A New Arrival

We had a special arrival at our house last week. No, not a baby, it's not quite time for that yet. A freezer! Not only do I do a lot of stocking up on meats and things when I find a good deal, but I also love freezer meals and for a long time I've had to balance the two or risk head injury when I go to retrieve a bag of peas. But not anymore, I now have space for everything I want to keep cold! I'm so excited.

We had been looking for a good deal on Craigslist but realized that the prices weren't great and since we would have to rent a truck to go pick it up, we would be better off buying new since a lot of stores deliver for free. We got a 7 cubic foot one which will leave plenty of space not only for meals and deals but also buying grass fed beef in bulk which is something we hope to do soon.

For now though, I'm all about stocking up meals for when baby does come. I've planned six weeks worth of meals (well, three but they will be repeated to make six). Some are frozen, some are pantry meals whose ingredients I can keep on hand. I've already made a list of all the ingredients so when deals come up, I'll know what and how much I need. And I'll be trying to make similar meals together to save time.

I've also made a list for each week of the fresh items we will need. That way whoever is around to help me that week (Craig if he is still on leave, my mom when she is here, etc.) can know what we have and what we need and can put it together easily. I know our Sunday School class also brings meals for new parents so with those and the days when we need to use up leftovers, I think we will end up with at least 2 months worth of meals.

Last week chicken and pasta was on sale so I made two meals worth of Chicken Packet filling and Chicken Spaghetti (using homemade cream of chicken soup) as well as Shepherds Pie.

This week I'll use the bones and veggie scraps from last week to make Chicken Broth (to keep in the freezer for the pantry meal Lentil Rice Casserole) and I hope to make lasagna, corn muffins and a big batch of lactation cookies.

Are there any great freezer meals or snacks that you know of that I should try?