As I get ready for another school year I start mentally preparing for having less time to cook. So here are a few tips and tricks for getting meals on the table fast!
Meatloaf
Instead of a full size meatloaf – I mix up all the meat
ingredients and form indivial patties on a baking sheet. Cover with cling wrap, and put the entire pan
in the freezer. After a couple of hours
you can pop the meat loaves off the pan and into a freezer bag until we want
them. I cook them about 10 minutes less
than the recipe calls or until they are cooked through.
Soup
I love soup, but I usually have a lot of leftovers. Instead of eating the same soup for the
entire week I freeze a couple of servings.
I have used everything from ice cube trays, muffin pans and freezer bags
as storage. I like ice cube trays and
muffin tins for smoother soups and freezer bags for soups with more texture and
or noodles. I remove all the air from
the bags and lay them flat on a baking sheet in the freezer until solid. This is the same way I freeze homemade
spaghetti sauce.
Chicken
I buy a big package of chicken breasts (when it is on sale
or at Walmart or Winco because you can usually get it for 1.99/lb), and I can
prep it all at once for the week. I can
split the meat into different bags for marinades, grill it all and top salads
for lunches and pizza, bake it or throw
it in the crockpot casseroles.
Ground Meat
I brown all the ground meat we use for the week at
once. I split it into containers of
individual servings (for grab and go tacos) or meal servings (spaghetti,
manwhiches).
Meat balls
You can make up a ton of meat balls all at once, put them on
a baking sheet and freeze them a few hours, remove them and put them in a
freezer bag, then you can cook what you need as you need them. Spaghetti or meatball subs are both easy
crowd pleasers.
BLTs …. Yummmm ….
Bacon
I cook an entire package of bacon at once … in the
oven. I line a cookie sheet with foil,
arrange the bacon on the tray, put it in a cold oven and set it to 425. I start checking the bacon at 15 minutes, but
it usually takes 18-ish to get it crispy.
Bacon can be used for BLTs, breakfast burritos, etc.
Burritos
I make my own burritos for crunch time. I use flour tortillas, refried beans or
mashed black beans, taco meat or chicken, and a little shredded cheese. I roll them up and wrap them in cling wrap
then put them in a freezer bag. Xman
gets one of these a week at Miss Shelly’s and I have them if I don’t have
leftovers for lunch.
Casseroles
It takes about the same amount of time to make one pan of a
casserole as it takes to make 2 pans of the same thing. You can split it into smaller pans and freeze
it or trade with a friend. Chicken
Spaghetti, Chicken Enchiladas, Lasagna, all kinds of pasta bakes, etc Who’s up for a dinner exchange? Even grilled
chicken or crockpot meals ….
Crock pot
I don’t have time to prep in the mornings. I try to have things I can prep on Sunday or
the night before I throw it all in a freezer bag, and store it in the fridge until
the next morning. I add a little extra
water if I think I will be late getting home.
Pizza
If your meat is cooked and veggies are sliced and cheese is
grated, then making your own pizza is faster than delivery.
