Cooking: Carrot and Ginger Soup, Lentil Jam and More
Happy Friday! This week at Prep Cook , where we plan and test meals for the week so you can spend your time and money on the tastiest ones, we have scones, chimichurri avocado portobello, creamy barley tomato risotto and more.
Everyone has a different schedule (and different tastes), so the menu is organized by meal, not by day. I ordered them to provide variety throughout the week, but you can skip meals you don’t like or switch between meals depending on how much time you have to cook when you get home (multicooker dishes are great fit for a few days when you want to eat as soon as you walk in the door). If you really want to get ahead, set aside two to four hours on weekends to prepare the ingredients for the week (chop foods, mix sauces that will last, prepare foods that can be frozen, etc.).
Breakfast
Lightest Tortillas : Freshly caught scones are a great way to start the morning. If you don’t like to bake or don’t have time, buy one at your local bakery .
- Difficulty to Make: Easy (yes) – These buns are actually “cream cookies” and are much easier to make.
- Increase it: Stick to coconut milk, even if you eat dairy products. It adds a sweet floral touch. Add whatever you like to the dough, such as frozen or dried fruit, cinnamon, or fresh herbs.
Pan-fried oatmeal : A different take on oatmeal, which can often have a soft texture that just isn’t so pleasant to eat.
- Complexity of preparation: Easy. Basically, it’s just oatmeal with a few steps added.
- Enlarge It: Make Your Filling Great. Good quality syrup, fresh berries, scrambled eggs (for piquancy).
Chickpea Onion Omelet : It’s simple and easy to make any toppings or toppings you like.
- Difficulty of preparation: Easy
- Fortify it: add garlic or whatever concoction you would normally add to an omelet.
- Features: If you eat eggs, you can always use eggs instead of chickpea flour.
Dinner
Eggplant roll with multicooker marinara : A quick way to make eggplant lasagna. Skip the layers, but still eat all the delicious items. Having made this marinara twice, next time I ditch the brown sugar, it will make the sauce too sweet for my taste.
- Difficulty of preparation: Easy
- Boost it: Add a ton of basil to the filling. If you think you’ve used enough, you haven’t.
- Adding meat: After slow cooking, add the minced meat to the marinara.
- Pack it for lunch: Pre-cut buns to make them easier to eat at work.
Easy Ramen : Homemade ramen is very good (and no, not instant ramen). Great for a cozy dinner at.
- Complexity of preparation: medium
- Fortify it: fry the vegetables for a rich flavor in the broth.
- Add the meat: Place the sliced chicken breast in a bowl.
- Special Notes: The preparation is not difficult, but the cooking time will take some time if you want a flavorful broth soup. I suggest doing this on a weekend, when you have time to brew the broth a couple of hours before lunch.
- Pack this for lunch: Keep the noodles separate before meals so they don’t get wet.
Slow-cooked carrot and ginger soup with sausages and focaccia : Rainy spring weather is the perfect time for a light soup like this. Using a multicooker requires minimal effort. Add stir-fried vegetables as another side dish to add flavor to your meal.
- Difficulty of preparation: Easy
- Fortify it: Add more ginger paste (or fresh ginger) than the recipe calls for.
- Add meat: Use meat sausages or substitute for chicken breast or seasoned pork cutlet.
- Special Notes: Buy a pre-baked foccation (I cooked mine, but you don’t have to) to speed up cooking.
- Pack it for lunch: be sure to use an airtight soup container.
Creamy Barley Tomato Risotto with White Beans and Spinach : Super quick and easy to make, and satisfying too!
- Difficulty of preparation: Easy
- Fortify it: Drizzle a little balsamic over the top before eating.
- Add meat: almost any meat will work with this dish. Chicken, white fish, beef or pork is easy to prepare and served as a side dish.
- Special Notes: Use Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Barley and Canned Beans to cook the dish very quickly.
- Pack it for lunch: drop it in a container and get to work.
Portobello steaks with chimichurri avocado and fried potatoes : this chimichurri sauce is so fresh and vibrant. Ideal with pickled mushrooms.
- Complexity of preparation: medium
- Fortification: Add some spice to the chimichurri sauce with dried peppers or chili oil.
- Add meat: Use beef steaks instead of mushrooms.
- Features: pickle mushrooms overnight.
- Pack it for lunch: If you have a toaster in your office, use it to crisp your potatoes again. If not, bring tin foil to wrap the potatoes in a bag and use a toaster to heat them up.
Sleazy jokes with cauliflower and lentils , and just miserable sages : careless jokes remind me of my childhood, fun from time to time to get a little dirty! You can have a paw on the side or decorate your sloppy Joe with it.
- Difficulty to prepare: easy (if you use pre-cut items as recommended below)
- Turn it up: Make the dressing super savory by adding a lot of vinegar.
- Add meat: Use minced meat instead of lentils in a sloppy sauce.
- Special Notes: Make your life easier by purchasing pre-shredded kale and carrots (I used this mix from Trader Joe’s) and chopped cauliflower (I used this frozen mix from Trader Joe’s recommended by Ag Obair at Prep Cook last week ).
- Pack it for lunch: Keep the bun separate from the filling. Or consider eating it with a fork and skipping the bun (and mess).
General Tso’s Tofu Roast : A simple tofu roast that can be made for a quick dinner. Make it even faster by skipping the cornstarch dipping step.
- Complexity of preparation: medium
- Turn it up: Use this Japanese BBQ sauce when mixing stir-fry sauce. I use this barbecue sauce so often that I have a 2.64 lb. bottle of it for the family. OK.
- Add meat: Substitute chicken for tofu. Indeed, this dish is best with tofu.
- Pack it for lunch: If you eat this with rice, pack the rice separately so it doesn’t get wet.
Share your tips and tricks in the discussion below as you try these recipes.