Ugh, it has been a rough week with some late nights at work. It is easy to come home and not want to cook. Since we're trying to limit processed foods in our diet, not wanting to cook doesn't leave a lot of options. So after seeing a pin on Pinterest about freezer meals, I thought about having a 'backup' meal ready to go from fridge to oven to table. In fact, I could even call my husband ahead of time and have him put it in the oven and it could be ready by the time I got home (and then we aren't eating after 9pm).
So I thought about what I could make that could sit in the fridge a few days before being completely baked and I think this works for most noodle dishes (just remove any raw eggs from the recipes and make sure to completely cook the meat). I decided to go with the disposable/recyclable tin pans because I didn't want anything to break going from a cold fridge to a hot oven (and my husband doesn't have a good track record when it comes to cooking).
My first go at a make ahead (or fridge-to-oven) meal was a success! I wasn't even home when the mexican stuffed shells were made or even eaten. I say a home cooked meal is definitely better than the Taco Bell run or frozen pizza that would have happened if it was not available. :)
It took about 20 minutes to boil the noodles, brown the ground turkey, cook in the additional ingredients, and stuff the shells. I ran cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking process and let the filling cool down a little. After stuffing the shells and topping with cheese, I covered the tin pan with aluminum foil and wrote the baking instructions on top. So simple! I'm definitely planning to prepare one of these every week for that night that inevitably comes where I just don't want to cook.
What do you do when you don't want to cook?
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