166 ahead recipes

Why buy salad dressing when it's easy to make your own, here's a Raspberry Walnut dressing that can be made ahead and is ready when you are. Makes about two cups of dressing.

Big-batch slushy punch made with cherry gelatin, pineapple juice, orange juice, and ginger ale. Freezes ahead, thaws to a rosy slush, and serves 46. The go-to punch for weddings and showers.

Chilled poached shrimp served with a bold, spicy peanut dipping sauce made with ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and soy sauce. Both the sauce and shrimp can be made days ahead for easy entertaining.

Easy new potato salad with skin-on baby potatoes folded into creamy dill dressing and fresh green onions. Make it the day ahead so the flavors mingle and the spuds drink in the herbs.

Quick bread mix combines whole-wheat and all-purpose flours with baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and salt for a make-ahead 2½ cup pantry staple. Use in mango pecan, banana, or zucchini quick breads.

Too much fruit salad is a big-batch medley of pineapple, melon, citrus, peaches, kiwi, and banana bathed in apricot nectar and chilled overnight so the flavors meld. A bright, make-ahead crowd salad.

Fresh asparagus spears with a make-ahead orange and lime citrus cream sauce. Just 50 calories per serving, this elegant low-fat side dish is ready in 30 minutes and doubles as an impressive entertaining platter.

Nutella ice cream cups layered with chocolate ice cream, coffee ice cream, and swirls of Nutella topped with a toasted hazelnut. A no-cook frozen dessert that makes ahead beautifully for up to 2 weeks.

A make-ahead chocolate wafer crumb mix that stores for 6 months. Pull out a cup or two anytime you want a fast no-bake pie crust for cheesecake, mousse pie, or ice cream pie.

Tender beef short ribs get a head start in the microwave, then hit the grill for smoky, charred edges and sticky honey-chili glaze. Ready in under an hour with a quick ketchup-based barbecue marinade.

Easy, spicy-hot cold noodles for summer -- This recipe is an easy prepare-ahead dish for a hot summer day. It makes a good barbecue side dish for all of us who are tired of potato salads.

Minted fruit salad tossed in a citrus syrup of orange juice, lemon, and a whisper of mint extract. Make-ahead friendly, the fruit drinks in the syrup as it chills, turning ordinary fruit into a brunch centerpiece.

Roasted chicken seasoned with celery salt, onion salt, and seasoned salt, then baked covered until juicy and finished uncovered for golden skin. A make-ahead win that yields two birds: serve one tonight, debone the other for the week.

I wanted to share a recipe which I have been making this winter for my family. It is a good cold weather dish. It makes enough for a crowd my family (2 adults and 3 teens) only eat about half. This can be made ahead and chilled until ready to use.

Enjoy a taste of the Old West with these succulent pork chops atop a zesty rice blend, infused with chili powder, green bell peppers, and tomato sauce. This make-ahead recipe allows you to prep components in advance for a convenient, hearty meal when you’re ready to pop it into the oven.

This is the basic recipe for cooking lentils or beans. Many southern and southwestern regional recipes call for cooked lentils or beans to be stirred gently into a dish near the end of cooking. Therefore, it may be a good idea ot make them a day ahead and have them ready when you begin the actual cooking.