3 Cooks in the Kitchen!

One of the "to-do's" on my seemingly never ending to do list, was preparing several freezer meals for those first crazy weeks when the baby is a newborn and we have no energy to prep or cook a meal (much less shower, do laundry etc - so be forewarned if you come over, we might look 8 shades of crazy).  This was really not important or necessary to anyone but myself...but thankfully Auntie Stacy and Grams were game to help.  I took to Pinterest (is there anything you can't find there??) and had been bookmarking some freezer friendly meals.  I stayed home from work on Friday due to some dizziness/swollen feet/lack of sleep issues and between snoozing and watching Downton Abbey, made a pretty solid list of recipes and the ingredients for each.  Then on Saturday, Rob and I hit Costco and Krogers to stock up our kitchen and get ready for Freezer Meal Fest 2013.

**Sidenote - when you're almost 38 weeks pregnant, people stare A LOT.  And, they feel it's necessary to offer you advice like "don't walk to much", "shouldn't you be staying off your feet", and "turn back and save the baby!"  That last gem was offered to Stacy, Lynn, and me at the park on Wednesday when we were attempting to walk with a looming thunderstorm overhead.

Anyway - come Sunday - I was ready!  I had pulled aprons for everyone, started the chicken in the crock pot at 6:45 in the morning (so it could be shredded by 1:00), and even made cookies!  (alright, they were break and bake...but still...).  And, my mom stopped to get us Taco Bell (and between the four of us...she claimed it was the largest Taco Bell order she'd ever placed!). 

With Chili Cheese Burritos in our bellies - we began!  Chicken Enchiladas were up first.  The chicken was all ready to go - mom sliced and diced the onion (while Senorita Stacy did some sweet moves in the background) - and we assembled everything pretty quickly.  It made 20 enchiladas - so we put two pans in the freezer and I was even able to send some home with Stacy and my mom.

 

While the enchiladas were being assembled, I started the water boiling on the stove for some Baked Ziti.  This recipe also came together pretty quickly..as it was all about layering.  Pasta, Sauce, Cheese - repeat.  You probably get the idea.  Again, two pans later - we were finished! 

Our final recipe was "Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes".  Now, some might argue (my mom and Stacy) that the pan they were provided with was "too small" - but props to them for making it work!  Basically we prepared a meat mixture, and then let it cook in the slow cooker for a couple more hours.

 

 

 

At this point - the whole house was smelling pretty good...and we were on a roll....so of course - I had to throw one more task at everyone! I had been planning on using cloth diapers for burp clothes because everyone says they are super absorbent.  The trouble is - because I'm crazy creative, I wanted to fancy them up just a bit.  Using the fabric I had left from the embroidery hoops, I convinced Stacy to sew a strip of this fabric down the middle of the cloth.  Even though I thought the tension on my sewing machine was jacked up, Stacy somehow (sewing miracle?) managed to make it work on literally the first try - so we were all systems go!  She sewed the first seam, then my mom would iron the rest into place and she would finish.  What might you ask, was I doing?  Important business like snipping threads, eating cookies, and telling them my pregnancy woes of course.  They busted out 12 beautiful burp clothes in no time at all!  I know they will get dirty pronto - but somehow this makes me feel better.

 

 

I think I can officially say after this weekend that my to-do list is dwindling!  The only thing that might be left is packing the hospital bag -- which I plan to tackle very soon.  Thanks to Auntie Stacy, Grams, and Rob this weekend for all of their hard work! We love you all!