Mission: Make Ahead Freezer Meals

When I was pregnant with Charlotte I had every intention of making ahead several freezer meals for Jason and I to eat after she was born... That never happened! Luckily, we had so many friends and neighbors bring dinner to us that we were able to freeze a lot of those and they lasted for several weeks. (I think we had at least 5 lasagnas... One of the reasons I will never take that to new parents!) Another thing to factor into this is that I was having full blown gallbladder attacks at this point and could only eat Saltine crackers and Nilla Wafers. Every now and then I'd splurge and have a reduced fat Fig Newton. I basically had to cut everything out of my diet that contained more than 3g of fat per serving and even then, no guarantees that it wouldn't trigger an attack. So because of that I really didn't eat much but at least Jason benefited from the meals!
It's totally different this time... I don't have a gallbladder any more and we also have another mouth to feed! (I can't see us trying to give Charlotte Ramen noodles!) So I am going to get it together and start getting my make ahead freezer meals in order. I have about 16 weeks left so I figured if I start now then I can make one extra meal to freeze every two weeks or so (more if I'm feeling ambitious) and then I'll have about 8-10 by the time the baby gets here.

I'm going to use the "mold technique" because our freezer is not that large and is pretty packed as it is. Basically, I will make a casserole and divide it in half into two 8x8 dishes instead of one 13x9 (unless it's already meant to be in an 8x8). I'll line the bottoms of the 8x8 dishes with wax paper and plastic wrap (I would use foil but I'm afraid it might stick and tear) and then cover them and stick them in the freezer until they are frozen through. Then I'll pop them out and remove the wax paper and plastic wrap and stick them into two Ziploc freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. I wanted to get one of those Foodsaver machines but Jason said no! LOL! The reason for dividing them in half is so we only have to defrost and cook what we will be eating that night so things don't have to be reheated more than once. Also, I have more space for 8x8 squares than 13x9 rectangles in my freezer.
Since they will be in the "mold" of an 8x8 dish, once they are taken out of the freezer they can simply be placed back in the glass 8x8 dish to be reheated in the oven.

This is my list that I'm going to go by of what meals to prepare ahead over the next few months. Most of these will go in the freezer unbaked.
White Chicken Lasagna
Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti
Burritos with beans, rice, cheese and beef filling (individually wrapped in foil, then sealed in a bag)
Spinach Rice Casserole (good side dish for baked chicken)
Easy Lasagna
Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie  (I'll make the filling only and then thaw the day before I use it)
Beef Chili with Beans
Award Winning White Chili
Taco Soup
Enchilada Casserole (I need to post that recipe to my BigOven page and then link it here)

I'll have to plan an update post after we have thawed and eaten these meals so I can remember if they froze well or not!