From prep day to Friday, safely
Check the temperature of your fridge (4°C or below) and freezer (−18°C or below). Check each actual product label: a plan cannot know whether your food is fresh or how it was handled.
This planner uses at most 72 refrigerated hours for cooked shared components. Individual components can have shorter windows, including the stated rice and cold-component limits. USDA gives a three-to-four-day general leftover window; the planner thresholds are scheduling choices. Follow the earlier product or opened-food limit. Cook fresh or freeze an eligible component promptly when its dinner falls outside the window.
Divide warm cooked food into shallow containers. Refrigerate or freeze promptly, within two hours, or within one hour in surroundings above 32°C. Label each portion with its preparation and dinner dates.
Follow the labelled refrigerator-thawing time; never thaw on the counter. For a cooked component served hot, follow the recipe to reheat, checking several spots reach 74°C with a food thermometer. Reheat from frozen only when the component supports that method. Serve cold components according to their own instructions; do not heat raw salads or cold dressings.
No reheating method repairs unsafe storage or spoiled food. Check actual times after a changed dinner or delayed preparation. The planner does not certify handling conditions.
Sources
USDA: Leftovers and Food Safety
Choose a week