Ideas for meals that can last two or three days

[SeptemberSun01]

What do you like to make that you can eat over a few days? I already do things like cottage pie, chilli and rice etc.

I have a fussy teen at home who doesn’t like eating a meal twice in a row but I find it convenient eg less shopping and cooking and I can personally eat the same meal a few times quite happily.

Looking for ideas, obviously things that keep and heat up easily and also meals that a teen might like as I tend to have a traditional repertoire 😆. Also meals which can be changed up with different veg or potatoes or salad so they are like a completely different meal if that exists!

Mince

Spaghetti Bolognese
Nachos
Chilli

Three meals using one main ingredient but different.

I also do mince in various guises - spag bol, then add beans & chilli to go with rice. What is left goes into a pasta bake or served as loaded fries / wedges.

Chicken thigh or drumstick tray bake. I buy the 2kg pack of thighs from sainsburys and often do 2 flavours with different veg, but cook at the same time.
It depends what flavours you like but one tray could be Spanish inspired and the other peanut satay. Rice, cous cous or quinoa etc to change it up.

So what do you get rid of to accommodate this? The washing machine?

I had a small kitchen once and had to manage without a tumble dryer as I couldn't lose any cupboard space (all cupboards full with things regularly used!) or worksurface. There would definitely not have been room for an under counter freezer - I managed with a fridge and ice box

A freezer could go anywhere in the house. We lived for years with our fridge in the living room so we could have a dishwasher.

Not so much a big spend if bought second hand from FB Marketplace or similar.
There’s only the two off us so I eat (at least) one freeze one with more or less everything cooked from scratch.
I freeze everything in blocks using containers the same size to facilitate neat stacking.

Rumour has it you can make a roast chicken on a Sunday and live off it for the entire week for you, your husband, your child and the neighbours ;)

I would do a huge stew and you can eat it over a few days or a mince based dish that could be day one made into tacos, day two pipe some mash on top for a cottage pie type thing, day three a lasagna that kind of thing. Mainly I do a few days worth of veg like mashed spuds, mashed turnip and then a big thing of stuffing etc on a sunday with dinner and then just take out portions of the veg with either chicken fillets or pieces of fish for a day or two.

I often cook a chicken and have that with mash, gravy and veg. Next day, noodle stir fry or chicken fried rice. Any leftover chicken and veg I use to make soup on the third day, add beans or lentils to bulk it out!

@WhistPiepop the fridge in an airing cupboard? I have lived in places with tiny kitchens. Seen tumble dryers in the bedroom. It's all about work arounds. Sacrifice a drawer? We don't know the house kitchen layout so can't advice on that

@Rubydobydoits true but you could get the risk of getting a duff applience. Learnt that on the hard way. Also depending on income and situation. Many people just can't drop money to buy shite goods. And bnpl can land people in debt possibly.

@Rubydobydowhite goods lol! 😂😱

The teen isn't fussy, eating the same meal 3 days in a row is odd. It can be done with roasts but twice is the limit before freezing leftover meat or making it into some totally different dish. Even then I'd opt for Sunday roast, Monday different meal (probs fish), Tues roast cold or with chips and freeze leftover meat.

Aren't airing cupboards usually warm? Not a very sensible idea to put a freezer in there.

Meatballs are good
add to a flatbread with salad and yoghurt dressing
pasta with tomato based sauces
add a creamy sauce and have with mash and veg

beef stew lasts well

pulled pork - I have it as a bowl with salad, rice, yoghurt etc or turn it into nachos or quesadillas or burritos

I mean, literally anything can last a few days, maybe apart from steak or fresh cooked fish.

This week I’ve done a chicken and sweetcorn noodle soup that has done us two dinners plus will feed Dh and I for lunch for at least another two days.

Sunday I’m making a treacle baked gammon joint, which we’ll have a sort of a roast on Sunday with mash, cauliflower cheese and veg. Then I’ll take the leftover gammon and turn it into a soup with green beans, sweetcorn, carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes and that will do us 2 nights plus a few lunches.

I often do a big tray of baked chicken thighs, shred them and we’ll have those as tacos or like a Greek style chicken wrap with tzatziki. All I have to do each night is chop the salad that goes with it and everyone assembles their own.

Mince in generall then I add either the mash for cottage pie, mushrooms for spagbol, or kidney beans and a kick of spice for chilli con carne!
rice last a few days - be careful with reheating though
pasta - one day it’ll be leftover meat from Sunday roast, tuna and mayo, tomato based sauce, salad cream and finely chopped veg, pesto and olives
meatballs one day with gravy, another with tomato sauce

Beef bourguignon.
chicken curry
sweet potato and chickpea curry
lentil curry
Whole gammons: roasted with veg, cold with salad, gammon and eggs, carbonara, added to chicken to make a pie.
Roast chicken: left overs: add to stir fry, coronation chicken, put in sauce and make pie with pastry or add leeks and top with mash. Make a soup using the carcass.

Fuzzy teens can cook or have brown bread sandwiches if meal don't fit them. Works fine here.

My latest hack. Do a big batch for tomato and lentil sauce.
Day one stuff Peppers and top with breadcrumbs in the oven. Serve with roast potatoes or rice.
Day two add mushrooms and have with pasta - bolognase
Day 3 - pop potatoes and green beans in crumble feta on top when serving - Fasolakia

Just buy a roast chicken, they last a week.

@whistpiedepends if you still have the boiler or water tank. Most modern houses don't have them. Again depends on the layout.

I found them much less fussy about leftovers once they were in charge of a bit of the shopping and cooking….

@Mum2Fergus got there first with Economy Gastronomy. Good book for making a meal followed by a tumble down menu for future days. Although the series that went with the book was aimed more for people to save money whilst cooking from scratch and shake their dependence on take aways or ready meals etc., the principle is the same.

Definitely pasta.
When I make cajun chicken alfredo or a homemade version of hamburger helper I'll intentionally make more to have leftovers.
I make the hamburger helper with quorn mince so all ingredients are in the cupboard/freezer

Everything I make, I double so we can eat it on day 3. So meal 1 we have Monday, Wednesday and meal 2 we have Tuesday and Thursday for example.

Things I make include

Chicken orzo
fish pie
Thai curry
Various bolognaise
Curry
Dahl
chicken stroganoff
Chicken burgers and sweet potato fries
Tofu pasta (make the sauce and just cook the pasta on the day)
Chicken meatballs
Lasagna
Beef taco bowls
Moroccan stew

Apart from fish pie, any other fish dishes I make fresh.