So this is officially our last week of summer vacation before B starts Kindergarten and we enter a whole new world of adhering to a school schedule. I’m honestly not sure who is more nervous, me or B – but I’m sure once we get through a couple of weeks we’ll hit a routine. In the meantime, to curtail some of my anxiety, I spent some time this past weekend making a few dishes to stick in my freezer and heat up later. This way if our new routine hits a snag, dinner at least will be covered. At the same time, a very good friend just had a new baby (yay! Congrats MN!) and I was lucky enoughto be a) baby’s first visitor at home and b) the recipient of their CSA vegetables this week. So the next two dinners are a combo of make-ahead meals and various attempts to use up all the yummy fresh corn, tomatoes, cabbage, and mini-eggplants that are in my fridge. In the meantime, I’m always on the look out for more dishes that can be made ahead of time, and reheated easily, so feel free to share them!
1. Tomato Pie with grilled chicken sausage and corn on the cob
This tomato pie, adapted from Simply Recipes, is so super easy to make and is not like anything you’d expect (hint – it’s not a pizza pie!)
2. Pasta with Slow Cooker Eggplant Ragu
This is an easy alternative to spaghetti with meat sauce.
3. Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
This is one of the dishes I made last weekend and froze. I’ll pull it out the night before to defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat it for 45 minutes in the oven.
4. Cabbage, Turkey Kielbasa, and Pierogies
At some point I’d like to branch out on cabbage recipes, but for a busy weeknight this is a quick fix.
5. Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
This will use up the last of the fresh tomatoes and I’ll add the leftover corn too.
6. Fiesta Chicken and Rice Bake
This is the second dinner I made ahead to freeze.
7. Pasta with Tuna and Tomato Sauce
This is pretty much a pantry supper, with the exception of ricotta cheese which is easy to keep around.
8. Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Preserves with Onion Soup Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli
While I love making pork tenderloins in the slow cooker, they’re really easy and quick to make in the oven too. I make it with mustard and whatever preserves we have on hand.
9. Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese
The Ultimate comfort food from Rachael Ray – but I make it with 1/2 the butter, skim milk, 2% cheese and ground turkey so it’s comfort without the guilt. Another make-ahead dinner.
10. Pasta Primavera
In case I have any leftover vegetables, this recipe should do the trick. Use whatever you have about, and in whatever amount you have. It’s very forgiving and delicious.
