What are your favorite meals to prep for a week?
In an attempt to get somewhat back into shape, I've recently taken up meal prepping again. I love cooking but my previous job was ~60 hour weeks, and some things had to be sacrificed because there just wasn't enough time in the day. However, I have a somewhat more normal job now and I can get back into the things I love(d) to do.
I made some teriyaki salmon and veggies for the next week: https://imgur.com/a/GCFPeJS
Recipe: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/one-pan-baked-teriyaki-salmon-and-vegetables/
I'm not good with fish and I rarely try to cook with it (landlocked state so it's hard to get it fresh), l but I found that fish-based dishes very generally tend to be healthier and dairy-free (lactose-intolerant).
What are your favorite foods to prep for a week? Got any recipes? Any tips for a fledgling beginner?
Sauce-based dishes are really easy to prep. Chicken Tikka Masala is a good one, here's a recipe I like because they use coconut milk instead of cream. Really easy to make a week's worth of food with a little adjusting, especially if you have an instant pot.
Another good one is spaghetti, I use a recipe I learned from my dad that would make real Italians really angry, probably.
To your pot, add two big cans and one small can of tomato sauce.
Add one pound of browned ground beef, and as many uncooked hot Italian sausages as you like. You can sub with sweet ones if you don't like spicy food, but I like em hot. I usually use the whole package, my dad would use 3 and eat the other two for lunch later in the week. Pro-tip: cut them into different sizes to keep things interesting. I'll usually do two into 5 or 6 slices, two into thirds, and the last one in half.
Add 2 jars of those mushrooms that come in jars.
Now spices, your must-haves are oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red peppers, and bay leaves. You can also throw in rosemary, thyme, or red wine if you're feeling froggy. He would measure with his palm, so just imagine a big adult male's palmful of each - except the crushed red pepper. Start small with that one and adjust to taste. Use 2.5 bay leaves, or 2 and a small one.
Mix it up and let it simmer for 3 hours, stirring every so often and tasting to adjust flavors.
Before serving, I like to use a tip I learned from (I think) Casino, and add a little sauce to the noodles after they're boiled, then turn it up to high heat for a couple minutes, stirring the whole time. It blends the flavors and tastes even better.
Women have fallen in love with me over this spaghetti, so be careful with this one.
One batch is usually enough for about a weeks worth of dinners, maybe more - but after a week you will get sick of delicious spaghetti. You can also use some of the sauce for lasagna to switch things up.
Wait, why is fat a bad thing?
Ah, gotcha. Not only sexy, but also a carrier for flavor!
For others that do think low-fat is healthy, I'll leave this here: How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat
If fat equals flavour, then I'm fuckin' delicious!
I had to look up this thread, I'm making my second pot of rice with this recipe and I'm so hype about it. They don't have star anise at my grocery store so I subbed Chinese five spice. Goes really well with the Tikka. Thanks for sharing!
My typical go-to when meal prepping is chicken, brown rice, vegetable mix, which can then be adapted into plenty of practical/quick variations. Add korean barbecue sauce, teriyaki, or soy sauce to make it a generic asian mixed veggie dish. Saute some onions & peppers, add salsa and sour cream for a quick burrito bowl. Shredded parmesan + tomato sauce with a quick bake for something reminiscent of pizza or lasagna. Mix up some coconut milk + curry paste to turn it into a thai curry. The choices are practically endless and the base is incredibly quick to make - all you need to do is chop up some chicken breast (marinade if you wish) and cook that, buy some frozen or fresh veggies and throw them in towards the end and make a pot of rice.
One tip: be careful of rice leftovers. If I make a weeks worth of food, I will generally make two batches of rice.
Also, Skillet (linked) is a pretty good site for simple recipes and cooking tips, in the Lifehacker style.
Rice freezes/unfreezes very well. I put rice in the fridge for the next 2-3 days worth of food at most, and the rest goes in the freezer.
Any specific rices? Or have you found many thaw well? I would imagine it would get mushy.
Most thaw quite well, but I personally mix a brown rice jasmine blend with a multigrain wild rice blend.
There is a specific way to cook frozen rice in the microwave. You'll want to add a small amount of water to prevent it from drying out, and you also want to have it in a closed but not sealed container so that it can retain the moisture.
Yeah, I usually sprinkle a tiny bit of water into the bowl with my frozen rice... but I actually do completely seal the bowl tight with saran wrap afterwards so the rice essentially gets re-steamed when I microwave it, and it comes out nice and fluffy again as a result.