Two Timin' Meals

My mom is scheduled to have a major surgery tomorrow and I've spent the last two weeks preparing frozen meals for her recovery time. I've been half-heartedly trying to master this skill for several years, but with Mom's impending surgery, I kicked it into high gear.

Here are three recipes I've used to create these Two Timin' meals.

1. Crock pot Chicken and Vegetables:

1 whole chicken

6 medium potatoes

6-10 carrots

Favorite spices and seasoning

Remove whatever is inside the chicken, rinse and pat dry. Season with your favorite seasoning - you really cannot go wrong. I always use salt, but then mix in paprika, garlic, white/black/red pepper. Just load it up with whatever you think will taste good. Peel and cut potatoes and carrots into chunks. Place vegetables and then chicken in the crock pot and cook on low for eight hours. The chicken will be fall-off-the-bone tender!

2. Minestrone:

I used a Rachael Ray recipe this time - Hearty Minestrone. She has several good minestrone recipes or you could simply make your own. Minestrone is delicious with many beans and "Italian" vegetables like celery, carrots, zucchini. Here is the recipe.

3. Baked Shells Casserole:

This is another recipe from Rachael Ray, but this is more complicated and takes longer than her usual 30-minute meals so I doubled the recipe. Click here for the link.

I use a Foodsaver to vacuum-seal double portions, but have also used Ziplock bags too. I haven't tasted Baked Shells yet, so here's hoping it's delicious!