formula dinners

[iris lily]

For most people this would be too repetetive, but I'm going through a busy patch and I've got to be able to have simple meals available. So I am doing this:

Making toppings for pasta or rice and freezing that. Some selections are:

1) red meat tomatoe sauce
2) white alfredo sauce
3) Thai pork curry
4) Chinese beef stir fry
5) Beef stroganoff
6) Chinese chicken stir fry

I freeze these in take-out food containers. I re-heat in the microwave and put a pot of rice of pasta on. Or, if I need low cal, I cut up spaghetti squash for me. I add lots of the same things in the above: onions, green peppers, sometimes peas, often carrots.

I add a salad, pretty much 3 kinds: green lettuce, cabbage, or apple.

This produces a little leftover package, suitable for a lunch.

Gosh it's boring but I don't have to think each night. We are crazy busy at work and we have our own kitchen at home turned upside down for refurbishment and I just need simplicity in the kitchen.

[Tiam]

Well, damn, you said 'em all!

[herbgeek]

I've done menu planning by theme night: eg Monday is a crockpot meal that I prepared on Sunday, Tuesday is meat and a veg or two, Wednesday is pasta, Thursday is ethnic, Friday is takeout. As I've gone through different stages and ages, the categories have changed, but I find it a useful way to do weeknight food without a lot of bother, and without getting into too much of a rut. For each "theme", the options are mostly made with things I always keep in the freezer/frig/pantry so there is no special shopping during the week. On weekends, I can be creative but on weeknights, its just a matter of getting some nutrition in me.

[earthshepherd]

That sounds really good and organized! Cool!

I freeze a lot of my vegan recipes -- lentil stew, pea soup, black beans, minestrone. Since I cook for meat eaters too, that makes it easy for me to just sit down with them and have a dish of my own pre-cooked vegan fare. I make salads in a big bowl and we eat them for a couple of days in a row.

[winterberry]

How about chili on rice?

Soups freeze well, and you don't even have to make the rice or pasta to go with them. Or you can put the rice or pasta in them instead of the other way around. I'm thinking minestrone with tortellini.

[kib]

You know, I've been doing something similar and I don't really find it boring at all, as long as I don't eat the same dinner every night. And when I run out of one of my freezer things, I tend to replace it with something different. So maybe instead of a replacement pot of chili, I'll make paprikash or a casserole.

If you care for it, shredded cabbage makes a really really easy base, too. Shred, nuke separately just so it's not entirely raw any more, drain off excess water.

[Gina]

One of my favorites for this is pork chili verde. I make large batches of it and freeze it in portions for when needed. Same with some other things like spag sauce, bean chili, soups... I do cook the rice or pasta fresh however. Occasionally I'll also make extra ravioli and freeze them uncooked for something special.

[iris lily]

If you care for it, shredded cabbage makes a really really easy base, too. Shred, nuke separately just so it's not entirely raw any more, drain off excess water.

That is an excellent idea! I love cabbage and god knows it's just about the cheapest winter veg in the stores. We go through a head of cabbage each week in salad, DH will not eat cooked cabbage, but I love it and so that would be an easy substitute for starchy pasta or rice.

[kib]

That is an excellent idea! I love cabbage and god knows it's just about the cheapest winter veg in the stores. We go through a head of cabbage each week in salad, DH will not eat cooked cabbage, but I love it and so that would be an easy substitute for starchy pasta or rice.

It's soooo easy! Just don't nuke the frozen thing and the cabbage together, or it gets very watery.

[Kat]

Does alfredo sauce freeze well? I've never tried it but always thought the consistency would be weird once thawed. Is there a trick to it? I might give this a try!

[jody]

I would also cook the rice and pasta in large batches and freeze in meal sized amounts since they both freeze so well. They reheat well in the microwave without becoming mushy.

[Becky33850]

You could take that a step further and prepare your rice in advance in the oven -- it freezes great! I make several pans at a time and freeze in family portions.

Your list isn't boring at all -- it's all about streamlining the process :-)

Becky

[iris lily]

Does alfredo sauce freeze well? I've never tried it but always thought the consistency would be weird once thawed. Is there a trick to it? I might give this a try!

The consistency is decent--somewhat compromized by freezing, but decent.