Olivia's Caribbean-Style Roast Cabbage with Carrot

This is great over brown rice, or black beans and rice. You can make a LOT of it at once, or chop only half of the cabbage up. Leave the other half of the cabbage head intact and chop it up next week. It will keep.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 pounds green cabbage, core removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup vertically sliced yellow onion
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups carrots, cut into ribbons
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons habanero hot sauce
1 tablespoon butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine cabbage, onion, oil, sugar, black pepper, and salt in a large bowl; toss to coat. (It's OK if the cubes start to separate.)

3. Divide cabbage mixture between 2 foil-lined jelly-roll pans. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, stirring and rotating pans after 10 minutes.

4. In the same bowl that you used for the cabbage, combine carrots, vinegar, and hot sauce; toss to coat.

5. Remove cabbage from oven, and carefully transfer to the bowl with the carrots. Add butter; toss gently to combine.

6. Heat broiler to high. Return cabbage mixture to pans, spreading evenly. Place each pan under the broiler for 3 minutes (this will be a two-phase operation) or until edges begin to brown and evenly crisp.

Olivia's Sample Meal Prep Plan

Lately I've gotten into a routine for cooking for the week that works well, and cuts down on time over the weekdays when time is at a premium. I thought I would share to show you how a few hours on the weekend of shopping and planning can help you use all the groceries you buy and stop wasting time on answering, "What should we have for dinner?"

We eat varieties of the same types of meal, and then build on the produce that's in season, or the meat or fish that's on sale. I usually plan to make 2-3 "full meals" per week, which to me are meals from scratch, usually using pre-prepped items. I front-load these because I think you get 2 days of uncooked pre-prepped food before it tastes bad, and at least 2 more days after it's cooked of leftovers.

Whenever possible (aka where it doesn't ruin the taste or texture of the food for me) I use frozen, pre-cut items from TJs. Of course, if it is cheaper, you could buy a ton of produce from Costco, chop, and freeze it, or buy frozen from Costco and divide a week's worth into Ziplock bags as soon as you get them home so you don't ruin what's still in the bag as you use it. I also love canned tomatoes in recipes.

My "full meals" include roast chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce, tostadas, shrimp creole, pork chops, that kind of thing.  The other meals we eat per week are either leftovers supplemented with lots of veggies, usually over rice, or take-out, depending on our work schedules. I also always make either stock or beans, sometimes both, in the slow cooker over the weekend. If you get into a good schedule, you can do stock one week, beans the next. Use your freezer wisely!

Here's a rough schedule:

Friday (1 hour):

• Clean out fridge and do one load of laundry; make note of any items you need to buy.
• Roughly take note of what you already have and need to use.
• Plan meals that incorporate the things you have.
• Complete grocery list.

Saturday (2 hours):

• Before 10 am: Grocery shop while it's not crowded so it's faster. 
• At home, immediately put beans in slow cooker and start it. Set aside. These can sit overnight without being removed from the slow cooker.
• Chop the vegetables you need in the next 3 days. Bag them in individual ziplocks (you can wash these out and put veggies back in them as you use what's inside). This works well with onions, garlic, kale, carrots, broccoli, etc. NOT lettuce, spinach, or anything else delicate. All of it will keep for at least 3 days if chopped.
• Unwrap and prep all meat.
• Chops, steaks, and boneless/skinless chicken: either marinate, or salt them down with about a teaspoon of salt each, re-wrap in paper and/or put in ziplock bags. Freeze or refrigerate.
• Chicken with skin, incl. whole chicken: either marinate, or spatchcock whole chicken (cut out the spine with sharp kitchen shears; directions below); salt all over with large-grain kosher salt; place chicken on grate over baking sheet so air can circulate and dry out skin to increase crispiness. Chicken can sit in this "dry brine" for a max of 48 hours. So, you'll eat it Monday if you do this today, or Tuesday if you do this tomorrow.
• Roast meat bones for stock 1 hour. Refrigerate to make stock tomorrow.
• Laundry is a great companion chore because both laundry and cooking have down time.

Sunday (1 hour):

• Season beans in slow cooker, and remove them to store. Divide in thirds, and freeze 2/3 in ziplock bags, while putting 1/3 in the fridge for the week. 
• Start stock, if you're making it. Cook stock for 8 hours, season, bag, and freeze
• Pre-cook meat sauce for spaghetti.
• Make any salad dressings and refrigerate.
• Pre-cook caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes or peppers, or any other similar recipe component. Juice and zest oranges and lemons for recipes. Combine spices if you like certain blends and save in ziplock baggies.  

DIRECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL STEPS:

Stock: While you cook, always save carrot peels, celery ends, onion and garlic paper, chicken spine (from spatchcocking), pork and beef bones, etc. Put them in a plastic bag in the freezer so they're ready for stock when you are. I roast the chicken spine and bones in the oven for an hour before I make stock with them.

Spatchcocking: Fun to say, fun to do, and makes the chicken cook faster.

Beans Two Ways

Lately, I have been taking beans and rice to work for lunch. They're filling and I don't really care what I eat for lunch, as long as it's something, so that works out great for me. I use the cheap, bagged dried beans from the grocery store, usually the Goya Pinto or Black beans. I don't pre-soak them. I make them in the slow cooker every week, and they just get more delicious the longer they last. I put half in a tupperware to eat over the week, and divide the other half between 2 plastic freezer bags. I freeze these laying flat, so they can be stacked vertically or horizontally to save room.


Here are my two favorite ways to cook beans.

Meaty Beans

2 Ham hocks or 1 ham hock and smoked turkey necks or wings
One yellow onion, halved
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
Dried beans to cover about the bottom third of the slow cooker

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover all ingredients with water until slow cooker is 3/4 full. Cook 8 hours. Season with salt, and your preferred combo of:

cayenne
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
bacon grease
cumin
turmeric

Vegetarian Mexican Beans

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried pinto beans, picked over, rinsed
6 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 tsp salt

In medium skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring continuously, 5 minutes to soften.

Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add beans, water and oregano. Cover and cook until skins are soft, insides are creamy and a few are beginning to crack open, about 4 to 6 hours on high heat, or 6 to 9 hours on low heat. When beans are almost done, stir in salt and cook at least 20 minutes.

Serve straight from the pot (de olla) as a main or side dish. Alternately, gently mash beans in slow cooker until creamy and still soupy.

Quick Shrimp Creole

I've made this dish once a week for several weeks now, and I've reduced my time to about 35 minutes start to finish. It's delicious and comfort-food-like while still being light. It's also super fast, since I use the chopped bell peppers and onions in Trader Joe's freezer section, canned diced tomatoes, and frozen shrimp.

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter
1 cup chopped bell pepper (or 1/2 the bag of chopped bell pepper and onion from TJ)
1 cup chopped celery (or 1/2 the canister of "Mirepoix", aka chopped celery, onion, and carrot from TJ; it's ok if you get some carrots in there. Won't hurt anything.)
2 cups chopped onions (You already got these from the TJ bags/canisters above)

2 bay leaves
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce,or to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
2 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/2 cup chopped green onions
Lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
4 cups cooked long-grain white rice

Seasonings: I use a combo of these, and season with about 1 tsp each, then more to taste:
cayenne
paprika
salt
garlic powder
black pepper
onion powder
oregano
thyme
cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

Thaw the shrimp in a bowl of cool water while you get everything else ready. The dark nerve on the ventral side of the shrimp isn't the "vein". You can eat that nerve, so on deveined shrimp you have nothing to remove. I like using the small shrimp without tails, but the medium-large ones are good, too; just take the tails off. Season the shrimp heavily with the spices above after they are thawed and let them sit in the seasoning as you prep the sauce/roux. Don't taste or add any seasonings until after the seasoned shrimp are added and cooked. They change the flavor a LOT.

In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, peppers, and celery to the pan. Saute the vegetables until they are wilted, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the bay leaves, tomatoes, and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer; continue to cook for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk the flour and water together and add the mixture to the tomatoes. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the fish sauce, Worcestershire and hot sauce and continue to cook for 5 minutes longer. Add the seasoned shrimp. Leave it on low heat for 5 minutes and then turn the heat off. The shrimp are delicate and will cook fast.

Stir in the green onions and parsley or cilantro, and squeeze lemon juice over it.

Serve with white rice.

Nadia's Spicy Cold Soba Noodles

This can be made peanut-free.  To make a peanut-free version, replace the peanut butter with tahini and the peanuts with sesame seeds.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing:

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp grapeseed (light) oil
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp Sriracha or chili paste

1-12oz package Soba noodles

4 green onions (sliced)
2 cups red cabbage (shredded)
1 red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
¾ cup carrot (shredded)
1 cup broccoli (sliced thin)
¼ cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
1 cup cooked chicken (shredded) (optional)
¼ cup peanuts (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

2. In large bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the dressing together.

3. Add the cooked noodles and all of the vegetables and chicken.

4. Mix until combined and sprinkle top with the peanuts.

Nadia's Mango Chicken Stir-Fry

INGREDIENTS

1-2 lbs boneles, skinless chicken breast
¼ cup pineapple juice or orange juice
3 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp ground ginger or 1 Tbsp fresh ginger (minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 red bell pepper (cut into strips)
1 green bell pepper (cut into strips)
2 mangoes (cut into chunks) (I like to use frozen mango)
¼ cup slivered almonds (toasted)
3 green onions (chopped)
Black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Olive or grapeseed oil
Cooked brown rice to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large wok or skillet, heat oil and sauté chicken over medium heat until cooked through,
about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together juice, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.

Add sauce and red and green bell peppers to the skillet. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until
peppers are crisp-tender.

Add mangoes and almonds to the skillet and cook until hot. Season with black pepper and green
onions.

Serve over steamed brown rice.

Nadia's Easy Vegetarian Chow Mein

Easy Chow Mein, courtesy of Nadia.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tsp fresh ginger (minced) or ½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp sesame seed oil

Soba or Udon noodles
2-3 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 cup celery (thinly sliced on a bias)
½ medium onion (sliced thin) or 4-5 green onions
½ head (2-3 cups) of green (purple, savoy or napa will work too) cabbage (shredded)
2 carrots (shredded or thinly sliced)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook noodles according to the package. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and red pepper
together and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a Wok and sauté vegetables for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add noodles and sauce over vegetables.

5. Cook for 2-3 minutes.