When you have a recipe like this one by your side, there is no need for takeout. Sometimes, just a little prep is all it takes for the perfect freezer-friendly meal. 04 of 30 Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce Taste of Home is America's #1 cooking magazine. That way, the pies will be able to cook through without burning the crust. Then use the overhangs to lift the casserole out of the dish in one piece. Corn, tomatoes, green chiles this tangy, make-ahead mac and cheese has so much flavor. 2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. You can also freeze zucchini for all of your favorite zucchini recipes. But we dont always have the time or energy to go all-in on a lengthy kitchen project when it comes to .css-1me6ynq{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#125C68;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#125C68;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-1me6ynq:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:#595959;}cooking dinner or breakfast. There are many ways to cook in large quantities while still offering the possibility of personalizing each serving. Stow a few bags of this pre-assembled meal in the freezer to keep on hand for busy nights. Finally, a freezer make-ahead meal that's ready in literally minutes, all thanks to your microwave! This flavorful salad is made with crunchy cucumbers, fresh cherry tomatoes and a bright lemon dressing. Cooking blogs are another great resource. This veggie-packed slow cooker chili is easy to make in multiple batches. Submit your question or comment below. We recommend our users to update the browser. For oven-baked dishes, the recipe will often include a way to tell whether its finished, either by the internal temperature (using a food thermometer), a knife test (poking a knife into the center of the dish and seeing if it comes out clean), or a certain appearance (browned on the edges and bubbling in the middle, etc.). To reheat, simply remove foil and microwave until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Try out these delicious and easy recipes! What are freezer meals? 9/14/2020 | By Seniors Guide Staff It can be difficult to find the desire or motivation to cook when you live on your own. Tips for Make-Ahead Meals for Seniors - Home Care in San Francisco by As for casseroles, divide our recipes up and put into loaf pans (9 inch pans) to make about 2-3 servings. Hide Filters 0 applied. Pasta with Broccoli-Spinach Butter. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Have leftover pasta? Now imagine how your loved one must feel, especially if they live alone. Jonny Valiant; Food styling by Frances Boswell; Prop styling by Erin Swift, Christ Court; Food stylist: Justine Poole; Prop stylist: Lucy Tweet, Photo credit: Chris Court; Food stylist; Justine Poole; Prop stylist: Lucy Tweed, 60 Easy July 4th Recipes for a Tasty Celebration. For main dish and side dish recipes, single-serving-storage can be a little more complicated. Pre-portioned meals will allow your loved one to pick and choose from the freezer and have a healthy meal ready in no time. Luckily our Test Kitchen has a few tricks that theyve learned over the years. I made notes below for you. Weve got recipes for all your favorites like breakfast casseroles, meatballs, chicken pot pie, stuffed shells and more. Get the Chickpea Salad with Smashed Cucumbers recipe. A good way to figure out whether a food is a whole food is where you found it in the grocery store. Listen: We love cooking (obviously). The sauce is a guaranteed kid-pleaser: Rich, sweet and low on spice and tang. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Long simmering makes this tough cut turn tender and yielding. Karen Johnson, Bakersfield, California. Best of all, reheating them is a breeze; just microwave for 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos. Performance & security by Cloudflare. 22 Make-Ahead Freezer Meals | Make-Ahead Meal Ideas - Food Network From slow cooker chicken burrito bowls to red lentil soup to juicy boneless chicken thighs, these are our 18 most popular make-ahead meals. In an ideal scenario, you can recruit your loved one to help. To reheat, remove the plastic (not the foil) and heat in a 350F oven for 45 minutes, then uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes until crust is crisp. Add this to your meal plan for next Monday because the beauty of brisket is that it is even better when made ahead of time. Frankly, there is a reason for that. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat, covered, on medium, adding more water or chicken broth if it seems too thick. 40 Delicious, Soft Food Recipes for the Elderly - Seniorly The advantages of using mason jars are their convenience, durability, and reusability. Before you began to make your freezer meals you will need a couple of things. We recommend our users to update the browser. Rees easy breakfast casserole can stay in the freezer for up to two months so make one (or two!) The advantage to using these types of recipes is that they often include specific reheating instructions so that you can avoid the testing phase: This blog includes recipes that, once frozen, are ready to be tossed in the slow cooker, baked, grilled, heated on the stovetop, or microwaved. Pollys Signature Taco Soup (p. 209) freeze in individual portions, thaw, and warm up, Step-by-Step instructions & video tutorial, Serving suggestions & dietary substitutions & more. Food-borne illness can be life-threatening for seniors. Spring for the bigger package and slow cook a big batch of white chicken chili or chicken noodle soup to freeze. Drew Anne Salvatore is the Senior Food Editor in the Hearst Lifestyle Group, whipping up tasty food stories across Good Housekeeping, Womans Day, Womens Health, and Prevention magazines. Quartering the cauliflower, rather than cutting it into florets, allows this vegetarian meal to simmer all day in the slow cooker without it becoming mush. Nicole is the Content Director of TMB's Strategy and Performance team. You can test out how long it takes a cup to reheat by doing a trial run at your house. Having just a couple of pre-prepped or partially prepped meals can be a lifesaver for a quick, weeknight meal for the family. Or, it lasts for up to a week in the fridge after baking, so you can warm up a slice each morning! Your IP: Jan Bartley, Evergreen, North Carolina. Freezer Breakfast Panini. Signature spicy, smoky, sweet chili: This crockpot meal is easy to make and freeze. Spoon the food up to the top of each tin, place the tray on a level surface in the freezer, and let them solidify over night. Get the Recipe: Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgepeth. Once you finish cooking, there are a few options. You can easily make two of these moist chocolate and banana cakes and then freeze one, so you'll have it on hand next time a friend drops by. Due to busy schedules, it is already difficult for one to look after the senior. By making big batch meals or make-ahead freezer meals, you can help your loved one have healthy, tasty food ready for weeks to come! They can also be a boon to your budget, as you wont be as tempted to order in. That doesnt have to be the case! Nutrition is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle, which is why make-ahead meals for seniors are a great idea. She regularly contributes to Cosmopolitan, Womans Day, Good Housekeeping, and YouGov, among other publications. It won't get soggy in the fridge, so you could definitely meal-prep this one. Instant Pot Weeknight Chicken and Rice Burrito Bowls, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Oven. A common question we get about freezer cooking is, What are some easy freezer meals for just one or two people? Weve compiled a fabulous collection of make-ahead recipe ideas that work to individually prep ahead, package, and freeze for one or two people. Taco Chicken Bowls. 1. Boneless chicken thighs are a breeze to cook in the oven, and it's just as easy to prep several pounds as it is one. 1 can of condensed tomato soup 1 1/2 cups of egg noodles (feel free to add more noodles!) Chock-full of poultry, potatoes, peas and corn, this recipe for easy chicken pot pie makes two golden pies, so you can serve one at supper and save the other in the freezer for a busy night. Whatever their response, try to find a similar healthy version of the recipe online. Cheesecake is one of our favorite make-ahead desserts: Unlike pies or cakes, this fridge-friendly recipe wont get stale or soggy as it sits. Drain off fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons. The easy way and most affordable pans do not come with compartments, but if you like, you can craft simple food partitions by coving strips of cardboard . As co-founder of Thriving Home, Pollys passionate about helping busy parents get dinner on the table. These can also be a great entry point to the world of meal prepping. And best of all, it keeps for days and it's just as delicious eaten straight from the fridge as it is warm. On the following slides, you'll find some amazing make-ahead meal ideas, but if you really want to become a meal prepping pro, check out Good Housekeeping's Easy Meal Prep cookbook. We skip the pasta but keep all the iconic flavors. You can even indulge your loved ones sweet tooth with recipes like Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, that replaces butter with heart healthy olive oil, Soft Baked Vegan Sugar Cookies with Cashew Icing, that uses a mixture of all-purpose flour and almond flour to give the dough a nutritional boost, or even Walnut Pear Crisp, that has a topping of rolled oats, walnuts, and a bit of brown sugar to draw out the flavors of the naturally-sweet fruit underneath. RELATED: 60 Incredible Brunch Recipes to Try This Weekend. As we move into fall, this is a make-ahead favorite you will definitely want to cozy up with. It doesnt hurt that this one has a buttery gingersnap crust, too. This recipe tops the list. Nutrition and Make-Ahead Meals for Seniors - 2nd Family Don't go out to get your burrito bowl fix. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat, covered, on medium, while your pasta cooks. Pull out your biggest pot and get ready to make a mess of chili. As we age, our metabolism slows and fewer calories are needed to stay healthy. Freeze up to three months, then thaw in the refrigerate overnight before heating up on the stovetop. You get more time to spend on weekdays doing whatever you want (i.e., not doing tons of dishes!). Here are some of our favorite mason jar meals to meal prep for seniors. Read my tips here. For best results, we like to dress it right before serving. From slow cooker chicken burrito bowls to red lentil soup to juicy boneless chicken thighs, these are our 18 most popular make-ahead meals. Egg muffins with kale, roasted red peppers, and feta cheese: These simple egg cups are a delicious source of protein that can be turned in to a meal any time of day. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), Contest-Winning Broccoli Chicken Casserole, Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information. While your hands are already messy, mix up a big batch of these make-ahead meatballs, then cook them and freeze up to two months. First, serve yourself a plate and enjoy it while its fresh! Freeze this stew for up to three months. When ready to eat, bake from frozen at 350F for 45 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown. Get the Slow Cooker Chicken Pozole Verde recipe. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks. Get the Chickpea Pasta Salad in a Jar recipe. Soups and Stews Soups and stews are a great option for caregivers looking for healthy meal options. Get the Raisin-Walnut Coffee Cake recipe . Heres everything you should know when freezing soup! Time for a freezer fiesta! Be sure to label the container with the name of the food, the date it was prepared, and the cooking instructions (coming up) with a sharpie and freezer tape for easy identification and preparation. Top 10 Freezer Meals - Budget Bytes Cook from frozen at 425F until warm and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Please read our disclosure policy. We then spooned it into the containers to freeze! 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A big batch of chicken soup is the comfort that exhausted new parents need. Taste of Home is America's #1 cooking magazine. Fruits and vegetables, healthy lean meats, and whole wheat bread are usually found along the edges, while junk food like chips, cookies, and soda is found within the inner aisles. Meal Prep Ideas For Seniors: Healthy Home Meals - Senior Safety Advice She oversees the brand's shopping and trend editorial teams and assists with content planning across Taste of Home, Family Handyman, Reader's Digest, The Healthy and Birds & Blooms. Get the Recipe: 150 Easy Freezer Meals You Can Make Ahead | Taste of Home While the noodles are boiling, heat up tomato soup in a medium pot. You may be thinking that your loved one will tire of eating the same thing every day. Not only has each recipe been vetted and approved by the experts in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, but we're also offering tips and techniques to help you flawlessly execute batch-cooking, freeze-ahead meals, ready-to-serve dinners and grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches. When thinking about make-ahead meals for seniors, be thinking about specific dietary needs and how best to accommodate taste and preferences. Note that the baking time will be less, since its a smaller amount, so keep a close eye on it. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Then, thaw and warm up. .css-2ahkpt{display:block;font-family:Brandon,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-2ahkpt:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-2ahkpt{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-2ahkpt{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-2ahkpt{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}60 Easy July 4th Recipes for a Tasty Celebration, 20 Best 4th of July Menu Ideas for Every Crowd, 71 Easy Picnic Food Ideas Everyone Will Enjoy, 40 Best Gifts for People Who Love to Grill, 34 Smoothie Recipes for a Healthier Morning, 80 Easy Easter Desserts for a Sweet Holiday. Stay tuned next week for a primer on Food Safety. 8 cups cooked rice. Bolognese is simmered low and slow to create a thick and hearty, sauce, so the next time you slave over a pot, make it a double (or triple!) Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Casseroles. RELATED: 30 Easy Egg Recipes That Every Home Cook Can Master. Filled with chicken, rice, black beans, corn, and salsa, these burrito bowls come together quickly with an Instant Pot. Cooking for someone else is much more pleasant when you reward yourself for your hard work, plus sampling the dish ensures that its something your loved one will like. Freeze it until firm on a sheet tray, then wrap in plastic and foil.