Help! Cooking staples on sunday - I cant start

[Anonymous]

I want to make tasty beans/rice etc. to use all week but can't get started. I have bag of potatoes, bag of onions, rice, lentils, farro, barley, grains, you name it. Also broth and every seasoning.

I just don't know what to start with and then during the week I lose motivation to add to it so everyone likes it. What meat? What veggies?

Maybe I'm just not cut out to work this way and should stick to full meals/soups on Sunday, all ingredients, big batches.

[Anonymous]

You could just cook some beans from dried and store in the freezer so you can grab them as needed. Tastes better than canned. You can also dice onions and store in the freezer and sauté onions and freeze. Makes it easier during the week.

[Anonymous]

I just cook things separately so I can combine them in different ways during the week. If I make a big batch of black beans and a separate batch of rice (put in the freezer after to keep fresh), then I can combine the two to make beans and rice, or use the beans to make black bean burgers, tacos, etc, and the rice for stir-fries, grain bowls, etc.

The trick is to season your items the way you’d season most of your food, or keep the items relatively plain so that you can season when you use them later in the week.

[Anonymous]

I soak beans from dry in one big batch, then freeze half. So for example, on Sunday I made an eggplant chickpea stew, and this weekend I will make falafel with the frozen chickpeas.

Every Sunday I make a large pot of rice. I use the rice for bowls throughout the week, or stuffing vegetables, etc. Once in a while I do this with millet, farro, or bulger, but we all prefer rice, so I don't push it.

During the winter, I do a lot of stews in the crockpot, and that type of cooking lends itself well to barley, lentils, etc. I prep everything in the morning and then run out to kids activities, and then we have something waiting when we come home.

I would start with sheet-pan roasted potatoes and onions, simply seasoned (or sweet potatoes or butternut squash). This can be combined with many different things during the week.

I would also make some rice and a pot of lentils. Again, these are easy foods to combine.

Then I would make salads and bowls throughout the week, and maybe a vegetable soup at the end of the week with the leftover lentils and whatever wilt-y veg that you have.

[Anonymous]

I struggle with this too but have found some success by focusing on stuff that doesn't require a recipe and is very easy. Here are some of the things I've done:

- Seasoned roasted sweet potatoes. Usually I season them pretty savory/spicy so we can incorporate them into vegetarian tacos and quesadillas, but we also use them on salads or on their own as a side. Occasionally I'll do a sweeter version (cinammon/nutmeg) so they get used more for kid dishes. The recipe is literally just: chop, stir with olive oil and seasoning in a big bowl, spread on baking sheet, back at 350 until soft inside but slightly crisp on the outside.

- Seasoned chicken. Pound a few chicken breasts to about 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick and season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion salt. Cook 5 minutes each side in a pan at medium heat using a little olive oil (chicken will get a kind of seasoned crust on it, you can make it even more crusty if you add some panic). Let cool, chop into strips, perfect for salads, grain bowls, tacos, quesadillas, sandwiches, or on its own. Use the pan to whip up a little sauce (I do chopped garlic and fresh rosemary, then add some cream and dijon mustard).

- Really easy grains. Couscous is like stupid easy, you barely have to cook it. I buy the boxes with the seasoning mix inside because then you don't even have to figure that part out. Rice also works but I feel doesn't reheat as well and is less versatile. Farro can also be good. Also, beans or lentils works well, too. Do a pot of black lentils on Sunday and you can use it in lots of different dishes or serve as a side and it's a great protein sub, especially if you have kids who don't love eating protein.

My other meal prep tricks are cherry tomatoes (no chopping) or chopping up all three colors of bell peppers on Sunday and then you can throw them into pasta and salads and sandwiches all week. They hold up better than other things that should really be chopped day of.