Freezer Meal Ideas (for Honey)

My sister-in-law, Honey is due three weeks before me and asked for some freezer meal suggestions. I've been thinking about it all week and here it is:

I thought I'd share my mom's spaghetti sauce recipe. She would always make a big batch of spaghetti sauce and we would always have some in the freezer. I made some a month or so ago and it's always great for the nights when you don't feel like cooking. My dad also likes to make huge batches of spaghetti sauce and share with family and friends (he continually restocked our supply - so I didn't make spaghetti sauce once the whole time we lived in Nova Scotia - thanks, Dad!)

Sylvia's Spaghetti Sauce

4 lb ground meat (beef, veal, pork, italian sausage - any combination)
4 onions
2 green peppers
5 stalks of celery

Cook the meat and vegetables. Drain off the fat.

Add:

4 cans of 28 oz tomatoes (blended)
4 cans of 15 oz tomato paste
1/4 cup of vinegar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
a few dashes of tabasco
1/2 t chili powder
2 t garlic
4 bay leaves
1 T Italian spice
1 T salt
4 cups of water

Mix everything together in the biggest pot you have. Let cook on low for 4-5 hours with the lid off, stirring occasionally.

Usually I will freeze the sauce in small batches so I can pull out what I need to make a meal. I will also make lasagna at the same time and stick that in the freezer - super easy once the sauce is all done.

We don't have any room in our freezer right now or I would be making freezer meals right along with Honey! There are lots of dinners that will freeze well - most casseroles (here are a ton of casserole recipes), homemade pizzas, soups, and chili recipes do well. You can cook up Taylor's chicken and have it in the freezer ready for Mexican dishes or have ground beef cooked up and divided into 1 lb bags so you can throw it into your recipes, as needed.

I've also been a huge fan of the crock-pot when I've had new babies. You can just throw all the ingredients in at some point in the day when all the kids are happy and hopefully have dinner ready when your husband gets home! I have the Fix it and Forget it Cookbook, which I have used quite a bit.

Best of luck to Honey with her preparations - hope this helps!