Leighanne

I am looking for some good recipes that will freeze well. I have a 19 month old and I am pregnant with my second child so I would really like to be able to fill my freezer with healthy pre-cooked meals I can just throw in the oven for dinner.

Momma09

I was a big fan of casseroles, hearty soups, and stews when I was pregnant. Whenever I had a little burst of energy I would cook a bunch of stuff to freeze. My simplest recipe to make, and it freezes well, is my grandmother's marinara sauce.

1 can 28 ounce tomatoes
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic (or more to taste)
4 - 6 basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Do a rough chop on the vegetables and saute in 1/2 cup olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper and let simmer for about an hour. Cool then mix in batches in a blender until smooth.

I cannot stress how easy this is. Because the sauce gets blended at the end you don't even need to pay attention to how you chop the vegetables. And it is sooooo good. I'm a vegetarian so I eat it as is, but if you want meat just add some chopped meat or sausage while you're heating it up.

When I make this recipe I quadruple it and freeze it in small batches and it lasts for months in the freezer.

Casey

Momma09 that sounds really good. And Leighanne, like she said, you could cook up lots of seasoned ground beef (or chicken breasts or sausage) and separate it into freezer bags or containers and just throw it in as you are warming it up.

Leighanne

That sounds really good Momma09 and a good idea from Casey as well. Now I just have to get the energy to go to the grocery store and cook!

Momma09

Yep, yep. That recipe saved my butt during my pregnancy. I have a huge stock pot and I would make a ton of the stuff at once. And an added bonus is that it's cheap too Make this sauce and you'll never go back to store bought. From scratch, freezable, cheap, easy - a pregnant woman's dream

Georgiamom

That's a great idea about freezing some meals ahead Leighanne. Both during pregnancy and after the baby is born you just aren't always up to cooking being able to grab something out of the freezer is awesome!