So, you have a new baby or a child on the way. Waiting is hard, absolutely, and finding time to be able to feed your family a nutritious meal once you are home is just as hard. So, here are three recipes that are low fuss, make a fair amount of food, freeze well, taste good on the other side, and give you something to do while you wait!
Taco Soup Brown 2 pounds of ground beef, one small (chopped) onion, and a 4 oz. can of chopped green chilis. Then add 1.5 packages of taco seasoning, 1 package of ranch dressing, 1 large can of undrained hominy, 1 can of undrained pinto beans, 1 can of undrained kidney beans, 1 can of undrained niblets corn, 2 cans of undrained petite diced tomatoes, and 1.5 cups of water and heat through. Serve (when the time comes) with corn or tortilla chips, shredded cheese of your choice, and sour cream.
White Bean Tortellini Soup
Boil 5 cups of chicken broth. Stir in 1 9 oz. package of cheese tortellini. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Stit in 1 can of undrained Great Northern beans, 1 can undrained Italian diced tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons of dried basil. Simmer for 6 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar. Freeze. When it comes time to serve later, sprinkle the soup with Parmesan cheese.
Spinach Ravioli Casserole Boil a family sized pack of skim cheese ravioli (or the flavor of your choice) for three minutes. Add 6-9 ounces of fresh spinach to the boiling water (and pasta) and let the spinach wilt (about 1 minute). Pull the pasta/ spinach mixture off the stove, drain and rinse with cold water. In a casserole dish, pour one layer of the pasta sauce of your choice onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Lightly sprinkle (if you like a little bit of heat) crushed red pepper on top of the pasta sauce. Then place one layer of the pasta/spinach mixture on top of the pasta sauce. Top the pasta/spinach mixture with 1/2-3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Then top the cheese with the rest of the pasta/spinach mixture. Finally, cover the cheese with the remaining pasta sauce and add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper. Freeze. When the time comes, bake the defrosted casserole for 25 minutes at 350 degrees and then add a top layer of mozzarella and let it bake for five more minutes.
