Cook up some free time

My latest cooking fad has been to try to employ "Planned-Overs" to cut down on meal prep time. The concept is to cook a big batch of something one night, then use it to make a couple more dinners later in the week, or, if you can freeze it, later in the month.

I love my older copies of Quick Cooking Annual Recipes (available dirt cheap on amazon.com or half.com). Here are a couple meals I've cooked lately from the 2001 book:

• Cheddar Cheese Sauce served night #1 on baked potatoes. Used later for Mac 'n Cheese and Cheddar Veggie Soup.
• Four Bean Taco Chili. Used later in Cheesy Chili Dip and Chili Manicotti.
• Mashed Potatoes served night #1 as a side dish. Used later in Potato Chowder.
• Stovetop Baked Beans. Used later in Baked Bean Chili.

This latest meal planning session, I've used an e-book called Plan Ahead Leftovers. This ebook explains how you can cook once and eat three to five different meals. Plan Ahead Leftovers includes beef, chicken and ham recipes for the main dishes. Since the cooked meat freezes easily, you don't need to have "a week of ham." It also makes it easy to take advantage on great sales on meats. Right now is a great time to buy turkey and ham!