Freezer Meals

I recently made a huge shopping trip with the intent to fill my freezer with healthy meals that I could have ready for our family on nights when I don't have time to cook. I love to cook in the evenings and see this as a way that I contribute to our family. Ellen eats early so we eat early with her. We try to talk about our day over dinner but usually Ellen just clowns around and makes her Daddy and I laugh. (PS Can you spy Winston hiding in the picture of all of my groceries?)
After spending about $150 on groceries and 4.5 hours cooking, this is what I ended up with. Eighteen different items to freeze. The first thing we tried was a pan of enchiladas that lasted about two and a half meals. Most of my recipes came from www.skinnytaste.com so they are all low-fat and made with whole grains when possible. I made enchiladas, sesame chicken, beef stroganouf, lasagna, turkey meatloaf, coconut chicken, and garlic lime pork.

This is a goat cheese lasagna that I can't wait to try!

Turkey meatloaf! I just gave one of these to a friend who could use a night off of cooking. I learned that this is an added bonus to my stocked freezer. I can help out a mom I love by taking dinner off of her mind.

These enchiladas were awesome and made with whole wheat tortillas. They are also flavored with adobo and really authentic tasting.

These chicken fingers are a recipe I just made up. Cut chicken breasts into strips, dredge in two egg whites plus one whole egg and one to two tablespoons of butter. Next dredge in unsweet coconut flakes flavored with some sort of seasoning. I used Penszy's Smoked Salt and fresh ground black pepper. Next I lined the Styrofoam the chicken came in (that had been washed out really well) with wax paper. I placed strips of wax paper in between the chicken strips and sealed it shut with my vacuum sealer. When you're ready to eat them, bake them at 350 degrees on a baking sheet that you sprayed with cooking spray for 25-40 minutes.

By the time I was finished with all the meals I asked Lloyd to vacuum seal them for me because I was exhausted! My soon-to-be brother-in-law (sheesh get married already so I don't have to use so many hyphens!) and sister gave us this vacuum sealer for Christmas for storing wild game but this is a much better use!

I thought that I would make fancy labels for all of our meals but again, I was exhausted! Next time I will print the labels first but this time I just whipped out the Sharpie and went to town before making Lloyd rub my aching feet!

I hope this post helps a few tired moms to make some healthy dinners! Love, The Little Bee and Her Momma