To go along with our Getting Ahead for Dinner Challenge, I thought I’d share what my family’s top picks are for Make-Ahead Meals. Here’s some getting ahead inspiration for you:
Hearty Green Bean Casserole (In Oh, For Real Cookbook)
Lasagna Casserole
Creamy Salsa Enchilada Casserole (Found in Lesson 2 of Let’s Do This! eCourse)
Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Sweet and Sour Meatballs (found in Lesson 5 of Let’s Do This! eCourse)
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (from {Healthy} Make Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)
Having any of these in the freezer to warm up without any effort is SO helpful to me! What are your favorite dinnertime meals that can be made ahead?
I love your calzones. I had never made them before I found your recipe and my kids love them. I also make my own variation of freeze-ahead lasagne. And recently I ended up with some white corn tortillas and leftover shredded chicken so made my own taquitos and froze them. They have been a hit, and since I baked them instead of fried them, they are healthier than the boxed version.
Laura, you are truly an inspiration to this mama! It is hard to keep boys fed and anything we can do to help them help themselves (by cooking and freezing) is a help to the mama! Thank you for all you do and share! :)
Homemade pizza crust! Once it’s thawed, I can have a pizza assembled in 5 minutes.
I also brown and season taco meat, ready to make tacos, enchiladas, or quesadillas.
Amanda,
Do you just prepare your pizza dough like normal, as if you were going to put a pizza together, and then freeze it instead?? I would love to do this to have dough on hand. Can you tell me the steps please? Thanks!
I think you can freeze it at any point after kneading. I stick it in a container after kneading, then freeze. If you have the freezer space, you could roll it out and put the toppings on, and have homemade frozen pizza ready to go!
I put it in the fridge to thaw overnight before I use it, then let it sit on the counter while the oven is heating.
I make a lot of things to freeze but one of our favorites is your Cheesy Beef and Rice casserole. We eat with our church fellowship every Sunday and that is one of our fellowship’s faves! So easy too!
Soups, chili, pasta sauces and starters, meatloaves, cookie dough and muffins. I rarely do whole casseroles because we do not like rice or pasta after it has been frozen.
…just about ANYTHING that takes a deal of effort and is freezable! (Chili, beef stew, pre-cut and seasoned fajita meat, any kind of quick bread, cookies, etc.)
I would love to try all of your recipes, but I just see pictures of the recipe but not a written recipe. How do I get the recipe? Thanks for your help. Janet
Click the recipe links above each picture to get to the recipe (or to the book with the recipe). :)