I start off by washing and chopping up my vegetables right when I bring them home. I make carrot and celery sticks for snacking and also thin slices to use in salads and stir-fries. I store them in zip-lock bags filled with cold water and then put those inside a container just in case there are any leaks. That should go in the coldest part of your fridge to prevent everything from going limp. I also dice onions and mince garlic and store those in bag without water.
Then I heat up my oven to 400 degrees and get to chopping. Any veggies I want to roast for the week all get cooked up at the same time. I make herb roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes with Mexican spices, squash, and any other veggies for specific recipes.
I usually buy a big package of chicken breast when it's on sale so I make a couple different marinades (usually Honey Mustard or just barbecue) and freeze that in individual bags. This way every night (literally every night) when my brother tells me he's hungry, I can just pop one of those in the oven while I get ready for work. I used to do this with hamburgers and steaks too, but I haven't bought those in awhile.
I also cook up a big pot of rice, lentils, or barley and eat that all week. Then I pick a soup or pasta sauce I want to make and throw that in the slow cooker while everything else cooks. I think of a couple other recipes that will keep well, like my Grown Up Mac and Cheese from the last post, or some other kind of baked dish, and make that to keep in the fridge.
When I buy fresh herbs for special recipes, I always have leftover and want to make sure they get used. I chop up whatever leftovers I have and put them in plastic bags and freeze them. My mom suggested putting them in ice cube trays and freezing little herb cubes which I think is an awesome idea. It works best for recipes where the herbs are going to be cooked because they don't look as pretty when they thaw, but if you don't mind, they still taste good. You can also do that with citrus juice, pesto, sauces, leftover cream and wine (not that there is ever leftover wine).
After that all my meals are pretty much made, or just need to be assembled and warmed. Stir-fries are ready to go with some of the cooked rice, the chopped veggies just need to be heated up with some of the minced garlic and onion, and a little sauce. If I want pasta, I just cook up some noodles and put some of the sauce I made on it. Salads just need to be assembled (See my 5 minute recipe below). It helps me to eat more at home and spend less money on eating out. Here's what I whipped up today for dinner. It's light and summery and delicious :)
Thai Salad
4 cups lettuce
1 avocado
1/2 orange, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 stalk celery
1 green onion
2 tbsp cilantro
2 tbsp toasted almonds
2 tbsp golden raisins
For the dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 orange
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
Mix up all the salad ingredients in a big bowl. In a small bowl, add all the dressing ingredients except the oil. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking. Pour a few tablespoons over the salad and mix it up (there will be leftover dressing). If you're not going to eat it right away, leave the dressing off until you're ready to eat so it doesn't wilt. This makes about 4ish servings. It's a little sweet and a little tangy and really really yummy. Making your own salad dressing might seem like a pain, but it doesn't take more than 2 minutes and it's soooo worth it. I still don't know how my mom makes her balsamic vinegarette, but it's better than any bottled dressing I've ever had. Ever. And, this way, you know exactly what's going in your food, and there are no mystery ingredients. I just ate this salad on it's own tonight, but if I'm making a Thai dish, I'll serve it with that. I think it's best on a really hot summer day like today. Enjoy! :)
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