Monday Meal Plan! Plus, a bonus freezer meal section!

This is going to be quite the week for cooking!  I'm still in the pursuit of new recipes to try during the week for once we go back to work since I've felt like we're in an eating rut.  Plus, we just bought our new second refrigerator/freezer for the breezeway and just in time, because I'm have a four-week plan of freezer meals to make for when Baby Evan arrives!

So, this is going to be a post loaded with recipes and ideas for things you can make now for dinner or things you could freeze for down the road:

Monday -  Taco Salad Casserole!  We love Mexican foods in our house, so anything new and different is right up our alley.  Here's where the recipe came from:  Football Fiesta Casserole.

Tuesday - A different version of BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I made one before that was awesome, but I saw a new recipe for a lighter version that I've been dying to try.  Here's the recipe:  BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Wednesday - Chicken Caesar Sandwiches in the crockpot because they were such a hit last time!  Brown rice and green beans for the sides.  Here's my post about this recipe that we made a few weeks ago:  Monday Meal Plan!.

Thursday -  Cheddar Potato Soup and Organic Applegate Hot Dogs.  I found the cheddar potato soup recipe a few years ago while randomly watching the Food Network.  It was a Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee episode...so you might be able to find it on the website.  But, it's very easy.  Peel and chop some potatoes, boil until they're soft, drain the water, add 2 cans of cheddar cheese soup, 2.5 cups of chicken stock, and you're done.  I like to add croutons to add some crunch!

Friday - Baked Classic Ziti, salad, and breadsticks.  I'm going to double this recipe and put one in the freezer as part of my freezer meals for this week.  I blogged about this recipe a few weeks ago and it was amazing!  Scott doesn't usually like meat in his spaghetti sauce, but he raved about this one.  Here's my post about it:  Classic Baked Ziti.

Okay...now on to the new and exciting part of my Monday Meal Plan post for this week!  The freezer meals!

I've decided that for the month of August, in preparation for having a newborn, I'm going to make all the meals I made last time and freeze them, in addition to many new ones I've found on Pinterest and some breakfast items like pancakes, french toast, and muffins.  We are going to be stocked!  And I finally have the space to really do this!

This week I wanted to start off simple, so I chose 3 meals that I could prepare a gallon freezer bag of the ingredients to pull out, defrost, and throw in the crock pot when we're ready to make them.  I'm also going to double my Ziti on Friday to put a foil pan of that in the freezer too.  I'm trying to avoid a lot of Italian though since that seems to be what people want to bring over.  And I'm trying to limit the amount of foods I have to cook during each week this month to 4-5 items.  Our grocery store trips are going to be painful with all this cooking...but it'll be worth it, right?

July 29^th – August 4^th:

1.        Best Ever Beef Dip Sandwiches (Make ahead for Crock Pot Meal):

4 pounds beef chuck roast

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

3 bay leaves

1 cup soy sauce

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Place all the ingredients except the water into a gallon sized freezer storage bag; seal and freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost completely. Place contents into your slow cooker and add 6 cups of water. Cook on low setting for 6 to 10 hours. Unlike most roasts, the longer the better.

     2.  Teriyaki Chicken (Make ahead for Crock Pot Meal):

                Medium – Large bag of carrots

Red Onion into Large Chunks

2 large cans pineapple (undrained)

4 Garlic Cloves

4 Chicken Breasts

1 cup teriyaki sauce

*Follow directions above, and split everything into two gallon freezer bags. shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to crock pot, Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. Serve over hot rice. 

       3.   Sausage and Peppers (Make ahead for Crock Pot Meal):

6 Italian Sausage (or chicken sausage)

2 green peppers

1 red pepper

1 large red onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans italian diced tomatoes

drizzle olive oil

1 Tbs Italian seasoning

*Follow directions above, and put everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, or grill. After cooking, serve over hot pasta or on hollowed out, buttered crusty bread.

And here's my finished products: