When it comes to mealtimes, there are a couple of things that can be agreed upon: 1. Life is busy. 2. We want to feed our families delicious, nutritious food on a reasonable budget. With a bit of planning, you can make great meals every day of the week. The following strategies in Better Homes Gardens Make-Ahead Meals help make it possible.
One Recipe, Many Ways An easy approach to big-batch cooking. Base recipes are made, portioned, and frozen to be used in multiple recipes.
From the Freezer Soups, stews, casseroles, calzones, and entrées go from freezer to oven or stovetop for a hot and hearty meal in short order.
Slow Cooker Recipes Food is prepped the night before and stored in a sealed slow cooker bag in the refrigerator. The next morning, the bag dropped into a slow cooker, and the cooker is set according to recipe directions.
Jump-Start Recipes Recipes are assembled nearly to the point of cooking, then refrigerated until ready to heat and eat—as well as salads and noodle bowls that just need a tossing before serving.
Recipes are identified with the following icons to help you tailor your meals to your family‘s needs.
low-cal 400 calories or less per serving for entrées
low-cal 200 calories or less per serving for sweets
meatless No animal products
feeds a crowd 8 servings or more
quick Prep time of 30 minutes or fewer
Recipes are identified with an arrow icon that tells how far ahead a recipe can be made—from up to 1 day to months ahead.
►Make ahead up to 24 hours
►►Make ahead 1 to 3 days
►►►Make ahead weeks or months
1. Read the Recipe Even if a recipe isn’t specifically make ahead, read through it carefully for steps that can be done ahead without compromising flavor, texture, or appearance. With the exception of fruits and vegetables that oxidize and turn brown when exposed to air—such as potatoes, apples, pears, root vegetables, bananas and avocados—most peeling, seeding, and chopping can be done ahead of time. Prepped produce can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, up to 1 day. Vegetables such as green beans and Brussels sprouts can be blanched and stored in the refrigerator.
2. Use Time Wisely Have a few spare minutes? Use even a small window of time to make a grocery list or a weekly meal plan. Cut up vegetables, sauté mushrooms, or caramelize and refrigerate onions. Roast a whole chicken or a pork loin roast and store it to use in main-dish salads or casseroles.
3. Be Efficient When prepping for a recipe that calls for all the produce to be added at the same time, reduce the use of containers, consolidate prep and cooking steps, and cut cleanup by layering and storing all the produce in one container.
4. Prep Smart Know what you can and can’t prep or cook ahead. Most vegetables that are going to be cooked can be chopped ahead of time, but if they are going to be served raw, they should be prepared as close to serving time as possible. Fresh herbs should be chopped right before using because cutting causes them to wilt and break down. Most salads can be made ahead and refrigerated—if the vegetables and greens are kept separate from the dressing. Dress the salad right before serving. Both pasta and rice can be cooked al dente, then cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a day or two. When they are reheated in a microwave with just a little water, they maintain most of the textural quality.
5. Create a Repertoire Hearty braises, soups, and stews improve with a little age. Grilled and pan-seared foods are best served right after cooking. Even when the main part of a recipe can’t be made ahead, often the most time-consuming steps—sauces, seasoning pastes, chutneys, relishes, dressings, and flavored butters—can be. Pie pastry, pizza dough, and cookie dough can all be made ahead and chilled or frozen.