1 (14oz) can of diced Italian tomatoes
• 1 (14oz)can of golden sweet corn
• 1 (14oz) can of chicken broth
• 1 (10oz) can of green enchilada sauce
• 1(10-14oz) can of chunk chicken breast
• 1 (1oz) package of taco seasoning.

Fresh ingredients (purchase later):

• Sour cream
• Green onions
• Cheese
• Shredded lettuce
• Tortillas chips

Preparation:

I just bought a basket from the dollar tree to put everything for this soup and the spaghetti so I wouldn’t use it and could easily identify it in the pantry.

When it’s time to cook:

All you have to do is dump it all in, stir it up and set your crockpot to low for 6-8hrs or high 3-4hours. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans. Also drain the corn and chicken. Everything else can be dumped right in.

Special note: This recipe is from six sisters and I only leave out the cream of chicken. It’s also enough to split in half for our family of 4. But we enjoy the leftovers so I just keep it fresh in our pantry instead of splitting and freezing.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1lb sausage
• 8oz tomato sauce
• 24oz hunts garlic and herb sauce
• 1 10.75oz cream of mushroom soup (I use this alternate recipe)
• 2-4 cups cheese (2 cups each of mozzarella and cheddar but I usually just do the fiesta blend)
• 1 package of lasagna noodles

Preparation: ( seems tedious but it’s not)

Boil noodles according to package. While they’re boiling brown the sausage and set aside to cool. Once the noodles are done rinse with cold water.

I then take one noodle and cut it to fit the pan and then use a cutting board to cut the rest 3-4 at a time.

Once they’re all done I lay them out on wax paper.

Next mix the tomato sauce, hunts garlic and herb sauce and the cream of mushroom. Then get ready for the layering process.

Start by spreading 1/4 of sauce mixture into each pan. Then layer 3 noodles, 1/2 cup of sauce mixture, handful of sausage and 1/4-1/2 cup of cheese.

Repeated two more times. I use the scrap noodles to do one of the middle layers so there’s enough.

On the top layer I split the remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Then I cover with tin foil and note the baking times.

When it’s time to cook:

Thaw in fridge the night before and then bake at 350 for 60-70min.

Special note: This makes a 9×13 dish normally but since there’s only 4 of us I usually do two of the disposable 9×9 poultry pans (purchased at the dollar tree).

Mouthwatering Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

• 8oz cream cheese
• 1 cup green salsa (or diced green chiles)
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 6 tablespoons of chopped cilantro or cilantro paste
• 4 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 20-6 inch flour tortillas

Preparation:

I cook 3lbs of frozen chicken breast/tenderloins with 1 cup of pineapple juice in my instant pot. Just secure lid, close steam valve and set to poultry for 10min. You can then do a slow release or a quick release depending on how much time you have. Once it’s finished pour liquid into a bowl and splash a little back in with chicken. Mix with a hand mixer to shred it.

Once the chicken is shredded simply microwave the cream cheese for 15-20seconds and mix it in with the chicken and all the other ingredients.

Once the mixture is ready heat the flour tortillas, one at a time, in the microwave for 15 seconds. Place 2tbs of the mixture onto the flour tortilla and roll it up like a taquito.

Then seran wrap each one and divide the taquitos into two gallon ziplock bags. (10 each)

When it’s time to cook:

Simply thaw the morning of in the fridge, line a baking sheet, and bake at 425 for 15-20min. You can brush a little olive oil on top to make them extra crispy.

Special note: I take these to almost all of my friends when they’ve had a baby. They usually ask for the recipe so they can freeze them and just heat some in the microwave when they want something quick and easy.

Vegetarian casserole

Ingredients:

• 24 corn tortillas
• 4.5 cups of enchilada sauce (1 28oz and 10oz can)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1-2Tbs of cilantro fresh or paste
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 bell peppers,diced (I did yellow and orange)
• 2 cups of frozen corn
• 1 (15oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
• 3 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar or fiesta blend)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and sauté onions in olive oil. Once browned add the rest of the veggies and cilantro until heated through.

Once mixture is ready spread 1/4 of enchilada sauce into each pan.

Next take 6 tortillas and cut into quarters. Spread on the bottom of each pan (3 whole tortillas each, in quarters).

Add 1 cup of veggie mixture to each pan, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers two more times.

There will be 4 layers of tortillas and 3 layers of the veggie mixture inbetween. So tortillas, veggie mixture, tortillas, veggie mixture,

tortillas, veggie mixture and tortillas.

Split the 10oz can of enchilada sauce on the last layer of tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.

Cover with tin foil and note baking times.

When it’s time to cook:

Thaw the night before or morning of in fridge. Bake covered at 425 for 30-40min and then uncovered 5-10min. Longer if needed.

Special note: This is a new recipe we tried out recently and enjoyed so I decided to split it into two 9×9 poultry pans like we did with the lasagna.

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 1 (22oz) Bag of frozen Tyson grilled chicken strips
• 1 (16oz) Bag of frozen stir fry peppers and onions

Items to buy fresh later:

• 10-12 Corn tortillas
• Cheese

Preparation: I shouldn’t even count this meal because it’s basically premade but my husband and kids love it. Simply cook both bags according to directions and once heated through serve on tortillas. I heat the tortillas 3 at a time for 30seconds in the microwave to soften them. Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy!

Special note: If you’re craving chicken tacos simply add some salsa, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

That is all for these 10 pantry/freezer meals. I also put together a printable pdf of these 10 Easy Freezer meals  with all the recipes and grocery list. Hope it helps any busy or expecting individuals!

Happy eating,