Menu Staples - Make Ahead Foods for the Week

[nikoroo]

Great thread!

[avabeth]

Wow, you guys are awesome!! I'm going to print this thread for the next time I go grocery shopping.

I've started to learn a few tricks. I made deviled eggs the other night and can pop one whenever I'm feeling hungry. I made one of Beachgirl's cheesecakes last night, which I've decided will be *perfect* for breakfast during the week.

I'm not much of a cook, but I discovered packets of marinade in the grocery store and marinated a roast in one the other night. Cooked it for all of fifteen minutes in the oven, and I had three days of meals.

I buy the 12 packs of frozen hamburgers or turkey burgers, and then when I want one, take it out, defrost it in the microwave, and then fry it in a frying pan. Ten minutes, tops.

One thing that helps, especially if you work---fix your lunch the night before! Invest in a lot of little Gladware containers or whatnot---and use them. I got the tiny little round containers for salad dressing, deviled eggs, sauces...etc. They're great, and resuable.

I also keep stuff handy at work to munch on, cheesesticks or pickles. I'm usually more hungry at work since my job mainly involves sitting around, so I like to have little things to munch on at my desk.

[Ragtopgrl]

One quick question.......I have no idea what liquid smoke is........could someone fill me in?

[GGJJ]

WOW! I LOVE this thread! It is printing right now!

My only additions to the above suggestions are....

Nuke a whole package of pepperoni slices and put in ziploc bags. I put one in frig at work and one at home for quick crunchy snacks (like potato chips).

Pumpkin custard... Slice into 6-8 pieces, wrap in Saran, and freeze individually. Can be warmed up in the microwave with a pat of butter on top.

Get a roast sliced for beef jerky, dehydrate and keep in container in frig.

[millerp]

Love the thread. I found liquid smoke near the BBQ sauce and A-1 sauce. It is just a flavoring.

I love this thread.

I too, am starting to get better at this.

Last Saturday I made a whole chicken in the crok pot. Of course we had some for dinner. Then, I made four lunches. Three were basically chicken and green beans. The other I made chicken salad with one of the breasts and stuck in some celery sticks.

Sunday I made a pot roast in the crockpot and basicaly only used salt, pepper, onions and celery - YUMMY! More lunches for me or hubby.

I make a cheesecake, some deviled eggs, and I make sure to have string cheese and salami available. This week was my first week showing a gain....SO....no more peanuts or SF chocolate!!!!!

232
219
213
206
200
202

30 pounds gone!

[jraudio]

I buy a big package of chicken legs and cook those on Sunday afternoon for my lunches. I usually have one on Sunday evening after band practice. Sometimes I make some sort of veggie casserole (this week it is spinach). I keep canned green beans on hand, and one can is good for 2 days of lunches. I have hard boiled eggs. I do not do bacon ahead of time - it takes 2 minutes to nuke it in the microwave, and I can do that while I cook my eggs in the morning. I keep a couple different cheeses in the fridge for snacks, and also single-serving SF Jello cups. I make a double batch of Dobie muffins and freeze them in packages of four each, and take out one package at a time.

JRJ

[DeltaDog2]

I don't have much to add because I am SO bad about doing this (although when I do manage to make meals ahead it's almost always tuna salad or boiled eggs).


But... I wanted to ask, does anyone know how to get this put in the amazing posts?? We might want to wait until everyone's done adding their ideas, but I think this is a great thread to save there!

[sunnshine]

This is awesome - I have no other stellar items to add to this fabulous posting! Have a super LC day everyone

[Beachgirl]

GGJJ - Aren't pepperoni chips the best? I love them with a schmear of cream cheese...yum! I never thought about making them ahead of time, tho! Good one!

I am loving everyone's response...awesome ideas, y'all!

[hockeylover]

Thank you, Beachgirl for getting people going to post their Make Ahead Foods! Made me go right out to the store with my grocery list and I'm cooking tonight!

One question, I've never tried cooking bacon in the oven. I get so tired of having to clean up the stove after cooking it there. What's your method for cooking bacon in the oven?

Thanks again!!

Gail

*I make up a batch of deviled eggs for snacks.
*"Fry" up chicken legs w/Atkins bake mix, egg and heavy cream in the coating.
*Keep pepperoni slices to nibble on (the kind that go on pizza)
*Egg salad or tuna salad to put on top of salad greens.
*Deli roast beef, turkey, or ham sliced and rolled with cream cheese inside.
*Lo carb deep dish pizza, cold or warmed in the microwave.
*Atkins muffins, freeze and defrost when needed.
*Celery and cream cheese.
*Frozen prawns or shrimp. Defrost and cook in wine and garlic. Peel and dip in drawn butter.
*Make cucumber sandwiches w/slices and cream cheese in between.

[Beachgirl]

When I do my bacon in the oven, here's how I do it:

I put parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets, then lay the bacon strips on top, they can be touching but shouldn't be overlapping. Put them in a 450 degree oven (for thick sliced) and 400 degrees (for regular). After about 5 minutes you need to really watch it and see how done it's getting. Bacon cooks pretty fast this way, so just monitor how long it takes to get it to the degree of doneness you like...I like it one batch still soft and pliable so when I reheat it, it cooks a little more. The other batch I usually cook crispy so I can crumble it into salads and stuff like that.

For me, this method is definitely less messy than stove top. If I had to only cook bacon on the stove top, I wouldn't eat it at all...too much mess! I love doing it this way.

[4furbabies]

[COLOR=tomato]

I make Atkins ribs - 4 slabs at a time - eat them for meals and snacks.

[/COLOR]

I've never heard of these, but anything with the word "ribs" in it sounds good to me - especially once I can feel my own.

I don't do much, but I do clean up a couple heads of romaine lettuce....wash, dry, tear up & store in zip loc bag.

Cook 2 lbs bacon in the microwave, put in ziploc. Reheat in 30 seconds.

Cook up some sausage & freeze.

I cooked bacon in the oven for the first time tonight -- DUH , I'd never thought of doing that before!! How easy!

Anyway, I used my oven's broiler pan and cooked them for 12 minutes on 375 (as per the package's instructions). They were so good I didn't have a whole lot left to save (the family kept swiping pieces as they walked by). I think it tastes better than pan-fried.

Kathryn

[hockeylover]

Thanks for the 411 on oven cooked bacon!

Beachgirl: I assume the parchment paper is to absorb the oil? I will try this method in the future.

Mom2Twins+2: That's how I felt about cooking it in the oven - DUH...even more DUH was not bothering to look at the instructions on the back. Oh well. Anyway, I cooked the bacon this way and yep, it does come out good. I put foil down on the cookie sheet and when bacon was done, wrapped it up and threw it away. Much easier clean up, but still messy. I want to try the parchment paper next time.

One thing I am going to start doing for make ahead breakfast is an idea from beetgreen in a post in August. I made this when I went on vacation for quick breakfasts on the go.

Scramble a bunch of eggs and add bacon, sausage, mushrooms, or anything else as a filler. Grease muffin tins and bake them. I don't remember offhand how long to bake or at what temp., but I must say there were great, easy and tasted good upon reheating.

Gail

[Blissful]

This thread is wonderful! You all are giving me some really great ideas. I'm printing like mad

[BluOrchid2]

[COLOR=crimson]WOW WOW WOW!!! I just opened this topic for the first time!!! Beachgirl, so sweet of you to start this thread. I haven't read all the posts yet, but am going to right now. Can't wait to see all the great ideas here! [/COLOR]

[Beachgirl]

Bumping cause someone was looking for snack ideas...maybe something here will help...

[DeltaDog2]

Hooray I figured out how to get this in the Past Amazing Posts! I emailed Lo and asked her to put it there, and voila!

So if you ever want to refer someone to this thread you can bump it, or refer them to the newest one in the Past Amazing Posts.

[nedn2lose]

I do several of the ideas posted here as well.
I did want to add that the pepperonis nuked in the micro go great with salsa and sour cream. YUM!

[Blackhills Gal]

I buy cooked bacon at Sams. There are 60 slices in a package (3# before cooking) and it sure is quick and handy for me. I don't eat that much bacon, but when I need it, it's there for me. I keep it in the freezer at all times.

[miamiblues]

BTTT, for all the newbies

[jraudio]

Re: bacon and how to cook it, I like my bacon crunchy and not greasy. I nuke mine every morning - take 2 paper towels, put your bacon slices on the towels, and cover with a third paper towel. Put in the microwave, and nuke about 1 min per slice (less if they are thin slices). The towels absorb the grease from the bacon. No muss no fuss! I've been cooking bacon like this for years - occasionally it gets burnt, but most of the time it is perfect.

JRJ

[brennyS]

Just a hint to people who nuke their bacon with paper towels. Be sure they are plain with no design on them. The ink can make some people sick.

[jraudio]

Brenny - Oh yeah! The only paper towels I use are plain white Bounty - no ink.

JRJ

[BigBravesGirl]

You can use this tip if you don't need to keep your bacon in slices:

I stack the bacon slices up, cut them into 1" pieces and 'scramble' it until it's done. Great to add in quiche, omelettes, salad toppings, etc. I cook up about 5 lbs of bacon each weekend. I use for all sorts of things.

Just thought I'd pass it along. Great thread idea Beachgirl. Thanks!!!

-Lisa

[Ntombi]

[COLOR=coral]BUMP![/COLOR]

[4furbabies]

bump!

I just came up with another good one to do in advance. I don't like crunchy veggies in omelettes, so I saute everything before adding it. During the week there's no time to chop & saute before adding, so I just sauted a bunch of onions, peppers & mushrooms to use during the week. This has to be better than the usual 4-5 strips of bacon with my eggs every morning. At least it won't have a bunch of nitrates.

[DixieDreamer]

Here's another one I have found to be useful.

My local Safeway store has started to carry small containers (like a margarine tub but clear plastic) of pre diced up onions and tri colored peppers. I have purchased both and they are WONDERFUL to have on hand in the frig. When I make my morning eggs... I throw a teaspoon (or two) of the onions and a tablespoon (or two) of the peppers in... scramble and VOILA a great protein/fat/veggie carb combo to start my day off right! I also use them to sprinkle on my romaine lettuce to give my lunch salad more ooomph. It is a labor saver and makes it easy to include veggies at every meal... where I often would have virtually none with breakfast.

[4furbabies]

My local Safeway store has started to carry small containers (like a margarine tub but clear plastic) of pre diced up onions and tri colored peppers.

That's a great idea. My old store only carried broccoli, cauliflower & carrots already prepared. I haven't seen any in my new store (which has much better produce). The only place I've found already chopped onions & peppers is in the freezer section. Makes cooking much easier.

I used to think it was the ultimate in laziness to buy already prepared produce, now I know better. I've thrown away too much produce that I've just not found the time to cut up myself. Of course, lettuce is back off that list since it seems to go bad so quickly if they've already broken it up for me.