Freezer Cooking Gone Wild

I'm pretty sure Adam thinks I've officially gone insane. And anyone who has looked in my freezer lately might form the same opinion. I've been cooking a lot this past month, stocking my freezer for when the baby is here. Wait till you see the list of what I have stockpiled. You will either be impressed and wish your freezer looks like mine.....or you too will think I've gone mad. I'm pretty sure freezer meal cooking has become my form of "nesting".

When Ryan was born we had just moved into our house two weeks prior, and I had no time to prepare any food before he was born. We relied on family to bring us a few meals, plus one generous friend, and after that my memory gets spotty. I don't remember eating much the first month after his birth. During my last month of being pregnant with Lucas I cooked a few freezer casseroles, maybe 5. I was also blessed by my Mops friends and church who brought us dinners for a couple weeks.

This time around I don't have the luxury of having lots of generous friends nearby who enjoy cooking for me. But I do have a family to feed. So I started cooking freezer meals about a month ago. It started out with doubling a couple recipes I was making for dinner. Eat one, freeze the other. Then I ventured into crockpot freezer meals. Then I realized I could be freezing non-dinner items, such as breakfast foods and treats. Then I checked out a couple freezer cook books from the library and things started to get a little crazy.

Here's how I did it. Each week I incorporated a few freezer items into my meal plan and grocery shopping list. Sometimes I doubled what I was making for dinner or breakfast. Other days I used Lucas' nap time to prepare a few casseroles or crockpot meals at once. I'm viewing these meals as an investment of time and money now that will pay off big time once the baby is here and I have no time to cook.

Here is a complete list of the homemade food that is in my garage freezer (a few items are in our inside freezer).  A little bit of work here and there sure adds up!

Main Courses
Crockpot Lasagna Soup
Crockpot Beef Stew (x2)
Crockpot Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Soup
Crockpot Italian Chicken and Potatoes w/ Spinach
Beef Lasagna
Bean and Cheese Nacho Bake
Macaroni and Cheese
Garlic Pork Stir Fry (x2)
Chicken Enchiladas
Sticky Ribs (x2)
Teriyaki Chicken
Whole Wheat Chicken Burritos (x15)
Vegetable Chowder
Chicken Tortellini Soup
Pulled Pork
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (x5) and Shredded Mozzarella

Treats
Cinnamon Rolls (2 dozen)
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough (3 dozen)
Brownie Mix (x2)

Other
Homemade Chicken Broth
Corn Muffins
Cooked, Shredded Chicken
Whole Wheat Pancake Mix (x2)
Cheesy Sourdough Bread (x2)
Smoothie Kits (x8)
Whole Wheat Biscuits

Whew, I'm tired just reading through that list. I had so much fun preparing all this food. Really, it was a ton of fun for me. But now I'm tired and honestly a little sick of cooking so much. So I'm thinking a few nights of takeout or pizza delivery might be in our near future as we wait for baby girl to arrive!