Postpartum Meals
My baby will be 6 weeks old this week I am feeling fortunate that I am just starting to "cook" again. Between the kindness of friends/family/neighbors bringing us meals, my stash of freezer meals that I stockpiled before baby (which in my last-minute Type-A nesting I decided I needed to make an inventory sheet for--picture above), Nick cooking, and takeout, we have been getting along. The honeymoon is over, though, and back to the kitchen I go, so I've been brainstorming some ideas that are the easiest of easy.
(And as a sidenote: Cooking, I did not miss you. If we ever hit the lottery, I would immediately cease and desist all kitchen operations, and I frequently remind Nick that in retirement, he has no meals coming to him. I strive to be a reheater of prepared food and a frequenter of the restaurant scene. UNTIL THEN, along I plow in the kitchen.)
Last night we had homemade Egg McMuffins. I had a package of whole wheat English muffins I needed to use, and my mom was here for the day so she fried 6 eggs while I toasted and layered slices of deli ham and cheddar cheese on the muffins. I assembled everything and we put them on a baking sheet covered in foil, and all I had to do during the witching hour was pop the tray in the oven for 25 minutes to warm. I served the girls their meal deconstructed--half a toasted English muffin with butter, a fried egg, ham roll-up, cheese, and pineapple.
Tonight I am making this, which is always a family favorite. I sub out the country ham with bacon because that's usually what I have on hand.
Here's my list for moving forward:
pierogies
stuffed potatoes
pesto tortellini
roasted veggie sandwiches
roasted veggie quesadillas + black beans + rice
chicken noodle soup
shrimp scampi
tacos
bean + cheese burritos
pasta ponza (the girls LOVE this)
burgers/hot dogs + sweet potato fries
store-bought fried chicken (three of our local grocery stores have great fried chicken and who has time to make that?)
salmon
BLTs with avocado
steak (our local meat market will season it for me so I just broil it in the oven)
ribs (our meat market sells these already marinated so I just bake them)
crockpot chicken and dumplings (something about the postpartum time always makes me want to eat the food of my childhood, and lots of it. ALWAYS HUNGRY!)
I plan to cook a few of these each week and continue to pull from my freezer stockpile once a week, and fill in the rest with prepared foods and/or takeout from my various and well-loved local sources.
Do you have any favorite easy meals? I'd love to hear!
And here's a picture of my perfect baby who I can't get enough of, who I would eat for dinner if I could! Is it normal to restrain oneself multiple times a day from kissing your baby on the actual mouth? I could eat this child alive.
