The Chopping Blog

I promised in my last blog to follow up with a few more recipes and ideas for cooking for one. So here goes!

There was a request for “ideas for dishes that can be prepared ahead of time but don’t taste like leftovers”. I love this question! There is no reason to have to eat leftovers when you can have convenience and freshness during the week. One of the tricks to fresh quick meals is to have elements of the meal prepared in advance and part of the meal prepared fresh on the spot.  Vegetables can be the most time consuming part of the meal so preparing some of them in advance is a huge time saver during the week!

I love to make roasted vegetables on the weekend and have them in the fridge to reheat or use in a component of another dish.  Sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, cauliflower, beets, peppers and winter squash are some of my favorites.

Kuru Squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, toss the vegetables with a smidge of olive oil and salt and pepper and cook until tender. I tend to leave all of these in large portion sizes; I just cut the squash in half and seed it, leave the turnips, cauliflower and rutabaga in large chunks, everything else I just leave whole.  I don’t peel the sweet potatoes, squash, peppers or beets. It’s easier to peel them right before I use them.

I also have an assortment of quick cooking fresh or frozen vegetables that combine great with the roasted vegetables listed above: spinach, arugula, summer squash, corn, mushrooms, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and kale are some of my favorites

Here is how I pull this all together:

Go ahead and start sautéing, grilling or broiling your meat first, most of those items take 10 minutes tops to cook. So when you start your meat start heating your pan for the vegetables pan (always heat your pan well before you add the oil or everything sticks) and add a little oil or butter.  Add roasted vegetables and heat them a bit first and then add the fresh or frozen ones and cook a few more minutes until everything is cooked.

You can also cook the meat in the sauté pan first and add all the vegetables directly to it or skip the meat all together and adds some beans for a vegetarian meal. You of course can fresh herbs, garlic, onions, spices, lemon, etc. to flavor your dish. Pretty much any combination of vegetables works, so play around!

Stay tuned for our new Cooking for One: Make-Ahead Shortcutsclasses coming up in March. They’ll be offered at Lincoln Square on March 4 and March 26 for those of you interested in getting some additional perspectives and tips! Here’s the class description

Learn how a little advance prep can make it a breeze to create delicious and fresh food throughout the week. These recipes are scaled down to make the perfect portion size to serve yourself.

Sautéed Chicken Breast with Brussels Sprout Lentil Salad (precooked lentils) and Yogurt Cilantro Dressing; Fish en Papillote with Leeks, Roasted Peppers (preroasted) and Herb Compound Butter (premade); Sweet Potato (preroasted), Zucchini and Chickpea Stew with Steamed Couscous.

Of course, if you can’t make it to class, please keep asking your questions right here, as I am happy to answer them.

Shelley has been teaching people to cook since she opened The Chopping Block in 1997. She spent 17 years as a professional chef, working in busy restaurants and private homes but realized her calling was to get other people to cook. Shelley’s unique concept of a recreational cooking school, gourmet kitchen store and private event business provides Chicago with over 300 cooking classes and private events each month. Shelley loves to garden and entertain for family and friends in her Lincoln Square home.

View all posts by Shelley →