I bake lasagna, cook spaghetti, and freeze those meals. ÝI bake chicken and freeze the excess to make casseroles, mix with mayonnaise to make sandwiches and cook the bones to make broth for soup. ÝI freeze extra broth to mix with the chicken for soup. ÝI save left over vegetables in a plastic container in the freezer for the soup as well.
I also make 2 or 3 different meals at the same time for use later in the week. ÝDepending on the size of your oven you could cook and freeze 2 or so meals of each. ÝOr maybe prepare and cook them one right after the other. ÝIn the winter I bake my meals and prepare chilli and hash at the same time. I make enough hash for lunch and another meal or two later in the week. (We like hash.) ÝI would cook those type of meals when someone is there to watch the kids because you need to keep a close watch on the chili and hash to prevent them from burning. ÝI also buy canned meat for the nights I don’t have anything else and I am too tired to cook. ÝThen I cook some noodles or rice add some vegetables and cream of mushoom soup for a quick cassrole. ÝBake 30 minutes to an hour. ÝYou might want to borrow some cookbooks on frugal meals from the library and get some new recipes prior to the birth of your little one. ÝI don’t think you will have much time for learning or reading after the child comes along.