Make Ahead Tips and Game Plan

• Make extra rice and chicken to use in lunches and another dinner during the week.
• When making the meatloaf, make a triple batch and freeze two meatloaves or use the extra meatloaf mixture to make mini meatloaves.
• Make extra potatoes and let cool for potato salad on Wednesday. Just sauté the veg with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Go crazy it you want with some lemon zest.
• Tuesday’s dinner, make extra pasta and set aside to cool. Use it to make pasta salad for Wednesday’s lunch.
• Wednesday’s dinner can be made ahead and served at room temperature or cold. It is a busy sport’s night in our house so we all eat in pairs rather than a group on this night. Crudités in our house consists of an assortment of cold veg like carrots, celery, black olives, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and yellow pepper sticks, sometimes even jicama.
• Prep the Pork the night before so all you have to do is put in the crock pot in the morning before you leave. Make extra to use for sandwiches on Saturday. Potatoes and carrots steam quickly and easily in the microwave or on the stove right before dinner is served.
• Friday is a nice day to take a break, if you can, let the kids have hot lunch and order in a pizza that night. If that is going overboard, bake up some salmon quick and simple and mash some potatoes. Sautee a mixed veg out of all the leftovers from the week. Friday lunch; keep it simple with tuna fish or pb&j sandwiches.
• Store the leftover bread from dinners during the week in a resealable bag in the fridge or freezer. Use it to make baked eggie toast on Sunday morning.  Baked Eggie toast is the same as French Toast only put it in a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees until fluffy and golden brown.  Delish!
• Burgers come in plenty of varieties: Beef, Turkey, Salmon or Vegetarian. They come pre-made in freezer packages at your local warehouse store. Or make your own from your favorite recipe.
• For easier vegetable prep, buy bags of frozen vegetables that your family likes. The mixed vegetable varieties offer a more diverse assortment at each meal. Plus it is a grab and go solution on busy nights.