Recipes

Simple solutions for a hectic life.

So what is my solution to fast foods? Cook on the weekends, so you can spend less time through the week in the kitchen. Here?s a great way to get things ready for the week:

• Prep the food you?re going to cook through the week. If you can?t pre-cook something, prep it.
  • That means chopping up the veggies that will need to be sautéed, putting the marinade on the meat, or making up a huge batch of salad. That way, you aren?t spending your time preparing to cook, you can get right down to business.
  • Do a double duty with your prepping, and you can stretch out your prepped foods over many meals. Example: I sometimes take a bunch of veggies and chop them up pretty small. I like zucchinis, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I call it my ?confetti?. This confetti can be used in many ways:
    • In the morning for omelet filling: put down a microwave safe plate, add egg beaters, microwave until it starts to get firm, then add veggies, microwave until almost completely firm, then add cheese, fold over, and microwave just long enough to melt it all together.
    • On top of greens for a salad at lunch.
    • In sauces or soups to add flavor and nutrition.
    • In wraps, to add crunch and color.
    • Toss with some olive oil and a little vinegar and maybe some fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil) and you have a fresh salsa that can top grilled chicken or fish!
• 2. Pre-cook. If you can pre-cook something, then do it. This would include cooking the components of a meal, then reheating and assembling them when you?re ready to eat!
  • For example, I sautéed a ton of veggies this weekend, and have been adding leftover meats to them to create easy, tasty, and healthy lunches to take to work with me.
  • If you don?t have time during the week to cook pasta or rice, make a big batch on the weekends, cook until slightly underdone, and then when you need it, you can microwave it or re heat it on the stovetop. Once it?s slightly underdone, drain it, put it in the appropriate sized container for what you?ll need it for, and freeze it. If you?ll be using it in a day or two, just refrigerate.
  • I try not to cook my meats ahead of time, but if you can?t spare the time on a weeknight, then you can do that too! Bake up a big batch of chicken breasts, turkey loaf, or fish fillets, and then put them in serving size containers and, once again, if you are eating within a day or two, fridge it, if not, freezer it! When it?s time to eat, just nuke it for a few minutes.
  • If you can spare some time on the week nights to cook your meats (or you want to grill or ?fry? something) then you can prepare for this:
    • Marinade your meats before freezing them, most marinades freeze well, and when you do this, it really gets into the meat and makes it juicy.
    • If you?re going to ?fry? something (like chicken), cut the meat into the size/shape you want, and prepare the stuff you?re going to dredge it in. For example, Hungry-girl swears by crushed Fiber One cereal with whatever seasonings you want. It would be easy to whip up a batch of Fiber One cereal in the food processor, and then use as needed.
    • Remember, I?m talking about putting stuff in the oven here, so it?s not taking a lot of your time! You?re pre-heating the oven, pulling out whatever you have thawed for the night, and then putting it in the oven (or in the case of the ?fried? foods, dredging it in Egg Beaters, then the Fiber One mixture, spraying with Pam, and THEN putting it in the oven). Then you walk away and the oven does the rest for you!
• Cook and Freeze. These are the ultimate in time-saving meals. Simply cook them ahead of time, then when the time comes either heat them in the microwave/stovetop or pop in the oven.
  • Soups are great frozen (but no potato soups, they don?t freeze/thaw well!), and you can make a huge batch and then eat it for lunch or add some salad and a roll and have a hearty dinner. The recipes on this site are amazing and offer many ideas for freezable soups. Here?s the basics of any vegetable soup:
    • Cook meats (if any) or beans (if any), and set aside.
      Soften some onions and garlic in a pan, then add in the rest of the vegetables, starting with those that take the longest to cook (carrots first!).
      Cover in a low fat/low sodium broth and bring to a boil
      Add a can of crushed tomatoes, bring back to a boil.
      Season to taste.
  • Most casseroles can be prepared ahead of time, then cooked the day of. Good casseroles that can stand up to freezing would have a meat, a pre-cooked pasta, freezable veggies (no potatoes!) and a sauce (think tomato based, gravy or even light cheese/cream). Before cooking, you can put breadcrumbs/crushed and seasoned Fiber One on top (if you?re into that sort of thing). In this case, we are literally talking about absolutely no time at all spent in pre-heating the oven, popping in the casserole, and cooking until done. Lasagna, tuna noodle, chicken and rice, and baked spaghetti are favorites around our house.
• Plan ahead. I know this sounds so tedious, and time consuming, but if you find something that works for you, it?s really not that hard.
  • For example, I?ll eat half of a meat for dinner, then add it to my sautéed veggies for lunch the next day.
  • Or make a big batch of marinara sauce (Sautee onions and garlic, season with Italian seasonings, add crushed tomatoes and a little tomato paste, simmer until the flavors develop) that you can use in a variety of ways throughout the week. Spaghetti and turkeyballs one night, chicken parmesan the next (fiber one fry the chicken after pounding thin, and top with low fat mozz & parmesan and the sauce, then cook till gooey), lasagna another night, ?chicken cacciatore? (sautee onions and peppers until soft, season, add the marinara sauce, then pour over chicken and bake until soft), meatball subs for lunch, etc.
  • Or cook up a big batch of thinly cut round steak with south of the border seasonings, and you can do tacos one night, a salad with corn and beans for lunch, and chili the next night.
• Cook quick meals.
  • Pouch foods are fabulous. Make a pouch of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lay down some asparagus, snow peas, green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, or whatever veggies you want as a base.  Lay fish or chicken over that. Drizzle with oil, lemon or lime juice, soy sauce, honey, dry white wine, or your favorite (non-creamy) salad dressing. Close them up, bake them for about 15 minutes (or until the meat is done) and you have an amazing meal, that was quick and easy to prepare.
  • Set up a salad bar with chopped veggies and shredded cheeses and salad dressings and let everyone make their own.
  • Quick cooking brown rice and chicken in a 2 qt casserole dish covered with broth and seasonings bakes up quite nicely (use a microwave safe dish, and you can even put it in the microwave!)
    

They used to say that a stitch in time saves nine when they used to actually stitch things by hand. Well, we aren?t making clothes or decorative pillows here, but the concept works. If you do a little bit of preparation once a week, you can save a TON of time the rest of the week.

Oh!!! Part 2!! I'm tagging both of these posts for future reference! Thanks again!!

I do what I can.

I think the next one will be some sample recipes.

These are really good ideas! Thanks so much for putting all the time and effort into this; it's really useful! ^^

*Tagged*

Good job, honey!

Great ideas - some I already do but some I never thought of - yeah time savers! :o)

Thanks for posting!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. 

I like your "confetti" idea.  It makes alot of sense to plan ahead. 

Thanks for taking time to put these together! Great ideas!

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I just have one comment to add.  I know that a lot of people (myself included) sometimes overeat at meals especially when the food is very tasty.  I find that the more I plan ahead and the more prepared I am the less I overeat.  It is like knowing that I have a really yummy, healthy meal planned for my next meal makes me less worried about 'finishing' what is on my plate after I start to get full.  For example if I don't eat all my meat at one meal the leftovers get thrown in a tortilla with my pre-chopped veggies and some sprouts and toasted for a great lunch or it gets thrown in a pan with some egg whites and veggies for an omelet.  Learn to love your leftovers and it will make you like having them.

thanks, kory!

Great ideas, but handle cooked rice with care, even if you will be reheating it. I must be cooled and refrigerated as soon as possible and must never be kept at room temperature for over and hour. There is a very nasty food poisoning bug present in rice that can survive even after reheating at high temperatures. Other than that, great to see such simple and nutritious suggestions.

Um.... WHERE IS PART 1?  I need that one too!  :)

This is such a good idea!