5 Fast and Easy Meals, 1 Shopping List
Source: 5 Fast and Easy Meals, 1 Shopping List
If your New Year's resolution is to become more organized in the kitchen, you've come to the right place. As part of a new feature, we're packaging recipes as a manageable meal plan (here we're focusing on dinner for two, though recipes can be scaled up or down) that has a ratio of low effort to high reward, and even includes a handy-dandy grocery list to get you started. Click through and cook along with us for five nights: each day's recipe will either set you up for days down the line or will make good use of previously prepared ingredients, so you'll be more efficient in the kitchen.
Day One: Lemony Roast Chicken: Regardless of whether you're single, hitched, or somewhere in between, this "engagement chicken" - watch the video for the story behind the name and the recipe - is an excellent example of how a few simple ingredients can create a meal greater than the sum of its parts.
For this meal plan: roast the chicken as directed, subbing sprigs of fresh thyme for the mixed herbs (or use some combination of hearty herbs). Pair it with a simple side, like lemony steamed carrots, and reserve any leftovers for recipes later in the week.
Recipe: Lemon Roast Chicken
Day Two: Easy Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti: Leave it to Marcella Hazan, the queen of Italian cuisine, to concoct an ultrasimple but extremely lush tomato sauce that only requires three (excluding salt) ingredients.
For this meal plan: make the sauce as directed, reserving the braised onion for the next day (roughly chop it after removing it from the sauce). Serve half the sauce with cooked spaghetti and a chiffonade of basil; reserve the second half of the sauce for later in the week.
Recipe: Easy Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti
More from YumSugar: The Anything Goes Burrito
Day Three: Chicken and Black Bean Burrito: Get your south-of-the-border fix in fine form when dining on a cheesy black-bean-and-chicken-packed burrito.
For this meal plan: cook two cups of dry white rice, then add two tablespoons cooked rice, all of the nonoptional ingredients, two tablespoons shredded cooked chicken (from the roast chicken), and two tablespoons chopped braised onions (from the tomato sauce) to each burrito. Reserve the extra rice for the following night.
Recipe: Chicken and Black Bean Burrito
Day Four: Kimchi Fried Rice: If you're not yet acquainted with the fiery fermented Korean staple kimchi, it's about time: this weeknight-friendly fried-rice dish is a great way to take it for a test-drive.
For this meal plan: prepare the recipe as directed using the cooked rice from the prior day.
Recipe: Kimchi Fried Rice
Day Five: Baked Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce: Love poached eggs and Mediterranean food? Then you're bound to be smitten with this classic breakfast-for-dinner staple by way of the region. Eggs poached in well-spiced marinara sauce are served with crusty grilled bread for a meal to remember.
For this meal plan: halve the recipe, substituting the remainder of the tomato sauce and braised onions for the first four ingredients. Add the red pepper flakes, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and sugar. Simmer for five minutes. Then proceed with the recipe as written.
Recipe: Baked Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Related Content:
Chicken Pot Pie: The Ultimate Comfort Food
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