Brantley was two weeks late, so I had some extra time to continue to prep. I had basically labeled all the things at that point, so I used the extra time to make some freezer meals, so we would have easy to warm up food during the bleary-eyed newborn stage – and I am SO glad that I did. People brought us meals which was amazing, but when that died down, and the takeout got old, it was really nice to have some of our favorites stashed away in the freezer. Baby “witching hour” (aka fussiest time) pretty much coincided with dinner time, plus we were busy googling “how do we swaddle”; “how do you give a baby a bath”; “can we give our baby a pacifier”, etc. and trying to get sleep where we could, so we definitely weren’t cooking dinner.
Was I super thankful that I labeled anything and everything? Not necessarily. Was I super thankful for the freezer full of meals – definitely.
I looked for recipes that freeze well, are comforting, healthy, and healing for recovery, and quick to heat up. Family and friends may be looking for ways to help you too – you can share these recipes with them and ask for their help – we found people were more than willing! The peanut butter oat balls are a super simple and tasty one for people to help with.
Here they are – enjoy!
Soups
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
One of my absolute faves! Roasted cauliflower, warm herbs, and garlic make this so tasty. It is all creamy and pureed together.
Chili
This classic chili recipe reheats well and is super filling and delicious. Buy some toppings (avacado, cheese, sour cream, and chips or cornbread to go with it, and it is good to go.
Chicken Chili
This was a keeper. We used chicken breast and slightly more chicken broth. We skipped the cream cheese/sour cream and did shredded cheese instead.
Chicken Broth Soup-Base
I made a bunch of this basic chicken broth base and used it to make different kinds of soups depending on what I had on hand.
Butternut Squash Soup
Creamy, sweet, delicious! Made this with a grilled cheese or taquito – yum.
Dinners
Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
I wish I had made 100 of these. We made more a couple of months after Brantley was born because they were so good. These are easy to eat with one hand which is helpful when you are holding a baby while eating. Also, these are delicious paired with soup!
Chicken Pot-Pie
This is in my top five comfort foods of all time. I just prepped the whole pie in a disposable aluminum pan, wrapped it tightly in foil and sealed it in a heavy-duty freezer-safe zip lock bag. To eat, I thawed it overnight and put it in the oven covered at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Shepherd’s Pie
There is something about mashed potatoes that feel like home to me. I made the whole recipe ahead of time, portioned it out for two people into our freezer-safe tupperware containers and heated it up in the microwave or toaster oven when we were ready to eat it.
Breakfast / Snacks
Breakfast Burritos
These were so good to have around especially waking up so early in the morning, and basically starving from breastfeeding, these made all the difference. I included eggs, cheese, peppers, onions, and breakfast sausage in the ones we made. I cooked them all in a pan to get them nice and brown, let them cool, then froze them. We put them in the toaster oven to cook/thaw them to eat.
Peanut Butter Oat Balls
Perfect midnight breastfeeding snack – they are so yummy, filling, and oats are supposed to be good for supporting milk supply too.