Possible Meals

1. Chicken Enchiladas - http://www.recipezaar.com/Chicken-Enchilada-Casserole-12832 - except I would like to substitute half of the chicken in the recipe for beans (saves some money and increases the nutritional value).

2. Stuffed Peppers -http://www.bulkfreezercooking.com/2009/09/mamas-stuffed-peppers.html

3. Stuffed Pasta Shells - http://www.about-recipes.com/recipes/301450-stuffed-shells.html, or http://www.natecooks.net/2009/04/potluck-fun-baked-stuffed-shells/ - but just using a jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce instead of the sauces they suggest.

4. Phyllo Spring Rolls with Halibut instead of crab - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/baked-spring-rolls-with-crab-recipe/index.html - I have lost of Alaskan Halibut, plus 24 oz of phyllo dough that give me the stink eye every time I open my freezer!

Let's decide on our final menu by Tuesday, March 9, as they next day my daughter has a doctor's appointment near Costco and I can swing by and pick up some needed items in bulk.

Crock Pot Meal Suggestion

Next time we put meals in bags we need to stand them up while they're freezing. I had flattened everything out and it took a bit of effort to get the frozen meal to fit into the crock pot.

Black Bean Chicken Salsa

This meal was seriously yummy! I didn't cook it as long as it said because 5 1/2 - 6 hours in I stirred it and all my chicken fell apart. I did add a bit of extra beans and corn and salsa. I mixed the cream cheese in at the end and turned my crock pot to keep warm since Andrew wasn't home yet. We just had it with chips. Peter really loved it too and when the spoon got to be too difficult for him he just went at it with his hands. :) I'm not sure how I feel about it as a main course but we'll definitely make it again.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

The pizza was "okay" - once we finally got it cooked! After thawing the pizza dough overnight, I cooked the pizza as instructed, but while the outside looked nice and done, the middle was still completely dough after 20 minutes at 450. I lowered the temperature to 350 and cooked it for 30 minutes more, and then the center was finally done.

It was an interesting meal, but we both like regular pizza better. The crust was pretty tasty, so I think I will use our other pizza dough to make a more traditional-tasting pizza.

Nothing Special

Tuna Noodle Casserole - it made the house smell like fish and there really wasn't anything particularly special about it. I'm not sure I would make it again.

**Update**
I just realized that we had run out of onions for this recipe so there weren't enough onions and I think it could have used some celery or something to give it more texture. Andrew suggested adding cayenne pepper or something spicy to improve the flavor.

Meal Suggestions for Next Time

1. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins - http://www.recipezaar.com/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Muffins-166157
2. Granola - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/granola-recipe/index.html 
3. Calzones - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Italian-Calzones/Detail.aspx 
4. Burritos - I have a good recipe in one of my cookbooks
5. Meatloaf - I have a good recipe in one of my cookbooks
6. ? Shepherd's Pie - I have a good recipe in one of my cookbooks
7. ?
8. ? Sweet and Sour Chicken - http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2009/09/quick-sweet-and-sour-pork.html
9. ?  Lemonade Chicken - http://freezerfriendz.blogspot.com/2009/06/lemonade-chicken-by-katie.html

Future possibilities:

http://familymeals101.blogspot.com/2010/01/pizza-rolls.html

Our Meals So Far...

Here's what we think of the meals we've tried so far:

• Curried Chicken Tidbits - I really liked it, Andrew did not like the strong mustard flavor (he doesn't really like mustard). I agree that it would be good with some veggies next time. We had it over rice.
• Easy Taco Bake - I liked this one too, but I think there was too much topping and not enough filling and I think the topping would have been better if it were a corn meal base. 
• Sloppy Joes - This was good but it was a bit too sweet and didn't taste like a traditional sloppy joe. I added a can of flavored diced tomatoes and I would have added a can of tomato paste too if I had had any on hand.

One thing that I've done is put a list of each meal on the door of the fridge and when we take it out of the freezer we cross it off. This way we know what's left to be eaten. 

We still have to plan ahead to for most of the meals because they require thawing before cooking. The nice thing about the planning ahead is we just have to remember to take the meal from the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before and we're good.