When life gets busy, it helps to have a make-ahead meal (or two!) in the fridge or freezer that you can quickly heat and eat without much trouble. Other requirements? It should be tasty, not take too long to prepare, and fill you up when you need it most!
Here are some of our must-try make-ahead meals that are recommended by our home assistants:
Chickpea Pasta Salad in a Jar – simple, yet satisfying, and doesn’t get soggy!
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 very small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 c. canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. kalamata olives, halved
1 c. cooked spiral pasta
1 1/2 c. baby arugula, chopped
2 tbsp. crumbled feta
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a 1-quart jar, shake onion, red wine vinegar, and oil, and a pinch each salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and gently shake to coat.
2. Top with tomatoes, olives, pasta, arugula, and feta. When ready to serve, turn upside down and let sit for 2 minutes for the dressing to run over the rest of the ingredients.
Chicken Quinoa Bowls – both nutritious and delicious. The best part? Prepare in advance, and then heat up to go!
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken breast
Jarred pesto (or use fresh!)
Broccoli
Quinoa
Greens
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Butter
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat to 400 degrees. Dice your head of broccoli into florets and set aside. Dice the chicken breast into bite size pieces.
2. Place the broccoli florets on a large sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes – flipping halfway.
3. Start making the quinoa. Place the quinoa and water in a pot and let it come to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and let it go for about 12-15 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, add about 1 tbsp of salted butter and salt and pepper if desired and set it aside.
4. While the broccoli and quinoa are cooking – heat a skillet on medium heat with olive oil. Let it get hot and then add in the chicken. Add a large pinch of salt, a crack of black pepper and some garlic powder if desired. 5. Cook until done, about 6-8 minutes.
6. When the chicken is done, add in about 2 tablespoons of pesto. Mix together. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
7. Assemble the bowls! Layer spinach first, add quinoa, roasted broccoli and then chicken. Add more pesto on top of chicken if desired.
Very Berry Quinoa Muffins – no need for any post-sweet treat guilt with these healthy breakfast muffins.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 c. almond flour 1/4 c. white quinoa (raw)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 c. plain full-fat yogurt
1/4 c. whole milk
1/3 c. honey
2 6-oz containers small raspberries
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.
2. In large bowl, whisk together flours, quinoa, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
3. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk, and honey. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined, then stir in raspberries.
4. Divide batter among muffin-pan cups and bake until toothpick inserted into centers of muffins comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Loaded Sweet Potatoes – bake a batch of sweet potatoes ahead of time, and when you’re ready to eat them, simply reheat and stuff full of healthy goodies!
INGREDIENTS:
2 large Sweet Potatoes
4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
6-8 slices Bacon
3 tablespoons Whole Milk
1 cup Shredded Cheese
3 Green Onions, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Sour Cream, if desired
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Scrub sweet potato skins to clean and pat dry.
3. Poke holes into the sweet potatoes and place them on a foil-lined {and greased} baking sheet. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.
4. While the sweet potatoes are baking, cook slices of bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel, then crumble.
5. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and cool until you can handle them in your hands. Cut them in half, lengthwise and scoop out most the flesh into a bowl, leaving about ¼ inch of flesh in the skin.
6. Brush the sweet potato skins with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place them back on the baking sheet skin side down and bake for 10 minutes to get them a little crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle as before.
7. Mash the sweet potato flesh with a fork until smooth and mix in the cream. Add filling to skins, then top with bacon and cheese. Broil the skins until cheese has melted, about 3 minutes.
8. Top with bacon and sour cream. Serve warm.
Creamy Chicken Potpies – the best thing about potpies (other than their delicious taste) is that you can assemble them, and pop in the freezer for when making a fresh dinner is simply a ‘no.’
INGREDIENTS:
For Crust:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut up and cold
1/4 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese Pinch kosher salt
For Filling:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Pepper
3 medium carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small fennel bulb, quartered, cored and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
1 parsnip, peeled and sliced
1/4 inch thick 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. dry sherry
4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. whole milk
4 c. shredded cooked chicken, preferably dark meat
3/4 c. frozen peas
3 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 large egg
DIRECTIONS:
1. Make crust: In food processor, combine flour, butter, Parmesan and salt. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together and forms a ball. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and shape into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
2. Make filling: In Dutch oven, melt butter on medium-high. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add carrots, fennel and parsnip and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook 1 minute.
3. Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, 5 minutes. Add sherry and cook, scraping up any browned bits. When liquid has almost evaporated, stir in broth and then milk. Cook until mixture is thickened and coats back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in chicken, peas and herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 6 ramekins or one 9-by 13-inch baking dish with oil.
5. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 1/4-inch-thick rectangle about 15 inch- by 11 inch. If using individual ramekins, cut 6 circles 1 inch larger in circumference than ramekins.
6. Transfer filling to baking dish(es), lay dough over filling and trim to 1/2 inch from edge of dish(es). Fold overhang under to create a lip and crimp as desired. Cut 1-inch slit in top crust (6 slits for large pie). Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over crust.
7. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour for large pie, 45 minutes for small pies.