8 Make-Ahead Meals I’ve Been Relying On!

I’ve been a little quiet these last few weeks without a lot of new recipes to share, and that’s for a reason. Our family has been busy almost every single night since school started a few weeks ago. I honestly don’t like being this busy (chill nights at home can be so nice!), but I know it’ll be short-lived so I’m trying to roll with it.

Between my kids’ practices and games, my own occasional evening tennis matches, and the random parent meeting/orientation that comes up  … I am currently on a new dinner trend. And that’s no longer getting creative with recipes and experimenting with new ideas (to share on the blog!). It’s instead all about what super easy dinner I can make any time of day that my family can eat whenever they have the chance. Never before have I had a season where I find myself repeatedly making dinner at 4:30 PM (or sometimes even earlier) and then just having to leave for the rest of the night so people can eat when they have a moment.

So today, I thought I’d share a list with some of what I’ve been making and how I’ve been getting homemade dinners to still work, even in the midst of such a busy schedule. (Of course, working from home helps a great deal on the days where I need to get something going really early!). But, no matter how crazy it is for us over the next couple of months, we have continued to stay committed to eating as many real food, wholesome, homemade dinners as possible! That is definitely helped with my sanity a little. Can anyone else relate?

Make these in advance, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge.

Make in advance and good at room temp for a couple of hours.

Can all be made well in advance. All three of these recipes are from my 2nd cookbook, Fast and Fabulous (the blue one).

Assemble the crab cakes in the morning or the night before, and fry them in the pan when ready to eat.

Assemble and bake the casserole in advance and reheat individual portions when ready. This recipe is from my first 100 Days of Real Food cookbook (the white one).

Make and assemble in advance, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge.

Make in advance and reheat individual portions when ready. This recipe is also from my 2nd cookbook, Fast and Fabulous.

Make in advance and reheat individual portions when ready.

Also key right now … leftovers! For leftovers to truly work, only double your family’s most favorite recipes or think of easy ways to reinvent leftovers in order to keep them interesting. What sort of meals do you make on nights when you have no time?