these next few weeks I'm looking to restock my freezer to prepare for my next pregnancy, since between the first trimester nausea (aka no cooking was happening) and that second trimester fatigue (aka some cooking was happening), having a few things in the freezer would've been so nice. read my full list of all i'm doing to prepare for baby #2 here.
plus, it's my birthday week, and I like to do some freezer cooking around this time. (and this week, brett has a few days off work. so i'm taking advantage.) love, memaw haley.
- here's how I celebrate my birthday + how you can create your own birthday traditions
sunday: grill and chill
- read all the ways our weekly ritual of grill and chill helps us here
- brett smokes pork for pulled pork sandwiches
- slight change in plan: try this recipe in the crockpot - brett got busy doing house stuff and couldn't start the smoker in time
- omit oil
- freeze leftovers in these containers
- hawaiian rolls (or sliders!) coleslaw, caramelized onions maybe, good pickles, bbq sauce
- our favorite roasted parmesan sweet potatoes
- except I don't peel my potatoes, I use goooood parmesan (not that canned stuff!), and I cook mine a heck of a lot longer so there's some crispiness going on
- brett loves his grill, his smoker, and his prep table (see other grill and chill favorites here)
- see our other routines here and our traditions + rituals here
make food for me (and KK)
- *I adapt all these things for KK if need be if it's something we will share
- see more about KK's baby-led weaning journey here
- make a batch of this oatmeal for the week, if needed
- or make a batch of baked oatmeal for the week - like this! (I learned I love to eat it warm with milk or greek yogurt YUM)
- or make oatmeal cups for KK, if needed (freeze leftovers for future weeks)
- try fruity baked oatmeal cups for KK - double recipe, freeze leftovers
- make a batch of waffles, pancakes, or muffins, if needed
- freeze leftovers, or double the batch and freeze half
- make an oven omelette for the week, if needed
- here's my recipe (I loosely tweaked this oven omelette recipe and this recipe) or here's my post on similar egg cups.
- or make these egg cups for KK - freeze leftovers for future weeks
- or make fritatta fingers (i try this recipe) for KK for the week
- make smoothie cups and/or yogurt parfaits, if needed
- see my "smoothies" highlight on my instagram
- see more about my yogurt parfaits here
- make snack boxes in divided glass containers like this, if needed:
- see my "snack box" highlight on my instagram for this better explained + past boxes
- see my Pinterest boards to see where I save all food inspiration for snack boxes/adult lunchables/bistro boxes/whatever you call them
monday: sandwich night
- grilled cheese (use good french bread and gruyere cheese)
- we love our panini press for good grilled cheese + good toasty sandwiches
- I omit sherry out of personal preference...and because we never have it
- i use PETITE diced tomatoes
- I like to add arborio rice like how this lady does in her tomato soup
- freeze leftovers in these containers
- I'm stocking my freezer before baby #2 - see all I'm doing to prepare in this post
tuesday:
my birthday
- takeout chuy's fajitas yayyyy
- pick up my birthday cake
- here's how I celebrate my birthday + how you can create your own birthday traditions
wednesday:
waffles + eggs + bacon + fruit
- i eat mine separately, brett makes a waffle sandwich with eggs, bacon, cheese, and maple syrup
- make extraaaaa waffles, freeze leftovers
- i love oven roasted bacon
- I love my oven rack and baking sheets for baking bacon
- i love pinch of yum's soft scrambled eggs, brett loves serious eats
thursday:
Chicken pot pie or like this (edited to add: I used these recipes as guidelines, and did the following - take it all with a grain of salt):
- 3-4 potatoes, diced small + 4 TB butter, saute for 5-7 minutes until smells yummy
- add in 1/4 c flour until all potatoes are coated
- add in 3 cups broth + 1/4 c milk/cream/half and half (I used a combo of cream and half and half I needed to use up - let bubble and thicken
- add in 1 rotisserie chicken (shred into smalllll pieces) and 2 bags of frozen mixed vegetables
- add more broth/cream/milk/liquid until desired soupiness
- salt and pepper to taste
- puff pastry + egg wash on top
- freeze or bake
- (refer to recipes for temperatures - I just winged it)
- made enough for 1 small pyrex for dinner and a few freezer meals
- I prefer to use this smaller pyrex size for our dinners, since they fit better in my fridge and a 9x13 is just way too much.
- and I love these or these guys for freezing bakes/casseroles. these are my favorites for freezing soup, smoothie packs, and ground meat (like taco meat or sloppy joes).
- also! for casseroles/bakes, I follow the recipe through, but freeze right before the baking step.
friday: fajita friday or leftovers
- shop my favorite leftover containers here
- also, on fridays I menu plan + order groceries. I try to post my step-by-step each week in my instagram stories if you want to see how I menu plan, but I have a highlight of me talking through my process in my "how I menu plan" highlight, if you prefer that.
- here are my three go-to dinner strategies I repeat over and over. and over.
- here's what I do when I don't feel like making what's on the menu plan.
saturday: snack dinner saturday
little freezer cooking session for my birthday!
- a big pile of PB&Js
- (the best thing to keep on hand for nausea, pregnancy hanger, and nursing)
- Breakfast casserole
- (the other best thing to keep on hand for nausea, pregnancy hanger, and nursing)
- don't laugh. this is one of my favorite things. (but know that mcdonald's sausage egg and cheese biscuits are some of my favorite things, and this casserole takes just like those. I have eaten this while suuuuper nauseous and pregnant, I have eaten this while hangry after a hard swim, I have eaten this while nursing a newborn KK, I have eaten this on a plane (yes, a plane). my love for this casserole is IMMENSE. it's the best thing to freeze.
- I personally bake the casserole (or two casseroles), and then once cooled, I cut the casserole into strips. I flash freeze the strips, and when those are frozen, I pull them out, throw them into a big ol bag, and keep The Bag O Casserole Strips in the freezer. the strips make it easy for me to just pull out, say, five strips and reheat in the oven for a quick breakfast. (please don't microwave. the oven does these strips the best amount of justice.) Am I making sense? I have got to start writing things down better.
- abc banana muffins (aka muffins for kk)
- salmon veggie quiches for KK - freeze leftovers
- make frittata fingers (try this recipe) for KK - maybe make several batches to use up allllll the lurking, random frozen veggies we have and never use? - flash freeze frittata fingers and freeze for future weeks
- quadruple batch of baked apples, freeze for future weeks
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