Freezer Meals for a Toddler: Part 2

    For those of you who might be interested in my plan for making freezer meals for Owen, I finished making all my recipes over two days last week. I have been really happy with the results and I am so happy that Owen seems to be enjoying his new meals. I ended up changing the order of the recipes I was making and I think I was able to do them pretty quickly. I think these could all be done in the same day if you grocery shop the day before and cook the following day. I went shopping in the early afternoon so I didn't get started until pretty late. And then I finished up the next morning. 
      HERE is a link to the original post with links to the various recipes. 
      I began the day by chopping and shredding all my vegetables for the nine recipes that I was making. While I was chopping, I also browned a pound of ground beef with taco seasoning for the taco muffins. 

     Then I started the taco muffins recipe and the zucchini tots since those both bake at the same temperature. 

      While those were baking, I started prep for the mini broccoli and cheese quiche. After the first two recipes were done cooking, I put them on a cooling rack until they were room temperature and then put them on plates not touching and set them in the freezer for about an hour to flash freeze before I put them in labeled freezer bags. 

     While the mini quiche were cooking, I prepared the pasta with veggie sauce recipe on the stovetop. After combining the pasta and sauce, I let it cool and then froze it in one cup serving in freezer bags. A half cup serving would probably have been better for a toddler though.

     When the mini quiche were finished, I repeated the same cooling and freezing process and made the chocolate chip banana bread muffins. And that was that for the night.
    The next morning, I began by making the turkey meatloaves. While those were cooking, I cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and breaded them for the chicken nuggets. 

After the meatloaves were done, I adjusted the temperature of the oven and baked the chicken nuggets. I did the cool and flash freeze process with the meatloaves. 

While the nuggets were baking, I made chocolate chip zucchini bread muffins because I had extra shredded zucchini. I flash froze each of these recipes after they cooled and then stored them in freezer bags with labels. 

     Finally, I made the green monster smoothie. I then froze it in freezer bags in one cup 
servings. Below are some photos of Owen enjoying his chicken nuggets and dipping them in barbecue sauce. 

     If you're interested in the recipes, I linked to them in my post. last week. I adjusted most of them to fit the ingredients on hand and to my tastes some, but they are all based on recipes I found on the Internet. Below are the ingredients listed for all the recipes. 

Breakfast:

Petite Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins (12)

Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 muffin

Ingredients:

3 ripe medium bananas

1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 large egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 oz mini chocolate chips

Smart Balance baking spray

Broccoli and Cheese Mini Egg Omelets (9)

Adapted from Skinny Taste.

Servings: Makes 9 cupcakes

Ingredients:

4 cups broccoli florets

1 diced red bell pepper

4 whole eggs

1 cup egg whites

1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar

1 tbsp olive oil

Green Monster Smoothie (4)

Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: about 1 cups

Ingredients:

2 small frozen ripe banana, peeled

4 cups baby spinach

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 1/2 cup milk

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Dinner:

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

6 oz (2 large) skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into even bit sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp olive oil

6 tbsp whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

2 tbsp panko

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

olive oil spray

Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce

Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

3/4 cup grated zucchini, all moisture squeezed dry with paper towel

2 tbsp onion, minced

2 tbsp diced red pepper

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Kansas City BBQ Sauce

1 large egg

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1.3 lb raw 93% lean ground turkey

2 1/2 tbsp BBQ Sauce

Zucchini Tots 

Servings: 12 tots 

Ingredients:

1 cup zucchini, grated

1 large egg

1/4 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

Pasta with very veggie sauce

2 tbsp. light olive oil


1 small onion, chopped


1 clove garlic, crushed


2 small carrots, peeled and chopped


1 medium zucchini, trimmed and chopped

3/4 cup cleaned and chopped button mushrooms


3 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped


1 tbsp. unsalted butter


1 (15-oz.) can diced tomatoes


1/2 cup chicken stock


1 tbsp. torn fresh basil leaves


Freshly ground black pepper


6 oz. pasta shapes


3-4 tbsp. cream cheese

Taco cupcakes

Adapted from Kraft Foods

1 can black beans

corn

1 lb. of ground beef 

2/3 cup of chunky mild salsa

1 package of taco seasoning

¾ cup of shredded cheese

2 cans of regular biscuits