Cooking Ahead: Preparing for the Holidays

We have a lot on our plates in the next 8-10 weeks. For us, it all starts will a trip to DISNEY (whoo hoo) over Thanksgiving. The next week my bestie is coming for a visit, then it's my birthday, and Christmas parties, and Christmas itself. Then my parents are visiting before New Years and then my baby girl turns 4. Whew! I'm tired already.

I'm trying to get ahead of the game. I really need to, obviously! Over these next few weeks I am going to try to prepare as much food as possible in advance. We are going to be rushing from here to there but eating out can get pricey and I want to avoid that.

Right now at Publix some of the Hefty EZ-Foil pans are on sale for $0.99. When you combine this sale with the $1.00 WYB 2 printable, you get a pack for only $0.49. Plus, because they are all the same size, they should stack rather nicely in my fridge.

Also, the Hefty One Zip bags are BOGO this week. Combine with this $1.00 WYB 2 printable to get freezer bags for $0.65. I can use them for muffins, pancakes, ect.

Here are some of the things I am planning to prepare in advance. I hope to share some of these recipes with you as I go along and keep you up to date on my progress.

Cook and Freeze

Banana Bread

Pumpkin Muffins

Zucchini Bread

Corn Casserole

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Potato Soup

Southwestern Eggrolls

PB & J sandwiches

Pancakes

Monkey Bread

Dry Mixes

Brownie Mix

Cookie Dough

Pizza Dough

Oatmeal Packets

I've already prepared and frozen twice-baked potatoes and french fries and I hope to post soon about how that went. This is my first time to attempt such a large amount so I am all ears for suggestions and recipes that have worked for you.