Calling All Cooks!

[Merala]

I thought I'd try here. I love to cook, but starting next week, I'll be gone until 11pm 3 nights a week. Trying to figure out simple things I can store in a small amount of freezer space, but yet pull out and reheat very quickly. I really prefer homemade stuff, so to avoid the freezer meals you get from the store, and fast food, I thought I'd try here. Budget is a concern, and as I said, space is too. Also, it's just me those nights, so single-serving ideas would be great, and so would anything that can be changed up to do something different. I know someone has to have some ideas besides homemade frozen burritos, and homemade "hot pockets."

[Drew]

Ham and beans.

[Merala]

I don't eat ham. Too salty :( But I keep pintos in the freezer at all times.

[WRoss]

Like drew said, skillet style meals are pretty well rounded. Also, pasta, protein, and onions. I like doing stuffed potatoes, as well.

[Merala]

I like the idea of stuffed potatoes. They can be very easily a full meal, and can easily be done to cover all the food groups. And they can be done vegetarian if I want a change. I can be a picky eater, not so much in what I will or won't eat, but more in when I will and won't eat them. Towards November and December I'll be happy to freeze soup, but for now, it's kinda hot for that. The great thing about a one shot skillet type thing is the fact that it can be stored in a freezer bag, so it'll be flat and take up less space. And stuffed potatoes can be individually wrapped in foil and frozen, so another space saver. Awesome ideas so far, thanks guys!

[4a6c1]

We pretty much live like hobos so we like quick easy food too. My favorite is to make a large beef stock packed with vegetables that can be frozen and reheated multiple times and used for whatever.

Low sodium beef stock
Precooked black beans (or navy or pinto)
Cut onions
Fresh cut celery
Fresh cut carrots
Fresh mushrooms
And then whatever else that's in the fridge (mint leaves, basil, garlic, okra, green onion, red onion, seared or roasted peppers, eggplant or squash etc.)

I will throw some rice noodles and soy into a thawed portion and make it asian, use it for a roast base, plain for sick kid etc.

I like to buy frozen fruit and do neat stuff with it. Frozen peaches were on sale so I made peach everything. I mixed one 10 pound bag into smoothies for a week and froze some for popsicles. I added some of the smoothie mix to generic store bought muffin mixes, cornbread, cookie mix, martini mix, raw frozen peaches to champagne for a July 4th party. That was a fun two weeks.

[Merala]

I like all the healthier ideas we got going on here. I've been trying to keep to homemade, non-processed foods. I gained 127 pounds over 12 months when I was on a medicine, and have lost 67 of it already and definitely want to keep it that way.

[Jarvan]

Crockpot meals are always an option. Make it night 1, and save the leftovers eat that night 3.

[Merala]

My crock pot will definitely get a lot of use.

[Ker_Thwap]

mini meat loaves. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mini-skillet-meatloaves-recipe/index.html) Never had luck reheating any kind of potatoes, so I go with french bread rolls that my local store makes, slice them in half, and freeze a half dozen of those at a time in a freezer bag (not the perforated bag they come in.) They toast up almost as good as new. Peel some raw carrots. Done.

[SHAFT]

Ham and beans.

Franks and beans?

[Asile]

Definitely use the crock pot. You can do an easy pork tenderloin roast or beef pot roast in it one night (see recipes below), save the leftovers, and then put it together with some noodles and cheese and bread crumbs for a bit of a casserole the next night or 2 nights later.

You could also try some french bread pizza-type stuff. If you don't want to get the frozen ones (I'm admittedly a fan of Lean Cuisine, for trying to keep it healthy), you can keep the stuff on hand to make your own pretty quickly: a loaf of bread, jarred sauce (or your own if you want), and your toppings. I also heard about topping Texas toast slices with chili, and modified it with sloppy joe mix that was a HUGE hit; you could put the chili/sloppy joe stuff on regular french bread halves or some other type of thick bread slices for something healthier, especially if you use a vegetarian chili.

And skillet meals KICK ASS for ease, speed, and being able to keep things healthy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick & Easy Crock Pot Beef Pot Roast/Pork Tenderloin Roast

Cut red potatoes into quarters or eighths, depending on potato size, put in bottom of crock pot, add baby carrots and celery chunks (the amount you use will depend on your roast size and how much you want). Put your roast on top. For a beef roast, you can cheat with your seasonings and use a packet of dry onion soup mix; for pork, I recommend your own mix of herbs and spices, depending on your taste, to avoid added salt (garlic, dried onion, thyme, basil, parsley, ground black pepper are my favorites). Add 1 can of condensed cream of something (mushroom, celery, or asparagus work best) soup. Cover and cook as appropriate for your roast size (a 2 - 3 pound beef roast should get about 5 hours on high or 8 - 9 hours on low; a 1.5 - 2 pound pork roast should have about 6 - 7 hours on low, maybe 3 - 4 hours on high?; I haven't really tried it myself).

You can serve this over rice or cooked egg noodles if you like.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quick & Easy Pork or Chicken Skillet

I usually do this with chicken, but pork could work well, too. Cut your meat into bite-size chunks, season (see suggestions below), cook over medium-high heat until cooked through. Reduce heat to medium, add frozen vegetables and some additional seasoning, heat until vegetables are heated (takes about 10 minutes). If desired, add "cheese" for sauce (again, see suggestions below), continue to cook until cheese is melted and heated, stirring frequently. Serve over rice or cooked noodles if desired.
The cheese sauces make this VERY filling; about 1 to 1 1/2 cups should be plenty.

Seasoning/Vegetable/Sauce combo suggestions
~Curry powder, powdered ginger, frozen stir-fry vegetable mix, no cheese, some soy sauce when serving if desired
~Garlic, basil, oregano, "California mix" frozen vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower), Italian Herb Philadelphia Cooking Creme (I LOVE this stuff!)
~Crushed red pepper, chili powder, cumin, frozen broccoli stir fry mix, 6 - 8 wedges of Chipotle Laughing Cow Cheese or the chipotle Philadelphia Cooking Creme (the Laughing Cow cheese will give a thicker sauce unless you thin it somehow, but will be lower in calories and fat)

[MotleyCrew]

You can make larger batches of certain foods and divide them, Lasagna, shephards pie, soups and stews freeze well (avoid anything with cream or rich broths as they can break when frozen). You can also get the small pie tins and make individual meat pies (or vegetarian if prefered). Personally I prefer to freeze and reheat in glass, but it would be cheaper to use plastic containers to freeze in, then transfer to a glass dish for reheating.

Make sure you let them come to room temperature then chill them in the fridge before dividing and freezing. It will make them easier to cut and help stop to much condensation that can cause freezer burn.

[Keller]

Pot pies in ramekins freeze well.

[leifastagsweed]

This is a more likely venue for you to come up with more recipes to fit your needs than you know what to do with - http://pinterest.com/. I'm turning into a culinary slave from all the great recipes I've found there!

[Sylvan Dreams]

http://stephanieodea.com/

Go to slow cooking, then index - her recipes are in alphabetical order there.

Her website is awesome. She started out with the idea that she was going to live a year by using the crockpot as much as possible, preferably ONLY the crockpot. All of her recipes are simple and easy to follow, they usually give a short review on how the adults liked it (her and her husband) and how the kids (her kids) liked it.

[Archigeek]

East fresh food, especially plenty of greens. Stay out of the frozen section of the grocery store, that stuff is almost all crap, and full of chemicals and carbohydrates your body doesn't need.

Make a salad of fresh organic kale and spinach with som herbs and vegetables thrown in. Try to include a variety of colors of vegetables. This time of year we are just starting to see purple cabage. Include some carrots and onions and maybe some tomatoes. For dressing, take the juice from half a lemon and 1.5 table spoons of olive oil and whisk them together. Add dressing to salad leaves and toss to coat, then let it sit for maybe 15 minutes or so, then add other ingredients and a little fresh ground salt and pepper. If you need protein, add cooked chicken, boiled eggs, tuna, salmon, bacon, ham, etc. This is a basic meal for me with variations probably 5-6 times a week. Very quick to prepare without any cooking (or very little if you add meat or fish) and very good for you.

You can also take balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix those two for a dressing.

For herbs I keep a small kitchen garden in a few pots out back with basil, mint, dill, fennel and thyme. These are all really easy to grow, though note that you should keep your dill and fennel a good distance away from each other, as they will cross polinate and you'll get fennely dill and dilly fennel.

[Merala]

I think I'm going to be just fine. I was worried I'd end up eating PB&J or not at all when I drag myself in the door every night, but now I get to still eat home cooked meals! You guys all had fabulous ideas. Thanks so much!