Freezer Meals

Life with a newborn is crazy! Making a real dinner is never an option for us because that is usually when Jackson wants to be fed, held, changed, etc. So I highly suggest a few things:

Cosco:

• Buy frozen veggies, meat, or anything else you heat up quickly
• We don't have a lot of freezer space so we got two giant bags of organic veggies, tilapia, and chicken- I wanted healthy options because I know when we order food it won't be healthy 
• It has been a life saver!! It's so easy for Jamie or I to heat up veggies and a meat- meal done

Freezer Meals

• I made 3 before Jackson was born and 2 of them were really good. Here are the recipes:
• Pizza Spaghetti Casserole see recipe below
• Crispy Chicken and Rice Casserole see recipe below

Friends and Family- some awesome helpful things we got and LOVED

• Casseroles- hello super easy and yummy
• Frozen steaks/lobster- a pleasant surprise we can make for our friday night date night
• Meal delivery- we can order meals to have delivered awesome!
• Fruit Basket- fruit is hard to keep in the house because that means you have to go to the grocery store so this gift is awesome. We have tons of fruit to snack on.
• Champagne- Yum and great for some stress relief/celebration

Want to make something easy? I love to bake and have been missing it. I'm home so I feel like I should be able to cook but having a newborn that's not really an option. So I made this easy fall recipe:

Pumpkin Puppy Chow Mix:
1 bag of pumpkin hershey kisses
9 cups of chex rice cereal
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1. Measure out cereal and place in a bowl.
2. Measure out powdered sugar and place in a gallon ziploc bag
3. Melt hershey kisses
4. Once melted, pour kisses over chef and stir
5. Pour chex into ziploc bag and shake

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

We preferred turkey pepperoni, so you don't get a greasy appearance. Freeze the unbaked casserole up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes at room temperature, and bake as directed.

Southern Living MARCH 2007

• Yield: Makes 6 servings
• Cook time:15 Minutes
• Prep time:15 Minutes
• Bake:40 Minutes

Ingredients

• 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (1-lb.) package mild ground pork sausage
• 2 ounces turkey pepperoni slices (about 30), cut in half

• 1 (26-oz.) jar tomato-and-basil pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (8-oz.) package shredded Italian three-cheese blend

Preparation

1. Cook spaghetti with 1/2 tsp. salt according to package directions. Drain well, and place in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Add pepperoni, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly crisp.

3. Top spaghetti in baking dish with sausage; pour pasta sauce over sausage. Arrange half of pepperoni slices evenly over pasta sauce. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices evenly over cheese. Cover with nonstick or lightly greased aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Crispy Chicken-and-Rice Casserole

Deliver with a tossed green salad and French bread.

Southern Living SEPTEMBER 2003

• Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings
• Cook time:30 Minutes
• Prep time:30 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2 (10 1/2-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 (3 1/2-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Cook rice according to package directions. Stir together cooked rice and next 10 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with cereal.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Garnish, if desired.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw casserole in refrigerator overnight. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 15 minutes more or until thoroughly heated.