Hi Katie! My family and I LOVE this recipe for Taco Soup. You may want to cut this recipe in half...it makes a lot. Its also great for freezing.

Taco Soup:
Ingredients:

* 2 pounds ground beef
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 can pinto beans
* 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 can stewed tomatoes - mexican style
* 1 can Rotel tomatoes
* 1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
* 1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing(dry)
* 2 1/2 cups water or more, to make soup broth

Preparation:
Brown ground beef and onions in a large pan, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. You can top the soup with shredded cheese and sour cream and we love to eat it with corn chips.

I also make this soup with my Crock Pot. Just brown the beef and onions, then put everything in crock pot, then cook on low 4-5 hours. Its super easy and yummy. Hope you enjoy!

As always, you're in my prayers. I'm so excited for you!

I know this sounds crazy easy and not much or a recipie BUT this is serously good... the only way i eat pork and like it... (well outside from an actual pork "roast")

Pork roast.. or cuts... Thick are nice :) not picky really (if you use pork with bones it tates more pork flvored NOT my fav)

add one can of apple pie filling...
and 1 bottle of your fav barbeque sause.. (sweet baby rays for us)


I know it's a lot but add all 3 (did you get that ONLY 3) things!!! and cook on low in your crock pot for at least 6 hours... and more is always better!!!

and the left overs are always good for sandwiches... or i guess you could freeze it too!!!

TRY IT!!! I have had sooo many complaments with this one!!!! BUT SHHHHH don't tell them how easy it really is!!!

I admire all of you who can plan your meals and stick to them.
I have trouble planning meals, since my husband is on the road a lot and on the spare of the moment trips. So, we eat way too many fast food meals.
I did find a crock pot reciepe for chicken and dumplings that was delicious.
suppose you could cut it down a bit and only use 2 skinless chicken breasts instead of 4,
4 skinless bonless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces.

Directions:
Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2.) cover and cook for 5 to 6 hours on high.
3.) About 30 minutes before servie place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker.
4.) Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

I don't know why you couldn't cut reciepe in 1/2, it takes very little time to prepare and we found it very delicious.

Here is what I do when I know that I am wanting an easy meal at a later time...these work well when frozen also.

Pre-cook multiple pounds of chicken in crock pot with broth or just water(makes the chicken tender.

Half cooked chicken...
Mix 1/2 chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce and place into baggies for a quick meal...can set out overnight in fridge, heat an serve with dinner rolls or buns( also tasty with corn bread that you can also freeze for later)

with the other half of chicken...buy store chicken gravy and frozen veggies with corn, peas, carrots and the like...put chicken,gravy and veggies in the crock pot all day...when cooked drizzle over biscuits(or corn bread)...place left overs in baggies and freeze for a quick meal.

Hope these are helpful and you find them tasty....yummy

This is one of my favorite spag. sauce recipes and freezes REALLY well (up to 3 months). If you have free time this weekend I highly recommend making it -- put it into 3 or 4 tupperware containers and freeze. When you want to use it, it's best to remember the night before so you can defrost in the fridge overnight/during the next day. If you forget, you can always defrost in the microwave. SO yummy -- I personally omit the pepperoni (I don't care for it) and add extra mushrooms.

Three Meat Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef
1 lb bulk Italian sausage (see if you can buy the already ground sausage instead of having to peel the casings off the links)
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
2 jars (4.5 oz each) sliced mushrooms, drained. (I always substitute fresh mushrooms, but I just eyeball the amount when I do that)
1 cup chopped pepperoni
2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP Italian seasoning
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
In a large pot, cook beef, sausage, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain. Stir in tomatoes, water, tomato paste, mushrooms, pepperoni, parmesan, sugar, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (I let mine simmer for a few hours! I think it tastes better. :))

This is my favorite freezer meal, and it conveniently uses spaghetti sauce (Emily's sounds delish!).

Spaghetti Casserole

1 pound ground beef, sausage or combination (omit if meat is already in the sauce)
26-28 ounces chunky, garden style spaghetti sauce
1-8 oz. package spaghetti noodles
2-4 Tbsps. butter or margarine
16 oz. Ricotta or cottage cheese (I use cottage cheese)
1 egg
1 and 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (can be grated or shredded), divided
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown meat in skillet; add sauce and heat until bubbly. (I skip this step if the sauce is already cooked.)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and toss with butter or margarine. Put spaghetti in 9x13 pan (I usually split the recipe into two 9x9 pans and it works great.)

Layer cheese mixture on top of spaghetti (mix Ricotta or cottage cheese,egg, and 1 cup of Parmesan).

Layer meat sauce mixture on top of cheese.

Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese on top of meat mixture.

Cover and freeze for 2 months.

To bake:
Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. May take longer if slightly frozen. I take the foil off for the last 5 minutes or so to brown the cheese.

Enjoy!

Lasagna freezes well, but I don't have a recipe memorized... it is fairly easy to make though.

I made a bunch of freezer recipes before I had my last son, and it was a life saver! This recipe is a fave...a bit labor intensive (so I quadruple the recipe) but it is worth it! Just keep the pasta out and freeze the rest, and when you reheat it you can add the pasta then.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1662823

Also, I love making baked ziti...super easy to make, and I double the recipe and freeze in foil pans to just pop in the oven.

I don't know about freezing this, but it is really good mac-n-cheese.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (Paula Dean)

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil the macaroni in a 2-quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally

My sis-n-law, Patrice is quite the cooker, she probably would have some ideas. She made your button:)

My favorite croc-pot recipe.

-1 Package thick-cut pork chops (We prefer boneless, but that's your call...)
-Seasoned bread crumbs
-Olive Oil
-2 cans cream of mushroom soup
-3/4 c sliced mushrooms (optional)

(I prepare the pork chops the day before, but you could probably prepare them before that and freeze them.)

Coat the pork chops in bread crumbs. Brown in olive oil.

When you're ready to put them in the croc-pot, coat the bottom of the croc in cream of mushroom soup. Set the pork chops in the pot and cover with the rest of the cream of mushroom soup. Add fresh mushrooms if desired. Set to low and cook for 8 hours.

The pork chops will have to be taken out with a large spoon, because they will literally fall apart.

Congrats again on the new addition! So exciting!

I found your blog a few weeks ago. We lost our baby Jonathan last July at 23 weeks. I'm so sorry for your loss, and I know how hard it is!

I thought I would comment today, because I LOVE e-mealz too!! I have so many favorites from the recipes. I think we do the same 2- person subscription, so I won't repeat one you already have. So here is another recipe that we love at our house!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1 doz flour tortillas
1 pt sour cream (I usually use less)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can diced green chilies
6 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded
1/2 lb shredded cheese blend

Heat oven to 350, and grease a 9 x 13 pan. Prepare filling by combining soup, sour cream, chilies, and chicken. I usually add some of the cheese too! Heat tortillas to soften, then fill with a couple spoonfuls of the filling in each. Roll and line the pan until full. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes to get the top nice and bubbly. YUM!!

I look forward to trying some of the recipes that your other commenters shared too!

stew meat (up to 2lbs)
1 cup 7up/slice/sprite etc.
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup

put all ingredients in crock pot on low for 6-8 hrs. serve over rice or baked potato!

This is one of our fav's and super easy.

Yummy beef stroganoff:
1 package stew meat
1 can beef broth
1/2 onion- chopped
2 cloves garlic
-- put above ingredients into slow cooker and cook until meat is tender
Drain 1/2 liquid away and add 1 can cream of mushroom soup. Serve over noodles or rice
- you can also sauté some extra mushrooms to add

This is my first time commenting. I've read your blog for a couple of months ago, and I love your updates!
Cooking is a big part of my day as dinner time with my husband and little boy makes every stressful day go away when we're eating together.
This is a super easy and incredibly delicious recipe for Chicken Casserole. SO, SO good!

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 med. container of sour cream
2 boxes chicken flavored stuffing.

Prepare stuffing as directed; set aside.
cut chicken into little cubes, boil in water until fully cooked.
Drain water, add soups and sour cream. Mix all together.(Optional: we add a bag of frozen broccoli and it rocks!). Mix together well and heat until bubbly, stir often! I usually make this in a 9x13 pan and have the rest for lunches the next day because when those flavors mix together, YUM-O! But you could definitely use 9x9 square pans and freeze one. Pour your chicken mixture into the pans, and top with stuffing. Heat at 350 until bubbly, usually about 30-40 minutes in a 9x13. This is so, so good...I promise you won't be dissapointed!!

I would suggest getting some Freezer Meal Cookbooks. They teach you what freezes well, and how long you can freeze things for, how to do it etc. Very helpful! I have two..."Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer" and "Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals." I like the chicken recipe's because you just throw a few things in a freezer bag, label and freeze. They are so fast! Two favorites have been Hawaiian Chicken and Cranberry Chicken. :)

I am actually in the process of making a cookbook for my co-workers. I have had so much fun trying all of the recipes that have been submitted, but my favorite by far is a crockpot recipe for a roast.
Ingredients are easy,
1 Can of Coke
1 Pkg each Brown Gravy Mix and Onion Soup Mix
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (i use low fat variety)
1 Beef Roast

I add in carrots and cook on low for about 8-10 hours...add some cornstarch mixed with cold water to thicken this gravy and enjoy.

Sausage and Cheese Muffins - Freezer Friendly

1 lb. sausage, cooked and drained
2 cups self rising flour (for each cup of regular flour add 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt
½ stick butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 ½ c. Cheddar cheese

Make a well in flour and add butter, egg and milk. Mix until blended. Stir in sausage and cheese. Bake in greased tins 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

These are both a favorite breakfast and snack here.

First off, CONGRATS on your upcoming little one. I didn't get to comment on your other posts, but praise God! I'm so excited for you. Now, here's a recipe someone gave me right after we had Kadence. It's quickly become my favorite meal. I don't know if it freezes well or not, because we eat it up! Haha.

Poppyseed Chicken
2 cups chicked (about 2 large chicken breasts), cubed (uncooked)
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of broccoli (or chicken, mushroom, etc.) soup
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
3/4 stick butter
Poppyseeds (I didn't have any poppyseeds so I left them out. I really think all they add is color and a little texture)

Mix sour cream and soup together and then add chicken. Pour into greased 9x9 casserole dish. Sprinkle with poppyseeds. Melt butter and mix with crushed Ritz crackers (I crush them prior to opening the package). Sprinkle the buttered cracker crumbs on top and then sprinkle with more poppyseeds. Put in the oven on 350 for 1 hour. I admit I'm scared of burning the crackers and/or the chicken not getting done so I add the crackers about halfway through baking. Also, if you have some chicken that's already cooked that you want to use, follow the same recipe only cook it for 30 minutes instead of an hour.

Kate,

This is Judy from E-Mealz. I don't usually comment on the blogs our members write (lots of E-Mealz love out there:)... but I wanted to let you know that our hearts go out to you. Jenny (our beautiful sister and co-founder of E-Mealz) also has a son in Heaven who would have been my son's age-corresponding first cousin. We miss him still... so much... and he would be 18 this summer! She would love to chat with you I am sure. You can write us anytime to feedback@e-mealz.com. God bless you. Love to you from the E-Mealz sisters. Jane, Jenny and Judy

Hi Katie, I just stumbled upon your blog and have spent the past few days catching up on your story. I'm so happy you and Robb are getting another little one! I can tell you both have so much love to give, and your new little boy will be very lucky to have you.

I don't have any specific recipes to share with you (my husband is the cook in our family; I usually only succeed in making a burnt mess), but I wanted to share a crockpot website with you. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ I've seen it highly recommended by several people. Good luck!

Katie-
Sorry it's delayed, haven't had a chance to get on here. I'm hoping that desserts that freeze are good too. I'm a self confessed chocoholic so here goes. I'll get back to you on the dinner (I do have one but keep forgetting to bring the recipe down here).

Chocolate Chip Brownies
1 small box cook and serve chocolate pudding, cooked according to the package (must use at least 2% milk) and cooled
1 chocolate cake mix
1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13. Stir the dry cake mix and pudding until well blended (it will be very thick) and then stir in the chocolate chips. Spread in the 9x13 pan and bake for about 50 minutes. These are the most moist brownies ever. They are good warm, room temperature and frozen.
:)

Good thinking Katie--I was so glad we had meals prepared and in our freezer when we brought our little bean home. Here are some of the things I froze--or at least what I can remember:

Sloppy Joes
Chicken Chili
Lasagna

And then things I made sure I had ingredients for on hand:

Salsa Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie (the crockpot version)

Our crockpot was my savior the first two months. We wouldn't have eaten without my freezer meals and my crockpot. Visit www.crockpot365.blotspot.com for some great recipes!