Baked potatoes

2 small russets
Rinse, scrub, poke fork holes, cover in olive oil and salt
1 hr @ 400 F in toaster oven
When finished, slit top lengthwise, and smush ends inward so the middle blossoms open
Top with cheese and pepper or whatever

Consider speeding up first half with a few minutes of microwaving

Air-fried smashed potatoes

Boil golden mini potatoes for ~15 mins til tender.
Smash a batch into medallions, with bare hands even.
Add oil and salt, then air fry @375F? for 6 mins + flip + 6 mins.

ALDI sells the bag of potatoes for cheap.

Frozen burrito meal prep

A pack of 15 tortillas (La Banderita Comalera, or anything uncrappy)
2 cans refried beans
2 cans black or pinto beans (or a portion of my homemade black beans)
Big block cheddar cheese or similar (use spinny hand grater) (grate cheese and wash grater the day before, to split effort across multiple days)

Warm up the beans and cheese, stir, then spoon into warm tortillas.
Fold the burritos and crisp them in a pan.
Wrap them with foil and freeze.
Nice to drink a Dos Equis during the process.

Reheat in air fryer, 17 mins @ 330F

Oven-sheet fajitas

2 or 3 sweet bell peppers, ideally multicolored for fun
1 onion
1ish lb chicken thighs, deboned and deskinned
Taco seasoning
Sazon completa?
Cumin?

Slice everything into strips, then put onto a baking sheet and season and stir.

Broil 10 mins @500F on one side to still get char, but not dry out completely Or maybe broil three-ish times, five mins ea, to get some crispy parts

Serve with rice or tortillas

Cava order

half white rice, half lentils, two scoops red pep hummus, one normal hummus, double falafel, every topping except feta, greek vinaigrette on top, pita chips on the side (so good).

Nuts and berries trail mix

A lot of cashews, a lot of craisins, a few peanuts, a few dried blueberries. Mix evenly.

I get lightly salted cashews and unsalted everything else.

Muesli

Boil a portion. If hungry, add honey, peanut butter, banana, craisins.

Buy a 4-pack of Bob’s Red Mill GF Muesli.

Premade ravioli

I get the Rana brand from publix when it’s BOGO. 4 minutes of boiling (use my electric kettle)

Shove greens in mouth

(Because “salad” is too generous a name for this)

Tear a bunch of lettuce leaves into chunks
Add olive oil, salt, pepper
Shove in mouth

Can add olives, leftover chicken, parmesan cheese, etc.

Artisan lettuce heads from ALDI (wilts less quickly than most storebought lettuce because the rooty thing is still attached) (good variety of texture and taste)

Black beans from scratch

1lb dry black beans, soak in a big pot for some hours, pick out bad beans

1 green bell pep
1 onion
1 tomato
4-6 garlics

with beans: bring to boil, skim foam, then simmer for 1-2 hrs (remove these whole ingredients afterwards):
1/2 green bell pep
1/2 onion
whole tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
Bay leaf
2-3 crushed garlic cloves

then saute these in a pan:
1/2 green bell pep diced
1/2 onion diced
then:
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp salt
Dash of hot sauce?

Put sauteed stuff in beans and simmer for 30 mins. Finish with 1 tbsp sherry.

Freezes well. Nice to put in my [bean burritos]. Beans + rice, and maybe cheese on top, is good too.

Black eyed peas from scratch

(This is not southern soul-food style; this is just plain beans, but I think they’re pretty good plain)

Boil the beans until soft. Add some salt.

My dad liked to add a heaping spoon of sugar to his bowl, and I like that too.

Bone broth

Roast chicken parts (feet, backs, wings?) @ 400F for 15 mins
Dispose of fat and put everything into pot.
Use filtered water
Simmer low for hours. Don’t keep it too hot for too long, else everything gets emulsified and cloudy
Strain when done, maybe with a chenois? or cheesecloth.
Ladle off excess fat after it sits.

Nice to drink a cup as you would tea in the morning or evening or when sick. Don’t forget to add salt before drinking.

Brussels sprouts

??

Slow-cooker carnitas

4 lbs pork butt/shoulder, cut into 1-2 inch chunks
8 garlics
2 lime juices
2 oranges = 3/4 cup OJ
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp pepper
3+ tsp salt
1 onion wedges
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup coke? Else chicken stock or better than bouillon. Or maybe even just water

(Too acidic last time, prob don’t use coke. One lime even. Ok to not cover in liquid as long as stir a few times; the meat gets covered over time.)

8-10 hours low slow cooker

Don’t forget cilantro and extra lime for topping

Brown in a pan before serving
But to maintain moisture, serve 1/2 unbrowned 1/2 browned, or save liquid to pour on top

Maybe do this with the leftover pork skin? https://youtu.be/zV11JpSSA_Q

Maybe make bone broth with the leftover bone? Like ramen broth. https://brooklynsupper.com/pork-bone-broth/

Chili

1 lb (lean) ground beef
1 Onion
1 can diced tomato
1 can kidney or pinto beans
corn (frozen or canned)
Chili seasoning, blue ranch looking packet

Cook meat then onion, then dump everything else
Bring to boil
Simmer a little

to try, maybe:
Dark beer?
Little oatmeal?? Early on to be soft enough and soak up liquid

Chili mac

1 lb (lean) ground beef 1 Onion 1 can diced tomato 1 can kidney or pinto beans
1 cup macaroni noodles
corn (frozen or canned) Chili seasoning, blue ranch looking packet cheese

Cook meat then onion, then dump everything else
Top with water til noods are covered
Bring to boil, and simmer/reduce until noodles are done

Egg salad

Hard boiled eggs - put in boiling water for 11 mins
Cool, peel, then mix thoroughly:

9-12 eggs
1-2 dollops Miracle whip / mayo
1-2 tbsp squirts of yellow mustard
Onion, garlic powder
Celery salt

Works nicely on sourdough bread, or as a dip with tortilla chips

Guac

??

Grits

??

Hard-boiled eggs

Gently place in boiling water for 11 mins, then put in ice bath to stop cooking.
You can use less water — see that kenji video/article

Dip in salt + pep. Za’atar is good too imo

Hummus

??

Kale kielbasa soup

1 bunch of garlic
1 onion
2+ cups chicken stock or 2 spoons better than boullion
1 kielbasa sausage (near sliced meats section)
1/2 bag of kale
1 can white beans

Remove kale stems, and tear leaves into even sizes (this takes a while)
Cut kielbasa into (slanted?) medallions and brown
Deglaze with diced onions and maybe a splash of chicken stock
Put in kale and chicken stock, then boil for 15+ mins til kale is nearly soft
Put garlic and beans during last 5 minutes
Consider freezing a serving or two

Pho 54 order

pho, with steak
1-2 banh mis, usually pork, maybe chicken (remember to dip the banh mis in the pho broth)

summer rolls if i want to splurge

also good:
chicken quarter over fried rice
grilled pork over white rice

for in-person dining (messy):
that one appetizer with minced mushroom?
and the entree where you put meat and greens in a lettuce wrap?

Rice and edamame

use pre-shelled frozen / steamable edamamde beans (i buy Seapoint Farms, frozen box of green baggies)

top with a nice shoyu (soy) sauce

Sausage broccoli pasta

taken from that one video (todo: find it)

1 package of ground sausage, or sausage links that you squeeze and break up with your hands
pasta, usually bowtie for me
1 broccoli, sliced
1 can white beans are a good addition
cheese, like parmesan? and/or butter?

brown the sauasage in a pan
take it out, and put onion + garlic if on hand, and broccoli
take that out, and put pasta + barely enough water, and boil til reduced. perhaps add better than boullion
emulsify fat (cheese? butter?) with starchy reduced water + pasta to make it saucy add everything back to the pot

Seasoned chickpea snack

Coat with oil and warm spices like garam masala, berbere, etc
Also salt
Perhaps I should rinse and dry them first

Air fry 5 mins + flip + 5 mins @ 350F

Baked sweet potatoes

1 hour @ 375-475F?
try to buy small ones so they cook faster
Don’t need to poke holes if wrapped in foil
Cut bitter tip off maybe, at least at end

Maybe finish off with honey if not sweet enough

Tabbouleh

??

Tuna casserole

noodles, ~3 cup al dente (rinse them cold?)
Can of tuna (5-6 oz average short one)
cream of mushroom (10.5 oz average)
Some milk (1/3 cup?)
1 onion
Celery? Eh. Maybe celery salt or something
cheddar (esp white?) ~ 1 cup
frozen peas
black pep

Boil noodles
Cook the onion (and celery if you’re using it)
Stir everything but noodles in large measuring cup or bowl
Choose a deeper, less wide casserole dish Put noodles and everything else in casserole dish and mix

Crumb topping? Panko and melted butter? and more cheese
Hot sauce? Parsley? Hmmm

Put in oven ~18 mins @ 435F

Tuna salad

2-3 cans tuna, drained
3-4 big spoons mayo
3-4 small spoons relish + a little juice
Squirts of yellow mustard
onion powder, or even real diced onion
Not too much garlic powder
Not too much celery salt

optional:
dill is nice
Maybe taragon
Maybe black pep
Maybe 2-3 hard boiled eggs

Mix everything in a bowl.
Don’t forget pickle/relish juice! crucial.
Don’t forget dried herb trick, rub between palms and it might bring out some oils or something?

I hear the Wild Planet tuna brand is healthy (but more expensive)

White chicken chili

1 lb ground chicken
corn (frozen or canned)
Mildly seasoned canned tomatoes (rotel / casa mamita)
1 can white beans
White chicken chili seasoning packet (McCormick)
Cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, colby jack, whatever)
Some water

Cook the chicken in a pot, then add everything else, and simmer for a little

Frozen eggplant parm

Michalenagelo’s brand, when on sale for BOGO

see also stouffers forzen entrees when on sale?

Lemon chicken orzo soup

Like normal chicken soup but with orzo and lemon

• add oregano and thyme
• chunks of dark chicken meat work well
• cook orzo separately near end, else it gets fat and soggy. 12+ minutes boil

maybe add a couple stirred eggs to make it creamier?