Everyone likes two-for-one deals, right? When it comes to cooking and meal planning, food has its own kind of two-for-one deal: For example, turning a great home-cooked dinner into a packed lunch the next day. In our two week #TakeoutTakeOut Challenge, I really have come to appreciate these kinds of recipes. But, I tend to stick to what I know, and that can make for repetitive eating. To switch things up, I called the Natural Gourmet Institute and asked them to help me figure out a way to cook once on Monday, and use that dish as a foundation for a week's worth of meals. I wasn’t convinced it could be done, however — as per usual — they came back with some genius “four-for-one” dishes: All are easy to make, lunch friendly, and take me out of my cooking-eating rut. Who would have thought to turn leftover quinoa into risotto? Or baked beans into delicious chili? Click through to see how cooking just four meals can feed you for the entire month.
Week 1: Sweet Potato Magic
I love a baked sweet potato just as much as the next person, but I don't really know what to do with them beyond putting on some butter and maybe a little, okay, a lot, of Sriracha. And, I never think about having a cold baked sweet potato as a leftover. But, as it turns out, you can make a lot of sweet potato magic with eight sweet potatoes. Like, this...
Baked Sweet Potato With Avocado & Black Beans
Ingredients
8 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 ¼ tsp sea salt
2 cups cooked black beans (from one 15-ounce can)
½ tsp mild chili powder
2 ripe avocados
Optional toppings: cilantro, crumbled goat cheese, sour cream, chives, toasted pumpkin seeds, salsa
Instructions
1. To cook sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 425ºF. Prick your sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Roast until a knife may be inserted into center of potatoes with no resistance, 45-60 minutes. You will use 4 potatoes and reserve the remaining 4 for future meals.
2. While potatoes bake, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and salt, and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in beans and chili powder, and cook just until warmed through.
3. Slice each sweet potato down the center (like a hot dog bun). Gently squeeze the sides to loosen the center and use a fork to mash the inside slightly, making a bed for the filling. Top each potato with beans, sliced avocado, and your favorite toppings.
The leftover sweet potatoes can then be turned into...
Then, try these delicious baked sweet potato-based treats!
Mashed Sweet Potato Toasts
Sweet Potato Soup
Sweet Potato Tacos
Sweet Potato Hash
Week 2: Quinoa Madness
I have an insane amount of quinoa in my pantry, mostly in the form of half used packages. The Natural Gourmet Institute made me realize that I can cook a bunch in bulk to make...
Stuffed Delicata Squash With Cashew-Quinoa Pilaf
Ingredients
5 cups prewashed quinoa
8 cups water sea salt
2 large delicata squash (or other small thin skin winter squash), halved
3 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
½ tsp salt
¼ cup raisins or dried currents
¾ cup roasted cashews, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
1. To cook quinoa, combine quinoa, water, and a generous pinch of salt. Cover with a lid and bring to boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes, until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Use 2 cups quinoa for this recipe and reserve remaining quinoa for future meals.
2. To make squash: Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place squash cut-side-down on a baking sheet, and roast until a knife pierces through the center without any resistance, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. When cool enough, use a spoon to scrape out and discard seeds strings.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey and salt. Add to 2 cups cooked quinoa, along with raisins or currents, cashews and green onions. Taste and season with more salt or lemon juice, if needed. Stuff each half of baked squash with quinoa pilaf. Serve warm or room temperature.
With the rest of the quinoa, make these yummy dishes:
Crispy Quinoa Croquettes
Quinoa Bowl
Quinoa “Risotto”
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Week 3: Beans Never Looked Or Tasted This Good!
I love beans, but I don't really know what to do with them beyond making hummus from scratch. Turns out that my bean horizon needed to be broadened. This deliciousness is on my menu for the week for sure...
Italian White Bean Gratin With Crispy Parmesan Topping
If you don’t have time to cook the beans, substitute two 15-ounce cans for this recipe!
Ingredients
4 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight in cold water in the fridge
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup tomato paste
5 oz baby spinach
2 cups vegetable stock
1 ½ tsp sea salt
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
1. To cook the beans, place soaked beans in a large pot, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, with the lid ajar, until beans are soft and tender, about 1 hour. Drain.
2. Use 3 ½ cups beans for gratin, reserving the rest for future meals. To make gratin, preheat oven to 350ºF.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 ½ cups cooked beans, spinach, vegetable stock and salt. Simmer on medium heat until spinach is wilted and flavors have melded a bit, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer to an 8x8” baking dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Using your fingertips, rub the mixture together until evenly combined. Sprinkle topping evenly onto beans. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 30-40 minutes.
The extra beans can be transformed into these bad boys:
Baked Veggie Burgers
White Bean Chili
Veggie Wraps
Bean Bowl
Week 4: Chicken All Day, Everyday
In the dead of winter, there is nothing quite like coming home to a roast chicken. Natural Gourmet gave us a great hack for how to cut the cooking time in half!
Butterflying your chicken is the key to an extra fast roast!
Butterflied chicken
Ingredients
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, split evenly
1 lb small potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1” pieces
3 tsp sea salt
1 head garlic, broken into cloves
1 lemon, cut into ¼”-thick rounds
Two 3-4 pound chickens, butterflied
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450ºF . Grease a large rimmed baking sheet, or two smaller baking dishes, with olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, skin-on garlic cloves and lemon slices. Transfer to your prepared baking sheet (or smaller baking dishes).
3. Pat chickens dry. Drizzle each chicken with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt; massage to distribute salt evenly. Place chickens breast-side up on baking sheet, tucking potatoes and garlic underneath the chickens.
4. Roast until chickens are cooked through, when juices run clear, about 45 minutes.
5. Transfer chickens to a cutting board to rest and return potatoes to oven for another 10 minutes to crisp up.
6. Cut chickens in half along the breast bone, then cut each breast in half, and divide the legs into thighs and drumsticks. Serve chicken atop roasted potatoes, with a squeeze of the roasted lemon juice.
Reserve your extra roasted chicken to repurpose later in the week into one (or all!) of these:
Shredded Chicken Tacos
Coconut Chicken Curry
Thai Chicken Salad
Chicken Noodle Soup
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