Welcome back to Prep Cook, where we test out a week’s worth of recipes so you only eat the most delicious ones! Just in time for your weekend grocery run, we have black bean taquitos, walnut apple meatloaf, cauliflower pizza bites, and more on the menu.
Everyone has a different schedule (and different tastes), so you can skip meals that don’t sound good to you or switch them around based on how much time you have to cook when you get home. Make weekday cooking easy and set aside two to four hours on this weekend to prep ingredients (cut produce, mix up sauces that will last, mass cook items you can freeze, etc.).
Breakfast
Tofu scramble with waffle iron hash browns: I made my scramble with tofu, but you can easily use beaten eggs instead. Make sure to get your waffle iron nice and hot before piling in the potatoes or your hash browns will end up a bit pale (like mine).
Prep difficulty: Hard
Boost it: Top your scramble with a fresh herb sauce
5-minute oatmeal power bowl: You’ll need to do some prep the night before, but it’s worth the super fast breakfast in the morning (so you can spend more time sleeping).
Prep difficulty: Medium
Boost it: Stir in a spoonful of peanut butter (or Nutella)
Toast piled high with your favorite toppings: Toast is wonderful. And it’s a tasty base for pretty much any savory or sweet topping you like. I prefer to top mine with mashed avocado and balsamic vinegar or peanut butter.
Prep difficulty: Easy
Boost it: Go big with the toppings. And get bread from your local bakery.
Lunch & Dinner
Glazed walnut apple loaf with green beans and crispy potatoes: A very hearty meal that’s good for when you want some comfort food. For the green beans, clean them and then throw them in a pan with some olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Top with lemon zest just before serving.
Prep difficulty: Hard
Boost it: Add diced mushrooms for extra earthy flavor
Add meat: Use ground meat instead of lentils
Pack it for lunch: Keep the potatoes separate to keep them from getting too soggy
Cauliflower pizza bites and chopped kale salad with lemon-tahini dressing: Anything with “pizza” in the name is an instant “yes!” The salad is there so you don’t feel so bad about stuffing half a pile of pizza bites into your face.
Prep difficulty: Easy
Boost it: Make (or buy) more than one sauce for dipping your pizza bites. Marinara and pesto are both good options!
Add meat: A simple baked or pan fried chicken breast sliced over the salad
Pack it for lunch: Keep the pizza bites and salad separate until you chow down
Taquitos with black bean and cauliflower filling: Who doesn’t love taquitos? They’re a crunchy, fun dish that isn’t as hard to whip up as you think. I used Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower to make the prep for this dish a little easier.
Prep difficulty: Medium
Boost it: Make (or buy) a spicy sauce to dip your taquitos in
Add meat: Swap some of the black beans for ground beef
Pack it for lunch: If you have a sauce, pack it separate from the taquitos so they stay crispy
Provencal Tian: Layers of eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomato make this a colorful and filling dish. This dish is much easier to prep if you buy pre-made sauce.
Prep difficulty: Medium
Boost it: Make your own sauce so you can add in fresh herbs and other aromatics for a flavor blast
Add meat: This will pair well with just about any meat
Pack it for lunch: Put it in a container and go!
Japanese Udon with yakitori king oyster mushrooms: Making your own tare for the mushrooms will have massively delicious results, but it more work than just using a Japanese BBQ sauce. Buy flash frozen (not dried) udon to get chewy, thick noodles.
Prep difficulty: Medium
Boost it: Make your broth a couple hours ahead of time so it can simmer and toss in kombu (kelp)
Add meat: Pick up fishcake from you local asian grocery
Pack it for lunch: Pack the noodles separate so they don’t absorb all the broth before you eat
Mushroom ragu: To thicken this sauce and get maximum flavor, you’ll need an hour or two for simmering. You can serve it with just about any starch and veg combo, like pasta with a side salad or polenta with roasted brussel sprouts.
Prep difficulty: Easy
Boost it: Use as many types of mushrooms as you can find and afford
Add meat: Toss in ground meat
Pack it for lunch: You just need a container and you’re all set
Slow cooker white bean soup: A perfect meal for a busy weekday since you just toss the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a hot meal.
Prep difficulty: Easy
Boost it: Serve with garlic bread
Add meat: Cook up some sliced sausages just before eating and add them in
Pack it for lunch: Use a spill proof container
Have you made any of these recipes before? Did you try any of the meals from last week? Share your tips and tricks in the discussion below.