Menu Staples – Make Ahead Foods for the Week
Let’s start a list for BluOrchid 
and for all of us, really. Foods that we make ahead or prep for the week in order to simplify our cooking and prep for the rest of the week.
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My Basics:
1. One whole package of bacon, cooked in the oven, drained then stored in a big ziploc baggie.
2. 6 – 8 hardboiled eggs. Eat them as is, make eggs salad, slice one over a salad, add to tuna salad, devil them, pickle some, etc…
3. Cheesecake. Freeze some slices for anytime, the rest becomes breakfast or dessert.
4. Salmon – I buy a filet, slice it into portions, freeze them on a cookie sheet, then store them in a baggie in the freezer. Put a frozen filet on a sheet of foil, add some olive oil, butter, dill and lemon – make a pouch out of the foil and pop into the oven for 20 mins at 375. DINNER!
5. Smoked Tuna Dip – A BIG can of tuna, softened cream cheese (about half the amount of the tuna) and drops of liquid smoke to taste. Serve with pork rinds for dipping, top with jalepeno slices. YUM! (And I hate pork rinds, but this is just too good…)
6. Sausage Links – cook up a package of these and you can grab a link when you need a little something, have them for breakfast, cut up and add them to scrambled eggs…
A little prep one day a week goes a long way towards making the rest of my week that much easier.
Hope this helps…add yours!
Visitor Says:
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
C’mon! You mean I’m the only one who preps food for the whole week? Let’s go people…yer slackin’….
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I cook up 6 chicken breast and make my sauces that I put on top of them. My fave is my Alfredo Pesto sauce. It is just a can of Alfredo sauce and a package of Pesto. YUM!
I buy hamburgers that are already shaped and all I have to do is throw them on the frying pan and they are done in 10 mins
I make a huge amount of ranch dressing now.
I share a fridge with 4 other girls…they hate it when I cook!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Each Sunday I:
Make big bowl of tuna salad (tuna, mayo, celery, onion, salt, pepper)
Make big bowl of chicken salad (same as above, just use chicken)
Boil up 12 eggs
Grill about 6 hamburger patties
Make SF jello
Fry up a package of bacon
This way I can put together lunches and/or dinners without even thinking about it. Saves time and money!
Every few weeks I’ll bake one or two quiches.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I cooked a whole turkey breast yesterday. Had for dinner and took all meat off the bone and will have with salad, in gravy tonight, and turkey salad tomorrow.
I also will cook up 1 lb bacon, keep in fridge and take a few slices here and there.
I also made quacamole for a few days – gets watery after 3 days.
I will make egg salad (12 eggs, 3 tbls mayo, celery, salt & pepper) to have with my greens.
I will make a roast on Weds/Thurs – - that will last for 3 days.
I made a box of Atkins Muffins on Saturday – froze them in zip-loc – use as needed.
I do a lot of ahead preparing since I work 9 hrs a day and need to have food on hand to take to work and for lunches.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I’m so bad about this…. but here’s what little I do sometimes:
grill a bunch of chicken breasts on the george forman grill and freeze in individual freezer bags for lunches
boil up a bunch of eggs
buy bags of salad
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Every little thing we do helps!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I don’t always prep, I know I’m bad
But when I do, it’s 2lbs of bacon, a dozen hard boiled eggs, breakfast "cupcakes". Breakfast is the hardest for me. Always fix more at dinner tho for leftovers for lunch.
Bye the way beachgirl, great new pic!!! You look awesome!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I make a big batch of spicy sausage balls (makes about 60 balls)… freeze half and bake the other half when needed… 4 are a serving (about 2g carbs), and a nice, filling snack, and heat up in 30 seconds in the microwave.
We buy a head of lettuce, wash it up and shred it (do it by hand so the edges don’t brown)… that way we only need to grab a handful for a quick salad. We pre-shred carrots, cheese and radishes too.
We keep cut up cauliflower and celery in the fridge for quick snacks, as well.
I started buying the pre-formed ground sirloin patties and salmon fillets at Sam’s… we can have hamburgers on the GForeman grill in 10 minutes or so… ditto with the salmon.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Tuna salad!
It’s my staple for every snack! Tuna, onion, celery, mayo and a little dill. Pepper and sometimes a chopped pickle. I scoop it up on celery sticks.
Grilled chicken "bites" — basically chicken pieces grilled on skewers and removed for bite-size snacks during the week.
I also shop ahead… like I know I want tuna on my green salad at lunch, but I don’t want to open a smelly can. So I buy my salad greens, divvy them up into 5 ziploc baggies and then buy 5 vacuum-pack thingies of tuna for the week. That’s five lunches, if you add some ranch and some bacon bits.
I buy a green and a red pepper and cut into pieces each sunday. I snack on that instead of nuts.
Avocados… I go to the Mexican market in my neighborhood for the very small Haas avocados… I buy two ripe ones, two semi-ripes, and two greens. That way I can have one a day or one every other day. I start ripe and work my way down.
Great topic! Thanks for the ideas everyone!
December 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Beachgirl… great idea about the smoked tuna. I don’t like seafood of any kind, but I force myself to eat Tuna salad. I’ll bet this is alot more palatable for me. Also … I’m shocked that cheesecake was #3 on your list … not #1
For me …
quiche (crustless, of course)
"fried" chicken – with pork rind/parmesean breading (eat it cold with mayo/dijon combo or hot with anything)
turkey salad (like tuna salad, but with turkey)
hard boiled eggs
steak – whatever is on sale. I let it "age" in the fridge for 2-3 days, then marinate it for 24 hours, then use the Foreman grill until rare. I slice it as needed, and eat it cold (on salads or as a snack). I can also pack it with an ice-pack for "on the road" meals.