Any Day Now
As I type baby girl is moving all around. We're just 8 days from her estimated due date. It's crazy to know that she could come at any time. I promised Gary that I'd spend today off my feet as much as possible since it's his last work event and he'll be out of the house until at least midnight. Then, he has more than 3 weeks off. Though I'm getting more excited by the day to see her, I'm not in a rush to hurry her out before she's ready. I've been enjoying resting today, but I'm looking forward to doing some more active chores, like vacuuming every room, and some fun stuff too like taking a walk.Last week was spring break for my Kindergarten students, and the start of my transition to being a homemaker (soon to be stay at home mom). I spent much of the week making as many freezer meals as my 38 week pregnant energy levels would allow. The following are the meals I made:
Budget Friendly Freezer Meals
Taste Tested: I had a chance to try the following before freezing.
- Honey Lime Chicken: I precooked this meal as if serving it for dinner and got to sample some. It was excellent, pretty simple to make, and very budget friendly. Allow to cool before transferring to freezer bags.
- Asian Quinoa Meatballs: I made a double batch of these so that we could have them on two separate occasions. Though I could have frozen them prior to cooking, I chose to precook them and mix them with the sauce instead. Then, I allowed them to cool before placing in freezer bags. Gary and I both tried these before I froze the rest and thought they were great.
- Peanut Stew With Sweet Potatoes and Spinach: I've made this recipe several times over the past 3 years and love it! It's a great vegetarian option. I usually make a few modifications. I sub dried ginger for fresh (cut way back on the amount you use if you choose to do this!), and I add in extra garlic instead of onions since I have a slight onion intolerance. I precook the stew, allow it to cool, and then place it in a gallon sized freezer bag. The night before we plan to eat it, I place it in the refrigerator. The next day I heat it in a pot and throw some rice or quinoa in the rice cooker to go with it.
Untested: I didn't get a chance to taste any of these, but they were all easy to make and budget friendly!
- Enchiladas: I usually prefer to make my own enchilada sauce using this recipe, but chose to use the canned sauce this time to save time. I did alter the recipe by using black beans instead of chicken (something I've done in other enchilada recipes). I'll try to update in the future about how they turned out. I froze these following the suggestions at the link to the recipe.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas: These were super easy to make! I froze everything raw and plan to defrost before placing in my slow cooker.
- Slow Cooker Spicy Peanut Chicken: This was also very easy to make. Again, I froze this raw and plan to defrost before placing in the slow cooker. I will probably try making this in the future using chick peas or sweet potato as a vegetarian option (as one comment mentioned she did).
What are your favorite freezer friendly or budget friendly meals?
