Easy Meals!

I have to have a c-section for this baby and will be recovering for 6 - 8 weeks plus have two toddlers ontop of it and I know cooking will be almost impossible! I see a lot of people talking about preparing meals and freezing them for future use. Can anyone explain the logistics of this to me - how long will meals stay good? Do they need to defrost for a day or two before you can serve them? What are the best type of meals to prepare in bulk ahead of time that DH can simply warm up and serve? I don't want myself or my family to live on fast food during this time and I can't really trust DH to prepare too many meals himself haha HELP!!!!

8 weeks?? You will be able to cook dinner a few days after you get home 2 weeks tops you should be fine!

Quoting GlossedOutLips™©:" 8 weeks?? You will be able to cook dinner a few days after you get home 2 weeks tops you should be fine!"

I don't think she EVER said she wasn't going to be able to cook a meal for 8 weeks.

They will usually stay good for 6 month to a year. You can thaw it the day you plan to eat it or thaw it in the microwave right before it is personal pref. I find stews, chillis and such are the best thing to premake and freeze but you can really do anything. good luck

How long they last depends on how they are stored and what they are, but in general months to a year.

Lasagna is a good one
casseroles
enchiladas (use flour tortillas, corn will fall apart after freezing)

If you're on pinterest look for crackpot recipes. There are many recipes that you prepare ahead of time then throw in the crockpot and you're done!

Dinners are normally good for 6mos - 1 yr in the freezer as long as they are stored properly. Meaning in a air tight container or freezer sealed to prevent frost burn.

I normally make
- Lasagna
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Shaiitake mushroom soup
- Chili
- Pot Roast

I also make
- Pancakes
- Waffles

Make and freeze separately in the freezer, once totally frozen put into a zip loc bag and you're good to go!

Quoting GlossedOutLips™©:" 8 weeks?? You will be able to cook dinner a few days after you get home 2 weeks tops you should be fine!"

It's a whole lot easier to have them prepared ahead of time, C-Section or not

Quoting "The Boob" [HM]:" I don't think she EVER said she wasn't going to be able to cook a meal for 8 weeks."

I have to have a c-section for this baby and will be recovering for 6 - 8 weeks plus have two toddlers ontop of it and I know cooking will be almost impossible!


But yea, sounded like she was saying that she will be recovering from a c-section for 6-8 weeks and it will make cooking hard for her, on top of other things. Now kindly jump out from my ass.....

Quoting Prune#4:" It's a whole lot easier to have them prepared ahead of time, C-Section or not"

agreed'

Quoting GlossedOutLips™©:" I have to have a c-section for this baby and will be recovering for 6 - 8 weeks plus have two toddlers ... [snip!] ... a c-section for 6-8 weeks and it will make cooking hard for her, on top of other things. Now kindly jump out from my ass....."

On average it does take two weeks longer to recover from a c-section and that is major surgery.

why does it matter how long she thinks she will be recovering?!?!?! everyones recovery time is different, with a new baby, toddler and a c-section last thing i would even want to think about what im cooking so stop being a bitch and just answer her question about meals...dont have an answer dont comment!!!  



you can freeze almost anything you cook in the oven, or you can buy the stouffers/marie callendar meals they take just take an hour in the over and no clean up as they come in their own "pan", or "skillet meals" most take about 15 minutes in a skillet...may not be as good/healthy as home cooked meal but alot easier!!

its hard to make alot of meals in advance unless you have alot of pans to keep them in untill you eat them...soups, chili's, spaghetti thsoe can all be frozen in gallon baggies but casseroles, lasagna, enchaladas all take pans and are hard to keep more then about a month cause its hard to keep freezer burn out of a 9x13 pan

I too will have a newborn and two toddlers as well as a c-section so I'll just tell you what I am going to do lol I am preparing a majority of our meals beforehand (meatloaf, Salisbury steaks, etc) and freezing them in baggies. The other meals will be made day of (stuffed shells, chicken n dumplins, etc) since they don't take as long to make. And there will be others that will be laid out the night before and put in a crockpot bright and early in the morning to cook all day (roast, chili, etc). Easy prep but I can still make homemade meals rather than junk and/or fast food.

Any kind of casseroles, soups, chili. They also have the frozen meals in a bag at the store. The kinds with veggies and meat. They taste really good to and are simple to cook! I would let the other stuff thaw before I cook it. It stays good for a long time in the freezer though.

I amtrying to come up with some ideas as well. But because we are moving around the time lo is born, i really wont have time to make full meals. However i did just htink of cooking up some ground beef, cooking several types of chicken and other meats and freezing that...then all my hubby has to do is boil up some veggies and another side. While my mom is visiting, I am going to ask her to make me some of her amazing lasagna and freezing some.