Maximizing Make-Ahead Meals

Maximizing Make-Ahead Meals

My blog has a strong focus on make-ahead meals and freezer meals, but I never considered dedicating a post to how to go about doing it until just recently when a few people, and then a few more different people, prompted me to do so.

I rely on freezer meals every week. The last thing I feel like doing when I get home from work is figuring out what we're going to eat. By preparing meals ahead of time, I can pick something the night before and have very little responsibility besides throwing it in the oven. Give these recipes a try, which I selected in hopes on maximizing ingredients. And then enjoy the benefits!

Here's what we'll be making:

Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna

Spinach- & Cheese-Stuffed Chicken

Rigatoni Surprise

Chicken Enchiladas (halve recipe)

Meatloaf

A dip to freeze for last-minute entertaining

1. First, go shopping for the ingredients. I listed amounts, in case you want to pull from things you already have:

Produce Section:

1 bag fresh spinach (2 handfuls for lasagna, 1 c. for spinach-stuffed chicken)

2 onions (1/2 c. chopped for lasagna, 1 for rigatoni, 1/2 c. for meatloaf)

1 green bell pepper (1/2 for rigatoni, 1/2 for dip)

Garlic - buy it pre-minced in the jar to save time mincing, if desired

Meat Section:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1-1/2 lbs. (2 for spinach-stuffed, 1 large or 2 small for enchiladas)

3 lbs. ground beef (1 lb. for rigatoni, 2 lb. for meatloaf)

Bacon (4 strips for meatloaf, 2-3 strips for dip)

Dairy Section:

Cottage or Ricotta cheese (1 c. for lasagna)

small container Egg Beaters (1/4 c. for lasagna)

Eggs (2 for meatloaf)

2 c. bag shredded Parmesan cheese (1/2 c. for lasagna, 1/4 c. for spinach-stuffed, 1/2 c. for dip)

2 c. bag shredded mozzarella cheese (1/4 c. for spinach-stuffed, 1/2 c. for dip)

4 c. bag shredded cheddar cheese (1 c. for rigatoni, 1-1/2 c. for enchiladas, 1 c. for meatloaf, 1/2 c. for dip)

16 oz. container sour cream (1/4 c. for spinach-stuffed, 1/3 c. for rigatoni, 1/2 c. for enchiladas, 1/2-3/4 c. for dip)

Small carton heavy cream (1/3 c. for rigatoni)

Pantry:

Lasagna noodles

1 can/jar marinated artichokes (1/2 c. for lasagna, rest for dip)

Spaghetti sauce (7 oz. for lasagna)

28 can (or two 14 oz. cans) tomato sauce (28 oz. for rigatoni)

1 jar salsa (2/3 c. for rigatoni)

Flour tortillas (6-8 for enchiladas)

1 can cream of chicken soup (1 can for enchiladas)

1 can chicken broth (1 c. for enchiladas)

1 small can diced green chiles (1/2 can for enchiladas, rest for dip)

French onion soup mix, dry (1 packet for meatloaf)

Ketchup (1/3 c. for meatloaf)

Mayo (1/2 c. for dip)

Bread crumbs (3/4 c. for meatloaf)

Tortilla chips (to have on hand for dip)

2. Pick a day shortly thereafter when you can dedicate a few hours to making your meals.

3. Start by cooking the chicken for the enchiladas. Place breast(s) - 1 large or 2 small, about 3/4 lb. - in a baking dish. Cover with water; then cover dish with foil. Place in oven at 350 - it's okay if it's not preheated. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Set a timer! You'll be busy and I don't want you to forget about it.

4. While chicken is baking, make Spinach- and Cheese-Stuffed Chicken. Follow directions on the recipe's post. When chicken is prepared, wrap individual breast in plastic cling wrap. Then wrap breasts together in foil, writing with a Sharpie marker what the meal is and the cooking directions, i.e. "Spinach- and Cheese-Stuffed Chicken; Bake at 350 for 1 hour." Obviously, you will transfer to a baking dish beforehand. Place in freezer (they say the back - where it's coldest - is best). Your first make-ahead meal is complete!

5. Next up, meatloaf and rigatoni. Place 2 lbs. of ground beef in a bowl, for the meatloaf. Place remaining beef (1 lb.) in a large skillet. Add garlic, onion, and green pepper to skillet and place on stove over medium heat. Stir occasionally, but don't stress yourself out over this. The meat and veggies don't need constant supervision. While rigatoni meat cooks, start boiling water for the pasta (add noodles and cook to package directions when the water begins to boil). While the beef begins to brown and water heats up, follow directions on meatloaf post and add remaining ingredients to the meatloaf bowl. Form into four meatloaves (two different meals!); wrap individually in plastic wrap. I freeze as-is from this point, but if you like labeling, place them in a gallon-size freezer bag and write name and directions on there. Place in the freezer. Your second meal is done!

6. If it's been an hour, remove chicken from oven. You can leave resting in water if you need to, but remove foil so it can begin to cool.

7. Hopefully you were keeping an eye on the beef and pasta. :) Let's finish the rigatoni recipe. Drain any fat from ground beef, if necessary. Add tomato sauce and salsa; season with salt and pepper. Follow the remaining directions from the post; transfer to a baking dish. Because this is a warm dish, allow to cool at room temperature first. Then, cover with foil (don't forget to label!), move to refrigerator for a bit, and finally place in freezer. The quick transition from heat to freezing cold can create condensation on the inside of the foil. Your third meal is done!

8. Wash skillet and saucepan and return to stove. Fill saucepan with water, bring to a boil, and cook lasagna noodles for Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna. Place spinach in skillet and cook down, as directed in post.

9. If chicken is done, cut/shred into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl for enchiladas. In another bowl, place ingredients for lasagna. Follow directions to complete lasagna. Allow to cool at room temp; then cover with foil, label, and move to refrigerator and then freezer.

10. Complete chicken enchiladas. Allow to cool at room temp, and then - you got it - cover, label, and do the fridge-freezer dance.

11. Use some of your leftover ingredients to make an easy dip for an on-hand appetizer. In a bowl, combine:

remaining artichokes (chopped)

remaining green bell pepper (chopped)

2-3 strips of bacon (cooked and crumbled)

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan

1/2 c. shredded cheddar

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

remaining diced green chiles (drained)

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2-3/4 c. sour cream (what looks right, consistency wise; I'm guessing it'll be closer to 3/4 c.)

dash of hot sauce or Worcestershire, if desired

Mix ingredients well and transfer to a pie plate. Cover with foil and freeze. When ready to bake, thaw, remove foil, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. If frozen, increase baking time to 60 minutes, but leave foil on for first 30 minutes.

12. Did you make it this far? I hope! If you feel worn out, you'll appreciate it when you can pull dinner from the freezer for six different meals, plus an appetizer!