What's in my freezer? Lunch

If you tuned in last month for the breakfast edition of my freezer meals post then you know that I spent the last couple of months of my pregnancy experimenting with the best meals to fill our freezer with.  I wanted to create some margin in my life to focus on learning the ins and outs of simultaneously caring for an infant and a toddler and as I prayed about how to do that, I felt prompted to invest time preparing our meals in advance.

Nicole loves to lay on the floor with Jonah.  I think he loves it too! 

I am an achiever by nature, so cooking allows me to complete at least one task a day, which is really great for my sense of accomplishment.  When I started stocking our freezer, I was grateful for the opportunity to prepare for Jonah's arrival but I was also little nervous about taking away the very task that helps me productive each day.   I kept at it, not 100% sure if I really and truly needed all of the meals I was stowing away, but as it turns out, we have needed them all. 

Big sister Nicole is a great tummy time helper.  

God knew what I didn't, my arms were going to be full, my time was going to be stretched and my attention would be occupied.   I have been grateful every single day when I get to spend a extra time caring for my children instead of preparing food for us.

"Good job, Jonah! You're almost done!" 

Here's what's been waiting for us in our freezer for easy lunch times:

Asian Lettuce Wraps 
Ground meat has always been one of Nicole's favorite foods so I was pretty certain these would be an instant winner for us.  It's not hard to double the recipe, which makes it a really easy meal to eat fresh one week and freeze the remainder for later. 

Baked Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos 
These meatless burritos date all the way back to my very first year teaching.  As a new teacher I spent most of my free time working on my lesson plans and I was constantly trying to feed myself in less time.  I gave these burritos a whirl and absolutely loved them.  There aren't freezing instructions in the recipe itself but I have had great success freezing them fully cooked and then just warming them up whenever I need a quick and hearty meal.

BBQ Chicen Quinoa Salad 
This recipe is a great way to use any pre-cooked and shredded meat that you might have leftover.  To freeze this, I make it according to the recipe through the BBQ sauce and then add fresh avocado, green onions and cilantro the day I serve it.

Black Bean Edamame Burgers
In addition to being a regular follower of numerous food blogs, I also love to borrow cookbooks from the library.  I happened to grab a copy of The Kitchn Cookbook from the library a couple of years ago, which is when I first stumbled upon these scrumptious veggie burgers.  You've seen this recipe mentioned in my blog before and I love it so much that I even taught it to my cooking class.  I have made countless batches of these black bean burgers over the last few years and I always start gathering the ingredients to make a new batch any time our current stash starts to run low.   It usually takes me an entire afternoon to make these but the recipe makes enough patties for us to eat them as a family 5 or 6 times.  A labor of love well worth the effort!

Black Bean, Sweet Corn and Tomato Quinoa Burritos
When making this recipe, I opted for Nicole's favorite Garden Spinach tortillas as opposed to a gluten free version.  I knew that these would be a huge hit because Nicole loves to eat anything wrapped up in a tortilla and I can easily pull out enough burritos to feed whoever happens to be over for lunch that day.

Chicken Sweet Potato and Kale Soup 
Kale is one of the very few leafy greens hearty enough to freeze and reheat.  Because this soup doesn't contain noodles or grains, nothing gets soggy or overly plump while it sits so it freezes nicely and reheats tasting fresh and nourishing.

Easiest Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken 
Word to the wise, my friends, anytime you cook a lean meat like chicken tenders in a crock pot they will most likely taste like saw dust when they are done.  I learned this lesson from my own trial and error and ever since I have been using chicken thighs in place of any slow cooker recipe requiring chicken breasts or chicken tenders.  We always have shredded meat frozen for a quick quesadilla dinner, a fast salad topper or to mix into a hearty soup but I also freeze all of these ingredients together in a large freezer bag to thaw overnight and dumb into my crockpot in the morning.  This particular recipe makes it's most frequent appearance in my crock pot before church on Sunday so that lunch is ready when we get home.

Thanks for checking in with us.  I hope you are well!
Love,
Erica