oven delayed start

[Anonymous]

I am desperately trying to come up with ways to get more food prep done ahead of the evening witching / dinner hour. My oven has a delayed start. Would I be insane to put meatloaf into the oven at lunchtime on a delayed start, so that it would be almost finished cooking by the time we're all home?

I'm not worried about burning down the house, I'm worried about the meat going bad. Any thoughts anyone?

[Anonymous]

I don't know, seems kind of gross to me to just leave it sitting in there. Do you have a crockpot? You can throw a bunch of ingredients in there in the morning, and have dinner ready by the time you get home. Plus I'm sure it's much safer than leaving your oven on with no one home.

[Anonymous]

I would do it with the oven delayed start, as long as I knew for sure that I would be home shortly after it turned on or that I had a neighbor I could call in case of emergency, like it you were late.

Occasionally, I set the oven to preheat, so I can just stick the food in. It only saves about 5-7 mins, but every second counts!

[Anonymous]

Can you cook the meatloaf the night before, and then right before dinner cut it in slices and microwave it to reheat it?

[Anonymous]

So it's going to sit raw in your oven for a couple hours and then start heating..YUCK. I'd never do this. Just cook it the night before and reheat it the next day. It'll taste fine reheated, same as if it was cooked right then and there.

[Anonymous]

I use our delayed start a lot, but not for raw food. Things that start frozen/cooked I think are fine. Cassaroles, meatloafs, lasagnas, even stews, that I make during a batch cooking session. In the morning I put it in the oven frozen, then set the oven to cook for an hour before dinnertime. It probably thaws a bit during the day, but since everything is cooked, it's fine. I also have used it for chicken nuggets (gasp, yes we eat those ) - put them in, set the time, go to the playground & when you get back lunch/dinner is ready

I've also used it for baking veggies. Freshly baked sweeet potatoes, roasted squash, etc. to serve with dinner.

[Anonymous]

The delayed start is there for a reason (actually, I believe it's there for the use of observant Jews, but if you find it convenient, use it!).

I really don't think this is as big a problem as everyone thinks. Just use common sense in terms of what you leave out at room temp and how long you do so.

[Anonymous]

Personally - the thought of that grosses me out. Raw meat sitting out builds up bacteria. Will you die? Probably not, but I have a sensitive stomach so things that wouldn't bother some people, make me super sick. So I'm a bit extreme on the subject (my husband and I have had many arguements about the proper thawing of food).

I'd also worry about having the stove on while not home. Now this one I'm much more tempted to try - but haven't yet.

Have you considered a crockpot? Or precooking the night before and just heating up when you get home?

Or - what works for some dishes for me is using the toater oven. It takes as long to cook, but I can avoid the preheating part - which can really take away valuable time. But I admit, I tend to just avoid things like meatloaf or lasangna on weekdays.

[Anonymous]

13:22, you are being kind of extreme too. I mean, most crockpots are bacteria attractors unless you have one that displays the actual temperature. The ones with "hour" settings or "low, med, high" aren't exactly paragons of ideal food handling practices either.