Favorite Recipes to Cook on Weekend to use During the Work Week?

UTMom81

I know everyone is super busy, so I like to cook on the weekend to have healthy meals to prepare quickly after work during the week. I'm sure others of you do the same. What are your favorite prep-ahead meals that work well with MFP?

ashdawg8790

Depends on your goals, obviously, but I enjoy casseroles! Specifically, there are a few lower-carb recipes that are simply to die for that I found rummaging through Pinterest - there's a chicken cordon blue I quite enjoy, and a jalapeno popper chicken that is ah-may-zinggg. You could always mix up the stuff ahead and just pop it together and bake that night if you didn't want it as leftovers (which is how I eat it at work for lunches). I've also found that even just prepping the busy-work end of meals makes me waay more inclined to follow through with a menu - Monday's dinner has potatoes? Well, peel and slice them Sunday and dump them in a bowl of water in the fridge. Tuesday is pizza? Make up the dough over the weekend so it's ready. I've certainly been known to put together entire dinners sans the actual cooking and tucked them in the fridge for later. Marinades are a great thing to prep up in advance as well because the longer you leave your meat in them, the better the flavor. Sometimes, I'll specifically plan the more complex or time-consuming meals for days I know I'll have more energy - Mondays at my job are usually fairly slow, but Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually insane, so I won't set myself up for making a 5-course meal on a Tuesday night (Tuesdays are usually wraps, if I'm being real here). Pinterest has loads of recipe ideas for whatever you're looking for - quick, budget, kid-friendly (I'm side-eyeing you, husband of mine), low carb, meatless, prep-ahead, etc. I always search new things and have a whole board chock-full of pins of some scrumptious recipes. Lastly, I try to always keep things around like canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and sliced deli meat so I can make up sandwiches or wraps for those nights where dinner just isn't going to happen, but I don't really want a frozen dinner or ramen, either.

UTMom81

I'll share one of my favorites that is easy to prep ahead and either put in fridge or freeze to cook on a really busy night. It comes from Skinnytaste and is called Cajun Shrimp in Foil. https://www.skinnytaste.com/cajun-shrimp-in-foil/ I'll be cooking this one night this week!

UTMom81

ashdawg8790 wrote: »

Depends on your goals, obviously, but I enjoy casseroles! Specifically, there are a few lower-carb recipes that are simply to die for that I found rummaging through Pinterest - there's a chicken cordon blue I quite enjoy, and a jalapeno popper chicken that is ah-may-zinggg. You could always mix up the stuff ahead and just pop it together and bake that night if you didn't want it as leftovers (which is how I eat it at work for lunches). I've also found that even just prepping the busy-work end of meals makes me waay more inclined to follow through with a menu - Monday's dinner has potatoes? Well, peel and slice them Sunday and dump them in a bowl of water in the fridge. Tuesday is pizza? Make up the dough over the weekend so it's ready. I've certainly been known to put together entire dinners sans the actual cooking and tucked them in the fridge for later. Marinades are a great thing to prep up in advance as well because the longer you leave your meat in them, the better the flavor. Sometimes, I'll specifically plan the more complex or time-consuming meals for days I know I'll have more energy - Mondays at my job are usually fairly slow, but Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually insane, so I won't set myself up for making a 5-course meal on a Tuesday night (Tuesdays are usually wraps, if I'm being real here). Pinterest has loads of recipe ideas for whatever you're looking for - quick, budget, kid-friendly (I'm side-eyeing you, husband of mine), low carb, meatless, prep-ahead, etc. I always search new things and have a whole board chock-full of pins of some scrumptious recipes. Lastly, I try to always keep things around like canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and sliced deli meat so I can make up sandwiches or wraps for those nights where dinner just isn't going to happen, but I don't really want a frozen dinner or ramen, either.

I like your idea of doing a lot of the prep work, but not the cooking, ahead on the weekends. I have not tried that. I would love to have a link to the Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe that you like. I love that dish! My husband would probably really like the Jalapeño Popper Chicken too. That's right down his alley.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Chickpea and potato curry
Spicy slow cooker turkey chilli
Ham and pea soup
Pannakelty
Mince and gravy with mashed swede

UTMom81

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Chickpea and potato curry
Spicy slow cooker turkey chilli
Ham and pea soup
Pannakelty
Mince and gravy with mashed swede

Oooh, I'd never heard of Pannakelty before, but it looks delicious! I'm buying ingredients today to give it a try one night this week. Thanks!