foods that you always have around?

 I was wondering what are everyones staple foods, food that you always have in the fridge. I'm looking for make ahead meal ideas that save well and are cheap-ish to make, just to get me out of my little slump

I make meatloaf, chili, spagetti sauce with ground beef, soups and stews and freeze them either in large bags for the whole family or smaller bags for just me.  I am sick and tired of tuna, deli meat, cheese and eggs.  Best of luck to ya! :)

Hi there

I'm like Trudy, I have lots of stuff frozen that I make.
I also have cheese, turkey pepperettes and yogurt in the fridge all the time

take care

I pretty much eat the same thing every day. I have chicken A LOT! I cook a big batch in the slow cooker on Sunday, portion it out & freeze them. I also make meatballs and burgers on Sunday - portioned in 1.5oz and freeze in 2s so I get a 3oz portion per meal.

Snacks are always the same : yogurt & fruit, tuna (those small flavored tins), cheese, salami slices (hot), and I always have protein bars handy.

I tend to make freezer meals of whatever I have for dinner. Then I have options for frozen meals for lunch without having the same thing several times in a row or for times when I don't feel like making dinner. One of my favourites is lasagna cupcakes. I make a big batch of them, like 24 cupcakes at a time, freeze them individually and pull out one whenever I feel like it and have that with a bit of green salad. 

I find the small ziplock containers work perfectly for freezing and hold the right size portions.

I also found this website recently that explains how to do make ahead crockpot meals. You buy the food in bulk, prepare freezer bags and a take out a bag and put it in the crock pot in the morning. She made hers for two people, but you could scale up for a whole family or down if it's just you. I haven't tried her recipes yet but they are bookmarked for me to try soon. http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker-meals.html

Hope these ideas help!

I usually have lasagna cupcakes in the freezer and homemade soup both in the freezer and fridge usually.  Often I have homemade chicken/turkey meatballs in the freezer as well.  I often have egg salad, quinoa salad and an assortment of cheeses.

What are these lasagna bites everyone is talking about? Where would one find a recipe for that?

Sounds delish!!

Lisi :)

Click the link in my siggy line and join our recipe forum then go to discussions and it's posted under the chicken/turkey recipes section.

Thank you so much!

I also buy the italian meatballs at M&M Meatshop.  For work I take a glass dish, put my serving of meatballs in it and squirt a bit of BBQ sauce on it.  Zap it in the microwave for lunch. 

I sometimes buy the Broccoli Slaw (pre-cut and packaged) and add some dressing to it and there is a protein and veggie serving.

Judy