There's a saying that "something's gotta give..."  If you're a Mom you know this very well.  It doesn't take long in motherhood to resign to the fact that something has got to give.  I've written before about not letting myself go, and this isn't about that, but this is about how cooking has had to change a bit for me these days.

With Tucker taking two naps now and Anderson still taking his solid afternoon nap the time before dinner is play time and now 5:00 dinner time.  Both boys are hungry as Tucker wants food now (and lots of it) and then it turns quickly into 6:00 when it's bath time and soon bedtime for Tucker.  Benjamin is then home or on some nights in class so dinner needs to be done or have very little steps if we're going to eat anytime before 8:00.  This nursing momma can't really stand to wait that long as I find myself much like a cranky toddler when I'm hungry and so I've turned once again to freezer meals but this time freezer meals that are thawed and dumped into the slow cooker in the morning.

We all know I like spending hours in the kitchen and would love to make my own pasta if I could but that's not my reality right now.  Right now I'm working with what I've got and found these few recipes to offer some good vegetables, health, and sustenance for our family.  I've even made them a few times now.

I got these recipes after seeing this blog post.  Here you go- hope some are keepers for you as well!

Because I usually don't have hours on end to assemble these all I get the ingredients and know I will be able to get them all in their bags and into the freezer (we just got another fridge/freezer for fee!) within a few days before items go bad.

The day before you're going to make the meal take it out of the freezer so it can start to thaw- or if you're in a pinch just put it in warm water for a bit so you can them pour it into your slow cooker.

Also, sometimes the bags seem too full.  If this is the case omit adding the broth and just write on the bag that you need to add the broth on the day you cook it.