Freezer Cooking... A Few Favorites

For years I've done a little freezer cooking here and there.  Never with a set schedule each month like some, but if the mood struck or there was a really good sale on something then I would make up a few dishes.  I have always tried to keep the freezer well-stocked with meat and stuff though so that I wasn't buying it every time I needed it, it's just the meals that were a little more sporadic.  I have however made up some freezer meals before each of my babies were born.  In fact, before Ashlynn was born my hubby finally caved and got me a freezer for the garage.  I knew I was going to need it to stock up before she came since I was barely managing to get dinner done with two kids and my sanity intact.  Of course, in the two years that we've had it, it has come in very handy and the hubby has commented many times that it was one of the best purchases we've made.  That makes me very happy... he doesn't usually say that about things I beg and plead for. :)  Anyways, this baby was no different.  I knew that I needed to stock up that freezer before he arrived.  Life is crazy with four kiddos four and under and from about 4:00 to 7:00 is what I like to call the bewitching hours around here, so needless to say dinners that have been prepared ahead of time and are homemade make me happy.  So here are a few of my favorites to keep stockpiled.

Meatloaf
Baked Ziti - My family loves loves loves this recipe from Christy at The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Stuffed Shells
Pasta Sauce - This is a favorite of mine from Katie at The Cutting Back Kitchen.
Taco Meat
Sloppy Joes
Enchiladas
Chili
Ham and Cheese Quiche
Chicken Cordon Bleu - I really like to use provolone cheese in place of the swiss cheese.
Marinara Sauce - This is my new favorite marinara sauce from Cooking Classy
French Toast - Great for breakfast

It seems like there is more, but these are a few of our favorites.  I also like to freeze muffins and sweet breads for snacks and we always have bags of frozen fruit and yogurt for smoothies.

These are just a few of the ways that I manage to make meal times a little less chaotic and more healthy around here.  Since I prefer to cook from scratch you will never find store bought frozen dinners in my freezer, so having a home-cooked meal in the freezer helps me to not resort to fast food on the nights that I just can't manage to get dinner ready in time.  If you want me to share any of my recipes, feel free to leave a comment.

Going Private...

Okay friends, it's time for me to make some changes.  I really like having an open blog for anyone to read (err, when I'm actually posting, which I fully intend to get into the habit of doing again), but unfortunately there are people out there that can ruin the fun.  Fortunately, I haven't come across that, but I really don't want to find out that pictures of my kids are being used for anything other than my blog or to decorate their grandparents walls.  So do I just set my blog to private?  Or do I set up two blogs... a family blog and a whatever I feel like posting blog for just anyone to read?  I really like connecting with people that I don't know through my blog, but again I use my blog as a family journal and don't really want some creepy guy looking at my cute kids.  So what's a girl to do?  Any suggestions?  I'm fairly sure that I'm going private in some way, so if you want an invite to this fantastically neglected blog, please just shoot me an email @ shanade@gmail.com.  Thanks.