So, I have a sneaking suspicion that, come August, I’m going to be a wee bit busy.

(Can you sense my sarcasm? It’s there, trust me.)

I remember the days after Mr. Boy as born — as blurry as they are. I was exhausted, sore, and hormonal. For several days, I didn’t know if I was coming or going . . laughing or crying.

And, forget meal preparation. I had about 10 crock-pot meals in the freezer and about 5 days worth of church meals thanks to some lovely friends from our church. After that . . . we ate a lot of $5 Little Caesar Pizzas.

I’d rather avoid that scenario again — it might have been one of the contributing factors to my post-partum weight gain (the weight that I spent MOST of last year battling . . . just in time to get pregnant and go through it all again).

A few weeks ago, I decided to begin trying a few “freeze-ahead” meals; if they were successful in my normal weekly meal plan, then I would add them to my list of “Meals I Must Make and Freeze in July before My Life Changes in August.” Yes — it will be an event.

There have been some CLEAR winners. Dishes my husband raved about and the kidlets gobbled like they hadn’t eaten in four days.

(1) Calizone Bake*

This was a dish I reviewed for the Ready, Set, Eat recipe site and it has become a FAVORITE meal here. We’ve eaten it 3 times since my original review was posted. (You can read my review by clicking the recipe link — I’m “Following In My Shoes.” Duh.)

My favorite aspect of this recipe (aside from the great flavor and easy-to-teak ingredient list) is that it can make enough filling for two calizones, meaning you can easily freeze half for another night. I plan on freezing several filling variations (different veggies, etc) — Hubby has already volunteered to prepare this freezer meal in August. He REALLY liked this calizone recipe!

(2) Johnny Marzetti with Cheesy Noodles

This is an official freezer meal from the freeze-ahead gurus at Once a Month Cooking. Yeah, this woman rocks with her once-a-month menu plans, grocery lists, and preparation lists. She ROCKS.

This dish I first discovered on another blogger’s meal-plan (and I’m ashamed to say I can’t remember who it was!) — since I have a Little Lady who LOVES egg noodles, I decided to check out the recipe on the OAMC site. And . . . . . . . it sounded sooooo good.

Yesterday, when I made it, we weren’t disappointed. As my husband put it, it’s like eating a really good meatloaf and mac-n-cheese . . . without all the work of making those two baked dishes.

Since it’s an official “freezer meal,” there are instructions on ho to freeze both the meaty Johnny Marzetti and the cheesy noodles. I don’t know that I’ll end up freezing the noodles, though; it would be just as fast to make a fresh batch of noodles as opposed to thawing some out.

This Week’s Meal Plan

This week, I’m trying two more freezer meals — both from the Once a Month Cooking Site. Can’t wait to see if they’ll be added to my “these are good” list! (each freezer meal will be denoted with ** in my meal plan)

Monday {Meatless Monday}: Spring Green Risotto**, Salad, homemade balsamic dressing

Tuesday: Kidlets to the house of My Kinda Rain while Mommy and Daddy visit the Houston Rodeo!

Wednesday: Penne Alfredo*, Baked Tenderloins, Salad

Thursday: Leftover Night

Friday: Open-Faced Sun Dried Tomato Sandwiches, Salad

Saturday: Tortilla Soup from Mexico, One Plate at a Time (by Rick Bayless — Hubby bought this cookbook last week and I can’t wait to try this recipe)