Pre-cooked meal ideas - Help I suck at cooking!

I'm on this thing right now with Spaghetti Squash. to make a bunch ahead of time, buy two good size spaghetti squash (they are yellow and oblong...and CHEAP!) slice them in half, and season well with salt and pepper. put them in 350 over and bake flesh slide down for about 30 minutes, until they are soft. Let them cool off completely and then with a fork, shred the flesh inside into a bowl, discarding the skins. Then season a little more to taste. Experiment with Mrs Dash is sodium is a concern, I like the Italian seasoning one.

YES< YES< YES<<<<

(screaming) YESSSSS Spaghetti squash is the bomba!

Canned kidney beans, canned tuna and salad (lettuce, tomato and cucumber for example)
Or (if you have some grilled chicken in the fridge like I always have), microwave some potato's, steam some veggies and defrost the chicken (or grill if you still need to).
Can be done in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Homemade Burrito Bowls- Carnitas
In a slowcooker, cook a pork shoulder on high during the day or low overnight until the meat falls apart. I season mine with salt, garlic/onion powder, ground cumin, ground coriander and a little bit of cinnamon (it smells amazing).

Meanwhile, cook a pot of rice. If you don't own a rice cooker, simply pour a bit of rice into your pot, and the correct amount of water will be up to your first knuckle if you stick your finger in the pot (don't push through the rice though). Rice should be simmered not boiled and make sure to check on it so it does not burn once the water is gone.

Portion out the carnitas, rice, and some black beans (canned or cooked in the slowcooker is fine) and freeze or refrigerate. Then you just need to keep add ins on hand such as cheese, salsa, cilantro, lime, sour cream (I found that greek yogurt makes a good substitute for this).

Cooking is my hobby but I am, at the base, a lazy cook. You can make really good meals and still not spend too much time cooking them.

I like to have many meal-sized portions of meat, cooked and raw, in the freezer and veggie drawers full. With that, you are set to go. It also saves money.

Buy chicken when the family-sized packages are on sale, even if you are cooking only for one or two. Throw all the chicken in a big flat roaster, skin side up. Spinkle on salt and pepper and throw the chicken in a 375F to 425F oven and bake until a thermometer confirms its done.

When it's cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bones, sinew, skin, etc., and divide the meat into meal-sized baggies or containers. Throw the skin, bones, etc., into a big bag and start collecting such detritus in the freezer for making chicken broth or just heave them in the trash.

Those meal-sized containers of cooked chicken can turn into almost anything. Thaw slowly on a fridge shelf or really quickly in a sink of water -- just make sure the container is water tight. Or, just throw the frozen lump of chicken in a pot and melt it into whatever you are serving it with.

One of my favorite super quick meals when I really don't want to cook is to put a meal-sized lump of frozen chicken or frozen pork butt in a soup bowl, dollop on some bottled BBQ sauce, and nuke in the microwave until hot. This is very good served with your basic microwave-in-bag veggie. If I really want to be "fancy," I'll shred some cabbage to make slaw while the microwave does its thing.

Or stir-fry veggies and add some thawed chicken or pork when you add the sauce ingredients just to heat through. Later, when the weather is colder, you can take homemade chicken stock, a package of frozen chicken, some veggies, and a grain or starch and voila! Soup!

I have a variety of short cut recipes on my hobby cooking blog:
http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/11/05/chicken-rice-base-a-pre-cooking-shortcut/
http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2011/01/03/shredded-beef/
http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2010/06/25/riccio-di-tacchino-turkey-hedgehogs/
http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/2009/08/13/pulled-pork-pulled-chicken-at-the-same-time/

Or just click
http://heidicookssupper.com/blog/category/stocking-the-freezer/

I normally just cook a bunch of chicken breast, salmon, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato and asparagas on the weekend. store them in tupperware and then just prepare my dish that day. It's really simple and you'll feel accomplished

^^
Have I met my MFP cooking twin? I make the same (plus brussels sprouts when in season), plus brown rice (cooked in a fool-proof rice cooker using store-bought low-salt chicken broth rather than water... more flavour). Sometimes I cook up taco mince using ground chicken or turkey with the usual packet of taco seasoning (low salt) and use it for taco bowls, or in soft or hard tortillas for tacos.

Am also a huge crockpot fan and toss in chicken (shred once cooked), salsa, tinned black beans (drained) and frozen corn with low-fat creamed cheese on low for 6-8 hours... I use it to make layered chicken enchilada casserole (with fresh corn tortillas), as a dip, in tacos, etc. After it cooks, I divide it into smaller portions and freeze... lasts for months in the freezer!

I also keep plenty of fresh fruits and greens on hand (I wash them before putting into the fridge so they are ready to grab and go), plus avocado, baby tomatoes, baby carrots, and tins of individual servings of flavoured tuna, beef jerky, fruit rollups, individual servings of almonds or other nuts, peanut butter, and Babybel Lite cheese circles for easy snacks.

OP, thanks for a great question. Am always looking for more ideas of ways to make nutrition convenient and easy!

I know a lot of people say the frozen meals are unhealthy, but with new vegan and low sodium options out there, I have managed to add a few to my weekly diet and still not consume a whole bunch of extra sodium. I would suggest cooking fish, chicken, lamb any lean meat that you enjoy, and paring it with fresh veggies and a healthy starches like brown rice or something like beans or even lentils and red baked potatoes. Beans are easy to make if you have a crock pot. Add seasoning salt, onion and celery, and a bit of butter substitute, You can even add a lean smoked meat like turkey for an extra flavor. I think they key to eating healthy is to eat foods rich in flavor and well seasoned. Don't forget about, soups, salads and of course baked potatoes. Most people think of these things as lunch items, but to be honest, there easy to make and are just as enjoyable at the dinner table. Veggie and chicken burgers are a great non cook dinner, All you have to do it put them in the oven or microwave, and add buns and toppings! We have a make your own burger bar at my house some nights, and I always make chicken patty's garden burgers and regular veggie burgers, some times we even have enough left over to take with us for lunch or for dinner the next day! Don't be afraid to get creative either there are several websites dedicated to semi homemade meals as I like to call them!

some very good ideas here...

I like cooking, but when it is hot and I only cook for myself and I try to lose weight, I keep it simple.
I recently bought a rice cooker (cheap one).
I cook some brown rice for about 10 minutes then I add the chicken or turkey patties and vegetables in the steam dish and cook for another 10 minutes or more. I flavor the meat with paprika and pepper and vegetables with oregano and sometimes I add yogurt or sour cream on top of the meat. It is very easy , low calorie, not much clean up and tastes good. Usually I buy frozen chicken breasts and turkey patties and huge bags of frozen vegetables. But I prefer fresh vegetables. I discovered that at the 99 cent stores they have Portabella mushrooms, asparagus, spinach and fresh salads all for a dollar. So you can eat healthy and cheap.

Here are some easy and healthy ideas. Good for you for wanting to cook at home!

- Cover 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a mixture of 1 jar salsa, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard. Bake in the oven at 400 for about 35 minutes. Serve over grains. So good! Double ingredients if you want leftovers.

- Throw 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or a pork center cut boneless roast) into a crockpot. Add 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook on low or high depending on how much time you have. Before serving, shred chicken or pork with a fork and add more BBQ sauce as needed. Serve in tortillas, over rice, over roasted veggies. This should leave some leftovers depending on the size of the chicken thighs or roast.

- Preheat oven to 450. Put two Tbsp. canola or olive oil in a large baking sheet (a cookie sheet would work or a large pizza tin - you may have to use 2 sheets depending on how large your sausages are). Add 8 chicken sausage links (sweet or hot Italian style is my preference), 1 pint cherry tomatoes (leave them whole), 2 red or yellow peppers, cut in large chunks, 1 large onion, sliced 1/2 in wide, and toss everything in the oil in the pan. Then bake for 30 minutes, stirring once while baking. So delish! You can use other veggies if you like - zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, green beans, eggplant. The veggies get caramelized and infused with the seasonings of the sausage. Serve by itself, or over rice, or if you are feeling indulgent, in a toasted sub roll.

To be honest, in the summer we usually just buy marinated meats at the butcher or fish and grill them and serve with two veggies....and sometimes a starch.

Hope this helps!

lately i will cook up chicken breasts and use them throughout the week to top salads. in the morning i just throw lettuce, the chicken and really any other veggies in the fridge into a tupperware.

other things you can stretch -- stir fry or curries. ill make a huge batch of stir fry or green curry and eat that throughout the week. usually put it over rice.

I LOATHE making up meals in advance. I mean, who knows what we're going to want to eat?
You can roast a couple of chickens or buy a couple of rotisserie chickens, debone the meat and store it flat in a big ziploc. If you make sandwiches regularly, you can freeze the chicken in recloseable sandwich bags, lay flat to freeze.

Have the meat counter thickly slice a couple of roasts for you. (my FAV is cross-rib....awesome flavor!!) Roast it in a lasagne pan,covered tightly with aluminum foil. Just use basic seasoning so that you can make any kind of meal with the meat. Freeze as you would the chicken. I find that the beef keeps VERY well in the fridge for days if you roast the meat for about 3-3.5 hours, until the juices become caramelized (brown)...oven at 350, check the meat at 3 hours. It will be fall-apart tender and amazing flavor.

Make up a big pot of pintos....this is easy, just put the dried beans in a roomy pot, cover by a few inches in water, add in a few jalapenos, whole, and garlic cloves, whole and some salt. Bring to boil,reduce to a good simmer for about 3 hours or more, until those skins are TOTALLY tender.

Make up a big chopped salad....I like to use cabbage and some other veggies, chopped fine, and dress with lemon juice only. It will keep in the fridge for a long time. I LOVE salad for breakfast with cottage cheese and toast!

If you have those three things, then you can serve it all up with a baked potato, or make a sandwich, or use tortillas and fixings, or a salad, use special sauces or salsas, avocado, cheese, or other grocery items you purchase.......whatever your appetite and macros dictate!!

Good stuff--thanx!

I see "I suck at cooking" all the time on the forums. I translate this as "I want to justify eating out a bunch." Seriously, you don't need to prepare a 5 star meal like you're cooking for some fancy restaurant. Even the biggest idiot can do the basics. I mean, if cavemen were able to figure out how to cook for themselves shouldn't a person with access to, among other things, Google, cookbooks, recipes on packages, etc etc.

You know what they say about assumptions…

Speak for yourself. You can't speak for others.

bump

Every weekend I cook 3-4 pounds of chicken in various ways, then I vacuum seal each breast individually and put them in the freezer. You could do the same with pork or turkey. It doesn't take any time at all to defrost and cook. If you reheat it in the bag it seems to retain more moisture. Pasta, rice and beans are easy enough to make and store in the fridge. In the winter I'll make 2-3 gallons of soup and freeze small portions. The only leftovers I don't eat are fish, but that's a quick cook anyway. I always have a large variety of things to defrost and eat.

I love cooking, but find that when I do, I spend all afternoon on it and going WAY over my calories. Therefore, the only time I am successful at my calorie goal and lose weight is by planning and buying meals that require close to zero cooking. The ones that have consistently worked for me every time are the usual suspects: Turkey breast and swiss pre sliced on Triscuits, or rolled up over an apple slice or avocado, peanut butter on apple or banana slices, cottage cheese with canned peaches, bagged salad with a chicken breast from the deli and a squirt of balsamic glaze and olive oil, maybe some sliced almonds; pre-chopped veggies and hummus, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, microwaved potato with some canned turkey chili, chicken strips and veggies dipped in tzatziki sauce, etc...all of these require nothing more that opening a can or package and maybe stirring I eat a pretty high fat diet, since i can't stand not feeling full..I'd rather eat most of my food at breakfast and lunch and eat something very light at dinner, by which time I'm hardly feeling hungry anyway. For real cooking, I might do an omelet with broccoli and cheese, or onion and mushroom, or chicken and onion simmered in that awesome Herdez tomatillo sauce with a few corn tortillas...so easy. My "meals" don't look much like a real meal, more like a hodgepodge of hearty snacks, but it works for me every time! I love the other ideas every one else has shared too, some great stuff from everyone!