After doing no preparation for my last surgery, and having to deal with an almost three year old and a nine month old last time, I decided that this time I will be prepared at home in regard to our meals for the first month afterward. I have so far made enough food for the first three weeks post-op!! I have a couple of meals that were volunteered to be brought to us, and I have another weeks worth of food that I plan to prepare so that Jeff can easily prepare our dinners or I can easily prepare them one handed.
This way, we will only have to shop for our weekly produce and won't have to worry about major grocery shopping for the first month. I feel so relieved about this! Not only will my surgery be a lot more intensive this time, I also have three kids this go-round! To say I'll have my work cut out for me is an understatement. Thankfully I only have one in diapers this time!
I decided that since I went to all the trouble to make all this food, I would share my list and recipes with everyone so as to provide you all with fresh new recipes and ideas for when you may need to do some extensive meal prep! These are all great freezer meals, so perfect for if you're having a baby, having surgery, have a busy month ahead of you, or if you just want to take it easy for a month. :)
So, here are a few of our favorites/highly recommended recipes!! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy these!!
(The marsala recipe is my FAVORITE. It's going to be our dinner for my birthday)!
1.) Pesto Chicken and Pasta
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz jar of pesto
1-2 cups of milk
Garlic salt, pepper, and parsley to taste.
Cook chicken in large pan. Add soup, pesto, milk, and spices. Add pasta and enjoy!
2.) My own chili recipe
1lb ground beef, browned
half an onion, diced
two tbsp minced garlic
1 can chili beans in sauce
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 cans tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes in sauce
1-2 cans broth
1-2 cups of water
garlic salt, pepper, parsley, chili powder to taste
Combine all ingredients and heat thoroughly. Enjoy chili topped with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and freshly diced onions!
3.) Navy bean soup... you can find the recipe here!! I cut this recipe in half. Also, instead of using all that water, I like to use equal parts chicken broth, water, and tomato soup. It's soooooo good!!
http://taylortakesataste.com/navy-bean-soup-with-garloc-croutons/
4.) Shea's Meatloaf recipe! Jeff's cousin Shea made up this fantastic meatloaf based off a dish I made when we hosted them for dinner one night. Here's how I made it!
1.25 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
3-4 pieces of bread, crumbled
1 jar of roasted red pepper bruschetta
1 4oz container of feta cheese
1 cup of fresh spinach
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
Garlic salt, pepper, and parsley to taste
Combine all ingredients and place in a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until done. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and a veggie!
5.) Chicken Spaghetti
I changed this recipe a little bit... I added a can of diced tomatoes in juice, omitted the pimentos, and only used parsley, garlic salt, and pepper for spices. It was quite tasty!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/
6.) Steak Marsala
I created this myself, based on a dish I had eaten at Tuscano's in Monroe. So delicious!! It is now a favorite of ours. I've even made this sauce to serve over chicken breasts. It's very delicious, but Jeff and I have both agreed that it's best served with steak! Enjoy!
Butter
2lbs steak
16 oz baby bella mushroom slices
14 oz holland house Marsala wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
One half-to one whole head of minced garlic
Pepper to taste
Garlic salt to taste
Parsley to taste
1-2 tbsp of flour
1/4-1/2 cup of half n half or milk
diced green onions (optional for garnish)
Brown the meat in butter. Season with garlic salt, pepper, and parsley.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add mushrooms and saute for one to two minutes. Add garlic and marsala wine. Bring to light boil. Add balsamic vinegar and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
When beef is cooked, add the marsala sauce to beef. Add flour and half n half. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes.
Serve over garlic mashed potatoes and praise the Lord for such a delicious food to pleasure your taste buds!
In addition to the above meals, I've also stored organic frozen pizzas that I found on sale at the Grocery Outlet, pasta sauce to serve over frozen meatballs and pasta, lasagna, taco meat to use for (tacos, obviously) and to prepare nachos for a tasty treat one night, or for use in taco soup, garlic chicken and pasta (from the freezer section at costco)... and I believe that's about it. There are probably a few I forgot... but I made huge batches of these items for the purpose of making it last.
I hope you enjoy these recipes!! We sure do!! God bless you, dear friends!!
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