Weekend Cooking

On the weekend I like to make several recipes that freeze well so I can easily make a healthy lunch or supper for my busy family the following week. Last weekend I made ham and beans on Saturday evening. I served this with cornbread after mass on Sunday, and froze the leftovers for later in the month. Sunday afternoon I made homemade chicken and noodle. I started cooking the chicken when we got home from mass, and started making the noodles after lunch. By the time I had my stock and chicken cooked, my noodles were ready to add to the soup. We had this for one meal during the week, and I had quite a bit leftover to freeze. This weekend I am thinking about making hamburger chili for my husband and daughters, and vegetarian chili for myself. I enjoy cooking, and it is very important to me to serve healthy, homemade food to my family everyday. It is also very difficult for me to find time everyday to cook three meals for my husband, myself, two preschoolers (ages 5 years and 4 years), and a 23 month old. We have another little one who is almost nine months, she doesn't eat too much food, but she does nurse several times a day. Any mother who breast-feeds can tell you how much time that activity takes out of your day. My solution is to cook several times during the week, and on the weekend. The rest of the time I serve meals from my freezer that I can make quick side dishes for. I make double or triple batches of food when I can to save time. I have successfully frozen many different kinds of dishes. I have frozen soups, coffee cake, quiche, barbecue pork, homemade pizza, black bean and rice burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and baked ziti. I have also frozen a variety of side dishes such as homemade macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls, muffins, and homemade bread. Making freezer meals is a convenient way to provide healthy food for my family, while allowing my to spend quality time with my family instead of with my stove.