Why does it always feel funny writing the phrase “cooking ahead…”? Have I just lived with boys for too long, or does it sound like I’m actually cooking-a-head? Yuck. I promise I’m not.
Yes, I know you were all concerned about that.
Now that we got all that cleared up, I’ll show you some pictures of the progress I’ve made over the past few days getting food made up to have on hand for this month. Like I mentioned here, we will have a lot of company this month. In an effort to ENJOY my company, I’ve got the majority of our main dishes and a few miscellaneous food items all made up and ready to pull out when needed. (More about hospitality and enjoying company in my new podcast Friday!)
You are all aware that my house has been run over by an apple truck, right? About the time I think I’m finished making applesauce and apple pie filling…more apples fall from the sky. My fingers are all brown in their crevices. It’s attractive. I went real nuts one day and made two pans of Mini Apple Pies, a big apple pie and some Apple Pie Pockets. Oh, these are SO well worth the effort!!
I made a triple batch of Sloppy Joe Meat as Sloppy Joes are a wonderful quick meal to feed company. As long as I remember to get the dish out of the freezer to thaw, of course.
Mmmm, fresh whole wheat tortillas. We ate half of these right off the skillet as tacos, then I put the rest in the fridge for a quick meal of quesadillas.
There is something VERY not cute about the following picture. Raw meat in a pot…not so appetizing. However, I’m showing it to you anyway because you NEED to know how wonderful it is to make up a huge batch of Turkey Sausage to have on hand for breakfast casseroles or sausage-egg scrambles, or especially now for these Pancake-Sausage Muffins. The thing is, making this Turkey Sausage is a little tedious because you have to get out about 40 herbs and spices (give or take). If I’m going to do it in the first place, I’d rather do a bunch…and all the work of emptying and reloading my spice cabinet is worth it.
There it is…all browned up. I did six pounds of Turkey Sausage, then froze it in ten different containers. TEN meals ALL ready to go. Oh yes, that was time well spent.
I used some of the cooked turkey sausage to make a double batch of Pancake-Sausage Muffins. I think we may be addicted to these little treasures. Only a few of them actually made it into the freezer…
I plan to serve several salads to my guests, so I made three jars of salad dressing: Italian, Ranch and Thousand Island. Can I have three cheers for easy, healthy dressings that don’t contain any HFCS!!! But hey…what happened to all the Italian?
Because having cookies on hand when you have company is a must…or simply because I wanted one…I made a batch of Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I still have to finish putting together a lasagna. I have the meat browned, so all I have to do is layer it up and put it in the fridge. And I didn’t get Mudballs made like I had planned. I DID get a triple batch of BBQ Meatballs made, but the pictures turned out scary so I won’t post them.
Now, I need to go vacuum my ceilings and walls.
Oh Laura, you make me laugh!
I am so amazed and jealous on how you accomplish all of this! I am having surgery on the 19th & planning to freeze some meals ahead of time. I just might need to try some of your recipes for this. I’ve never done this before so I am really nervous!
You can do it! Just go with one recipe at a time. Maybe pick something you’re making anyway, and double it. Eat one and put the other in the freezer.
Or pick something easy like my Corn Dog Muffins. Those stir together quickly and freeze wonderfully. Nothing to be nervous about!
Hope your surgery goes well!
Laura is so right, start with something you already know how to make!
Bake and freeze a loaf of bread or some muffins.
Almost any casserole is great frozen.
Hang in there, I know how stressful this time can be. I had two surgeries over the summer so I feel your pain!
Nora
Is your Turkey Sausage spicy? Is it not as spicy as the mild sausage from store(which is still too spicy)? How would it be to mix ground turkey in with store sausage to move towards turkey sausage? Blessing’s
It’s not too spicy, but I’d say go really easy on the pepper and cayenne pepper that it calls for if you don’t like it very spicy…maybe even go easy on the cumin. I think you can adapt it to be just what you like!
I am thinking of making 2 meatloafs. One to eat and one to freeze.
Once thawed out, how would you heat it up? Or should I just prepare
and freeze uncooked? I make double batches of goulash, chili, taco meat,
hamburger stew, etc. but this puzzles me.
I would probably go ahead and bake it then freeze it once it cools. To rewarm, put in a 200 degree oven for however long it takes to get it hot through and through. Or, cut it into pieces and warm in the oven – it will reheat faster that way.
I do not have much freezer space, so I make the dough for chocolate chip cookies and use a small ice cream scoop to put them on a cookie sheet. I put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour then transfer the cookies to a ziplock bag. We like cookies right out of the oven and with a small family we can take out a couple or a few cookies per person and bake them. It is also great for unexpected company because the house smells great.
This is such a great idea! I’ve done this before, but kinda forgot about it – so thanks!
wwwhoo! you’ve been busy! I bet your house smells so good with all that baking and food prep.
I need to try out those pancake/sausage muffins. I think the kids would really like them.
Great stuff as always, Laura! When I have been in a pinch for turkey sausage and didn’t have the time to go through the whole list of spices I just use 1 lb turkey, 1 tsp sage, 1tsp salt, 1 TBS maple syrup and pepper to taste (sometimes I even leave this out)and it turns out almost as good!
I was thinking of making your granola bars. You said oats…as in instant or old fashion(oatmeal)? Could I use Canola Oil? Maybe you should have a link for questions on cooking/baking when it isn’t on current topic. Or do you have? ~ I’m having one of those days. Blessing’s
You can always leave a comment/question on an old post. I see it right away (it comes to my email). Now, I get a lot of questions each day so even though I see them, I can’t always answer them right away, but do feel free to leave comments and questions on older posts/recipes as I do see them and can answer them on that post.
I use old fashioned oats. I don’t recommend canola oil – it isn’t a very healthy oil (which I realize isn’t what we normally hear).
Wow, I was told that it is better for you. Do you have a couple names that are healthy that I could maybe find at our local Wal-Mart. I noticed how they put the ‘good/healthy’ stuff where us ‘short’ ladies can’t reach.
The oils/fats I use are butter, coconut oil, palm shortening and olive oil.
I love butter!
When I make dble batches of ground chuck, I only put it that way in freezer. My question since I fell Sept 19 and DH helping with food he asks what he has to add to make a certain meal. Couldn’t I just add seasoning of what I’m making to all the meat and then just mark the container of what it is? That way all he has to do is heat it up. I wonder if I could do it with spaghetti meat and sauce already mixed together too. Wow, I’m excited about this dble/triple batch it and spend more time with the family and won’t use any more pots and pans that I already do! YEAH!
You are an inspirational, amazing woman. :) I love your pictures.
I have been gluten and dairy free all summer and now I am going to “try” the GAPS diet for a month to see how Clara and I feel. I love how you can make 6 lbs of ground beef stretch to 10 meals for a family of six, and that is MY desire as well, but without grains or potatoes in my diet for a month, I am going to have to be a real carnivore. My hope is, though, that by focusing on healing my body, I will one day be able to grind and bake with wheat again and maybe tolerate yogurt too. :) Thanks for all you do. I point friends here all the time.
Thank you so much Andrea for your encouragement and for telling your friends about my site. I love that.
I’d be a carnivore too if all I had was meat and veggies to eat…in fact there are times I’ll eat a third pound of beef all by myself in one sitting. Shew! The way I can stretch that meat is by adding it to eggs or grains, like you said. I hope what you’re trying will WORK…I’ll pray for you!
What a lot of cooking you got done! Want to come over and help me put some stuff in the freezer before my baby is born? LOL Good job!
My DH loves meat and thinks I’m a meanie if I figure 1 lb(4oz ea). It is easier though when making spaghetti, chili, taco meat, etc. When making meatloaf I use more meat and though I fix other sides, the cost of meat is high.
I made your sloppy joe recipe for dinner tonight, yum! I’m going to make the sloppy joe muffins and freeze them to take for lunch on vacation coming up. I’d love to know what kind of worcestershire sauce you use. I looked at the ingredients on mine and all I can say is…yuck!
You know, as crazy as THIS will sound…I don’t think I’ve looked at the back of my worchestershire sauce. Wow, and I’m the obsessive label reader. Maybe I didn’t want to look because I was afraid to know. Shame on me. I’ll have to get back to you on this.
Here is a link to the worchestershire sauce I was amazed it was interesting.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12452142/Surprising-Ingredients-In-Worcestershire-Sauce-
ps. I vacuum my ceilings and wall to thank goodness Im not the only one :-)
I also have a recipe for homemade sausage (the pork kind, except that I also use turkey now). I always mix up a BIG batch of the spices and put that in a labeled jar with the rest of my spices. That way, whenever I want to make sausage, I just shake up my sausage spice mix and measure out a tablespoon or two of it (according to how much meat I’m using). This makes the homemade sausage so much easier to do when you actually have a hankering for it and want it RIGHT THEN.
I thought about you today while I baked a head. I baked it, frosted it, and decorated it with eyes and a nose. But don’t worry – it’s not gross. It’s an adorable Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake cake I made for my little boy’s 2nd birthday party!
First of all I want to know HOW you vacuum your ceilings and walls. Can you do a post on that? Second of all I want to let everyone know just how yummy your turkey sausage is! We have been eating it and I must buy some more turkey because we LOVE it!
I just have a nice attachment on my vac that helps me easily get all those cob webs and nasties up high on my ceilings and walls. And WOW did they need it!!