Advanced prep meals

[Jalopy]

We are trying our best for heart healthy meals and still have an abundance of flavor and variety. What I do a lot of is slow smoke meat while I am home and working around here then we will let it cool and make meal size portions and vacuum pack and freeze. Then when we are tired or harried we just thaw and serve over a salad, or with veggies and rice or pasta. It is amazing what you can grow to tolerate or even like if your health becomes an issue.

Anyone have any different heart healthy recipes?

 

[grannysoo]

I've always found that it's as easy, if not more so, to cook in quantity than smaller meals. That being said, when I cook, I normally cook enough for several meals, regardless of what I'm cooking.

Cooked up 2 gallons of spaghetti sauce last night. Had it for supper, and put several quart packages up in the freezer for one of those evenings. All you've got to do now is boil some noodles and warm the sauce.

Also do this with soups, chicken & dumplins, bbq, mac & cheese, pie.... you name it and I've probably frozen it. It's good for a quick meal here and I also send a lot of it back with the college kids when they go back to school. A little taste of home whenever they want it.

As to heart healthy, I try to make everything that way. Always using olive oil instead of grease, drain the fats off the meat, etc.

 

[MO_cows]

For the heart-healthy omega 3's, we've been eating salmon once a week. The canned pink salmon is WAY cheaper than the fillets and it's Alaskan wild-caught. Salmon patties take just a little time to whip up. Also have an excellent recipe for creole baked fish. It's the best "light" recipe I have so far. Will post the recipes if anyone wants them.

 

[Jalopy]

Mo_cows- I sure am interested in your recipes. I have steered clear of canned fish for the reason of the salt content, but have been considering rinsing the fish then using it.

 

[MO_cows]

Unfortunately, they do put salt in the canned salmon. Nobody in our house is restricted on salt (yet). If you are, you'll definitely want to use an alternate to the saltines in this recipe, but if you can get the salt content low enough for your needs, these can be thrown together really quick.

Salmon Patties

1 14 oz can pink salmon
½ sleeve of saltines, crushed.
1 egg, beaten
Onion powder*
Celery seed*
½ tsp Dill weed (dried)
½ tsp Parsley (dried)
Salt/pepper to taste
*If time allows, dice a little onion and a rib of celery fine and pre-cook in a tiny bit of oil to soften. Use in place of the onion powder and celery seed.

Drain juice from salmon and reserve. Flake salmon in a bowl (remove the skin if you don't like it. Leave the bones, they are soft and provide calcium). Add the cracker crumbs, dash of onion powder, celery seed, parsley flakes, dill weed and stir together. Add the egg and stir. Add the salmon juice back in as needed. Heat a skillet and add a small amount of oil. Shape into 6 patties (1/3 cup measuring cup portions them out well) and cook until golden brown on both sides. Or, you can bake the patties but the skillet is a lot quicker.

Alternate - in place of saltines, use heaping ½ cup dry bread crumbs, or 2 slices/heels of bread crumbed in the food processor, or 1 cup of leftover mashed potatoes.

 

[Jalopy]

Thanks, I will try it. We use un-salted soda crackers so that will probably work just fine.

 

[Jogeephus]

I like to put up smoked foods too and I'll do it in quantities then freeze them for later. Smoked chicken and salmon was on the smoker this weekend. Have plans to make the salmon into several different dishes that we can eat later.