How to cook the new school dinner steam microwave meals at home

thelurch

As our local primary was closed on the last day of term they didn't use up all the meals for that day.

Our next door neighbour is the heads secretary and had the job of clearing the leftover food out of the fridges.

She has given us loads of the black plastic microwave steam meal trays, they look like a big ready meal with 2 little vents in the plastic film.

They are far too big to go in our microwave, but I was wondering if there's anyone here that has experience of cooking these in schools and could maybe offer an alternative way of cooking them.

They are chicken fajita mix, which looks like it has semi cooked rice and slightly cooked chicken in it and veg pie which is a mix of grated carrot, courgette, baked beans under a mash topping.

I frozen them as they go out of date tomorrow, I expect these have already been pre frozen but I have re frozen many things in the past.

The school had loads left in the fridge and it seems a shame to waste the food

There was also large trays of chocolate sponge with sultanas, these I know what to do with ;-)

Any ideas?

alwaysonthego_2

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alwaysonthego_2

I would say be careful about reheating the rice. My sister is an EHO and says it is the reheated rice is the worst food for getting food poisoning.

julieq

If they're in date and straight from the school the rice should be OK.

seraphina

I would just decant them into mircowave safe dishes that fit in your microwave and pop them in for two mins, check and stir and then give it another minute a time until it looks done, IYSWIM?

If rice is reheated until piping hot throughout, and has been refridgerated then it will be fine.

Alternatively, is it worth seeing if your local Shelter/Salvation Army/homeless place can make use of them at Christmas? They might have more industrial cooking facilities.