Cook on Sunday

65bl

This is probably a niave question but i'll ask anyway. I can cook a resaonable stew, curry, bolanegese (spelling?) etc. Now work circumstances mean i will be on weird hours and could be home anytime between 2pm & 8pm with hungry teenager waiting to greet me. Mad but thats the way at the moment.
My question is ...... If i cook a curry, stew & bolanegese on Sunday, will they keep safely in the fridge for the week. I dont want to get into a situation where we start living on takeaways and this could provide a decent meal within half an hour of getting in. I dont really want to freeze meals because that would mean planning to defrost one the night before and life is just a bit too choatic at the moment.
Any advice

regards

bl

Rosy Posy

I would imagine that these would keep safely for three to five days, depending what's in them. Where you want to be careful is with reheating things more than once. Also stay away from chicken and fish. What about making a big batch of vegetarian soup or dahl which would last well if you only heated up what you were going to eat? Or, if your teenager is old enough to be left alone at home then maybe they are old enough to start learning a few simple recipes so they won't starve? This is how I first started experimenting with cooking- being too hungry to wait for my parents to get off work- and I haven't looked back. Its a skill that everyone should have but a lot of children are leaving home without.

clappyhappy

I would not keep the mentioned food in the fridge for a week,won't you have to cook fresh rice or pasta anyway on the day. Personally I would freeze the food,take it out on sat morning and keep in fridge,would only take less than a minute to take out.better option than risking food poisoning,good luck!!! ;-)

clappyhappy

Also if you have a teenager then they should have some basic cooking skills by now,get them involved its a lesson for life and a great way to bond.!!!

namurt

I know you said you don't want to freeze meals because it would mean planning ahead to defrost them and I don't know if this is against food safety rules or something but I regularly cook meals, freeze them and then just heat them straight from frozen...it hasn't made me sick yet.

What about a slow cooker OP? Can set it going on low when you leave for work, nice stew ready for your teenager for dinner, and can be reheated easily.

huskerdu

namurt wrote: »

I know you said you don't want to freeze meals because it would mean planning ahead to defrost them and I don't know if this is against food safety rules or something but I regularly cook meals, freeze them and then just heat them straight from frozen...it hasn't made me sick yet.

I also would recommend freezing if it is going to more than 3 days between cooking and using.

Stews defrost very easily because they have lots of liquid in them.

Do you have a microwave ? Defrost the stew/casserole for a while in the microwave and then transfer to a pot and simmer slowly for 15 minutes.

If not, put the frozen block of stew in a pot with a little bit of hot water and put the heat on low. As it begins to thaw, break it up, until there is enough liquid to allow it to simmer. Simmer it for about 20 minutes and check that the pieces of meat are hot throughout.

I don't know why someone suggested staying away from chicken.
Stews and casseroles made with chicken are very easy to reheat or freeze.

I use thighs and legs as breast of chicken can dry out if cooked for too long.