Some Recipes from The Make-Ahead Cookbook

Before I went in for spinal surgery in October 2019, I checked out the book The Make-Ahead Cookbook by Lydia Kessler from the library. I chose quite a few recipes to make - some were good and others I wouldn't choose to make again. All the recipes were easy to prepare and reheat, and certainly came in handy when I was recuperating.

The recipes for the ones that my family enjoyed the most follow.

Dijon Kielbasa Bites

Ingredients:

1 (17 ounce) package frozen puff pastry
1 pound kielbasa
1 (8 ounce) jar Dijon mustard

Directions:

Defrost puff pastry on the counter for about 30 minutes. Cut kielbasa into bite-size pieces and brown in a medium skillet over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Once defrosted, roll out puff pastry on a floured surface to smooth out the folds in the pastry. Cut pastry into 3" circles.

In the center of each circle, put 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or more to taste).

Next, put a piece of kielbasa on top of the Dijon.

Pull up the edges of the circles so it looks like a Hershey's Kiss. Use water on your fingers to seal the top together.

Flash freeze and transfer to a freezer bag.

To reheat: place frozen Dijon Kielbasa Bites on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes of until golden brown.

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Grilled Citrus Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breasts halves
2/3 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons orange zest
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Place chicken in a gallon-size freezer bag. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Divide the marinade in half. Pour half the marinade over chicken and freeze. Pour the other half of the marinade in a quart-size freezer bag and freeze.

To reheat: defrost chicken in the refrigerator overnight, in the microwave, or cold water, and discard included marinade. Defrost the quart-size bag of marinade. This will be used to brush over chicken during grilling.

Over medium heat, grill chicken breasts 12-15 minutes of until no longer pink. Brush chicken with marinade throughout cooking.

Sausage and Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

8 Pillsbury Grands refrigerator biscuits

8 sausage patties

8 eggs

8 slices American cheese

Directions:

Cook biscuits according to package directions. Split open down the middle to separate the tops from the bottoms.

In a medium skillet, cook the patties until fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Drain excess at, then add eggs and scramble.

Put 1 sausage patty, 1/8 of the scrambled eggs, and 1 slice of cheese on each of the biscuits. Wrap individually in plastic and put in a quart-size freezer bag. Freeze.

To reheat, wrap frozen sandwich in paper towel and microwave at 30% power for 1 minute 15 seconds, then microwave on high or 1 minute.