What are your favorite pre-prepared meals?

Rawz

I find it incredibly convenient to have pre-prepared meals ready to go in the fridge or pantry that I can either bake or microwave for later, but come to think of it I don't know many good recipes.

My current favorite is a cold sandwich made by hard-boiling nearly a dozen eggs and mixing with mayo along with varying intensities of Hot Chili Powder, Paprika, and Sriracha sauce. Topped with iceberg lettuce, this is a fairly light tasting sandwich that with the sriracha has a bit of a kick, and the protein-y eggs help keep the munchies from coming back too soon. Throw 6-10 of these in the fridge and not only do I have stress-free breakfast but when I get back from a long night of drinking its nice not having to plan anything. If you don't know what Sriracha sauce is, prepare to discover your new obsession. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huy-Fong-Sriracha-Chilli-Sauce/dp/B002FBD92S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333284809&sr=8-1

Another pre-prepared meal I've been making is breakfast-style burritos. On a skillet, I cook up half/full dozen eggs and wait for those to be just about done, and mix in a heap of shredded cheddar cheese and a fair amount of red peppers. While this is going, rashers or bacon and pork sausages are simmering in oil on another burner (dear god that smell). After the cheese is melted, I use kitchen-scissors to make the rashers and links into pieces and once well mixed, roll into tortillas. This is a nice alternative to the cold-sandwich if I'm feeling something hot and cheesy, and the Sriracha sauce mentioned above goes sooo well with these for a spicy kick.

What are your favorite pre-prepared meals to keep for later?

Acoshla

O/T but you use a lot of eggs! I use 2 hard boiled eggs for a sandwich for myself, you use up to a dozen eggs for sandwiches and/or burritos??

Rawz

I use a normal proportion per sandwich or burrito, but in order to have enough for 6-10 sandwiches or burritos, I usually end up using a bunch of eggs.

livinsane

You've just reminded me of the salad my mother used to make for our school sandwiches. Chop up hard boiled eggs, iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion and mix with mayo and salad cream. To die for I say!

If I boil spuds, I always make sure I have enough for the next day. That way, when I come home from work I can have a quick mashed spud with raw spinach, tomato, cucumber, few kernels of sweetcorn slice of cheddar and a bit of Supervalu luxury coleslaw and Ballymaloe relish on the side. This normally tides me over till real dinner time.

Darkginger

Most meals I make are kept for later, due to my inability to calculate portion size for 2 people There's usually left over dinner available for breakfast the next day - my favourite being cold curry. I like to keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge too - or an egg mayonnaise/spring onion mix, or even a crustless quiche (though have gone off them a bit after eating too many). Shepherd's Pie usually lasts a couple of days, as do lasagne, moussaka and fish pie. Fishcakes are good, if you make too many you can just freeze them - they cook well from frozen. Sheekh kebabs ditto.

Roasting a chicken is good - it can sit in the fridge for a few days for sandwiches etc. Same goes for roast beef, but not so much for lamb or pork, possibly 'cos they're fattier, and the fat congeals when cold, making them less attractive.

Things I'll deliberately make a batch of, rather than just one meal are basic curry sauce (which makes curry-making quick and easy), bolognese sauce (from a Delia recipe that takes around 4 hours to cook, but is well worth the extra time - great flavour, and making a batch means you only have to do it every few weeks), chilli (freezes in portions), and Boston Baked Beans - anything that takes a while to make, really. Then it's just a case of microwaving it from the freezer for a fast meal. Not worth making things ahead if they only take a short while to cook from scratch.