List of meals. One meal per post.
Ground beef and pasta in tomato sauce
Fry 2 flats of ground beef in pan. Each flat needs to be done individually, otherwise the pan is overloaded and it’s too hard to mix and cook evenly.
Boil pasta.
- For Lancia Spaghettini, about 450 g of in the big pot with excess water. if you try to cook more than half a bag in one go, the starch causes the pasta to stick and burn. Drain well. Do this twice.
- For Penne, 300g is sufficient.
Stir regularly to prevent sticking.
Mix in two 398 ml cans Hunt’s Tomato sauce.
- Mix in about a quarter bag (refine) of Brocolli slaw.
- Pour equal volume of frozen vegetables into a mixing bowl
Makes about 4 or 5 servings.
Can replace ground beef with pre-made frozen meatballs
(Independent sells cheap frozen meatballs for $10/bag; these seemed to cause me some gastrointestinal discomfort, however, so I don’t use these much)
Kale soup
Very reliable meal.
Open a 540 mL can of either black or mixed white bean medley. Rinse well.
One 500g bag of chopped frozen kale (PC brand; Independent).
Add 2 Bouillon cubes; crush them by hand. Knorr Vegetable cubes from Safeway, in my case.
Add 3 cups of water. (If you don’t add enough, there’ll be a burnt taste.)
Can add onion, I never do.
Soup setting on instant pot (11 minutes).
Parboiled white rice in the instant pot
Add 4 cups parboiled rice (4 kg bag, Independent, or 2 kg bag, Safeway) and 4 cups water to instant pot. Or, 2 cups and 2 cups.
Press rice setting, normal size (default). Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Wait for the pressure to dissipate before opening instant pot (the rice finishes cooking during this period after the pot has turned off).
Put in a large mixing bowl and seal the lid. Important: make the meals and freeze ideally by the end of the day. Not only does it dry out and become unappetizing, but rice should not be re-heated multiple times due to Bacillus cereus. I imagine it’s safe to cool immediately and then reheat the frozen meal once before eating.
Optionally, mix in margarine.
Basmati rice in the instant pot
Got a sack of No Name basmati rice.
Added 2 cups rice to 2.5 cups water in the instant pot, Rice mode, Normal. Waited until the pressure was fully released.
Turned out great.
(I wanted to switch away from parboiled because of the high glycemic index. But in fact parboiled and basmati are pretty equivalent.
But, typically, having the parboiled version seems to be nutritionally superior and lower in GI compared to the raw form.)
Quinoa
Just as the instructions on the packet show.
- Bring 2 cups of water or stock to a boil in a 2 qt. pot. Add 1 cup Quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and let simmer until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff, cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
This stovetop method been very reliable with prerinsed quinoa.
Ground turkey stir fry
Split up one flat (500g?) of ground turkey, fried it in two batches.
Cooked a whole bunch of frozen veggies, maybe 3/4 of the orange tub for ~8 mins in the microwave.
Add ~4 blocks of stir-fry noodles, a little water, maybe a little margerine. Putting a lid on is helpful.
Got three meals for $6 (on sale, 2/$12) in turkey! Very good stuff.
Crushed boiled egg, rice, and peas
4 cups parboiled rice (4 kg bag, long grain, no name, Independent) and 4 cups water into instant pot. Press Rice (settings go to normal, low). Set a timer for half an hour. Wait until instant pot has fully depressurized before opening. Optional: add two tbsp of margerine to the rice and mix. Put
Fill small pot three-quarter full with water. Wait for it to boil. Add five eggs carefully with a spoon to prevent cracking. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Set out two plates; rinse ome egg under cold water for 5 seconds, crack, and cut, to test if all are cooked. Mash with fork to a fine grain (this prevents explosions in the microwave).
Cook frozen peas for 6 minutes. Cook frozen riced cauliflower for 6 minutes.
Can add sweet&sour sauce.
Makes 4 servings. Circa 700 cals per serving.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
| Simultaneously | Simultaneously |
|---|---|
| Add one flat of chicken breasts (2-3 breasts) (~$15) to pressure cooker. Add a few cups of water. Press the Pressure cook mode, set the time to between 15 and 20 minutes (which is best?). Set 30 minute timer. | Add X cups of frozen peas, frozen corn, and mixed vegetables to a mixing bowl. Microwave for 10 minutes. |
| Clean pressure cooker, |
Can add Sweet & Sour or General Tao sauce.
Bean Coleslaw
Open two cans of beans. I like Kidney and Chickpeas for this. Rinse and add to large mixing bowl.
Add large portion (potentially half a bag) of chopped broccoli slaw ($9, Independent).
Mix in a large portion (potentially half a bottle) of PC Creamy Coleslaw dressing ($4, Independent).
Serve cold.
Makes ~3 containers.
Breakfast Egg Sandwich
| Add a tablespoon (?) of olive oil to a pan. Vent fan on. Heat at 1800 watts, then drop to 700 to 1000. Crack two eggs into the pan. Wait until signs of browning, then flip with a spatula. Flip again if necessary. | Lightly toast two slices of bread. City Bread Rye from Safeway is cheap and tastes good. |
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The university page says these probably don’t freeze well.
Looking for veggies that would go well with these.
