Pre cook a bunch of chicken breasts, shred and freeze-very versitle-can use in almost any recipe-bbq chicken, chicken tacos-salad, also I like to make a big pot of marinara-I divide it and freeze for use during week-chicken parm, spag, veggie lasagna, same with beef or pork-precook it and shred it another versitle item- easy to prepare meals-premake turkey burger patties-then come home throw on the grill or George Foreman.

*Lasagne, meatless or otherwise, freezes very well; really, any pasta-based dish freezes well. And you can use the lasagne noodles that you don't have to pre-cook, to make it even faster when you are making it.
*The little Green Giant packages of veggies that you nuke for 5 minutes are really good to go with it.
*Chili and other things in the crockpot are great to come home to, and depending on the size of your crockpot, there are usually lovely left-overs.
*You can bake potatoes in advance and then just heat them up when you're ready to eat. They are good for a few days to a week in the fridge.
*If you have spaghetti sauce made in advance, it freezes well too, and then the spaghetti is quick to fix on the spot.
*Any thing with eggs is quick to fix when you get home.
*Cooked rice freezes well and then can be added to your dish.
Good luck, I hope these help.

My motto when it comes time to cook meals during a work week is: "If it doesn't come out of the freezer, can, box or bag...it is not dinner"! You just don't have the time or energy to prep,cook, serve and clean after working FT+commute. So, I started organizing my fridge with ideas for meals. Salads were made and put in plastic bags ready to serve (lunches,too), fruits & veggies put in small snack bags. Make or buy a ready made roasted chicken, cut up/shred meat and divide up in 3-4 quart size freezer bags for quick meals for the week. I make chicken enchiladas, soup, salads, stir-fry and quesdillas. Basically, any meat can be prepped for meals ahead of time and frozen ready to make in any dish. I found that instead of cooking all day or weekend making complete meals to freeze for the week (not to mention the clean up time), by organizing my fridge and getting the groceries organized/prepped ahead of time was so much easier. Then all I had to do during the week was grab a baggie from the fridge/freezer (no prep), cook it and serve! Fresh, healthy home-style meals! Saved money, too!

I know you wanted freezer meals, too! You can balance both. I understand...after awhile what I found was that "make ahead and serve meals" take organizing and cooking too and I got to a point that my weekend is my time for having fun, shopping, family and not just cooking...again!!!

Here is a couple links I Googled up that you might like...check out the link: myfridgefood.com this site will take what is in your fridge and give you recipe ideas...and it breaks down the calorie counts, too! And: http://pinterest.com/veronicakb/meals-planning-freezer

http://pinterest.com/veronicakb/meals-planning-freezer/


Best dishes!:flowerforyou:

The crockpot has become our best friend

I braise a large pork butt, shred it, then bag & freeze it in single portions. I can just pull it out and heat it up whenever I want -- throw it over greens w/black beans or brown rice & mushrooms... endless possibilities.

Also keep a bag of frozen tilapia filets in the freezer -- easy defrost & quick cooking.

Turkey burger patties.

Frozen shrimp.

I do the same thing with marinated chicken breast, brown rice and veggies. I love the grab and go without the high cost of individually pre-packaged foods. I love my food saver!!

Turkey chili with lots of beans
lasagna make two, freeze one

saw this idea on a cooking show, instead of layering the lasagna noodles, which is time consuming. Spread the mixture on the whole noodle and roll up the noodle length wise and place rolled up noodle in your lasagna pan. This make a serving size and helps with portion control.

This is an easy to make freezable dish I like....

Stewed Pork and Butternut Squash

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
4 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pork; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, and red pepper; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until pork is almost tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in butternut squash; simmer 30 minutes or until pork and squash are tender.
Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2009