Make a day ahead meal that can be cooked the next night?

[Anonymous]

I’m visiting a friend and bringing her a meal. I can visit her at 10am.

Is there anything I can make the day before, so I don’t have to cook at 8am, that she can pop in the oven at 5pm…?

Stuffed shells?
Soup?
Cold salad?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I would do a pasta bake of some kind, salad with dressing in a jar, and garlic bread prepped and wrapped in foil.

[Anonymous]

Lasagna is perfect for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna is perfect for this.

Can I make that the night before then? And bring it to her cold, and she can refrigerate until 5?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna is perfect for this.

Can I make that the night before then? And bring it to her cold, and she can refrigerate until 5?

DP. Absolutely. You could even bake it the night before (you don't have to but you could) and then she can just reheat the next day. The same with a quiche - bake it the day before and then she can reheat. I think reheated quiche can be even better than straight-out-of-the-oven myself. Another option is to prep a whole chicken and put it into a disposable roasting pan so it is ready to go. But I like the lasagna idea best because it covers all of the food groups. Add bread and a salad, and she is good to go.

[Anonymous]

I was coming in here to suggest lasagna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna is perfect for this.

Can I make that the night before then? And bring it to her cold, and she can refrigerate until 5?

DP. Absolutely. You could even bake it the night before (you don't have to but you could) and then she can just reheat the next day. The same with a quiche - bake it the day before and then she can reheat. I think reheated quiche can be even better than straight-out-of-the-oven myself. Another option is to prep a whole chicken and put it into a disposable roasting pan so it is ready to go. But I like the lasagna idea best because it covers all of the food groups. Add bread and a salad, and she is good to go.

Thank you for the reply. Favorite, easy recipe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna is perfect for this.

Can I make that the night before then? And bring it to her cold, and she can refrigerate until 5?

DP. Absolutely. You could even bake it the night before (you don't have to but you could) and then she can just reheat the next day. The same with a quiche - bake it the day before and then she can reheat. I think reheated quiche can be even better than straight-out-of-the-oven myself. Another option is to prep a whole chicken and put it into a disposable roasting pan so it is ready to go. But I like the lasagna idea best because it covers all of the food groups. Add bread and a salad, and she is good to go.

Thank you for the reply. Favorite, easy recipe?

For lasagna? Mine is too difficult to be easy or fast. However, this is the one that I have my girls make when they want a yummy lasagna fast. It comes from Valerie Bertinelli:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/valerie-bertinelli/my-moms-lasagna-6590115

For quiche, I go classic Julia Child. It is a simple recipe and it is easily adapted to use some pre-made ingredients to make it fast.

Here is how I would do it if I were you: I would use the Pillsbury pie crust in a deep dish pie pan. Then make the filling (double it for deep dish) following Julia Child's recipe. Honestly? I would use pre-cooked bacon, too. Just pull it out of the box, stack it and then cut with a sharp knife into 1/2 inch pieces. Also, I always add cheese, which may be non-traditional. I shred about 1/2 cup each of gruyere and fontina. Using the pre-made pie crust and the pre-made bacon, you could have the entire thing prepped in less than 15 minutes.

Here are the steps using the modifications I described:
*lay crust in dish
*spread the shredded cheese across the bottom of the pie dish on top of the crust
*cut bacon as described above then put on top of the cheese
*pour in the egg mixture as described in the recipe
*dot with butter as described in the recipe
*bake as described

It is literally easy as pie and absolutely delicious: https://www.food.com/recipe/julia-childs-quiche-lorraine-adapted-419477

[Anonymous]

Eggplant parm - bread and fry slices, layer with Raos sauce, put 1 layer mozzarella on top. Bake 50 minutes. Refrigerate with foil on top. Repeat next day. Side pasta