annlaura Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I need to cook up a bunch of food to take to my parents. My mother has no appetite and nothing tastes good because of her chemo, but she needs to eat. She doesn't have the energy to stand over the stove to cook pasta, even. My father is doing the best he can, but isn't a cook, and has to leave the house sometimes. So I'm trying to come up with ideas of simple to reheat, simple to eat foods I can stock their freezer with. I have some ideas for soups, and both traditional and white chili. I think I will make meatloves in a muffin tin and put them in a container with a serving of mashed potatoes. Meatballs freeze well, but what to put with them? I'll probably make them and some pasta sauce, because my father can make pasta. But if anyone can think of something to make a little meal out of meatballs, that would be great. Other ideas that could be put in little containers to quickly reheat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Omelets frozen in individual baggies. They reheat quickly in the microwave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I need to cook up a bunch of food to take to my parents. My mother has no appetite and nothing tastes good because of her chemo, but she needs to eat. She doesn't have the energy to stand over the stove to cook pasta, even. My father is doing the best he can, but isn't a cook, and has to leave the house sometimes. So I'm trying to come up with ideas of simple to reheat, simple to eat foods I can stock their freezer with. I have some ideas for soups, and both traditional and white chili. I think I will make meatloves in a muffin tin and put them in a container with a serving of mashed potatoes. Meatballs freeze well, but what to put with them? I'll probably make them and some pasta sauce, because my father can make pasta. But if anyone can think of something to make a little meal out of meatballs, that would be great. Other ideas that could be put in little containers to quickly reheat? Meatball subs? Heat meatballs in sauce,put them on a hoagie roll, and top with cheese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 How about a swedish meatball kind of meal. Sourcream based sauce and noodles. Or BBQ sauce and a rice maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 What about mini-meatloaves? I've seen a lot of nice sounding OAMC recipes with several variations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Sauced pasta dishes like spaghetti or beef stroganoff freeze well and microwave easily. Use the 1qt freezer bags for two servings or the smaller sandwich size ones for a single. Same thing with rice dishes - mix in the sauce and some veggies and freeze. Cheesy broccoli casserole would be another good choice. Burritos freeze up well -breakfast ones with eggs or regular ones with beans and rice. Tuna or chicken salad freezes nicely - I have used an ice cream scoop to make one-serving balls and freeze on a cookie sheet, then transfer to bags. Hamburger patties - cook them and then freeze so that they can be warmed up in the microwave. Same thing with sausage patties. You can make up breakfast sandwiches on english muffins or biscuits and freeze those (cooked eggs freeze nicely!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 And while I'm on a roll..... Most mexican food can be cooked in advance and frozen. Have them keep a package of tortillas in the fridge (lasts for weeks!) and freeze up taco or burrito fillings or fajitas. Macaroni and cheese is a good freezer meal. Stuffed pork chops - the key is to cook the meat thoroughly, let cool and then wrap and freeze 1 per bag. Same with stuffed chicken breasts. BBQ pulled pork or chicken. Stir Fry (meat and veggies). But grilled cheese sandwiches come out mushy. Just so you know.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 We've made calzones before and frozen them. I make my regular pizza crust, stuff them with cheeses & pepperoni but no sauce. Wrap individually in Al foil and then in freezer bags. Take one out and pop in oven. Warm pizza sauce from a jar. I've just discovered empanadas which are a Mexican twist on the calzone idea. I found the premade empanada sheets at our local Mexican grocery store. Stuff them with various things - meat, cheese, maybe potatoes?, vegetables - but not very much - all you need is a tablespoon to fill them, flop one side over and squish edges with a fork. You can either freeze uncooked or cooked. I put an egg wash on them and baked them at 375 for 20 minutes. Easy way to use up just a little turkey leftovers! I make a mexican rollup that I use for appetizers and a light lunch. I often make extras and freeze them. I mix equal parts sour cream and cream cheese, add in some salsa (just a little for taste) and some shredded cheese. Toss in shredded chicken, peppers if you want. Spread on flour tortilla and roll up and then wrap in saran wrap (so you can just pull one out at a time) and place in freezer baggies. I find these very handy for picnic lunches here in TX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I use to cook macaroni noodles, mix in a sauce like a tomato based meat sauce seasoned with either spagehetti seasoning or taco seasoning and then freeze in zipper bags. I would make the bags flat so they microwaved quickly. Macaroni is so much easier to eat than spaghetti noodles and it tastes the same. Best Wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 When my uncle was enduring chemo I sent him soups in ziplock baggies (freeze flat and they can microwave in a bowl) Veggie bf split pea broccoli cheddar lentil chicken veggie chili Also meatloaf can be cooked in muffin tins for smaller servings (but I own a lot of the separated -into three tupperware dishes so I made whole meals) pulled pork sandwiches (make lots of pulled pork and freeze into smaller ziplock bags) ginger/apple pork loin I did this for a long time with him, but all food was terrible to him so after a while I just made what he would eat -- and although this is gross, but somethings were better than others coming back up. Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 These are great ideas, everyone. Thank you! For some reason, I thought pasta didn't reheat well. And macaroni instead of spaghetti is a good idea. Ok. This helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Lara, thanks! I think the soups will be best for my mom, too. I want to offer some variety, and some things my dad will appreciate too. I forgot about the coming back up part. Good to keep in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 These are great ideas, everyone. Thank you! For some reason, I thought pasta didn't reheat well. And macaroni instead of spaghetti is a good idea. Ok. This helps. Pasta reheats very well . . .just slghtly undercook the noodles when you make the dish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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