I am looking for some good big recipes that I can make way in advance and freeze it into lunch size container for work. Work lunch time seems to be the hardest for me. I don't have the time to make lunch for next day...unless in sausage and cheese...or a sandwich.

The sandwich is out of the question and one can only eat cheese and sausage so often. I would love to be able to just cook a huge stock pot full of stew or something like that....maybe beef stroganoff...so all I have to do is pull my lunch out of the freezer the night before.

Any recipe suggestions? Also, has anyone else tried this and how did it work for you?

Thanks everyone!

Linnea

Well I have a veal Strogonoff recipe that I tried the other day. It was quite tasty.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 lb cubed veal
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 sour cream
1/4 cup fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Brown meat in pan for 5 minutes. Add onions and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes.

Add broth, wine, tomato paste. Cover. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes, just long enough to warm up the cream.

Linnea,
I make big batches of stuff all the time, freeze them, and use them for breakfast and lunch. It works great!!!

If you've got some cookbooks around, go through them. You'd be surprised at how many recipes convert over with almost no work. For stews, just eliminate the potatoes,and put in a bit more meat. Cabbage rolls are great, without the rice mixed into the hamburg. If you get hamburg on sale, then it doesn't dent the budget so much.

Sauces can be thickened with cream, but cream doesn't freeze well. It separates, so it would need to be added later. Soups work great. Meatloaf, home made meat balls, it's virtually endless.

Check out the recipe section here on the site. You're bound to find things that will freeze well...with the added bonus that the carb counts are usually included.

Have fun cooking!

Thank you both very much...

I will try that recipe.

As well, I have a really good recipe book at home...I never even thought of converting recipes. What a great idea.

I let you all know if I come across anything worth sharing!

Linnea

Almost any meat or fish dish will work, so long as there are no forbidden ingredients. Especially if it's an old cookbook and not one of the more recent so called "healthy" cookbook.

Unfortunately 3/4 of my cookbook collection is of the lowfat variety...plus about 10 years worth of collected magazines. Most of the recipes are useless, being either low-fat, or full of carbs. I need to have a garage sale

Check my journal to see what I eat, I'm cooking a lot these days. I'll happily provide you with any recipe you want.