Make Ahead Meals

Are you one of those people who usually have guests dropping by suddenly, that too around the lunch/dinner time? Do you have a bunch of kids at home, whose eating habits are highly unpredictable? If either of the two situations applies to you, then the concept of 'make ahead meals' will sound excellent to you. 'Make ahead meals', as the name suggests, are the meals that can be made in advance and stored in freezer for a long time to come. They can last in the freezer, for a few days to few weeks, without getting spoilt. In the following lines, we have provided some tips on 'make ahead freezer meals'.

Make Ahead Meals Tips

In case of 'make ahead' meals, you need to rely heavily on your freezer. So, make sure that it works perfectly.
Side dishes, entrée's and desserts are amongst the items that can be frozen over a period of time. They can later be reheated and served.
You should always plan the menu for the next week in advance and do the necessary shopping.
Majority of the cooking time is spent in chopping, peeling or dicing ingredients. Doing all this in advance and storing the particular ingredients in freezer will help you put together a meal quickly.
In case of stocks and soups, you can make them in advance and store for future use (at least for a few days).
There are some basic ingredients that form a part of almost every dish, like onions, garlic cloves, ginger, etc. You can chop a few of them and store separately, in zipper-lock plastic bags, in freezer.
Waffles, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and scones are amongst those items that can be stored on a free day and later, used to cook a fast breakfast.
While making pasta sauce, double or triple your recipe. Store the extra sauce in the freezer and use in lasagna, baked ziti or spaghetti, later on.
Food items like pasta, vegetables and rice can be slightly undercooked and frozen for later use. When you reheat them, the cooking process will get complete.
Fill pie tins with rolled-out pastry dough. Now, wrap it properly and store in the freezer for up to one month. Fill and cook them the day before you need them.

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