{"id":4484,"date":"2010-11-07T20:47:57","date_gmt":"2010-11-08T02:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=4484"},"modified":"2010-11-07T20:47:57","modified_gmt":"2010-11-08T02:47:57","slug":"freezer-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/07\/freezer-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"Freezer Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With baby countdown at 2 weeks and 1 day I felt it necessary to make some freezer meals for those days (of which I’m sure there will be many)\u00a0that I don’t have time to cook a real meal. \u00a0I searched quite a few websites for recipes that would freeze and reheat well. \u00a0I cannot attest to their post-freezer goodness , but I did some taste testing along the way and I was pleased with the flavors and a little upset that I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the food for dinner that night.<\/p>\n

I didn’t want to make typical freezer meals. \u00a0Lasagna, chili and casseroles that use cans of cream of whatever soup were just not the kind of meals I was looking for. \u00a0Yes, I like to make things difficult for myself. \u00a0Yes, I am a bit of a food snob. \u00a0Ask me a year from now, and I think my love of\u00a0convenience\u00a0foods will have grown. \u00a0But since I have the time now, why not make something extra good?<\/p>\n

Here is what I ended up with in my freezer. \u00a0Click on the meal for a link to the recipe. \u00a0The pastitsio and shepherd’s pie include freezing instructions. \u00a0I added my own for the chicken pasta.<\/p>\n

Pastitsio <\/a>– a layered Greek noodle dish with ground beef, tomatoes and bechamel sauce. \u00a0The beef layer is spiced with olives, oregano, cinnamon and oregano.<\/p>\n

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake<\/a> – a bowtie pasta casserole with chicken, artichokes, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese.<\/p>\n

Shepherd’s Pie<\/a> – Turkey, tomato, peas, corn and mushrooms topped with mashed carrots and potatoes.<\/p>\n

These are not the quickest meals to get prepped for the freezer. \u00a0But the time you spend now will be time you save in a few weeks or a couple months when you go to enjoy the results of your hard work. \u00a0I made the pastitsio the other afternooon, I think it took me about an hour and a half to cook and clean up. \u00a0I made the chicken pasta and shepherd’s pie Saturday morning, and I think my total chopping, cooking, boiling, packaging and cleaning time was 3 hours. \u00a0Here’s my kitchen during its worst moment on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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I know some of you have now decided that I am crazy to have spent that much of my Saturday morning on this project, but it’s something I’d planned to do…and so I had to do it. \u00a0I also kind of like spending that time in the kitchen and having something to show for it. \u00a0It makes me feel productive, and it’s a lot more fun that organizing the stacks of paper on the desk in the office. \u00a0And look at my fully stocked freezer! \u00a0Two 9×13 pans and two 8×8 pans of food waiting\u00a0patiently\u00a0to be eaten. \u00a0Why does this kind of thing make me happy?<\/p>\n

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Here are a few quick notes and changes on these recipes. \u00a0Some changes were made because of personal preferences, others because I forgot to or chose not to buy an ingredient. \u00a0I am becoming more and more comfortable with improvising in the kitchen. \u00a0It makes life so much easier, and it saves money too. \u00a0A jar of sun-dried tomatoes was going to set me back $5.99…so I used some sun-dried tomato pesto that I already had. \u00a0It makes me feel so resourceful when I can do things like that.<\/p>\n

Pastitsio:<\/p>\n