Make ahead recipes?

[aaalynn]

I need help! I have family visiting for Easter week and I would like to make some meals ahead of time so we can enjoy the days they are here without cooking too much. I always make the same things so I would love to change it up a bit. The problem is that my DH and kids are picky eaters, where as my 4 family members visiting will eat anything!

I have an extra freezer and fridge, so I can prepare lots of food and store it til we need it. Help me think of dinners, side dishes, and desserts to fill it. Thanks!

[dr. liz]

A friend of mine gave me this tip. Make your regular meatball recipe. I use 1 lb. each of beef and turkey. I also throw in soaked bread or oatmeal, something like that. Season with salt, pepper, and onion, etc. Then put in the crockpot. The sauce consists of 1 bottle of beer and 1 bottle of chili sauce. That's it! It's a nice change from standard Italian meatballs. I would serve with rice rather than spaghetti.

Good luck!

BTW, you can make the meatballs ahead and freeze, then put them in the crockpot when you're ready to serve that night.

[lucid]

I have posted this recipe before, but it fits so many categories, including the easy and make-ahead categories. It is low-fat, but does NOT taste low-fat.

Easy Cheese Lasagna
6 servings

1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce (or use home-made sauce)
6 uncooked lasagna noodles (the regular noodles, NOT the no-boil kind)
1 container (15 oz) fat-free ricotta cheese
1-2 cups sliced or chopped raw veggies such as mushrooms, broccoli, and bell pepper (optional)
1 pkg (8 oz) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 11 x 7 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/3 of the sauce on bottom of dish; arrange 3 noodles in a single layer over sauce. Top with another 1/3 of the sauce, all of the ricotta cheese and veggies, and ½ of the mozzarella cheese, then remaining noodles in a single layer. Spread evenly with remaining sauce.

Cover dish with foil; bake until noodles are tender and mixture is piping hot, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered 5 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting

301 calories, 7.2 g fat, 4.6 g fiber.

Notes:

Freezes well.

Can prepare a day or so ahead of time and bake when ready. Use the regular noodles, not the no-boil kind.

Can use an 8 x 8 dish if you do not have an 11 x 7.

I usually double the recipe and make one dish as above, and add mild Italian turkey sausage to the other. (Add browned meat to the sauce.) For the sauce, I use Bertolli Tomato and Basil or Classico. Some of the other low-fat sauces were a little too watery. For kids or those who don’t like spicy food, just make the plain cheese lasagna as above, or add lean ground beef instead of turkey Italian sausage.

[tortoise101]

If you have a library card, see if your library has Cook's Illustrated's Best Make-Ahead Recipe. There's about 300 very well tested recipes in there for mostly down-home cooking (i.e. not super labor-intensive gourmet stuff). I highly recommend their whole line of cookbooks, but that's one of my favorites, as I too hate to be cooking a lot while we have guests.

[Wendalina]

I would love some ideas as well...with triplets I find it easier to do a big cooking day than to cook each night...or just any little bit helps ya know???

[staceytwinmom]

This is not exactly what you are looking for but if you are having a brunch this is a do the night before dish and cook that am.

Baked French Toast

1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup coarsly chopped pecans
8 slices (1 inch thick) day old french bread
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with brown sugar. Add syrup and stir constantly until thickened, about 2 min. Stir in nuts. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Arrange bread on top in one layer.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg till well blended. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Bring dish to room temp before baking. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered, until golden brown on top and crispy around the edges- 50-55 min. Let set for 5 min.
To serve, remove each slice with a spatula and invert on to a plate.

This dish is delicious!

[kb999999]

Hi ... 'recipelink' has a big list of make-ahead and freeze recipes for appetizers, soup, sides, main, bread and desserts .... Here is the page link ... Meal Planning, Make Ahead Cooking, Freezer Charts - The Recipe Link

[LadyLeatherneck]

Thanks for the easy lasagna recipe, had to print that one out.

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by staceytwinmom

This is not exactly what you are looking for but if you are having a brunch this is a do the night before dish and cook that am.

Baked French Toast

1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup coarsly chopped pecans
8 slices (1 inch thick) day old french bread
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with brown sugar. Add syrup and stir constantly until thickened, about 2 min. Stir in nuts. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Arrange bread on top in one layer.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg till well blended. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Bring dish to room temp before baking. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered, until golden brown on top and crispy around the edges- 50-55 min. Let set for 5 min.
To serve, remove each slice with a spatula and invert on to a plate.

This dish is delicious!

Oh my, LoVe those make ahead dishes and I CANT WAIT to try this one!!! Thanks for asking the question and thanks for posting this recipe!!!

[aaalynn]

Staceytwinmom - Thanks so much this sounds perfect for Sunday morning!

I will be making the meatballs and lasagne recipes for sure! Maybe I can get DH to grill a couple of nights. Grilled chicken or pork loin maybe hmmm....

I am so excited, I love it when my family visits, especially when they bring Easter candy! LOL