Bake Ahead Food.

Lounge By kaylawaylalayla Updated 14 Aug 2013 , 10:04pm by Dayti

kaylawaylalayla Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kaylawaylalayla Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 5:50am
post #1 of 16

AI recently moved in with my sister in law. My hubs and she both work opposite 12 hour shifts and I stay home with my 18 month old daughter. I try to cook lunch at 5 ish for when my sister in law wakes up to go to work, and then I make dinner around 11-12ish when my husband will get home. I'm trying to make a bunch of stuff that I can stick In the freezer or store so they can just grab and go or take with them to microwave at work. I've already made up a bunch of chicken quesadillas grilled them and put them in the freezer so they can just take one out and microwave it. And right now I'm baking like 8 potatoes. But I'm not really sure how to store them after I'm done. Also, besides breakfast burritos, I've ran out of ideas of stuff that they can just prepare very quickly to eat when they are tired or need to go.

Any suggestions?

15 replies
kaylawaylalayla Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kaylawaylalayla Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 5:51am
post #2 of 16

AI am very tired and I don't know if I am making sense.

MBalaska Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MBalaska Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 6:29am
post #3 of 16

kaylawaylalayla: You're making sense. Clear your mind, sleep on it, you'll find an answer in the morning.

jennicake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jennicake Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:47am
post #4 of 16

AChili or a big lasagna you can cut up and freeze in individual servings. Both freeze really well and taste great when reheated.

kaylawaylalayla Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kaylawaylalayla Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:54am
post #5 of 16

A

Original message sent by jennicake

Chili or a big lasagna you can cut up and freeze in individual servings. Both freeze really well and taste great when reheated.

thanks that sounds great!

kaylawaylalayla Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kaylawaylalayla Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:57am
post #6 of 16

A

Original message sent by MBalaska

[B]kaylawaylalayla[/B]: You're making sense. Clear your mind, sleep on it, you'll find an answer in the morning.

this also spunds great!

jason_kraft Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jason_kraft Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 2:48pm
post #7 of 16

AThis site might help, my wife uses it when making freezer meals: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/07/freezer-cooking/

mermaidcakery Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mermaidcakery Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:41pm
post #8 of 16

AThe crock pot is my best friend for this. Big pots of spaghetti sauce, roasted whole chickens, pork shoulders. I make huge batches, then split it up into meal size servings and freeze. Pillsbury's website has some good breakfast ideas, and you can easily substitute homemade for premade ingredients.

BrandisBaked Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
BrandisBaked Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 3:43pm
post #9 of 16

AI do breakfast croissant sandwiches and the freeze well. I also do regular burritos and chicken, ham and Swiss sandwiches on hamburger buns (Tyson chicken patties from Costco are a huge timesaver).

Norasmom Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Norasmom Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 4:53pm
post #10 of 16

shepherd'd pie and chicken pot pie are delicious and freeze well!

theresaf Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
theresaf Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:12pm
post #11 of 16

Breaded baked chicken parts!  Can be eaten hot, warm or room temperature.  Make a tray, refrigerate and good for all week long.  If the breast pieces are large you can cut them in half first.  Want less fat, take the skin off first before breading.  Cut up some pieces and toss in a salad for a little variety (without the bone - you can do without the choking!)  Or you can do the whole thing boneless.

 

Pork tenderloin is also a good make-once-eaten-many times meal.  I often like to cook something on Sunday that we can eat during the week too.  

 

Some very good suggestions above too!

Theresa

lcubed83 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
lcubed83 Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:43pm
post #12 of 16

I make large amounts of Mac and Cheese with ham in it, and Mostacolli, then freeze individual servings.  My son loves to take those to school for lunch, and they are handy to have for busy evenings when we all hit the kitchen at different times.

jason_kraft Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jason_kraft Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 7:47pm
post #13 of 16

AMany soups and stews also freeze well, at any given time we have a few gallon size bags of butternut squash soup and lentil farro stew in the freezer.

matthewkyrankelly Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
matthewkyrankelly Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 8:10pm
post #14 of 16

Pulled pork, pot roast, beef stew and chilli all hold up well to freezing and rewarming.

 

I would make a suggestion.  Instead of a crock pot, get an electronic pressure cooker.  It can be used as a slow cooker, but has many more advantages.   It plugs in, so you don't have to leave it on the stove. You can soak dried beans in minutes for chilli, saving money on canned beans.  Roasts are dome in 1 1/2 hours. Chilli and beef stew in about 30 minutes.  It tastes like it cooked all day.

 

Quick meals of frozen chicken breast and rice are done in 1/2 hour.  When they are done, it automatically goes to warm and hold so you don't have to worry about it or be there when it is done.  It is great for a mom with a little one.
 

scrumdiddlycakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
scrumdiddlycakes Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 8:38pm
post #15 of 16

I'm big on freezing soups, I will make a few pots of different types, and freeze them in muffin tins, then you can pop them out and put them all in huge freezer bags.

Doesn't use up any tupperware that way, and when you want some, you just take out one or two 'muffins', lol.

I also do enchiladas, breakfast burritos and sandwiches, lasagna, and bolognese, as well as a lot of crockpot/dutch oven ready meals. Everything I would put in the pot for a dinner, I just put into a freezer bag, marinade/sauce and all, then write how long and what temp to cook it at.

Then I just put it in the crockpot in the morning or at lunch, and it's done for dinner.

I also always have a ton of grilled chicken breasts and cut veggies and herbs frozen, I buy all my groceries from a restaurant supply, so I have large amounts of everything. Makes it so much easier, (and cheaper!)

 

Do a search on pinterest for make ahead meals, there are tons!

 

I use a pressure cooker more than the crockpot, like matthewkyrankelly is saying, but I love that I can just dump stuff in the cp an forget about it for 6 hours, lol.

Dayti Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Dayti Posted 14 Aug 2013 , 10:04pm
post #16 of 16

Some great suggestions! I would add that if you are freezing soups/stews/anything else with a fair amount of liquid, lay your filled freezer bags flat to freeze, rather than letting the contents freeze in a solid lump at the bottom of the bag. It makes them much easier to store and they're quicker to defrost since they are thin layers with large surface areas.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%