Great make ahead suppers?

Question

I am going out of town for 14 days and leaving 4 hungry people at the house. Now I know most of them can fend for themselves, but they will miss the head cook. What could I fix ahead of time with easy ingrdeients, freeze, label, dethaw quick, and still be delicious?

Answer 1

Here are some easy freezable ideas:

1. Lasagne
2. Meatballs and spaghetti
3. Sloppy Joe Mix
4. Pulled Barbecue Pork
5. Tuna Casserole
6. Chicken....baked, broiled or fried
7. Frozen ravioli
8. Chicken Pot Pies
9. Soup
10. Beef Stew

Answer 2

Ever since my son was little I always made homemade soup. Now he is 17 and cant stand soup from a can!!!! His wife is going to hate me! lol So on my days off I line up 3 crock pots and make them and freeze them individually! Vegatable beef is my favorite. Ingredients: stew beef- about 2 lbs. One can tomatoe juice. one small head cabbabe. one bag mixed frozen vegies. One small white onion. salt and pepper. Boil the stew beef in large pot with water- duh.....lol...when tender remove beef and cut into small bites leave broth in pan and add the can of tomotoe juice to it. Cut up potatoes in small peices and cabbage into thin strips and onion and add to the pot all at once. Put in frozen vegies as well as the stew beef. Bring to a boil. Cook slow for about an hour to hour and a half. It is sooooo awesome and soooo good! Then half of it I freeze in individual bowls and the other half I pour over white rice and freeze. Also if u have one of the sealing machines- that suck air out of the bags and seal your food? What I do is you know how u have one or two peices of meatloaf left over and a spoon of potatoes and a couple of corn? Get individual paper plates with sections and freeze your own tv dinners! Heated up they taste like they just came out of the oven and alot better for u than tv dinners are! The seal machine is the best thing I ever bought! Chili is always good to freeze and reheat too.

Answer 3

here's a dish we filipinos enjoy. it's called adobo. the flavor is usually ore enhanced if you cook it tday and eat it tomorrow.
1 1/4 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
2 bay leaves, torn
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
DIRECTIONS
Season pork and chicken with salt and pepper and place in a stock pot. Rub with crushed garlic and torn bay leaf, and coat with vinegar (and soy sauce, if using). Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
Bring meat and marinating liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork-tender. If necessary, add a small amount of water to prevent drying out.
Strain liquid from meat. Return to the stock pot and bring to a simmer. In a skillet, cook and stir meat in 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat until brown on all sides, adding remaining 2 cloves of smashed garlic in the last 3 minutes. Add meats to cooking liquid, and continue simmering until slightly thickened. Serve hot.

you can also make a stew and it freezes well.

Answer 4

Any type of pasta! I think it's so delicious when the noodles absorb all the flavor from the sauce! Keep alittle sauce on the side to re-wet your pasta! It's fantastic! Alfredo, spaghetti, lasagna, linguini, pasta salad, exc.

Answer 5

I like chili because it gets better with age. Other ideas are shepherd's pie, lasagna. These are easy to freeze and just pop them into the oven. Good luck!

Answer 6

Hormel, Armour, Tyson, Smithfield, and other brands have packages of PRE-COOKED beef tips, roast, pot roast, pork roast, chicken, ham, meatload. Most all come with gravy. They are very good. Use these for your meat dish and add vegetables, rice, or potatoes for side extras. You will find these packages near the cold meat section, they are not frozen. You can make two or more meals out of one package and freeze them for future dinners or lunches.


EXAMPLES and their websites showing pictures of packages:


Fully Cooked Meats & Recipes
http://www.hormel.com/create/default.asp?req=recipes/


Fully Cooked Roast Beef in Brown Gravy
http://www.tyson.com/Recipes/Product/ViewProduct.aspx?id=32


Fully Cooked Pork Roast in Gravy
http://www.tyson.com/Recipes/Product/ViewProduct.aspx?id=299


Fully Cooked Seasoned Beef Meatloaf
http://www.tyson.com/Recipes/Product/ViewProduct.aspx?id=41


Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Medalllions in Sesame Teriyake Sauce
http://www.tyson.com/Recipes/Product/ViewProduct.aspx?id=195


Fully Cooked Smoked Meats
http://www.tyson.com/FoodService/PressRoom/ViewArticle.aspx?id=2152

Answer 7

steak pastsa chilie

Answer 8

Lasagna, tuna noodle casserole, chilli, soups, taco meat, enchiladas.....................

Answer 9

I am a stay at home mom and I cook ALL THE TIME! My family literally has no idea how good they have it (and it sounds like your's might not know either!).

Anyhow... in the RARE event that my husband is at home with the two girls and he absolutely HAS to turn the oven on (which would mean that I am either in the hospital or something MAJOR has happened), there are several casserole dishes that I have pre-made that sit in the freezer and have directions taped on their tops.

These are the ones that I always have on hand:


SPAGHETTI - PIZZA STYLE

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, sliced OR 2 more bell peppers, chopped
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 2" pieces
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking spaghetti. Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in heavy skillet over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to break up beef.
Drain well and add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing spaghetti.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine eggs and milk in large bowl and beat until blended. Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk mixture. Spread half of spaghetti/egg/milk mixture in a 13x9" glass baking dish. Top with half of sauce and beef mixture. Repeat layers.

To freeze, cool casserole in refrigerator at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble.

To refrigerate overnight and bake the next day, cover the casserole and chill for 2-24 hours. When ready to eat, bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until hot. Then uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts.

If baking without freezing or refrigerating, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top with pepperoni, then cheese, return to oven, and bake for 10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Let stand 5 minutes to set, then cut into squares to serve. 10 servings


CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE

1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 (16 ounce) jar four cheese pasta sauce
3 cups uncooked farfalle pasta
1-1/4 cups water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 (6 ounce) packages cooked chicken strips
2 cups frozen baby peas
3 tomatoes, chopped
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In heavy skillet, cook onion in butter over medium heat until crisp tender. Remove from heat and add all remaining ingredients except for Parmesan cheese; mix well. Place in 2 quart baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

Sprinkle casserole with Parmesan cheese and bake casserole, covered, for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until casserole bubbles and cheese is melted. Serves 4-6


HAMBURGER CASSEROLE

1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 c. macaroni, uncooked
1/2 c. green pepper
1/2 c. celery
1/2 c. onion
1 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 can tomato soup
1 can Cheddar cheese soup

Mix all together. Cover and refrigerate. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.


BUFFALO RANCH ENCHILADAS

1 Can (10.5 oz) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Cup Purchased Sour Cream Ranch Dip
2/3 Cup Chopped Green Onions (Optional)
¾ Cup Purchased Buffalo Wing Sauce (I use Kroger Brand)
3 Cups Chopped Cooked Chicken
Twelve (12) 6-Inch Flour Tortillas
3 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat Oven to 350º.
Spray 13” x 9” baking dish with cooking spray.
In medium bowl, mix Cream of Chicken Soup, Ranch Dip, and 1/3 Cup of the Onions.
In large bowl, mix together Chopped Chicken and Buffalo Wing Sauce until Chicken is well coated.
Spoon 2 Tbs. of Soup Mixture down the center of each Tortilla (set remaining Mixture aside). Top each Tortilla with ¼ Cup Buffalo Coated Chicken and scant ¼ Cup Shredded Cheddar. Fold sides of Tortillas over filling; place seam side down in baking dish. Spread remaining Soup Mixture over the filled Tortillas. Cover tightly with foil.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Remove from oven. Uncover, sprinkle ½ Cup Cheddar Cheese and remaining Green Onions. Return to oven and back uncovered about 5 minutes longer, or until Cheese has melted.

HAPPY COOKING!