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Make Ahead  /  November 27, 2022

Simple Make Ahead Meals

by Rebekah Kuk

Big Announcement

Gluten Free Vegetarian Lasagna with Romesco Sauce
Simple Make Ahead Meals

Hello everyone! I’m excited to let you all know that I will be going back to work full time as a social worker at a center that provides services and counseling to women in need. I’m super excited about this, and thrilled to have found a job that is so in line with my values.

In preparing to go back to work, I am naturally thinking about how this will affect the flow of my week and, specifically, how I will cook. I will continue to post new recipes as regularly as I can. But, for now, I am compiling a list of easy, make ahead meals that I can put together on weekends, and then cook or rewarm in the week to come. See below for my favorites.

Favorite Make Ahead Meals

What makes a great make ahead meal? Something that you can compile ahead of time and, when you’re ready to cook it, it takes just 5 minutes to come together. With my husband and I arriving home now at the same time, we want dinner hot on the table with little to no fuss when we come home. For this to happen, I will either put something in the slow cooker before going to work, or have the nanny slide a casserole into the oven an hour before we get home.

Slow Cooker

I plan to marinate meat and chop potatoes and squash on Saturdays, slide it into freezer bags, and then thaw it in the fridge the night before I plan to cook it. On the day of, I simply empty the freezer bag into the slow cooker and turn it on low. Dinner is ready and waiting when I arrive home. Each of the following two meals can easily be paired with rice (made ahead and rewarmed), bread, or a salad that has been made the night before.

1
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Butternut Squash
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Butternut Squash
An easy, hands off recipe featuring beef chuck roast, butternut squash, and green apples. Delicious and satisfying.
Check out this recipe

These short ribs can be roasted in the oven, but for a make ahead version, dump them in the crock pot and they are just as tasty!

2
Easy Oven Roasted Paleo Beef Short Ribs
Easy Oven Roasted Paleo Beef Short Ribs
Bursting with flavor and easy to make, these beef short ribs cook low and slow in the oven. Paleo makes them accessible for all diets.
Check out this recipe

Casserole

Casseroles are a bit more work on the weekends, but they freeze beautifully and can feed a lot of people. I plan to double every casserole I make so we can get a rotating variety from week to week. Each of the following two casseroles can easily be paired with rice (made ahead and rewarmed), bread, or a salad that has been made the night before.

3
Gluten Free Vegetarian Romesco Lasagna
Gluten Free Vegetarian Romesco Lasagna
This vegetarian lasagna uses gluten free noodles and deeply flavored Catalonian romesco sauce.
Check out this recipe
4
Butternut Squash and Ground Beef Casserole
Butternut Squash and Ground Beef Casserole
A hearty, comforting meal to fill you up on chilly evenings.
Check out this recipe

Soups and Stews

Soups are so versatile! A big pot of soup goes a long way. Make a batch on the weekend, then freeze in quart containers with labels on top. Take it out of the freezer and place in the fridge the night before you plan to use it, then rewarm it in a pot on the stove before dinner. Each of the following soup recipes can easily be paired with rice (made ahead and rewarmed), bread, or a salad that has been made the night before.

5
Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
This creamy sweet potato soup is nicely spiced with just the right amount of heat. Dollop some plain yogurt on top and a sprinkle of nuts, and you're good to go.
Check out this recipe
6
Turkey Chickpea Soup with Wild Rice
Turkey Chickpea Soup with Wild Rice
A hearty soup featuring leftover turkey, chickpeas, and wild rice, and can be made in the Instant Pot.
Check out this recipe
7
West African Peanut Stew
West African Peanut Stew
A hearty, versatile stew than can please vegans and omnivores alike.
Check out this recipe

Other Make Ahead Meals

I like to make salmon burgers in large batches, then freeze them. During the week, it’s as easy as choosing your bread and toppings to provide a quick dinner.

8
Batch Cooked Sweet Potato Salmon Burgers
This easy, sheet pan recipe makes enough delicious salmon burgers to have a batch now, and freeze a batch for later.
Check out this recipe

This Instant Pot Whole Grain Rice with Chickpeas is a quick recipe to pull together on a Saturday while you’re prepping other meals. You can spread it into a casserole dish and freeze it, or store it in quart containers in the freezer, then rewarm in a pot with a little broth or water.

9
Whole Grain Rice with Chickpeas plus New Meal Plan!
Instant Pot Whole Grain Rice with Chickpeas
A quick and easy way to make delicious, chewy brown rice with plump chickpeas and savory peanuts.
Check out this recipe

Make Ahead Now

What will you choose to make ahead in order to provide a better flow to your week? A couple hours or less of food prep on the weekend can go a long way to helping you stay on track with your goals.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope you got some good tips from this post. Don’t forget to leave me a comment below.

Take care,

Rebekah

Raw Milk Yogurt
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