No More Leftovers - Build A Better TV Dinner

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Karen W

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What would you put in your "TV" Dinner?

I hate leftovers! Sometimes I cook too much, and dislike eating the same meal a few days in a row, or having food sit in the fridge for a few days..

I've been toying with the idea of getting a set of divider plates that go from freezer to microwave, and tucking the homecooked meals in the freezer for another time. They are sold by Walmart and Amazon, as well. Think TV dinners, but with homecooked dishes. Not to be confused with freezer meals, you can put an entire meal in these divider plates that come with a lid, and have a homecooked meal at your disposal - rather than take out. I came across some good recipe ideas as well.

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What would you put in your "TV" Dinner?

Some ideas:
Fish and Chips
Lemon chicken, green beans, roasted or mashed potatoes
Breakfast dishes
Ribs, baked beans, cornbread
Salmon, orzo, asparagus

More ideas. I like the shrimp, fried rice and green beans

https://chiefhealth.us/2017/09/21/15-meal-prep-ideas-that-are-packed-with-flavor/amp/
 
Leftovers at our house are either premeditated (making two pans of lasagne or large pot of chili or stew) or eaten next day for breakfast and or lunch.
 
Moist things, like things smothered in a sauce or gravy freeze well, but I would never freeze anything that was fried. Nor fish, so the first suggestion of fish and chips reheated in a nuker is especially a no go for me.

I often make a container of the leftovers of Sunday Gravy, or Indian food like Rogan Josh or Tikka.

I just have to make some pasta to go with the leftover Sunday gravy, or nuke a bowl of instant rice to go with the Indian.
 
buckytom said:
I would never freeze anything that was fried.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't normally freeze fried things either, but I make an exception for leftover chips when we have meal from the chip shop. Surprisingly, they warm up really well in the Actifry - I guess because we're air frying them rather than just heating them up. I'm not sure it would work on other styles of chips, but chip shop chips tend to be chunky and not too crispy to start with, so they can handle a bit of extra cooking without going too far.
I'd not want to do them in a microwave tho....they'd just go soggy :sick:

Leftovers in this house are either eaten for lunch the next day, recycled into something else (eg. leftover roast lamb gets made into a shepherd's pie) or frozen for future use.
 
morning glory said:
How would you re-heat these meals? Microwave?
Click to expand...

Yes. I would check the labels to be sure they are microwave and freezer safe, since there are several brands out there. I usually reheat foods at 50% power. Try a search under divider plates, and read the reviews. It would be nice to have Thanksgiving all year round - turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, and peas or whatever.
 
Karen W said:
What would you put in your "TV" Dinner?

I hate leftovers! Sometimes I cook too much, and dislike eating the same meal a few days in a row, or having food sit in the fridge for a few days..

I've been toying with the idea of getting a set of divider plates that go from freezer to microwave, and tucking the homecooked meals in the freezer for another time. They are sold by Walmart and Amazon, as well. Think TV dinners, but with homecooked dishes. Not to be confused with freezer meals, you can put an entire meal in these divider plates that come with a lid, and have a homecooked meal at your disposal - rather than take out. I came across some good recipe ideas as well.

View attachment 20269
View attachment 20269 View attachment 20270

What would you put in your "TV" Dinner?

Some ideas:
Fish and Chips
Lemon chicken, green beans, roasted or mashed potatoes
Breakfast dishes
Ribs, baked beans, cornbread
Salmon, orzo, asparagus

More ideas. I like the shrimp, fried rice and green beans

https://chiefhealth.us/2017/09/21/15-meal-prep-ideas-that-are-packed-with-flavor/amp/
Click to expand...

Where did you find those containers? I'd like to get some of them!! :wink:
 
Shermie said:
Where did you find those containers? I'd like to get some of them!! :wink:
Click to expand...

I saved a couple of links on my laptop, but if you go to Amazon and Walmart and key in divider plates in a search, a ton of them will come up. I've read several mixed reviews. Since they're so inexpensive, I might give it a try. Also, I am looking for a set that is vented, or that I can vent myself so the food isn't soggy.

The market used to carry a frozen dinner of battered fish and french fries which was pretty good, but I think it's been discontinued.
 
Karen W said:
I saved a couple of links on my laptop, but if you go to Amazon and Walmart and key in divider plates in a search, a ton of them will come up. I've read several mixed reviews. Since they're so inexpensive, I might give it a try. Also, I am looking for a set that is vented, or that I can vent myself so the food isn't soggy.

The market used to carry a frozen dinner of battered fish and french fries which was pretty good, but I think it's been discontinued.
Click to expand...


You're right!
A ton of them came up on Amazon!! Thanks for the heads-up!! :wink:
 
I lean away from refreezing and nuking plastic, studies show that plastics break down during freezing and refreezing and again during heating...perhaps there is a glass alternative?
 
Karen W said:
The market used to carry a frozen dinner of battered fish and french fries which was pretty good, but I think it's been discontinued.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that the UK folks here aren't at your door with pitchforks and torches for suggesting nuked fish and chips. Lol.
 
oddduck said:
I lean away from refreezing and nuking plastic, studies show that plastics break down during freezing and refreezing and again during heating...perhaps there is a glass alternative?
Click to expand...

I've recently been buying Lock-n-lock type containers where the bowl part is glass, and only the lids are plastic.

I eat a lot of nuked leftovers at work, but I usually put each part of the meal in separate containers as they reheat through at different lengths of time.
 
buckytom said:
I usually put each part of the meal in separate containers as they reheat through at different lengths of time.
Click to expand...

That was my thought when I saw the compartments. There aren't that many meals consisting of different parts which can be re-heated in the same time frame.
 
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