Need kid friendly freezer meals for family that lost mother

odusgolp
odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
in Food and Nutrition
A friend of mine recently lost his 26 year old wife. They have two children 4, & 18 mos. He is a cop that works off shifts and has asked for help in the food department...

I'm looking for any suggestions of Kid Friendly meals that can go in his freezer and easily cooked/heated up!! Thanks!!

Replies

  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    mac and cheese casserole?
  • Erica0718
    Erica0718 Posts: 469 Member
    Sounds like a very sad situation.

    I don't have any creative freezer meal ideas besides Chili, Spaghetti Sauce and maybe taco meat.

    I would suggest he invest in a crockpot so he can let it cook while he is either working or sleeping and then he can reheat it if needed. Good luck to him :flowerforyou:
  • ShaeSweetie
    ShaeSweetie Posts: 156 Member
    Ohh thats so sad! =/ smart ones are healthy...and delicious..its usually like turkey and mashed potatoes..i mean im half a kid myself so thats what i like lol..but i never got the privelage as a kid to eat those snack packs and stuff...Mac and cheese...Those frozen chicken tenders..they are deliciouss! idk if this helped much lol sorryy
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    Pizza with corn?

    Chicken nuggets.

    I don't know, I've always fed my kid what I'm.eating. she likes stuff like chili, jambalaya, etc.
  • _Elemenopee_
    _Elemenopee_ Posts: 2,665 Member
    I just got a chill through my entire body. I'm so sorry for your friend, his family and those children. :sad:

    Lasagna and any kind of pasta is a great freezer meal.

    I can also say that he might want to get a slow cooker if he doesn't already have one. They're life and time savers. It all depends on what the kids will eat.

    My heart goes out to them!
  • scarletgenesis
    scarletgenesis Posts: 33
    -I make homemade burritos then freeze them. They can be microwaved quickly to heat up.
    -slow cooker for sure - can make all kinds of things in it!
    -hamburger casserole
    -pizza casserole

    I'd think a big time saver would be to freeze in meal sized portions for easy re-heating.

    many kinds of soup also freeze really well.
  • slackerwoman
    slackerwoman Posts: 261 Member
    Check out this website:

    http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/freezer-meals#

    It might help. If there is an ingredient that would make something non-kid-friendly like hot spices, you could substitute or leave them out.

    My heart goes out to this young family!
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    How sad! My heart breaks for him and those kids!

    Any kind of casserole dish (lasagne, baked mac and cheese, chicken pot pie etc.) would make a good freezer meal.

    I'm going to third the slow cooker/crock pot idea. My sister worked overnights well into her pregnancy and before and she was always exhausted. I got her the crockpot for her birthday one year and it totally changed her eating habits because she could put a meal in before going to bed in the mornings and have dinner when she woke up in the evening.

    I'll keep your friend in my thoughts!
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Wow, that is awful.

    A good meal is the following for us:

    1 lb rotini
    1 lb pasta sauce
    1 lb ground beef

    cook the pasta and brown the beef in a pan.

    Drain the beef and pasta and then mix them together with the sauce and put them together in a casserole dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and back at 350 for 35 minutes. Filling meal that you can then through in tupperware and freeze or just keep and reheat in the fridge and live off it for a week.

    Also, its scalable just keep it 1:1:1
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
    Been there...wait, I am there....living this, though it's been 5 years now...

    Do we know how much time he has to make these, or are you making them to be reheated?


    EDIT: Feel free to PM Me
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Thank you everyone :) And yes, everything we make will be a put in the oven and heat for an hour type thing, OR toss it in the crockpot frozen in the morning and done when you get home. No prep is the idea...

    I'm very sorry for your loss Bold Change :frown:
  • scs143
    scs143 Posts: 2,190 Member
    My heart goes out to them. I am so sorry!

    I agree- lasagna, baked ziti, mac and cheese and chicken soup with egg noodles all does fine in the freezer.

    Also, get him a crock pot. It will make two, three days of meals while he's at work!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    spaghetti casserole (can also be made with spaghetti squash).

    meat loaf (I use alton brown's good eats recipe on foodnetwork and my family loves it)

    chili (just not spicey)

    For any slow cooker recipe, put meat in a bag with the cooking liquids and freeze, pick up bags of suitable bagged steamed veggies in the freezer section (theres one with potatoes). Directions: Place meet in fridge on plate the day before, morning the day of put everything in the crockpot, set to low, let cook for 10 hours.
  • MARTYJOE48
    MARTYJOE48 Posts: 18 Member
    This is not a freezer meal but it is sooo quick and my grandkids love it - shoot, we all love it. It's called chicken in the woods :)
    2 cans cream of chicken soup; 1/2 can water; 1/2 can milk; 2 cups minute rice; 1 can white chicken - mix in 2 quart baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. Quick and Easy.

    I lost my first husband 12 years ago at age 45 - we had twin boys who were a week away from turning 12 years of age. I can promise your friend that life will get better, but the memory remains. Prayers to him and his family.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I'm going back to the crockpot again. It's important to have a network of people to help out. Someone I work with lost their 18 month old son on Monday, if this is a recent loss find out what he needs and sign his family up for this: www.takethemameal.com

    But, evenutally the help will dwindle and he'll need to learn how to efficiently get around the kitchen. Buying him a crockpot and handing him recipes with the ingredients will help. Helping him to learn how to meal plan for a week will help. It's such a tragedy, I don't know how people get through it.
  • PanteraGirl
    PanteraGirl Posts: 566 Member
    Everyone pretty much has the same suggestions as I do.....the only other things I could suggest are things like

    Beef stews, rice soups, chicken fingers..make em and freeze them so they just have to be heated up if you want them from scratch cuz its healthier.

    Some of the things I made for myself to put in the freezer for when the baby comes was stuffed peppers, lasagna, manicotti, cheese pies, and chilli so far. Also meat sauce for pasta cuz its easy enough to boil noodles for 10 minutes. I separated them into portions I thought would be enough for me and hubs cuz I wouldn't defrost a whole lasanga for the two of us.

    Truly sorry to hear about you friends wife....may she rest in peace, and may the Lord bring him strength to carry on and take care of himself and his kids :heart:

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