The Make-Ahead Kitchen; 75 Slow-Cooker, Freezer, and Prepared Meals for the Busy Lifestyle

228 Pages·2016·11.14 MB·English

by  Annalise Thomas

To my children
May you always love good food, appreciate healthy
home-cooking, and enjoy the little things in life.
And, of course, may you always find
love and JOY in the kitchen!

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© 2016 Annalise Thomas All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual,
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ISBN 13: 978-1-4621-2559-3
Published by Front Table Books, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc.
2373 W. 700 S., Springville, UT 84663
Distributed by Cedar Fort, Inc., www.cedarfort.com
Cover and page design by M. Shaun McMurdie Cover design © 2016 by Cedar Fort, Inc.
Edited by Justin Greer

contents
acknowledgments
general notes
introduction
breakfasts
soups & salads
appetizers, snacks & sides
main dishes
cookies & bars
desserts
drinks
index
about the author
acknowledgments I want to thank
my family for your patience in the
craziness of
cooking/baking/photographing/writing
this book, and my friends, extended
family, and blog readers for your
willing tastebuds, honest critiques,
and endless encouragement.
Your love and support has made me who I am today, and this journey wouldn’t have happened
without each one of you. Thank you for being on this wild ride with me and being such a big part
of making my dreams come true!
general notes
I use the scoop-and-sweep method for measuring flour in all of my recipes. Dip your measuring
cup into your flour to gently overfill the cup and then sweep across the top with a straight edge (a
butter knife or spatula handle works well for this!). But here’s a note on that, that will apply to
some of you: If you don’t go through your flour very quickly in general, you will need to ‘fluff’ your
flour. The easiest way to do this is to stick a clean whisk in the container and stir a few times. That
will keep the flour from being so heavy it alters the results of your baking! (And that is also why
European cookbooks use weight measurements. It’s much more accurate!)
Whenever a recipe calls for butter, I am referring to salted butter. I am one of the old-school team
who likes salted butter best. I have yet to ever come across a recipe that turned out ‘too salty’
because of using salted butter! Maybe someday I will convert to the unsalted team, but for now I
am all about that salt.
Recipe yields: Please don’t hate me on this one … but you know I just can’t promise that a recipe
will make exactly 47.5 cookies, right? I have no idea how many ‘tastes’ you will need to take of
that delicious cookie dough, or exactly how big your scoop is. So, take my yields as a general idea
and go from there. If you need 100 of the Hawaiian Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies, you’re gonna
need to make a few batches and count what you have, k? We like cookie dough in this house. I
can never seem to keep all of our fingers out of the bowl long enough to get an accurate cookie
count!
Check your oven temperature. Or watch whatever you’re cooking or baking closely as it gets close
to the end. Some ovens run as much as 25 degrees hotter than others! Keep an eye on yours and
you will get a feel for how to adjust recipes. Always go by the ‘doneness’ indicators of a recipe
more than the time. Shorter or longer is fine, as long as the end result turns out the way you
want!
This is by no means a gluten-free cookbook, but you will find several recipes with gluten-free
variations on them. Not everyone struggles with gluten allergies or sensitivities, but I’m sure we
all at least know someone who does. I love to have a stash of tried-and-true gluten-free recipes in
my pocket so that I can spoil the people I love that have sensitivities too. My gluten-free recipes
are all tested to be great for everyone. Even those with no sensitivities will love these goodies
(and often not even realize they’re different!). Also, you will find a symbol (gluten-free = ;
gluten-free alternative = ) on all recipes that are naturally GF, so you know right away!
introduction
Life is crazy. It is full of busy, and there are so many things that can add stress to your days.
Cooking should not be one of them; sharing food should bring you together. Often we are
rushed into grabbing the first thing we can find, or giving in to expensive ready-made foods
when our families are hungry, and we lose out on the joy of really savoring our food.
This is where a make-ahead cooking lifestyle comes in. With a little bit of thought and
planning, delicious home-cooked meals can be ready for you to enjoy when you and your
family need them. All it takes is a few minutes here and there (when you have time!) and
some room in your fridge and freezer.
Not all of the dishes in this book are freezer meals. Some are, but others are just as simple
as a wonderful salad you can prep a few days in advance or delicious steel-cut oatmeal you
can throw into the slow cooker before bed, waking up to the most amazing aroma and
breakfast ready for you in the morning.
However you like to spend your time in the kitchen, I promise that you can make your
food-life a little easier and a lot more fun with even just a few of the recipes in this book.
My dream is that each one of you will learn to love cooking wholesome, made-from-scratch
meals for you and your loved ones to enjoy.
Thank you for letting me join you in your kitchen. I’m so happy to be here!