Prepping meals for the week? Ideas for make ahead meals

brainfreeze72

Vegetarian chili
Ingredients:

2 - Tbsp cooking oil
4 - Tbsp minced garlic
2 - medium green peppers, chopped
2 - medium onions, chopped
6 - 14oz cans stewed tomatoes (or prepare your own)
2 - 15oz cans pinto beans, rinsed & drained (or prepare your own)
2 - 15 oz cans kidney beans, rinsed & drained (or prepare your own)
2 - 11 oz cans whole kernel corn, rinsed & drained (or prepare your own)
4 - Tbsp chili powder
2 - Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

Saute garlic, peppers and onions in oil until tender, (I like to lightly puree the stewed tomatoes), add stewed tomatoes and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

We like it spicy so you may want to add half the chili powder and cayenne pepper and gradually add more to taste.
If you like meat you can add ground beef, chicken or turkey.
If you prepare your own tomatoes, beans and corn from scratch you will cut down on sodium.
Makes at least 12 - 2 cup servings for a 200+ calories each if you prepare your beans yourself rather than buying canned.
ENJOY!

lipkaxzoo

I like doing the chicken ahead of time also - it can be used for many meals, salads, etc all week long!

natersmama

Bump

basket61

Here are some things I do:

1. When I buy hamburger, I buy the 5 lb pack and brown it all at once, with onion usually. Then I drain it very well, and divide into 5 freezer bags. Honestly, it does save time, but it really saves MESS!!! :ohwell: when you brown hamburger (I don't eat this much at all, but I still have to cook for my family ).
2. I bake or broast chicken tenderloins or breast/cutlets every weekend. In a bowl, mix spices of your choice with a little olive oil. Dredge chicken through this. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lay out chicken. Bake @ 375. Tenderloins or chicken strips will take 12-15 minutes, larger breast portions a little longer. Once these cool, I can put in small bags for instant chicken for salads, casseroles, soup, etc.
3. Pre-make breakfast wraps, using taco size tortilla shells. I scramble eggs, somewhere betweeen 1 and 2 dozen. Add veggies of your choice--onion, bell peppers, broccoli all work well. Use sausage or bacon (turkey bacon or Morningstar Crumbles work well). I liek to warm the wraps a bit, so they fold easier without tearing. Put line of scrambled eggs down center of shell. Add meat if you are using it, and then sprinkle low-fat cheddar cheese across. Roll shell. Place seam side down on cookie sheet - may want to lightly moisten edge of taco shell--it helps it stick (can add toothpick, but it makes freezing harder). I freeze on cookie sheet, then slip into freezer bags. Breakfast ready for microwave at home or work.
4. I try to make 2 meatloaves at a time, freeze 1 before baking. If you take it out in the morning and leave in frig, it's ready to bake when you get home that evening. Same thing with lasagne and mostaciolli. I do the same with large soups/stews. For instance, 2 of us can't each vegetable soup before we are sick of it, so I make it and freeze half. Freezing works best if you use it within a month so I can't say how long it might last. I've never pushed it :blushing:

hauer01

Oh, how I love this thread. I precook for the week every week.

On Sundays, I usually make a 5 days worth of Steel Cut Oats in the crockpot, then portion them up so that everymorning, I just spend a minute or two reheating the oats for a hearty breakfast.

I will also wash and cut up any fruit I am planning on having as side dishes or snacks. I may cut up a whole watermelon, cantelope, wash up some grapes or mango or pears. What ever fruit that I have bought for the week.

I am always cooking extra so that I can freeze portions to eat another week. Right now in my freezer I have Turkey lasagna, chili, marinara sauce, meatloaf, mini taco's, turkey noodle soup, turkey wild rice soup.

When I am buying celery, onions or carrots to make a dish or soup, I always seem to have some left over. I just keep cutting them up and freeze whatever I am not using so that the next week, they are already diced up and ready for the recipie.

I work a ton of hours during the week and if I don't preplan my meals, I know that I will go off track and run to a drive through for some quick nurishment. Now, it takes me about 30 seconds to pull out whatever dish I am hungry for out of the freezer, let it thaw overnight in the fridge and ready for me to take to work. Easy Peasy.

rbn_held

Right now I currently have spaghetti and Sourkraut in my freezer that i made last weekend and froze in individual servings. I have more ideas after reading this thread though. Thanks everyone:-)