Large-batch transition cooking
In my latest food trend project, I have been making an effort to cook one amazing meal on the weekend, but include strategic ingredients to facilitate yummy leftovers throughout the week and reduce the amount of cooking I need to do. Now, don’t get me wrong - I LOVE to cook, but my new busy lifestyle makes it a little difficult to make fantastic meals every night of the week.
So, I’ve been approaching weekend cooking in a large-batch-transition-cooking style. So this doesn’t just mean cook enough food that you’re eating the same thing for 5 days, as that route inevitably gets tiring, boring, and leads to takeout*. I’ve found success with thinking through the week, buying some extra groceries, but doing the bulk of the quality, preparatory cooking on the weekend. I have found success making large roasted chicken meals. Keep in mind that I intentionally bought a bigger chicken that the two of us need for one or two meals (I have also in the past bought two chickens and took the time to roast them together, knowing I’d do something creative with roasted chicken); same goes with the amount of veggies bought / cooked. My transition week looked like this:
- Sunday: Roasted chicken with cranberry red wine glaze, roasted sweet potatoes, arugula salad with pancetta (alternate: with sides of asparagus and Quinoa)
- Monday - Chicken soup with homemade broth (Nonna’s recipe - must include LOTS of parm-reggiano!). If you make the broth the night before, the soup is as simple as boiling water and adding small noodles and cheese to the broth!
- Tuesday - Cranberry Chicken Salad sandwiches (topped with arugula) and served with leftover sweet potato puree or cous cous. Basically, I chop up small pieces of leftover chicken, mix with sour cream, Dijon, cumin powder and cranberries. Serve with whatever bread on hand, or on top of a salad.
- Wednesday - Basil chicken and asparagus penne in a cremini mushroom cream sauce. You don’t need a ton of leftover chicken, just enough to mix with veggies and add to a cream sauce. This 30-minute meal will taste like you cooked it for hours (and technically, you did!)
- Thursday: Leftover basil chicken penne (make enough the day before).
What are your large-batch meals? Is large batch cooking really a trend or is it common practise and something the busy professional in me just figured out?
*note: There are some meals so well made that you’re completely willing to eat the same thing for 5 days straight. These meals look like contenders for that category - I plan to try them out and report back soon: