I've been busy filling my freezer in anticipation of our new baby's arrival! :) We've been eating more fresh veggies for our meals, and the space that was previously occupied by 5-pound bags of Costco vegetables is filled with meals to lighten my load in future weeks. :)

I've already shared my breakfast menus and made-ahead mixes, so it's on to the rest: main dishes and easy meal ideas! :)

I've taken the plunge and frozen a number of fully made casseroles using the "mold technique" with my 8x8-inch glass dishes. Each dish should be one meal for our family, and I've made a variety of things in hopes that we can figure out what we do and don't like in a freezer meal! :)

For the past 4-6 weeks, I've made a double recipe of a dinner casserole a couple times a week (filling a 9x13-inch dish for dinner plus two 8x8-inch dishes for the freezer). This hasn't really been too much extra work (just extra ingredients!!). I use FoodSaver bags to seal all of my freezer food/meals since they are the BEST at preventing freezer burn and keeping food tasting its finest! :)

Main dishes completely assembled and frozen:

Easy Lasagna (unbaked)
Burritos with beans, rice, cheese, and beef filling (individually wrapped in foil, then sealed in a freezer Ziplock; will warm in the oven)
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (unbaked)
Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti (unbaked)
Beef and Spinach Quiche (fully cooked; will re-warm)
Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake (unbaked, w/rice on the bottom)
Spinach Rice Casserole (unbaked)
My Mom's Meat Loaf (unbaked)

I've also prepared meal ingredients for the freezer. Due to limited freezer space and a preference for freshly-prepared meals, having pre-cooked meat, beans, etc. in the freezer is one of my favorite ways to make cooking "from scratch" so much easier! :)

Meal ingredients in the freezer:

Pre-cooked beef with diced onions (for lasagna, crockpot pizza, stuffed shells, and baked spaghetti)

Pre-cooked beef with onions, green peppers, and taco seasonings (for taco salad, spanish rice with beans, nachos, or burritos)

Pre-cooked pinto beans with Tapatio and salt

Pre-cooked beef with onions and spinach leaves (for quiche)

Leftover diced oven-roasted chicken meat (for cheesy chicken vermicelli, chicken lasagna, chicken pot pie, farmhouse chicken, poppy seed chicken and asparagus, chicken fried rice, or saucy broccoli chicken bake)

Having the meat or beans already cooked, seasoned, and/or diced makes all of the above recipes into "quick and easy" for me! :)

I also have a list of just plain easy meals. When my freezer is depleted of my fully-made freezer meals, I'll turn to this list for last-minute or not-planned-the-night-before dinners!

My list of easy dinners:

Baked chicken drumsticks
Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Grilled burgers
Easy pizza
Beans and rice
Baked beans
Meatloaf and baked potatoes
Rice lasagna
Baked cod or salmon 
Salmon potato casserole
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken over Pasta

I had planned to freeze some soups, homemade bagels, pre-made garlic bread, etc. but my freezer space wouldn't accommodate all that. So, I tried to stick with main dishes and main dish ingredients, and will make soups or breads as time and ability allows when the time comes. :)

I feel so blessed to have food prepared ahead in the freezer -- much more food than I had with previous childrens' births. Cooking large amounts of ground beef, making a double batch of something, or just freezing the leftovers (like leftover chicken meat from a roasted chicken!) isn't double the work, with some extra effort and only a few extra dishes to wash. :)

I also tried to only make/plan things we really love to eat! :) I'll have to update after we've tried some of the casseroles, since most of those I have not frozen before. Freezing a casserole took some bravery on my part! :)

Do any of you have tips to share regarding post-birth meal ideas, freezer meals, or easy (from-scratch) meals? I'd love to have even more ideas! :)

Before our last child was born (nearly 2 years ago) I made extensive menu plans. These included 2 weeks of easy meals and 12 weeks of "regular" menus, rotating our favorites and including lots of meals that we prefer to enjoy on a more infrequent basis.

Even though I didn't follow the menus exactly as I had planned, it was so helpful to have already thought about our meals and have something on paper to turn to as needed! :)

This pregnancy, rather than making weekly menu plans, I have made lists of meal ideas. I've then set about preparing as much of these meals in advance as possible!

Here is my breakfasts list:

Breakfasts made ahead:

My mom's homemade granola (double batch!)
Cinnamon Crunch Granola (quadruple batch, already half eaten though!)
Breakfast Burritos (ran out of freezer space to make these)
Homemade waffles (no freezer space for these either...)
Homemade bagels (again... no freezer space left!)
Energy Bars (still need to make these)

Breakfasts partly made ahead:

Challah French Toast (our favorite; still need to make Challah and freeze the leftovers for this if possible!)

Easy breakfasts:

Scrambled eggs
Oatmeal
Cold or hot cereal
Whole wheat berry pancakes

Dry mixes made ahead:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (done!)
Oatmeal Apple Raisin Muffins (done!)
Mocha Frappuccinos (for Joshua) (done but gone... need to do again!)
Hot cocoa mix (for me!) (done!)
Herbal pregnancy tea (on the list for tomorrow!)

Coming next: Lunches and Main Dishes

Amid the busyness of life, I've fallen behind on documenting my grocery shopping! Here is December's second shopping trip.

I have actually gone shopping once since this trip, and bought items needed to make food for the freezer for when our new baby's born. Even though we've spent a bit this month on groceries, I am happy to say that we haven't eaten it ALL, yet, and my freezer is getting fuller!! :)

Is it any surprise that I went to... Costco for groceries?! Living 3 miles from Costco means I can go weekly. :| :)

Read more for items and prices...

I didn't get around to sharing photos and prices from my grocery shopping last week, so here it is, a bit late. :)

Joshua and the boys walked to QFC for bananas and came back with this assortment of goodies:

M&Ms    $2.99
Whole grain bread  $2.50
Orange juice   $1.50
Bananas    $2.83

Total:  $9.82

Joshua said he knew we were low on bread and bought some so I wouldn't have to make any the next day. :) The M&Ms were supposed to be a treat for me... and we ate some and put the rest on cookies! :)

Later in the week, I went to Costco and bought:

Read more for items and prices from Costco...

I've had fun typing up my grocery shopping trips from the past few weeks. It has actually helped me be much more aware of what we're buying/eating. :D

I hope some of you find these posts interesting, because I plan to continue sharing our grocery trips for at least a few more weeks! :)

This week's groceries were from Costco and QFC. I spent a lot at Costco, but I got a lot of food, too... but I always say that after going to Costco! :P

Here is what we got at Costco: (read more for items and prices)

I did my grocery shopping this week at Costco. I spent quite a bit, but we also got quite a lot of yummy food! It totally filled our kitchen table when I tried to take a picture! :)

Here is a price breakdown of what I bought:

Baking potatoes (20#)            $4.49
Organic red delicious apples (10#)    $6.49
Romaine lettuce (6 ct.)          $2.99
Bananas (3#)                $1.32 (x2)
Mission tortilla strips (3#)      $3.35
Mission flour tortillas (5#14oz)   $4.99
Butter (4#)                             $6.39
Tillamook sliced swiss cheese (2#)    $7.29
Shredded mozzarella cheese (5#)    $9.79
Whole milk (2 gal.)                       $4.34
Darigold cream (40% fat) (1/2 gal.)   $5.99
Whole chickens (2)  (9.52#)         $9.42
Frozen strawberries (5#)              $8.85
Organic frozen green beans (5#)      $5.99
Applesauce (106oz)                $3.65
Quaker rolled oats (10#)          $6.89
KS "enviro-friendly" dish soap (135oz)    $7.99
Toilet paper (36 rolls)      $17.99
Vaseline Intensive Care lotion set  $8.99 (w/coupon)

Total: $132.32

Romaine lettuce is one of my favorite things to get at Costco, since it's so affordable! And the Red Delicious apples... we tried some from this bag and they are so fresh and crisp! Yum! :)

We seem to go through a lot of toilet paper, but the dish soap and lotion will last us quite a long time (about a year for the dish soap, and probably 4+ years for the lotion). :)

This week's grocery shopping is rather sparse, but I'll (hopefully) be heading to Costco early next week to make up for that. ;)

Pictured above is what I bought at QFC this week:

Darigold lactose-free milk  $2.99 (x2)
Sweet potatoes ($0.99/lb)   $2.32
Bananas ($0.59/lb)       $3.60
Red onion ($1.49/lb)     $0.98
Cucumber                $0.99
Leaf lettuce                $1.99
Cilantro                    $0.99

Total: $16.85

The lactose-free milk is a regular purchase for us at that price. Everything else is pricey BUT I didn't want a Costco-sized portion and/or it was just to hold us over until I do go to Costco (like the bananas and lettuce). I can walk to QFC so I often go there between Costco trips to re-stock our bananas or get specialty food items (like when I just need 1 lemon, or 1 tomato... that sort of thing!). :)

Not all of the bananas are pictured, since right outside the store we peeled and ate 3 bananas as we walked home! It isn't uncommon for us to eat a whole bunch of bananas by the time we get home from the grocery store. I don't mind, though, since they're healthy and we're outside getting fresh air and exercise! :)

I also went to Rite Aid, and we got some fish in bulk. Read more for photo and prices, including this week's total:

One of my favorite features of Crystal's blog is when she photographs and shares about her weekly grocery shopping trips! :) I love the great deals she finds, but mostly I just like seeing the yummy food she got. ;)

I thought it would be a fun experiment to document all of our family's grocery/household purchases for a while. Those of you who have asked about how I shop, or what my grocery budget is, this will give you a firsthand look! :)

Some of these things will last much longer than a week, so as I share our grocery trips in future weeks, hopefully it will give more of a complete picture of what we buy and use! :)

This week's groceries, from Costco: Read more for prices and total!

I loved having a menu planned for last week, and was actually successful in making most of what I had planned! :)

This week's menu plan is very different, since we're starting the week with a couple meals' worth of leftovers in the fridge. We'll also be getting a large order of frozen fish some day this week (discounted specials through Joshua's employer; who can resist fillets and smoked salmon for $0.99/lb. ?!) so I'll be getting creative with the freezer space and we'll probably be eating fish several times this week! :)

And to top it all off, yesterday we went blueberry picking with family and I came home with several gallons of fresh and frozen blueberries... and garden goodies from Joshua's mom and grandma as well! What a blessing to have an abundance of delicious food! God is so good to us! :)

Most of the time I am horribly neglectful when it comes to planning our menus. Usually I manage to pull through in the end but especially recently, the downsides have been apparent. Little variety from week to week, not as healthy overall, and just a general "I don't know WHAT to make" every afternoon. Uhg! I need to plan better!!

So, yesterday I planned a menu for this week. Here's my plan:

Monday

• Grilled cheese, cooked peas, apples, grapes (a quick meal since we're supposed to be out the door right after!)

Tuesday

• Oven-roasted chicken (in the crock pot), creamy potato soup, green beans, fruit

Wednesday

• Cheesy chicken vermicelli (using leftover chicken), veggie bean soup with spinach, fruit

Thursday

• Chicken Squash Bake, seasoned baked potato wedges, fruit

Friday

• Pizza, cooked peas, fruit smoothies for dessert

Saturday

• My mom's meatloaf, homemade scalloped potatoes, green beans, corn, and fruit

Sunday

• Burgers and condiments (taking to a BBQ), Orange Vanilla Dream cheesecake

Breakfasts: Green smoothies, cold cereal, or oatmeal with fruit

Fruit for the week: Grapes, apples, bananas, and oranges (fresh); blueberries or strawberries (frozen).