Cooking Ahead of Time

[emily]

I'm curious about making dishes ahead of time so that i can cook them later. Last night I made the Cheddar Asparagus Pot Pie. I made the filling ahead of time and put it into the glass dish and then when I got home later that evening I put the phyllo on top and then baked it. It came out fabulous!

Tonight I'm planning on making the spaghetti pie. Do you think I could do the same thing - assemble it all and stick it in the fridge then bake it tonight?

What dishes do you do this with?

[Danielle]

Emily, I do that with lasagna all the time, so I'm sure the spaghetti pie will turn out fine. I also make cheese enchiladas ahead of time and bake them the next day. Always delicious, and so nice to be able to just pop the pan in the oven when I get home!

[lindrusso]

I just did that last night with the Spaghetti Pie from May 2000. Very easy to assemble and then toss in the oven later to bake. Some people found it a bit bland, but I LOVE stroganoff, so this recipe was right up my alley!

Another dish you can do this with is the Chicken Florentine Casserole that I listed under the post titled "Favorite Pasta Dishe?".

[Anne]

I've done the same trick with both lasagna and pastitsio (spelling? a sort of Greek lasagna) and been pleased with the results. I don't cook the lasagna noodles ahead of time, just layer them in raw (I use wholewheat). I did find out the hard way not to put a glass pan full of lasagna directly from the fridge into a preheated oven (duh!)

[Maggie]

I made the Spaghetti Pie Sunday night and cooked it last night--it worked just great! I also make lasagna on the weekend to cook during the week. Another recipe that I love to make ahead is the Linguine With Two Sauces from the Sept 1997 issue. I've posted it below in case you're interested in trying it.

CookWare™ for Cooking Light®

Linguine With Two Sauces

SOURCE: Cooking Light YEAR: 1997 ISSUE: September PAGE: 112

INGREDIENTS FOR 8 SERVINGS:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 (14.5-ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
Cooking spray
4 cups sliced cremini or button mushrooms (about 12 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese
(such as Alpine Lace)
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups hot cooked linguine (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Fresh oregano sprigs (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare the tomato sauce first. While it simmers, make the mushroom
sauce.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; saute
30 seconds. Add basil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and
tomatoes; cook over low heat 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set
aside.

3. Place a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high
heat until hot. Add mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from
saucepan, and set aside. Add flour to saucepan. Gradually add milk,
stirring with a whisk until blended. Place flour mixture over medium
heat, and cook until thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly.
Stir in Swiss cheese, wine, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon
salt. Cook until cheese melts (about 1 minute), stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms.

4. Combine linguine and mushroom sauce in a large bowl. Spoon
linguine mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking
spray. Spread tomato sauce evenly over the linguine mixture, and
sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20
minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with
oregano sprigs, if desired. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1-1/4
cups).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
CALORIES 349 (19% from fat); FAT 7.2g (sat 3.4g, mono 1.4g, poly
0.6g); PROTEIN 16.3g; CARB 54.8g; FIBER 3.2g; CHOL 15mg; IRON 3.3mg;
SODIUM 527mg; CALC 172mg

Recipe Copyright © Cooking Light Magazine

[emily]

thanks so much for the advice. i can't wait to try the pasta with two sauces! thanks so much for the recipe, maggie.