Freezer meals? Need ideas please!

I could really use some ideas for freezer meals to take to a friend.  She is due with her 3rd baby via c-section in about 2 weeks and her husband just started chemo to treat some cancer they discovered a few weeks ago.  Her girls are 4 and 2; so they really could use a hand during this time.  Because it's winter and I live about 30 minutes away; I'm leaning toward meals they can either eat when I bring or freeze.  Another friend set up an account on a website so people can log in and sign up for a day to bring something to them.  Others are volunteering to do house cleaning and spend time with the kids.  With my own rug-rats so similar in age; I would have to bring them so that's probably less helpful.

Any ideas on meals that freeze well?  I'm planning to pick up some disposable containers.  But I'm not sure what is ideal to use for freezing.  I'm not sure if I need to watch how gentle the meals would be on his stomach too.  And for my friend once she starts nursing.  Oh boy!  So much to consider!  Or maybe I'm worrying too much.

For breakfast:

• If you have a waffle maker, you can prepare waffles for their breakfast(s). Maybe toss in a few with some chocolate chips for the children (and mom, too, if she's like me!).
• Pancakes will also freeze well and reheat in the oven.
• Muffins would also be good. 

 Much better than Eggo waffles or store bought frozen pancakes and more filling than cereal.

For lunch/dinner:

• Taco Casserole with a bag of tortilla chips
• Mozechilli Casserole
• Baked Ziti  with Italian bread
• Bourbon Chicken with white rice (there's no actual Bourbon in it)
• Chicken noodle soup

You could also throw in a dessert. Brownies and cookies are really easy and affordable. 

Pretty much any kind of soup or stew or chowder (and don't forget muffins or yeast rolls)

Baked spaghetti

Shredded BBQ beef for sandwiches -- lower the seasonings, spices, etc.

Shredded pork for sandwiches -- you can do the pork in the crock pot, too, and then put it in containers

Any kind of chili (don't add the chili powder or other spices if you're worried about her DH)

Lasagna

Pasta sauce (she can make the spaghetti when she's ready to serve)

Sweet & sour pork (she can cook the rice when she's ready to serve)

Crock Pot mac and cheese

Meat loaf

Tuna loaf -- don't laugh; it's pretty good

Italian Sausage Bake -- it's a casserole; if you're interested, I'll post the recipe

Meat or chicken pie

Don't forget dessert....I'm sure her little ones would appreciate some home-baked cookies or cupcakes and they're easily frozen, too.

That's so nice of all of you to do this for them! I know they'll appreciate all of your hard work.   

Butternut squash lasagna.  I just pulled one out of the freezer last night for our dinner!  This recipe makes two 8" pans:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-lasagna-10000000698656/

My Christmas gift to my single brother for the past few years is freezer meals. :lol3: This year I made mac and cheese with ham, lasagna, stuffed shells, barbeque pork (he just needs to buy rolls), a teriyaki chicken over rice. Pork and shrimp over a spanish rice, chourico and peppers (he just needs to get rolls), chicken cordon bleu casserole. Soups and stews are always good, as are meatballs.

Are you on Pinterest? I have a board where I pin food think of making for him:

Thank you all!  Great ideas!!  I don't freeze much in the way of food so this gives me A LOT to go off of!

I like the idea of doing crock pot meals.  I have an extra large one I can always make enough for both our families in and divide it up.  I never would have thought of freezing meatloaf!  Do you think it should be sliced before freezing or after?  I could do a stuffed one (broccoli and cheddar or something like that).  I'm thinking after for stuffed so the cheese doesn't run out.  But if I do it before they may be able to take out what they need and put the rest back in the freezer too.  Hmm... 

I should do this for my own family....

If you're going to freeze meatloaf, I would bake it for about half the time it calls for in your recipe. Let it cool a bit, then wrap well and freeze. Do not slice. When you're ready to bake it again (or for your friend to bake it) you can get it out and let it thaw for a while in the fridge. Then bake it until it's done. Let it rest, then slice it. I wouldn't slice it until ready to serve. You can also make mini-loaves, enough for two people; that would help with not wanting to serve a large meatloaf at one time. 

Crock pot meals just rock because you can get quite a bit from a crock pot. Go into The Recipe Exchange and look at some of the recipes there. Google "crock pot recipes" and go to Allrecipes.com for some ideas, too. Allrecipes.com is a great site, not just for crock pot stuff, but for all kinds of recipes.

Let me know if you need some other ideas....we can always PM the recipes, too; that way, people who don't want to see them don't have to. I do have a lot of ideas for casseroles and for soups and such. Honestly, I freeze pretty much everything.

Also, you might want to talk to Linda (Natalie_CA) as I think she freezes a lot of her meals, too, and I think she has divided freezer containers.

I consider myself the Queen of frozen meals!  LOL

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/217340/16-meals-made-and-fozen

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/217691/still-cooking-and-freezing-dinners

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248787/i-did-make-ahead-meals-again

Things I typically cook ahead and freeze:

Orange chicken
Lemon Chicken
Beef Sukiaki 
Shrimp Creole
Poached salmon and pasta with veggies and cucumber/dill sauce
Pasta and meat sauce
Roast beef with potatoes and veggies

Pasta and meat sauce

Spinach Pasta shells

Soup frozen into 1 cup portions

Chili frozen into 1 cup portions

Breakfasts:

Muffins
Banana Bread (cut into slices and frozen individually)
French Toast

Homemade Granola or Homemade Granola bars

Rice saved in portions

Meat sandwiches (can freeze with cheese on them IE: Ham and Swiss). Just don't freeze with lettuce and tomatoes).

Basically you can freeze almost anything.  Just cook enough for 4 people, eat one serving and freeze 3 others.

Here is my granola recipe

3 cups oat meal (quick style)
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 cup wheat bran
1/4 coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons liquid honey
3 tablespoons warm water

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Mix oat meal, wheat germ, wheat bran, walnuts and cinnamon together.

Mix water and honey together. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. I use my hands to get a good mix.

Pour onto 2 ungreased banking sheets.

Bake 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Let cool on the baking sheets.

Add raisins

Store in an air tight container. I keep mine in the freezer.

What a lovely idea, and lovely group of friends you are to be doing this for your friend.  She is so lucky to have you guys around. 

Pretty much any soups, and casserole / crock pot measl should freeze well, as do pasta sauces and meat balls. If you make pasta sauce and put part cooked pasta or spaghetti on the bottom and then spoon loads of sauce on top you can freezed the whole thing and reheat in an oven or microwave.  Mashed potato topped pies like fish pie and cottage pie work really well too, and for a bit of variation you can use sweet potato and / or add cheese. Oven roasted vegetables are pretty good too. Probably worth checking with her what her kids like, and if they know whether there will be any restrictions on what DH will be able to have. And yes, puddings! Cakes, buns, waffles and pancakes all freeze well, as does cheesecake, not that any of these make it to a freezer in my home!  Having a mix of portion sizes from family to small individual ones might be appreciated.

Can't say I cook much these days but used to do huge batches of soups, lassagnes (meat, poultry or vegetable) and pasta sauces with a friend and then we'd split them half and half for our freezers.  My new job is in a frozen food shop so I am seeing lots of stuff that freezes well!

Thanks Ladies!!  That granola looks great!  I bet they'd enjoy that (us too; DH is a granola nut!).  I'm going to be pinning and bookmarking things to try.  I have frozen sauce before; but I've never done it with partially cooked pasta! That is a great idea!  When I've sent sauce to people before; I usually just include a box of some sort of pasta.  Mini-meatloaves is a brilliant idea too!  You all reminded me; somewhere I've seen a recipe series with savory muffins.  Like ones that have diced ham and cheese right in the muffin batter.  I need to see if I can find that again.  I've done some with Bisquick and egg that is more like a mini crust-less quiche.  That may work too.  If I did mini muffin size they'd be great fun for the kids to eat.

My BFF just finished her chemo in November and she did say that mild or blander meals were easier on her after chemo sessions.  Things with spice or strong flavor she would get an aversion to.  But this friend's husband's sessions are very different 5 days on; 2 weeks off.  So for the weeks in between they might want something richer.  With my BFF; it was easier to take her meals still warm or just to be rewarmed within a few days.  Freezing meals intimidates me I guess. 

When you log-in to bring a meal, are you also including what that meal is? The reason I'm asking is because you don't want five people all bringing chili in one week. I guess it wouldn't really matter if it's going to be frozen, but you don't want a freezer full of chili. 

Also when you're making soups or stews, or chili, add in a pan of cornbread. Or some cornbread muffins. Sometimes cornbread really hits the spot with a good bowl of chili! If they like cornbread, that is. It's something a bit different from regular muffins or yeast rolls. 

It does have a space to put what you are bringing.  So far I see chicken spaghetti (not sounding appealing to me..lol), tacos and pork tenderloin with mac & cheese.

I was just thinking about this tandoori style chicken I haven't made in a long time.  It's best brought fresh and warm.  It's got a lot of spices; but it's not super strong.  Maybe I can do that on an off week when I know I can bring it up warm.