Son starving! Need suggestions!

[Josie]

DS is a grad student at a state university. He is in biochem and has a teaching assistantship and research to do everyday. He goes in at 8 am and doesn't get back home until 8 or later in the evening. Then he studies unitl `11 pm or later depending on the course load. So he doesn't have a whole lot of time to cook.

I have been sending frozen stew and chili to him to supplement his convience diet. Problem is that the convience diet is getting expensive. Plus he really doesn't need all the salt, sugar and extra fat because he doesn't have a lot of time to exercise.

So anyone have any ideas of thing (other than the chili and stew) that I could make and freeze and he could heat up quickly? Tonight I've made some mini meatloafs and I will freeze whatever is leftover. I would appreciate any receipes if it would be at all possible.

Thanks guys and my starving son thanks you, too!

Oh, I forgot to add that he absolutely hates broccoli and is not a huge fan of fish. But other than that, he will eat just about anything!

[thompson]

Chicken and noodles (homemade noodles would be more satisfying, but a little more work for you)

Tuna noodle casserole (if he'll eat tuna, you said he's not big on fish)

Ham and beans

Scalloped potatoes with ham layered in

Lasagna

King Ranch Casserole

Taco Casserole


If I think of any more, I'll be back.

[blueberry]

I'll second the lasagna. It is my son's favorite - so when I make one, I make an extra and put it in the freezer for him.

[lisa]

YOur son needs a crockpot...it got me through college. YOu put it on in the morning before classes and by the time you get home you have a meal. There are 100's of simple recipes.

[Cardinal]

Brownies. My mom's lasagna and brownies got me through college.
I second the crockpot.

[Bushcamp]

3rd on the crock and the lasagne

Macaroni and Cheese
Meat Pies
Sheperds Pie
Bolognaise - without the spaghetti. It's great on bread, or spaghetti, or noodles etc.
My favourite recipe is as follows:
2 large onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic (it's a lot, you can reduce if needed, but remember how good it is for immunity)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound beef mince
1 tin tomatoes
1 packet tomato paste
dash soy sauce
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons white cane sugar
salt to taste

Sautee the onions and garlic in the oil untill soft, add mince and brown. Reduce heat to low setting, add tomatos, tomato paste and soy sauce. Heat through, keep stirring. Add spices and salt, and then the trick - keep on lowest setting for at least 3 hours. It thickens the sauce considerably, and lets the natural sugars come out in full force. DON'T STIR the pot, just let it simmer and plop away for 3 hours.

[Josie]

Thank all!!! Some very good suggestions here. Bushcamp, I'm gonna have to try that recipe before I send it with him!

[Speckled Trout1]

Been there-done that. I lived on Ramen Noodles for an extended period and never got tired of them. They are fast and easy to prepare, cheap, tasty, provide calories, and can be prepared in lots of nutritious ways. I will post some Ramen Noodle recipes that I like and still use if you want - ST1

[summerthyme]

You can freeze mashed potatoes, as long as you add some "conditioners" to keep them from getting crumbly.

That can be sour cream or cream cheese, (I often use onion chip dip). If you look for a recipe for "twice baked" potatoes, you can usually use the "filling" part of the recipe to make mashed potatoes. Freeze them in small casserole type dishes, and they reheat well. For company dinners, thaw in the fridge, reheat in the oven, and let them brown a bit.

Summerthyme

[Running Dog]

If you have a food dehydrator, you can make up a bunch of great stuff, that later, just needs hot water and a few minutes, to make a meal.
Check out this web site.
backpackingchef.com

[ainitfunny]

Freeze the stuff in quart ziplock FREEZER bags (they keep the food edible longer than regular ziplock.)

Try frying bacon and browning hot dog coin slices and add to campbell's pork and beans.

get some flour tortillas and fry up hamburger with chopped onions, Then cover tortilla with 1/3 cup refried beans from can(no need to heat) sprinkle with 1/3 cup meat mixture, add 1/4 cup grated cheese roll up and freeze. Much better than store bought.

Buy INDIVIDUAL SERVING SIZE V8 juice (won't go moldy in fridge like big cans will) to supplement vegetable intake.

Go to costco and buy bag of individual one ounce packets of cream cheese, then freeze one bagel with one or two packets of cream cheese in the bag for him to grab to take along for quick lunch or breakfast. Squeeze as much air out of ziplock bag as possible to keep high quality taste longer.

[jehu]

"Harvest" a deer.

Cut into strips.

Smoke meat.

Provide jerky.

DS needs stuff he can slide into his backpack/laptop bag and eat on the run.

Dried fruits, carrot sticks, nuts... etc....

Eating throughout the day will alleviate starving later.

[Volleyball Granny]

My 18 yr-old could just about live on Top Ramen noodles. But, she cooks now, too, so I have hope. (She just informed me that she's making dinner tonight.)

Taco Soup--and you don't have to freeze it, can it instead, a pint jar would be a pretty hefty serving--it's a Weight Watchers recipe, but don't tell him that
Brown:
1 lb ground meat (WW says turkey)
chopped celery (to taste, up to one cup)
1 onion, chopped
Add:
1 can corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes (chopped tomatoes and jalapeños)
1 can ea of three kinds of beans (any kind, but I like to make sure one is black beans and 1 is Ranch Style)
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing powder
1 pkg chili seasoning
Add fresh, chopped cilantro just before serving.
PS: Don't drain any of the vegetables, you need the 'juice' for the soup.

We love this recipe--it's great in the crock-pot. I use it for pot-lucks, too, because it's so easy to put together on-site.

As for the crock-pot, buy one of the small ones. I have one and I love it. It's great for single people. I keep mine at work now, and use it instead of using the micro-wave.

[Volleyball Granny]

Originally Posted by ainitfunny

Buy INDIVIDUAL SERVING SIZE V8 juice (won't go moldy in fridge like big cans will) to supplement vegetable intake.

Make sure he likes V8 first. My daughter loves the hot, spicy one, but won't touch the regular. There are 8oz and 12 oz cans...the 8 oz may make better sense because you can drink it in a couple of swallows and don't have leftovers sitting around ready to be spilled. You can also get the V8 Splash, but make sure he likes it first.

[blueberry]

Originally Posted by Volleyball Granny

My 18 yr-old could just about live on Top Ramen noodles. But, she cooks now, too, so I have hope. (She just informed me that she's making dinner tonight.)

Taco Soup--and you don't have to freeze it, can it instead, a pint jar would be a pretty hefty serving--it's a Weight Watchers recipe, but don't tell him that
Brown:
1 lb ground meat (WW says turkey)
chopped celery (to taste, up to one cup
1 onion, chopped
Add:
1 can corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes (chopped tomatoes and jalapeños)
1 can ea of three kinds of beans (any kind, but I like to make sure one is black beans and 1 is Ranch Style)
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing powder
1 pkg chili seasoning
Add fresh, chopped cilantro just before serving.
PS: Don't drain any of the vegetables, you need the 'juice' for the soup.

We love this recipe--it's great in the crock-pot. I use it for pot-lucks, too, because it's so easy to put together on-site.

As for the crock-pot, buy one of the small ones. I have one and I love it. It's great for single people. I keep mine at work now, and use it instead of using the micro-wave.

That soup is my daughter's favorite. She especially likes that she can just dump it all in the crock pot and go about her business. Good stuff!

[rugmaker]

I cook for my husband while he's on the road. I use left over roast beef and add vegetables and make vegetable beef soup. Add a slice or two of cornbread and he's good to go.

Other crockpot favorites than can be frozen and nuked later:

Ham and beans
Chicken noodle soup
chili
pot roast

My friend makes up a lot of breakfast burritos and wraps them in wax paper and then puts them in a freezer bag. You just nuke a couple in the waxed paper. Tastes pretty good.

I always add bread to the meal to sop up the juices and helps fill them up.
French, Italian or corn bread.

Salads are good too!

[Volleyball Granny]

Originally Posted by blueberry

That soup is my daughter's favorite. She especially likes that she can just dump it all in the crock pot and go about her business. Good stuff!

Sometimes, I get ambitious and brown the onions, celery, and ground meat together and place it in quart size freezer bags. I don't know how long you can keep it frozen, but we've never run into a bad bag of meat. Each bag holds a little over 1 pound of meat. Then, it truly is dump it all in the crock pot and go!

I think that one thing you need to remember is ease of eating...when you're tired, you just don't feel like eating. For those times, I like to keep a few protein drinks handy. V8, mentioned earlier, is good for those times, too. Milk is good for that also. My son (28-yrs old) is a work-aholic and when he's really tired, he dumps a couple of tablespoons of Ovaltine in a glass of milk and is good to go until bedtime.