Cooking ahead

[spinbaby]

I've been working very long hours so tomorrow I was planning to cook ahead for the week so I don't have to try to cook during the week. So far I'm planning chili. Any ideas out there for foods that can be made ahead easily and reheated one portion at a time? It has to reheat one serving at a time because we're not all home eating at the same time.

[NMDemDist2]

1. Lasagna, casseroles, stews all work

I'm gonna make bread and muffins too.

Pancakes freeze well too.

[spinbaby]

2. Pancakes sound good

Or waffles.

I don't want to do casseroles because you have to heat the whole casserole at once--I don't want to wait an hour for a casserole to bake because I'm starving after work. Besides, there may or may not be some home to help me eat it. I need stuff I can make in individual portions that I can nuke inside of five minutes. Maybe I'll go examine the frozen meals at my grocery to get some inspiration.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. The trick is to pick the right kinds of casseroles.

Many casseroles with a starch base (macaroni, rice etc.) are solid enough when refrigerated that one can cut a portion size, place it on a dinner plate and nuke it.

Another idea: burritos hold well if there's no tomatoes or high liquid vegetables in them. A simple burrito of cooked meat or meat substitute, cheese, a mixture cooked peppers, onion, and/or garlic, beans and maybe some rice will hold up well. We make them a dozen at a time and freeze the leftovers. Just add salsa and other garnishes at the table. When nuked the wrapper is a bit soggier than fresh or reheated in the oven.

[Warpy]

4. The trick to frozen casseroles and lasagnas

or any other assembled dish is to freeze portions, not the whole thing. A portion can be nuked in about 6 minutes, and that's fast enough for anybody.

[grasswire]

5. think about those little foil baking pans

The ones made for small loaves of bread can be used for baking individual portions of food for later eating. Of course, reheating that in the micro is a wee problem. You could remove the food from the small foil pans when cooked and repack in ziplock baggies for freezing.

You also can bake casserole foods in deep extra large muffin tins, then remove and zip in baggies and freeze.

You could use the crockpot and just keep something simmering 'til everyone's fed for the day.

But I think I see now that you aren't looking for method as much as you are food ideas.

How about making a couple of main-dish deli-style salads that will keep a good portion of the week? A pasta salad loaded with good stuff like olives, bits of salami, chunks of jack cheese, red onion, pea pods, broccoli, etc. Perhaps a whole grain salad with curry, almonds, raisins, etc. Perhaps some marinated mushrooms with herbs. Perhaps some poached asparagus and poached salmon or other fish, kept on a dish in the fridge.

If you have cold cooked foods and some good bread and cheese in the house, everyone can eat well at any time day or night.

[The empressof all]

6. Spicy Pulled Pork or Pot Roast

Just package in small zip-locks and they are easy to pull out of the freezer and nuke for a quick hot sandwich. You can even do a Turkey and break the meat down and store with gravy.

I also have begun prepping my salads in advance and store them in those "Green-Bags" (without the dressing and tomatoes of course). I pull them out one at a time for easy salad fixings

[mtnester]

9. I just made a whole pork shoulder that marinated in a paste for two days

the outside was a beauty of a mahogony color, and the stuff was a delight...I saved back some crusty pieces for hubs and JUST wathed him eat them...with his eyes closed...yeah it is that good

I cooked it at 325 for around 4.5 hours (bone in)

[The empressof all]

10. They were on sale here a few weeks ago

I have two stashed in the extra freezer. What did you use in the paste? I marinate mine in Hot Pace Picante Sauce then just pressure cook it for an hour. It's very moist and tender but alas no crispy bits.

[mtnester]

11. It was just a combo of salt, paprika, ground pepper, brown sugar

and a TOUCH of cayenne with splashes of red wine vinegar to make a paste...I ususally just wing it.

I JUST got a pressure cooker for the first time last week...it is still in the box and I am still amazed by my unrational fear of it..sigh

[The empressof all]

12. Be Brave!

Start with making a stew. Use the recipe in the book that comes with the cooker. (Of course you can spice it up the way you want) I have always found it helpful to use the products recipe book to get a sense of what the device can do before I wing it on my own.

I love, love, love my cooker. I have an electric one now that also double duties as a slow cooker. I use it 3 or 4 times a week. I can make stock in pinch now so I save all my veggie and chicken scraps.

You're gonna love it! You gotta pressure cook some artichokes!

Be Brave!

[mtnester]

14. Thanks....I have every intention of doing my usual tedious thing

like Googling for pressure cooker recipes for days, then making an agonizing decision and moving forward (ahem...yeah you can call me anal if you want, that shoe fits me well)...I am on vacation (work around the house one) right now so probably won't try it until next weekend.

I don't know why I am so hesitant on this, I am usually the first to buy a gadget (yeah I have TOO many) or new small appliance for the kitchen...maybe the thing scared me or something when I was little.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Get one of those sucker things that uses boilable bags

Portion stuff into the bags and then just warm it up in boiling water. Boiling it to reheat is gentler than microwaving. You can even boil inherently dry items (like french toast) by sealing them into the bag.

The bags we use in our Foodsaver brand sucker can be boiled.

[spinbaby]

8. I've decided to make...

...PIZZA!

I've got dough rising. I'm going to make little pizza crusts in my 8" cake pans and bake them just until they're set, not browned. When they're cool, I'm going to cover them with sauce and cheese, wrap, and freeze.

[Juneboarder]

13. Spaghetti Sauce...

I usually make a spaghetti sauce 2-3 times a month on a Saturday or Sunday when i can give it the chance to cook slowly all day long. Then during the week, I can either boil some pasta for a quick meal or else use leftover pastas if there are any. My fav's are the wagon wheel shaped pasta! :) Also can be used for lasagna, chicken/veal/eggplant parmesan, pizza, soup (Pasta e Fagioli), chili, etc... Sauce is my vegetable stock in life :)

[yellowdogintexas]

15. those wonderful vinegary salads made with lentils, edamame, blackeyed peas

black beans, etc. They keep for days and are so nutritious
Also black bean soup
taco soup
big salads with grilled chicken breasts or leftover steak/pork/chicken thrown in