Need quick recipes or make ahead recipes?
Been working so much I have no energy to cook by the time I get home. I need recipes for meals that I can make that take prep/cook time less than an hour. Or maybe some recipes I can make ahead and then just pop in the oven when I get home. Difficulty and Cuisine doesn't matter, I'd prefer a wide variety and even some good articles. Thanks in advance. <3
- Tired Tina (lol)
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Also, I try to always have enough eggs in the fridge and a store-bought pie crust in the freezer, for a quick, "vegetable bin dump" tart when I need a hot meal in a pinch. Favorites combos are zucchini, onion, and red bell pepper (with lots of parm mixed in with the eggs) and spinach, feta, and sun-dried tomato. These also come together very quickly, even faster if the veg prep can be done ahead of time. I also make my own "salad in a bag" so I can have a crisp green salad on hand as a ready-to-go side (romaine stands up particularly well to this).
Ratatouille, as others have mentioned in other threads on this hotline, lasts forever in the fridge and works great in combination with so many things. For a really quick meal I heap some on ciabatta toast and top it with some good melty cheese (the Alice Waters ratatouille recipe on this site is a good one, btw). Ratatouille on toast invariably makes me feel that life is good. :).
Sauteed and stir-fried veggies will keep anywhere from a few days up to a week in the fridge, and much of these can be frozen for later use.
Both potatoes (steamed, boiled, roasted) and rice also can be kept around for a while, and cooked rice can be frozen for later use.
Fried rice is a quick way to clean out your fridge of a bunch of leftovers and use up odds and ends (like a leftover half of a sauteed salmon fillet).
Some other cooked meats end up freezing satisfactorily, like shredded cooked chicken, braised chicken in various sauces, and the king of frozen meat: pulled pork. Much cooked fish can be frozen for later repurposing, like fried rice, soups, tacos.
Cooked legumes -- beans and peas -- also store well in the fridge and freezer.
Of course, many soups and stews -- like ratatouille -- actually taste better a couple of days after cooking and most of these can be frozen.
Almost without exception, anything that can be tossed on a grill will survive several days of refrigeration with little harm. This could as simple as grilled summer squash or more elaborate like barbecue or grilled seafood kebabs.
Occasionally, I will make polenta, pour into a sheet pan, then cut into triangles for sauteeing or grilling. These triangles freeze well for future use. Likewise potato gratin can be cut into individual portions for freezing (or you could bake in single-portion dishes).
Garlic Fiend is right: you must like leftovers, otherwise you are screwed.
there are tv cooking shows organized on similar principles.
also some big cities have prep kitchens where regular, non-commercial people can go to cook...whether for a few nights' worth or longer.
last, there's always the cook a casserole, eat some tonight, freeze the rest in portions.
or similar strategies with a roast chicken or roast beef.