Make Ahead Meals

Make ahead meals are prepared ahead when you have time. When my kids were toddlers and small babies I would always prepare dinner in the morning. The baby would have a morning nap and my kids were just in better moods and happy to play in the morning hours. I would do all my prep work and make my meals ahead so when dinner came around, and life got more hectic, all I had to do was stick dinner in the oven or do very little work to get dinner on the table. Most salads and side dishes can be prepared ahead or at least partially done, as well.

To plan make ahead meals, start thinking in terms of what can I do know to speed dinner along later. Chop vegetables for a salad, marinade meat, cut up onions or peppers into strips for fajitas. How about grilling or baking your chicken in the morning so you can easily put a chicken salad together at dinnertime? Or you can ground your hamburger for tacos so at dinnertime it just needs warming up and everyone can assemble their own tacos.

5 Make Ahead Meal Ideas

Prepare dinners that you can make now and freeze the other half or an extra for another day.
Try freezer meals and recipes
Select recipes that are easy to make with 6 or less ingredients.
Put together casseroles or soups the night before so all you have to do is bake or warm them up the next day.
Cook something that will give you leftovers creating 2 meals from one dish. If you cook a pot roast in the crock pot one day use the leftover meat to create shredded barbecue sandwiches another day.

A Month's Worth of Meals to Prepare Ahead

All these recipes can be made the night before or in the morning. Covered, placed in the refrigerator and then cooked as directed. Many of these recipes such as sloppy joes or soups can be cooked in the crock pot. Preparing ahead really makes easy meals for later. So try this method in your next meal planning.

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