My friends Nicole and Tim (hey guys!!) just had a baby last week so I decided it was a great time to test out some recipes and also give my friends a break during the first few days of parenthood. To be honest...it was kind of an evil plan. I had never tested these recipes so I wasn't sure if they would work out. I had my fingers crossed that they wouldn't disown me for making them cruddy food during their moment of weakness. The good news is that I heard from Nicole today and she said the food has been great. A real lifesaver. PHEW!!!!
My new cookbook Robin Rescues Dinner has some great make ahead meal ideas. I decided on the artichoke manicotti with pesto cream sauce, mojito chicken, 3-onion soup and also threw in my own recipe for meat lasagna.
I purchased some oven safe food containers from the dollar store (3 pack for $1) to package the food and make them super easy to store. The foil containers can just be popped in the oven and the plastic soup ones are microwave safe.
All in all it took me a tad over 2 hours to make 2 weeks worth of dinners. I gave 10 to my friends and kept a few for myself. Not bad! Once cool I threw them in the freezer. They can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
In the next few posts i'll spell out the recipes. Hope you will try them! I love the idea of stocking up the freezer. Even the most passionate cook wants the day off every once in a while.
Oh, can't wait to see the artichoke manicotti. Sounds fabulous.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! Your friends are lucky to have a well-stocked freezer and more time on their hands! And congrats to you :)
ReplyDeleteI loooooooovet his idea...I can hardly wait to read the recipes. Please be detailed when telling us how to store them and reheat them. I can be totally dense and sometimes think I won't "do it right"...oh, and looking forward to meeting you Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the recipe post. I love the idea of freezer meals, but have never had a recipe to use.
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