Hi all,
My daughter and I are travelling to florida for a week and hubby's staying home. I'd like to freeze some meals for him but, aside from a baked ziti, I have no idea what type of meals I can prepare ahead of time. I usually pack his lunch too (which is usually leftovers from the night before).
Any ideas/suggestions????
Thanks guys! There were so many great ideas. I went with the baked ziti, meatloaf, made a big salad (leaving the tomatoes out), showed him where the potatoes were, and baked chicken in a marinara sauce and told him to top it with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and put it in the toaster oven for 5 minutes. Plus, I pointed out cans of tunafish and some frozen store-bought meals in the freezer.
Thanks again for all the advice. I think I may do some of this when I get back for ME!!!
Buy a copy of the book frozen assets. Its a wonderful book and has many recipe suggestions for meals that freeze well.
Hi. You can make a pot of chili and bake a whole chicken that can be put into smaller single serve containers that he can grab and pop in the microwave. Also make a pot of rice that he can take from as well. Hope this helps.
I try to batch cook on the weekend and freeze stuff so I don't have to do too much cooking during the week. I have gotten lots of great recipes and ideas from this blog:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
This woman experimented with her crockpot, making dinner every night for a whole year, every meal different. She gives you the recipe and how it turned out, whether her kids liked it, even pictures.
When I go out of town I try to leave stuff like a bowl or two of chili in the freezer and some crackers, his favorite cereal and milk, lunch meat and cheeses or PB and J. I also buy a bag of tortilla chips, a bag of shredded cheese and veggie crumbles(freezer section), sour cream, salsa and he can just throw the nachos in the microwave. Other easy to prepare meal is whole wheat pitas, small can of tomato sauce, shredded cheese and pepperoni (you can pre-cut veggies for a topping if he'll eat them).
If my husband can fend for himself for a week, yours can. He doesn't even pour his own bowl of cereal when I'm around, but somehow manages not to starve to death while I'm away:-) Tell him it's a good week to catch up with buddies he never sees, they can go out or maybe their wives/girlfriends will cook for him:-) Have fun and don't feel guilty for leaving him for a second.
Meatloaf (I like to make mine with ground turkey). It is easy to make, cook and reheats very well.
Stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, casseroles that you can portion and freeze, beef stew, thick hearty soups. Any of these served with a buttered roll, or hunk of bakery bread can be very filling...along with a fresh salad your hubby would have to make for himself!
Leave him a takeout menu to the nearest pizza place....
ha ha!
Turkey chili is easy to freeze, you can also pre-bread chicken cutlets and he ca\n throw them in the pan with a little oil. If you have a panini press you can get him the fixins and he can make the sandwich or you can use it as grill (ie chicken).
Have fun in Fla
you can freeze anything you make for dinner, just make extra portions. you can freeze his lunch portion too. porkchops and chicken, spaghetti, look at the freezer department in your local store and see what they show. also see how long it takes to bake a potatoe in the microwave, or if he will eat instant potatoes, leave them out where he can access them. leave a note of instructions on the box for a single serving just perfect for him, and a note on the microwave door of different things he can cook in there and how long to put it in. you can freeze cake and things of that sort too. also instant pudding is very easy to make, and he can mix that up when he wants it. jello will keep in the fridge...happy travels.
Just about anything can freeze well. Baked Ziti is a great one, even just pasta sauce and he can make pasta (hopefully!) meatloaf will freeze as well. I often make pork in the crockpot, and one of the easy and tasty ways that freezes VERY well is 1 can of jelly cranberry sauce, 1 large can of crushed pineapple, 1 medium (3 lbs ish) pork loin, tablespoon of crushed garlic. toss it all into the crockpot and let it cook for 8 hours on low (just check the temp) and then pull the pork out, and thicken the "sauce" however you like and then freeze the leftovers. The other thing I do when I want to have ready made meals is just make extra of what I am cooking that night and pull half of it and freeze it. Most foods freeze well if packaged in airtight containers or zip bags.
You can bake chicken and put the pieces in individual containers or baggies. He can then take them out of the freezer as needed. If he likes veggies, there are a lot available that can be microwaved right in the package. He can also microwave a potato or sweet potato. It might be time for him to learn how lucky he is by figuring out for himself what to pack for lunch. He can freeze a sandwich or two, or have pb& J. Leave him some fruit that won't spoil quickly, such as apples, grapes, and oranges. Have fun in Florida, and don't worry. I'm sure he will do just fine. I made meals the first few times I left my husband to fend for himself -- and returned home to find all the soups, dinners, etc still in the freezer. He used up the frozen pizzas and some neighbors who felt sorry for him invited him over to eat!
Lasagna
Chicken,Rice & Broccoli casserole
Pot Pie
You can freeze just about anything, but these are some that are simple to reheat and you pretty much have your entire meal in one pan.
Lasagna, stews, chicken pot pies and soups freeze well.
freeze: meatballs, meatsauce, flaked chicken in sauce, taco meat (using, chicken, turkey, beef, tofu). marinated chicken and then freeze it, then you just have to thaw that and cook it as well.
these are some of the meals that i do and they freeze great.
good luck.
Hi Enjoy your trip, You can make easy things like sloppy joes, have some potato rolls in , I have also made ceese burgers and froze them, defrost and nuke for apprx. 1.5 min. The day you leave prepare some chicken cutlets, they can be for lunch and two dinners, have salad in frige. Home made beef or chicken vegatable soup, it is also a great freezer, put in single serving plastic, Have fun on trip!
I would also love to have make ahead recipes. Please share.
Have a great trip
Thank you
J.
What about meatloaf? That makes a good sandwich next day, too!
Well-funny but my husband sometimes makes meals for me when he goes away for a few days(he is a pilot).
Meatloaf or meatballs is a good one.
I also will make a large pot of pasta sauce and store it in small containers so we can make a home cooked meal spur of the moment or if we have nothing else.
Lasagna is also a good one to freeze .
I will make chicken cutlets and then eat them hot that night,next day make a sandwich for lunch with a slice of cheese or chop it up and turn it into chix salad ,a chicken caesar or even a chix parmigiana with a quick splash of some sauce and cheese.the good thing is that the chicken will last all week.
I hope those thoughts are helpful...if worse comes to worse he can always call for a pizza.LOL
sheppherds pie, chicken pot pie, lasagne all freeze very well.
Chicken pot pie- really easy, just cook a few boneless breasts or use a can of chicken, add cream of chicken soup (no water added), frozen veggies, cheese if you want, and one of those pillsbury refrigerated crusts- and he's set for days!
Also, Shepards pie, Those barber chicken (chicken kiev, chicken and broccoli, chicken parm or chicken cordon bleu), with mashed potatoes and a veggie.
Meatloaf, beef stew, corned beef and cabbage (or ham), anything that can go in the crockpot, etc.
You can also buy a few of those banquet crock pot meals that he can throw in the crockpot in the morning and it's ready and hot when he gets home.
(I tried to do this for my husband- he ate cheeseburgers from frozen hamburger patties and cereal instead! MEN!)
