"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:Hi, Gang,
I'm going into the hospital for surgery next week. I'll be gone for at
least an overnight, and out of commission for a few days after that. I
want to leave frozen meals for James so that he doesn't end up ordering
pizza the whole time I'm gone. There's nothing wrong with pizza; he just
ends up eating pizza and hot dogs for every meal if I am not home to cook
and there's nothing easy in the house. He's diabetic, and it's best if he
eats more varied and wholesome foods, in general. He prefers it, too. And
I like cooking for him, and for the rest of my family and friends.
What are you favorite freezable meals? Ideally, not hugely high in fat,
though that's not the most important thing. Most important things are that
it just has to be popped into the oven, and it's tasty. Cheap would be a
bonus, too, as we're kind of strapped, and with a 60/40 insurance plan,
that's not going to change any time soon. Don't get me started on the
state of health insurance in this country. *deep breaths*
Anyway.
Yesterday, we had a chicken enchilada casserole from that batch I made the
other week, but those are gone now, so I want to put in at least a couple
things to tide the family over while I'm on my back (and not in that nice
way that we like).
Thanks in advance for your help!
I sometimes cook up plain chicken breasts for my daughter, seasoning them
with only salt, pepper and parsley. That way they can be added to a variety
of foods and seasoned as need be. A quick meal for her would be a chicken
breast, rice (I buy precooked at Trader Joe's) and a vegetable. But being
as he is diabetic, he may not be able to do the rice.
You could do soups or stews. Hamburger stew is inexpensive. And you can
vary the vegetables depending on how many carbs he can eat.
Chili is another dish that freezes well. With or without beans. One really
quick vegetarian recipe is to take three cans of beans (different kinds) one
can of corn and a large jar of salsa. Mix them together and heat through.
Add cooked meat to this if you want it less carby. The original recipe was
served over a bed of rice but since I'm diabetic too, I don't eat the rice.
Top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole and chopped fresh veggies and herbs
like cilantro, onion, tomato, etc. Garnish with chips if desired.
I went through a taco salad phase until I burned myself out on them. Cooked
up a bunch of ground beef with plenty of chili powder, chopped onions and
peppers. Portioned it out into individual servings and put it in the
freezer. You could also do ground turkey or diced chicken if you prefer.
Come serving time, put the meat in a large bowl and nuke it till hot. Then
add whatever toppings you like. Obviously the meat will be on the bottom of
the bowl and the rest on top of it. Sort of upside down but it works. Add
cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, sour cream, guacamole, salsa,
beans, chips, etc. Makes a super quick and healthy meal.
If you have microwavable dishes that are freezer safe, you could do single
serve casseroles, like tuna and noodles or cottage pie. With the cottage
pie, use meat, gravy and non starchy vegetables on the bottom layer. The
top layer of mashed potatoes can be as thin or as thick as you like.
It's not frozen, but hummus makes a good meal. I eat it quite a lot. A few
wedges of pita, flat bread or crackers, some olives and plenty of raw
veggies.
You might also do up a few large meal type salads before you go. These will
keep for a few days. Include things like wedges of hard boiled egg, chopped
meats and cheeses and maybe a few nuts for protein.
Or you could just have things prepared in the fridge. My husband is a real
lazy bones and can't be bothered to heat something up let alone cut it up.
I'll boil a whole carton of eggs at a time, labeling it "hard boiled". I'll
get a large chunk of cheese and cut it into cubes. Cut up raw veggies and
put them in a container. Stuff like that.
