ideas for meals that you totally prep or even totally make ahead on Sunday?

[Anonymous]

I'm coming to terms that the only "cooking" I can handle on a weeknight at 6pm is boiling pasta. Nothing else, or my kids and I go insane and dinner ends up tasting crappy. So I'm starting to collect ideas for dinners that I can almost 100% prep or even fully make ahead on Sunday afternoon that I can just pop in the oven with no extra work.. or even simply reheat.. each night at dinner time.

Things I'm already doing..

A meat sauce, fully made, which I reheat while cooking spaghetti.
chicken potpie, totally made, which I reheat.
Chili and a variety of other stews and soups, fully made, to reheat.
Salad totally prepped ahead on Sunday.

Where I'm lacking is the prep-ahead, cook that night meals. Do you have anything that you prep on Sunday and then take 5 minutes to finish off and pop in the oven? Maybe something like chicken and veggies in a pyrex marinating, that will hold (raw) for a few days in the fridge until I cook it on Wednesday?

We like to keep it as clean and healthy as possible, but we eat everything. And I'm good on crockpot recipes, I throw at least 1 together a week.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I slow cook chicken breasts most Sundays with different seasoning and then use in meals throughout the week. E.g., I slow cook chicken with salsa and/or taco seasoning, and then can make quick fajitas or taco salads later in the week. Cuts down on prep time during the week for sure. I also use the chicken in chicken salad for lunch (either over greens or in a sandwich).

[Anonymous]

Lasagna

[Anonymous]

This week I roasted a whole chicken on Saturday. Then, I removed the 2 breasts, 2 wings, and 2 legs. We have been picking on these for a couple of days (there are 3 of us: DH, DD, and I).

Then, I took the rest of the carcass, including the neck, and I boiled it (this is still on Sat. night, after dinner) for like 2 hours, letting all the extra meat fall off. Then I put this in the fridge to cool off over night.

On Sunday, once it was cooled, I removed the bones and picked off all the meat, and put it back in the broth. I added more chicken broth (to taste,), noodles, two cut-up onions, one cut-up red pepper, and a bag of pre-sliced carrots and cabbage (originally intended for cole slaw, but hey it works for whatever). Viola, chicken soup. Boil together until all of the vegs and cooked through.

This made more meals that has lasted us all week.

[Anonymous]

Macaroni and cheese
Meatloaf
Chicken Marbella

[Anonymous]

I made stuffed shells the other day. Easy and then baked it all the next night for dinner.

[Anonymous]

I'd also add that doing some of this after the kids are in bed is easier than doing it all on Sunday. The stuffed shells took 30 min to boil the pasta and make the filling and stuff. I'd be more likely to do a raw chicken dish the night before and then cook the next evening.

Another idea, tuna casserole as the tuna is already cooked.

[Anonymous]

Not make ahead, but still easy -- you can broil salmon or thin chicken cutlets in the time it takes to reheat most items. Steam veggies on stove or in microwave, toss with butter or evoo, s&p.

Frittatas and veggie omelets are superfast, too. You can nuke bacon (not as good as fried, but fast) to go on the side.

[Anonymous]

You can make rice, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, pasta ahead of time. I do on Sundays and then pair them with chicken or port (marinated on Sunday, grilled when I get home).

I crockpot, beef stew, chicken caccatori (sp?), etc. I make the crockpot on Sunday and put it on whatever morning I want it. I put the broth in that morning.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I make a big batch of rice on weekends sometimes too and then we eat it with various "toppings" all the week through. All you have to do , to reheat the rice, is sprinkle some water on the top of it (on the plate, an individual serving) and pop in microwave for about 1 minutes. Test to see if you like it or if you want it hotter. Then top with topping.

MY DH will skip the reheating rice part if the topping is hot enough. Like, if he puts hot chili on top of it. Mixed all together, it's edible that way.

It's way faster than making a whole new batch of rice.

[Anonymous]

I buy roasted chicken at wegmans on Mondays my son will eat the legs, my husband will eat the breast. The rest will be split between chicken soup (lunch on Sat and Sun), tacos or quesedillas , or mixed with pasta veggies and alfredo sause. I make salad every night. This will get us through to Thursday. On Thursday I will make something that will last for Th, F, and Sat dinner. Sunday night we go out. Sunday night I boil pasta, rice, make mashed potatoes and make other sides for the week.

[Anonymous]

Crockpot meals you can make ahead:

http://www.mommysfabulousfinds.com/2013/10/easy-crock-pot-freezer-meals-2.html

[Anonymous]

Heck, even boiling pasta on a weeknight can feel like a stretch to me sometimes

-Crockpot. Crockpot. Crockpot. Beef stew, lamb stew, soups, ribs, etc. I have a (probably bad) tendency to put meat in the crockpot frozen since I know it will be started at 6am and not eaten til 12 hours later (and my crockpot runs hot). The biggest advantage to a crockpot, imo, is that it makes an insane amount of food, for the same effort. So I always make a mountain of beef stew, or a gigantic pork shoulder, or whatever, knowing that most of it will get frozen for later meals. That's a night where the only cooking involves the microwave for reheating!

-Cook once, eat AT LEAST twice. If I roast a chicken on the weekend... I roast two. Same oven, same time, but lots of leftovers. Can be frozen, or just served cold (DD loves cold chicken legs), or turned into soup, pot pie, stirfry, casseroles, tacos, you name it, very easily. So we might have roast chicken and carrots on Sat, chicken fajitas on Mon, and chicken salad on Tues. Etc. Same concept applies to larger cuts of beef or pork.

-I do a lot of meal prep the night before, once DD is asleep. Slice meat and marinate for fajitas, cut up veggies, etc. If any actual cooking is needed the night of, I prefer that it be the cooking-show, dump-and-stir variety, b/c I can't handle the distraction of needing to stir something, and help DD take off her shoes, and add the spices, and let the dog out, and move the laundry, and remove the lid and stir, and etc.

fajitas - slice and marinate meat the night before OR use precooked meat; slice veggies and pre-portion spices, etc (think cooking show with all those little pinch pots of stuff). same concept applies to stir fry.

chili or soup - make it the night before, or the weekend before, or the month before and freeze, then just re-heat (I keep noodles and /or rice separate so that it doesn't get mushy)

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how one roast chicken can last so many days with three people. In my household, only two of us are eating the chicken (DS is only 7 months) and we usually only have enough for two meals. At meal one, we each eat one leg (drumstick and thigh) and DH also eats half a chicken breast. For meal two, I shred the remaining one and a half breasts to make chicken salad or quesadillas. The carcass goes in the freezer to make stock when I've saved up a few.

It's not like DH and I are overweight. We are both actually probably on the smaller side. I am 5'2", 105 lbs and DH is 5'10" probably about 150lbs.

[Anonymous]

Beans and rice. Freeze separately in freezer bags. I cook dry beans - the goya red kidneys have a recipe on it (but I use tomato paste, not goya tomato).